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E3 '07: Square Enix lines up for E3

Japanese publisher brings Final Fantasy in droves; Front Mission DS officially announced.

200 Comments

SANTA MONICA, Calif.--Last May was a reprieve for most publishers and developers, being no longer obligated to put on their Sunday finest and present their wares to the masses. Such was not the case for Japan-based Square Enix, who in lieu of the world's largest gaming trade show, moved its mostly annual Square Enix Party in Makuhari, Japan, to the same week as the old E3. During the event, Square Enix had on show games and merchandise from franchises both old and new, and it also unveiled several new games in its most popular franchises. With its strong showing just a few months ago, the publisher doesn't have many tricks left in its bag, but many fan favorites will still be present at this year's E3.

While it won't be showing anywhere near the amount of titles it did in May, Square Enix has an unhealthy amount of Final Fantasy on display all the same. Representing the Ivalice Alliance, Square Enix will be showing Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings on the Nintendo DS and Final Fantasy Tactics: The War of the Lions. The two games bookend Square Enix's Ivalice line of games, where The War of the Lions is an updated remake of the 1997 FF Tactics original and Revenant Wings is the latest extrapolation in the series.

In other Final Fantasy news, Square Enix will also be showing off the much-anticipated second installment in the Crystal Chronicles series, Ring of Fates. Slated for a spring 2008 release on the Nintendo DS, Ring of Fates will feature a fully featured single-player adventure, as well as Wi-Fi compatible multiplayer action for up to four players.

While the bulk of Square Enix's upcoming Final Fantasy products are for Nintendo's newest handheld, the publisher has a few lined up for Sony and Microsoft systems as well. Set for a July 27 release, Final Fantasy II Anniversary Edition for the PSP will make an appearance at this year's expo. In this latest reimagining of FFII, Square Enix has completely revamped the graphics and included all-new dungeons. Square Enix will also be showing off the latest expansion in its massively multiplayer online game, Final Fantasy XI: Wings of the Goddess. This fourth chapter will introduce a bevy of new content to the Xbox 360, PC, and PlayStation 2 versions of the game and is set to go live this winter.

Square Enix has more than just Final Fantasy games lined up for the show. The publisher will be bringing two from its Dragon Quest series, Joker and The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors. Already out in Japan, Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker lets players capture, train, and breed more than 200 different monsters. Square Enix will be showing the game exclusively for the DS in advance of its November 6 release date. Dragon Quest is also headed to the Wii in The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors. Aimed at both longtime Dragon Quest fans and newcomers to the series, Masked Queen has players acting out the role-playing adventure using the Wii's motion-sensing controls.

While GameStop spoiled the fun in June, Square Enix confirmed it would be bringing Front Mission to the DS in North America. Similar to its recent Final Fantasy Anniversary updates, the publisher will rework the turn-based mech strategy game with dual-screen compatibility and multiplayer modes. The long-running Mana series will also have a new installment shown at this year's expo, Heroes of Mana.

Lastly, Square Enix plans to finally officially unveil its US online store. Merchandise on offer will include rarer items from the series, such as Master Arms, Mechanical Arts, and Play Arts, as well as items from popular series, such as Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy, and Kingdom Hearts.

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jerome25

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dissidia is the best game now

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jerome25

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I'm already finished playing crisis core

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lapyx

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Looking Forward to Crisis Core.. That's had my eye for a long time now.

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Shadow_Fire41

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What a horrible lineup. No new info on FF XIII, FF XIII Vs., Dragon Quest IX, Kingdom Hearts III, or Star Ocean 4? Square's showing at E3 couldn't be much worse. said by Watch_Me_Xplode i could nor agree more, i want more info on Star Ocean, Kingdom Hearts 3, and FFXIII and FFXIII Vs.

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ssjdagas

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I want Crisis Core now! ^^

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aravindashwin

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This lineup isnt what I expected....... No Crisis core!!! >:(

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Watch_Me_Xplode

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What a horrible lineup. :? No new info on FF XIII, FF XIII Vs., Dragon Quest IX, Kingdom Hearts III, or Star Ocean 4? Square's showing at E3 couldn't be much worse, honestly, even if they neglected to appear at all.

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KingKoop

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Where's Crisis Core? :|

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Osashimaru

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Crisis Core & Dissidia are absent from the list, well it's bound to show sometime it's too good to miss ._.

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deactivated-664d72e1dcd81

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In the hopes that our begging will be noted by someone that matters, I'd like to throw my hat in on the, "We want Chrono Trigger," bandwagon. Yes, it'd be fine to have a decent port to the DS, but I think that with Square and Enix together, there's no excuse for not putting together an amazing third installment. I have to believe there's more demand for a new Chrono title than there is for stuff like a Crystal Chronicles sequel...right?

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princeofgames90

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i like front mission its a nice sequal

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Grouchu

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And still no news on Crisis Core.

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JaMeS4418

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sounds good to me

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magical-hamster

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Front Mission's probably the best news out of all this (albeit old).

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X-7

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mfgamer, I agree to an extent. The Japanese market is really big. But So are the others. They would be smart to release FF titles on 360. I had to give them up for a 360 which was offering more(and still is) at the time.

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mfeinst

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To those who said that SE would never put a Final Fantasy game on 360 b/c of its poor sales in Japan, Japan means nothing to winning the market. If the 360 dominates in the US and UK, it's OVER. I don't care how poorly MS does in Japan, the percentage of the market they lose is minuscule compared to the rest of the world they are currently pwning.

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kappareign

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sounds like some good stuff :)

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ColonelGuile

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lightningbugx "If only Square could try to revive the Chrono series." You can blame FFXI and the producers for that. They were going to make another... Personally, I am sick of all these stupid FF games coming out. They are awesome games, and I'll probably get all the new ones coming for PS3, but damn . . . revive the series that actually made Square stand out. How about a Chrono Trigger remake? Who cares about the PS1 remake, that was lame. They are redoing FF2 and such, why can't they redo Chrono Trigger or Chrono Cross??

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davidmcc1989

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I'm looking forword to FF Tactics coming to the PSP. I didn't play the original, but I did play Tactics Advance, and I was hooked on that, so chances are this one will get me hooked as well. Question is: are they going to say anything about FF13 at E3, we'll wait and see.

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Handlerer

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Dissidia? DISSIDIAAAAAAAAAA!

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lightningbugx

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If only Square could try to revive the Chrono series.

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LonelyPrince

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Where's FFXIII!?

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ssj4_2004

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:o I didn't know they were making another final fantasy tactics game! sweet

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goldon

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cool beans

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DaMastaGangsta

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Stop wasting time on all those silly money machines and bring back some legendary stuff like chrono trigger!! or at least some descent stuff.. rpgs arent what they where back on the snes.. too much money involved, too much risks too be taken (which square doesn’t take anymore), too many people too satisfy and faaaaaaar too little crazy manga style!! just bring 1 rpg in unimaginable 2d/3d manga style, with a story an battle system as great as chrono trigger.. and satisfy your REAL fans

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householdman

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P4P What are you talking about? BFDelano is right, they would have been out of the biz ages ago if it weren't for FF's saving graces. Have you even played any of the FF's before FF7? Or are you just talking out you blow hole because you want to seem like you know what the hell you're talking about. Go listen to you're 50cent cds and leave the comments to the big boys.

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BurgerTime79

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P4P, you know when Square would of been out of business? WAY before FInal Fantasy ever came out. They made Final Fantasy as their "last" game they would ever make, and it turned out being a big hit. This game series is the foundation on which the company is built on. Now it seems like it's the cool thing to do, to make fun of people who enjoy the series or have an interest in Cosplay (which is a completely different subject all together). Also, many of you seem to forget that the games are made in Japan, where there are cultural differences. The US stereotype of what a man should be and always be shown does NOT have to be enforced into every little thing. *pfft* Do the men look like men? They always have! What do you expect them to look like? The guy on the Brawny paper towels? Some rap artist?

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MikeHumphreys

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"Are the characters going to be sexually ambiguous again, or will the men look like men this time? These games creep me out with all of their androgyny." Barret, Rude and Auron..

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jazilla

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Are the characters going to be sexually ambiguous again, or will the men look like men this time? These games creep me out with all of their androgyny.

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PoolShark

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10 was good....12 was good....13 will be good....

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Plays_4_Pants

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Squenix is probably the worst video game company of the 21st. If it wasn't for their pathetic fanboys, they would have gone out of business a looong time ago. Regular real gamers (and non cosplay/anime freaks) fail to remember a good game they've made. For me it was ff7. That was...at least 10 years ago.

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Panzerdrako

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we want front mission to psp as well !!!!

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clintm

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didnt last year square said that they were gonna show a playable demo of FFXIII in this years E3?

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fireemblems

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Kingdom Hearts rare?

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Dragonblade01

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looks like ffxiii and versus will have to wait until TGS

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skyman_1981

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No mention of FF13. I bet they ran into issues with frame rates and are rethinking EVERYTHING!

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SSDSkid

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Looks like Nintendo is Getting Square Enix back. Good job Nintendo!

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fugori

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Glad I didn't pick up Front Mission First while I was in Japan. Now I'd like to see Xenosaga Episode I & II (DS) localized as well. Revenant Wings looks amazing. It played very well from the short time I had with it. I'm interested in how it develops the character of Penelo, who was basically ignored in FFXII.

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dr_jashugan

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Square, we want Front Mission 5 for the PS2. 8)

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henry4th

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WHat? WHere's FF13 and VS13? How come I didn't see them mentioned here at all?

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N8A

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Alright more FFs and DQs

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zeus_gb

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More FF needed for PSP!

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gamer_girl15

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Yes a FF7 remake would be awesome! :D I wanted to see more info on FF13 also.

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DazKurupt

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I just wanted to see ff13 and vs, I cant believe they making all these remakes of the early ff's that already been remade. You know they know that if somethings to be remade it should be ff7 and I wouldnt mind a ff8 remake either ;) ff 1-6 should just be brought to us through psn store or xbl arcade or wii's thing IMO.

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Swedish_Chef

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They aren't "remakes". It's the same world, and it's the same style of gameplay, but the characters are almost always different and the story is new every time. So calling them remakes is kinda ignorant.

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Chirico_Cuvie

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When 90% of the product a company puts out is a rehash of a previous work, the lack of originality and continual raping of a zealous fanbase is glaring. I gave up on Square years ago.

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Ninjak

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where is the x360 support they talked about??? all i keep seeing remake after remake.

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Madroxcide

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shadystxxx Final Fantasy has to be the most milked franchise ever. Why do people buy re-makes of game's they have already played, If people did not buy this stuff square would be forced to make new game's. But i geuss people don't want new game's they are happy with their ff remake's. Not that i really care as i am one person who doesnt like final fantasy. I have played a few but i hate turn based rpg's, it makes no sense, it's like having a fight with someone only taking turns to punch each other in the face and whoever has grinded the hardest in the gym knocks the other person out. People like to see old favorites remade and updated with newer graphics to see their favorite characters come to life a lot more than they ever could before. Thats cool that you don't like turn based fighting but you are trying to relate a game that is not trying to be realistic in any way and relate it to actual life. Its a gameplay mechanic that forces strategy. I suppose you never played any other turn based games since rpg isn't the only style for that. Ever heard of Civilization? Yah turn based the reason a lot of people like it is that it gives them time to make a strategy and figure things out and really think about attacks they do, kind of like a game of chess.

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Lord_Cryptos

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I have played a few but i hate turn based rpg's, it makes no sense, it's like having a fight with someone only taking turns to punch each other in the face and whoever has grinded the hardest in the gym knocks the other person out. I suppose you also don't like shooters because you know, you can't really keep living after getting shot with 50 bullets. Racing games are stupid too because normal ppl would've died after crashing at 200+ mph. You don't like fighting games either because when you get slashed by some huge sword and engulfed by a fireball you should actually die and not get back up for a round 2 right? Its just a game.

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Lordofultima

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Front Mission DS? Excellent. Maybe I can finally put that handheld to use.

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