Kingdom Hearts 3 is finally here. Part one of the Final Fantasy VII remake is coming in March. Apart from churning out more episodes of FFVIIR, what will Square Enix focus on next? Rather than considering the prosaic and realistic possibilities, I’ve put together an increasingly ridiculous wish list of things for them to spend their time on.
Remasters
In this era of ports and HD remasters, it can feel like every single title must have had a remake by now. Not so, and here are a few that could use a bit more love and attention.
- Chrono Cross: It never did manage to crawl out from the shadow of the enduringly brilliant Chrono Trigger, but Chrono Cross had a fair few things going for it. An innovative battle system, intricate story, vast numbers of recruitable characters, and an absolutely brilliant soundtrack all make this game worth checking out. But while I’ve stubbornly clung on to my PS1 discs for all these years, many people won’t have even had the chance to get a copy of the game, let alone play it. It’s time to bring Chrono Cross not only to nostalgic older games like myself, but to a whole new generation.
- Front Mission: I have to admit, I’ve never got very far with the Front Mission franchise – I played some of Front Mission 3 on PS1 and gave up pretty swiftly. Still, if the early games were nicely packaged in some kind of remastered collection, I would definitely give the franchise another shot.
- Xenogears: I’ve started Xenogears several times, but never managed to stick with it. However, I’m sure an HD remaster would get me to knuckle down and actually play through the entire thing.
And since the point of this article is to be as ridiculously demanding as possible, how about we get both a properly finished version of Xenogears, and all the content envisaged by Tetsuya Takashi as detailed in Xenogears Perfect Works? Yes, this is now the province of Monolith Soft, but we can dream of what have might have been.
English releases
No matter how obscure the game, how old, or how unlikely to sell in the West, I demand an English language release for the following games.
- Theatrhythm Dragon Quest: I’m not even that much of a Dragon Quest fan (although every year I promise that this will be the year I make inroads into the franchise), but I’ve put so many hours into both of the FF Theatrhythm games that I’m ready for more. Maybe the music and the gameplay aren’t as good, and maybe I’ll be disappointed, but I want the chance to find that out for myself.
- Chocobo Stallion: After many years of hankering after this PSOne chocobo farming and racing game, I did finally order a copy of the Japanese version – although I’ve yet to actually play it. Even so, if an English version of this game ever existed, I would jump at the chance to get fully immersed in the cut throat world of raising prize chocobos. FF7 just isn’t enough for me any more.
- Bahamut Lagoon: I’ve never played this RPG, but with some of the big Final Fantasy names attached to it, it seems like it must be a solid game – plus it has dragons! Even if it’s not that great, I just want the chance to add it to my collection.
Spin-offs and sequels
Square Enix is no stranger to milking every last drop of cash out of a franchise, but there’s still more they could do. Here are a couple of suggestions.
- Chrono Break: for years, fans thought there was going to be a third game in the Chrono series, and when Square Enix registered trademarks for the name Chrono Break, it seemed like all we needed to do was wait. But eventually those trademarks expired, and with various people having moved on from the company, it became clear that this was a game that would never exist. Nonetheless, let’s imagine for a moment that this idea was revived. Would Chrono Break feature time travel, parallel universes, or maybe both? In my mind, it would be an immersive experience where you could traverse different realities, affecting the timeline as you go. Yes, other games have done this to some extent, but Chrono Break would be far more involved and sophisticated, and set the standard of gaming for years to come.
- FFVIII universe: FFVIII has finally been released from purgatory and allowed to join its fellows on modern systems, but since this universe hasn’t been milked to death like certain other entries in the franchise, there’s scope to do more. The one thing I’ve wanted for years was a spin-off starring Seifer, Raijin and Fujin, but I’m willing to entertain other ideas. A Selphie-based rhythm game? Some sort of action-adventure with SeeD students, like an actually decent Type-0 type affair? Maybe Triple Triad online could be a hit.
- Theatrhythm series: While we’re at it, let’s have some more Theatrhythm games or expansions. There are plenty of excellent soundtracks I’d like to fully enjoy in rhythm game form, including but not limited to Nier, Nier Automata, Xenogears, Chrono Cross and Chrono Trigger. Imagine playing Song of the Ancients with cute chibi 2B, 9S, Devola and Popola.
As publisher
- Drakengard 3 and Nier: I love the lore of Yoko Taro’s worlds, but apart from Nier: Automata, I don’t really enjoy the gameplay that much. But imagine if Square-Enix commissioned PlatinumGames to do an overhaul and remake of both the original Nier and Drakengard 3. The same twisted storyline and complex characters, but now with some decent action gaming thrown in! It would surely be nothing short of amazing.
What outlandish things do you wish Square-Enix would focus on next? Leave a comment below.
