Predictions: What will Square Enix show off on the 18th?

Back in TGS 2010 Square Enix showed off glimpses, literally, of Final Fantasy versus 13 and Agito 13. I was extremely disappointed by how short the teaser was especially since both games have been in development for about 4 years now. However despite the short footage my mind was blown by how good those two titles looked in both graphics and gameplay. At the end of the footage Square Enix promised that on the 11^th of January  they will hold a conference talking strictly about the Fabula Nova Crystallis Final Fantasy 13 series. The date was later pushed back to the 18^th of January and the title changed to  1st Production Department Premier conference.

If you didn’t know, the 1^st production department is in charge of both the Kingdom Hearts and Final Fantasy franchises.  This change in the conference’s title means that more Final Fantasy titles maybe revealed in addition to a new Kingdom Hearts game.  The conference is in two days and my excitement is through the roof. Because I am literally going nuts, I wanted to share my thoughts and predictions as to what Square Enix has up its sleeves.

Final Fantasy versus 13:

The hype behind Versus 13 is 10 times greater than Final Fantasy 13.

Versus 13 is probably going to be the biggest talk of the conference. I’m talking story, gameplay, setting, mechanics details. We know that Versus 13 will be a lot bigger than FF 13, and will have a much larger environment to explore. We also know from the TGS teaser  that the game’s battle system is heavily action packed even more so than the Kingdom Hearts franchise. I really hope that Square Enix doesn’t screw up the game’s story and provide one that is reminiscent of the excellence of FF 7&8. The game will most probably remain a Sony exclusive. Although I hope it releases this year, I have my doubts and I think It will probably be released by Q1 2012.

Final Fantasy Agito 13:

Agito 13 is possibly the last major title released on the PSP. The game has focuses on war between countries and revolves around a group of characters attending a military academy. Not much detail about the game’s battle system have been shown so far other than that it has a similar system to Final Fantasy 7: Crisis core. I am hoping that the game capitalizes on multiplayer elements as Square said it would. Something reminiscent of MGS: Peace Walker’s Co-op system would be quite interesting. Will probably get a summer 2011 release date.

A new Kingdom Hearts game:

This will happen. Trust me. A new Kingdom hearts game is going to be announced. I Don’t think its Kingdom Hearts 3 yet, but it’s quite possible that this maybe the first Kingdom Hearts on next-gen consoles. Will probably be a PS3 exclusive, and hopefully adds to the main storyline of the series. It will get released sometime in 2012.

Hopefully we get to see more of Sora, Donald, and Goofy!

Final Fantasy 13-2:

Final Fantasy 13 was a good game. I enjoyed it quite a lot, but there were a lot of glaring errors with the game. In recent news it seems that Square Enix has registered a domain name for Final Fantasy 13-2. The game looks to be quite real, and Square should emphasize on making the game bigger, revamping the battle system, and providing more end game content. I have a hunch that the game will release in Japan at least by the end of the year.

Dissidia Duodecim:

Dissidia was a great addition to the PSP library. I personally spend hours and hours leveling up my characters and enjoying a real fun and engaging fighting system. Dissidia Duodecim is the prequel to Dissidia and is going to have a larger roster of characters and a new story mode experience. More characters will be announced and a more detailed explanation of the main story mode and multiplayer will be emphasized on in the conference. The game is already set to be released in Europe this coming March.

Square Enix needs to WOW everyone in the audience and the world with the footage and the announcements it will make. Their recent financial prediction for this year has been extremely reduced due to the failure of Final Fantasy 14 and the delay of Dues EX: Human Revolution. Square Enix needs to show us that it still has more cards to play in such a competitive environment.