Tag Archives: Square Enix

Blog: Me3 2021 – 06/16/21

I feel like I just got slapped in the face with video games, which as well know can only mean that E3 has taken place once again. But don’t confuse that with Game Fest, a thing that I think started before E3 and is lasting long after it. We’ve got like a dozen game-focused events popping off all summer, so this whole thing is a lot clumsier than it normally is. It’s a mess that’s only gotten messier thanks to a certain pandemic, and will only get worse as E3 flails around trying to grasp at those precious last breaths of relevance. But until that day comes, I guess I’m gonna just keep looking at headlines and trailers and regurgitating that stuff back onto this site with that patented “Ari Spice,” which sounds grosser than I wanted it to, but oh well.

The oddest part about this whole clusterfuck of game announcements is that I’ve barely watched any of it. I don’t think as a hobbyist I can dedicate full days to sitting and watching press events about video games anymore, because it’s exhausting and unnecessary if we’re being honest with ourselves. Like, I didn’t need to watch whatever the hell Square Enix was doing this year, because I usually don’t tend to get grabbed by most of the games they make. I checked out that trailer for the Final Fantasy action game, Stranger of Paradise I believe is the subtitle to that one, and boy howdy did it look real dumb. They just kinda made the most generic looking protagonist who seems like he was pulled out of some middling 3rd person action game from the early 2000s, and said “good enough!” It truly reminds me of that terrible Shadow the Hedgehog game from the mid-2000s with how unnecessarily edgy it’s trying to be.

But whatever, maybe it’ll be great and I’ll be jealous of all the fun that everyone is having playing it. All I know for sure is that I’m really glad I didn’t have to sit through a press conference to see that, I’ve literally missed out on nothing by watching the trailer on YouTube a few days later with the exception of whatever tragedies were taking place in the live chat.

That’s kind of the beautiful side-effect of not checking or engaging with social media as much anymore, because I don’t feel this pressure to be on the cutting edge of what’s being announced or anything. The Bonus World isn’t a news site, and working my ass off to put up articles recapping conferences immediately after they end, doesn’t do anything for me or this site. So I’m just not bothering with it.

As far as actual E3 content goes, there will be some stuff that hits this week, but it’s not going to be anywhere near as comprehensive as it’s been in the past. I’m allowing myself to ease off the gas pedal a bit here, because I know that nobody is coming to The Bonus World for up to the minute game news. If that were the case, you’d be woefully out of touch with what the industry is up to and only know about weird simulator games I’m into at the moment. But that’s okay. I like the little slice of the internet that this site occupies, and I’m not going to overwork myself for literally no benefit.

So yeah, E3 is happening or already happened, I’m not sure anymore. And quite frankly, I’m happier this way.

E3 2019: Square Enix

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Final Fantasy. Yeah, I get it it, a lot of people are jazzed about that remake coming next March, but how about that Avengers project huh? I’m definitely not writing this before the actual presentation, inevitably setting myself up for disappointment or anything. But yeah, this is probably going to be the shortest of the E3 write-ups I do, unless Square Enix brings the heat in other, non-Final Fantasy forms.

Let’s take a look!

FINAL FANTASY 7 REMAKE

A lot of people are really into this game, like, to a scary degree. I never fell in love with Final Fantasy 7, or any JRPG in general, but I’d be lying if I wasn’t interested in trying this version out. FF7 is one of the weird blank spots in my gaming history, and while most of the fans have made talking about it insufferable, I’d still like to try this game out in some aspect.

It looks like they changed the combat up for this remake, leaning into real time combat much more while also allowing for a sort of Dragon Age styled tactical mode where time slows to a halt, allowing you to pick from a list of advanced attacks.

If I could play this game like a more traditional action game, I think I’d be more willing to try it out. But I don’t know that this is what fans of Final Fantasy 7 are looking for as far as this remake. Or maybe they’ll eat it up without any issues. Doubtful, but maybe fans will be cool about this for once.

The remake is slated to come out early next year, March 3rd, 2020.

A BUNCH OF ANIME GAMES

We got a bunch of trailers for other JRPG remasters and ports, alongside Dragon Quest Builders 2 and a remaster of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles. Some of the stuff shown looked cool, but nothing that really did much of anything for me.

CIRCUIT SUPERSTARS

A top down, R.C. Pro Am style game with a layer of tuning and strategy was shown off, and I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t a little bit interested. Since the Burnout series… burnt out, I haven’t really been playing much of any racing games, but this one looks like something I’d check out.

DYING LIGHT 2

Shout out to Dying Light for using a Metric song in their trailer, it makes me want this game even more. Unfortunately, the trailer didn’t do much in the way of new footage, but it did come with a nebulous, spring 2020 release date.

OUTRIDERS

A new shooter from People Can Fly, they didn’t show off too much of Outriders, but from what little I did see, it looks like a third person shooter where you’ll create a character, all with this weird, post-apocalyptic yet demonic looking aesthetic. A lot of weird demonic looking beasts were shown off, but not much else. They’ll say more about this winter.

MARVEL’S THE AVENGERS

In what might be the most confusing and nebulous announcement of all of E3, Marvel’s The Avengers, specifically the presentation about out was one of the most confounding things I’ve ever seen. They aren’t following the MCU, rather, building their own version of the Avengers canon to work with.

The story has the Avengers fucking up and getting outlawed and fighting back from that, I suppose. People in the crowd kept shouting at this point.

After a while of saying absolutely nothing, they got around to announcing playable characters, Captain America, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor and Black Widow. Take that Hawkeye.

Then we cut to a weird sit down with the voice actors behind the 5 playable characters which was an… interesting choice. I wish they would’ve talked about this in maybe a developer diary video that wasn’t on an E3 stage, but whatever. I would’ve genuinely preferred seeing more gameplay, we got some more cut scenes which is better than nothing.

After a short cut scene, we got more people walking out on stage and talking about the game. No pay to win and no loot boxes were listed as talking points, which means cosmetics are definitely in the mix.

Notably absent was any gameplay. I have no idea how the game works or plays or anything. It was this weird feeling of them hiding the gameplay from us or something, I don’t think that’s the case, but that was the vibe they put off.

Oddly enough, they’re showing off actual gameplay at their booth, but felt the need to not show anything about that on their stage. I just wish they didn’t withhold so much information about the game, and felt the need to be more coy about it.

Whatever Marvel’s The Avengers ends up being, is out on May 15th, 2020.

And that’s that. A conference filled with a bunch of games that weren’t for me, and the ones that did pique my interest, were oddly vague. This show felt like a real love letter to fans of Square games from the past, with a bunch of remasters and remakes being announced. Good on them, now please tell me more about Marvel’s The Avengers.

Blog: The Guessing Game of E3 2019 – 05/29/19

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In less than two weeks time we’ll be waist deep in the bog that is E3 once again. There are plenty of conversations that we could have about the obsolescence of the conference itself, but for the time being, I just want to scrounge together a sort of wish list for the event. With several companies not attending, including Sony, and the knowledge of a new console generation right around the corner, this year is probably going to be fairly lite in terms of big announcements.

I could probably just write the word “games” over and over, but I just want to hit on like one or two things from each conference that I’d like to see.

MICROSOFT

Microsoft is kicking off E3 with their conference, in what I think could be the most interesting conference of the entire show. It’s no secret that the Xbox One didn’t set the world on fire and was easily overtaken by the PlayStation 4 in terms of market share. Since their rocky launch, they’ve tried to right the ship since then by taking a very pro-consumer stance with their ‘Play Anywhere’ initiative, which allows for Xbox exclusives to be playable on Windows, their push to make online games allow players on any console to play with each other, and my personal favorite, the Xbox Adaptive Controller, which brings accessibility to a whole new level.

I’m genuinely excited to see what the next generation looks like under this new era of Xbox, but till then, I’m gonna just list some stuff I would love to see out of them this year.

FABLE 4

For my money, if Fable 4 came out and incorporated a large world, devoid of loading screens, with the fun yet admittedly shallow combat from Fable 2, I’d be happy. The Fable franchise has always traded on cheeky humor and robust world building, but I think it would be nice if we could make good on some of those promises that Peter Molyneux made back before the first Fable came out, and include more of those clockwork systems that make the world feel more alive.

HALO INFINITE

Look, I don’t know what they’re planning with Halo Infinite, but regardless of if it’s the conclusion to the story we’ve all wanted or a big pile of garbage, I just want to know. Just let me play this game and move on with my life. It’s not like I’ve been waiting a terribly long time, but I think I’m just so exhausted with Halo, that I just want it to be over with. If it was good, that’d be great, but even if it isn’t, I just need to know.

NEW CONSOLE

I swear, if this next console isn’t just called the Xbox Two, I’m gonna lose my shit. Although in all fairness, it would be absolutely hilarious if they just called this thing like “XCUBE” or “ULTRABOX.” I don’t know that I’m ready for a new console generation, but I don’t really have a choice in the matter. Regardless, I’d like some functionality stuff to be talked about. Are we doing a disc drive? Do all the Xbox One games work? How about the accessories like controllers? How big of a deal is streaming? Just some cool bullet points would be great.

BETHESDA

Look, I don’t like Bethesda games that much. They’ve all felt janky to me in one way or another, and I never got into any of the settings they played around in. I’m not a big post-apocalypse guy, and even less of a high fantasy fella, so I’ve basically eliminated most of their modern lineup. That said…

STARFIELD

What I wouldn’t give for any information about this game. I know that this is behind Elder Scrolls IV in the queue, and almost certainly wont be on this current generation of consoles, but a man can dream.

I’m just looking for something that can vaguely fill that Mass Effect sized hole in my heart. While I hate that Bethesda stands the best chance at this moment, I have to stay hopeful that a good sci-fi action RPG that let’s me shoot aliens or bone down with them is somewhere on the horizon.

AN APOLOGY

Imagine it; Todd Howard walks on stage with his head hung low. He steps up to the lone microphone on the stage with a single house light shining upon it. Andrew W.K. is notably not there, or if he is, he’s singing a dramatic and somber version of one of his party songs. Todd clears his throat and speaks into the mic with tears in his eyes. “We fucked up, y’all. We really goobered it up on this one. Fallout 76? Yeah, we did a bad on that.” Then he eats a canvas bag that says Fallout 76 on it, and melts into a puddle.

UBISOFT

Man, I really like the turn that Ubisoft has had this generation. They’ve stuck with their games in a way that very few developers do, and cultivate these lively communities around their games. For Honor, Rainbow Six Siege, The Division 2, and Ghost Recon Wildlands just to name a few. I’m pretty stoked to see what they do this year.

SOME PATENTLY CRAZY CONFERENCE BULLSHIT

For those not in the loop, Ubisoft has the fucking most wild press conferences ever. Usually there’s people in costumes dancing, a game of laser tag in the auditorium, and Mr. Caffeine, the strangest man ever. Ubisoft, whether intentionally or not, has made their conference twice as exciting by just being themselves.

SPLINTER CELL

I will forever ask for another one of these. I love Splinter Cell, with Splinter Cell Chaos Theory being one of my favorite games of all time, it’s been upsetting to see Ubisoft shove Sam Fisher and his cool goggles into a closet. I want another one of these games. I thought Blacklist was cool, but it didn’t scratch the itch I needed it to. I’m ready to see Sam Fisher snap necks and hang from the ceiling like he did in the old days.

WATCH DOGS 3

If I can’t have Splinter Cell, give me this instead. The lack of an Assassin’s Creed this year along with a ton of rumors about the next Watch Dogs taking place in London, all lend credence to the almost inevitable announcement of Watch Dogs 3. The rumor of it being set in London makes me even happier, considering one of the biggest issues with Watch Dogs 2, was how flippantly your character went from graffiti enthusiast, to armed assassin. Setting the game in a place without guns adds to the likelihood that more focus will be put on the puzzle aspects of the game, rather than the shooty shooty killing part of it. Don’t get me wrong, I liked Watch Dogs 2, but I think they did themselves a disservice by letting you use shotguns and pistols.

THE OTHER STUFF

Ubisoft is really good about the, “one more thing” part of E3. They announce some big sequels, along with some really intriguing new franchises. I’d like a progress update on Beyond Good & Evil 2, maybe see what other Nintendo collaborations they have up their sleeves, or even see them tackle some more sports in a follow up to Steep. Ubisoft has my attention most of the time, except for that boat game they announced. I don’t give a damn about their pirate thing.

SQUARE ENIX

I… I don’t really know. I guess people really wanna see that Final Fantasy 7 remake, but I just could not give less of a shit. I genuinely do not know what to even ask for here. I’m looking at their Wikipedia page, and maybe like, 5 games are jumping out at me.

They probably aren’t doing another Tomb Raider just yet, Thief and Sleeping Dogs are basically dead at this point, and they just released Just Cause 4 last year. Aside from Life is Strange, they’ve really got nothing I want. Although according to their Wikipedia page, that untitled Avengers project is still a thing, and I haven’t played a good superhero game in a very long time.

Aside from that, I can’t really think of anything I want from them. Surprise me, Square Enix. Surprise me.

NINTENDO

Alright, here’s the situation: Nintendo already announced two games that I’m very excited for, and a bunch of others that mean relatively little to me. I have no doubt that something will catch my attention during their Nintendo Direct, but here’s what I’d like.

MARIO 2 STYLE IN MARIO MAKER 2

Like, just fucking do it Miyamoto. Do the thing we all want for once, and put the game in the other game. Mario Maker 2 looks fantastic, and seems to be fixing a lot of the shortcomings of it’s predecessor, so just fucking do the damn thing.

ANYTHING ABOUT ANIMAL CROSSING

Please?

MARIO RPG

I know I’ll never get a sequel to Super Mario RPG on the Super Nintendo, but how about another Paper Mario game? We’ve done enough of those Mario & Luigi games that were fine, but hit me with the big one. Give me another Paper Mario: The Thousand Year Door or something. You did the Mario and Rabbids thing, and that surprisingly worked out pretty well. So just do this thing for me, okay?

CONTINUE TO NEVER GIVE WALUIGI ANYTHING

Fuck Waluigi.

That’s what I’ve got so far, maybe next week I’ll look into some of the companies that aren’t doing conferences, and grossly speculate about what they could make, if they had to listen to me.

We Watched The Square Enix Press Briefing | E3 2018

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The Final Fantasy VII remake is totally real. Please believe us.

Shadow of The Tomb Raider

The show opened with a short sequence of a plane crashing which probably isn’t a great time for Lara Croft. After that we cut to gameplay of Lara hiding in a tree and shooting a poisonous arrow at a guy that made him lose his mind before he ultimately died. We then see her perform some takedowns on unsuspecting dudes before slathering herself in mud to blend into the environment. All of what we’re seeing here is stealth gameplay until Lara leaps out from the bushes to stab a dude in the face. Somehow she escapes that situation unnoticed, only for her to throw an ignited gas canister on top of three dudes so she can watch them burn alive.

It looked pretty cool, but aside from some mud-rubbin’ I didn’t really see much that differentiates it from its predecessors. Still, I like this series well enough to check it out when it releases later this year.

The Awesome Adventures Of Captain Spirit

We saw some of this at Microsoft’s briefing, but we got a different look at it here. We are quickly reminded that this isn’t Life is Strange 2, but an introduction to the world of Life is Strange. It seems to build upon the idea that based on whatever adventure this kid imagines in his mind, you’ll get a new gameplay experience. Whereas Life is Strange was built around rewinding time, this looks like it will allow for the player play with different kinds of mechanics based on the adventure. But that’s just my best guess.

We’ll find out on June 26th when it releases for free.

Baylon’s Fall

It’s a Platinum game about slashing through some sort of medieval styled world. Not much stood out to me here outside of the fact it looked like a Bayonetta game with an illusion to 4 player coop right at the end. So it could be cool, but there’s not much to go on right now.

Just Cause 4

Taking place in South America, once again Rico Rodriguez is sent in to fight an oppressive regime and tornadoes. There are claims that weather is going to be the big defining characteristic in this entry, blizzards and tornadoes being the highlights. Also in addition to the rocket boosters and grappling hooks, you’ll get these cool balloons you can attach to things so you can make your enemies just slowly float away. Looks pretty awesome, but we’ll see if it pans out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WK5Ule_0KBY

The Quiet Man

What appeared to be an actual video of a man walking into an alley and getting heckled by stereotypical gang members, made a weird transition into gameplay of him brawling with them and kicking their asses. Also he’s deaf. Could this be The Bouncer sequel we’ve all been waiting for? Perhaps. We’ll learn more in August.

Then the conference just ended. No mention of their Avengers project, no mention of the Final Fantasy VII remake, and the same incomprehensible Kingdom Hearts III trailer from the Microsoft briefing yesterday.