E3 2009: Square Enix’s lineup surprises

It’s going to be a very busy E3 for Square Enix this year. The company is going to be showcasing 10 games this year, among them the elusive NIER, Final Fantasy XIII and Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers. Surprisingly, there’s no sign of The 3rd Birthday, Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep or Final Fantasy XIII: Versus.

The lineup of games that will be appearing is very robust, and covers every video game platform except the PlayStation 2. So, chances are Square Enix fans will find something to oogle at the event. Personally, I’m excited to see the Final Fantasy WiiWare games, NIER and Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days will be there.

Let’s look over the 10 games Square Enix has stated will be appearing at E3 2009:

Dissidia Final Fantasy
Platform: PSP
Tentative Release Date: August 25, 2009
Genre: Fighting / Action RPG
Description: An amazing fighting mashup featuring Final Fantasy characters from FFI to FFXI. It has a story mode and multiplayer mode, and is considered to be one of the most anticipated PSP games of 2009.

Final Fantasy IV: The After Years
Platform: Wii (WiiWare)
Tentative Release Date: June 1, 2009
Genre: RPG
Description: The Final Fantasy IV cell phone game sequel is brought to the Wii in episodic installments where players can learn what happened to the world of Final Fantasy IV after the game ended and the world was saved.

Final Fantasy XIII
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360
Tentative Release Date: 2010
Genre: RPG
Description: The latest Final Fantasy where a team of heroes fights an evil menace in Cocoon and Pulse.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers
Platform: Wii
Tentative Release Date: TBA
Genre: Action RPG
Description: Set after the crystals are gone, the Yukes are supposedly extinct and magic has left the world, players go through an epic action RPG adventure.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a Darklord
Platform: Wii (WiiWare)
Tentative Release Date: 2009
Genre: Tower Defense
Description: In the sequel to Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King, players star as Mira, the Darklord’s daughter. Her goal is to defend her home, an imposing tower, by placing building it taller and stronger and adding in all sorts of monsters and traps to defeat potential heroes.

Front Mission Evolved
Platform: PC, PS3, Xbox 360
Tentative Release Date: TBA
Genre: 3rd Person Shooter
Description: A new Front Mission game that once again has players handling mechs. It will feature a single player story and online multiplayer.

Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days
Platform: DS
Tentative Release Date: Fall 2009
Genre: Action RPG
Description: Players learn what Roxas’ life was like in Organization XIII for the 358 days he was separate from Sora. It also has online multiplayer, where everyone can pick what Kingdom Hearts or Organization XIII character they want to be as they undertake missions.

NIER
Platform: PS3, Xbox 360
Tentative Release Date: 2010
Genre: Action / Adventure
Description: The mysterious, unidentified Square Enix game will be appearing at E3. In this game a man named NIER must join with allies to find a cure for the Black Scrawl virus so he can save his daughter.

Order of War
Platform: PC
Tentative Release Date: Fall 2009
Genre: Real Time Strategic RPG
Description: A World War II strategy game where players choose to be the Americans fighting the Germans or the Germans fighting the Russians in 1944.

Supreme Commander 2
Platform: PC, Xbox 360
Tentative Release Date: 2010
Genre: Real Time Strategic RPG
Description: A game that can be played alone or online, players create and guide armies to fight against other armies to see who is the strongest.

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