Ever since that faithful day in Elementary School, when my teacher gave us a glimpse of her obsession with a game called Final Fantasy VII, I’ve been a huge fan of Square Enix. I started with the PSOne classics, backtracking to the older releases and their remasters to the point that I quickly saw the series as a timeless collection. Before Final Fantasy X had launched, I was so well-versed in the series that I had played every game at least in part across multiple consoles and followed the newest plans from the company as it was delivered by press outposts. This is why I made sure I was on the list of those given hands-on time with their newest games at PAX East this year as I’ve always loved this company.
During this closed doors press event, I was led to a special room with systems set up on each side, loaded with the latest demos of each new game. I was gratefully treated to a delicious lunch, complete with dessert, and offered a chair. While I was never treated rudely by anyone at PAX, Square Enix had a level of hospitality that I wasn’t used to. Given I asked to check out three games, I helped myself to some lemon tea and a pudding and sat down at the PS4 Pro to play Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age, Dragon Quest Heroes 2: Twin Kings and the Prophecy’s End, and Final Fantasy XV: Episode Gladiolus.
Final Fantasy XII: The Zodiac Age
Back on the PS2, I completed Final Fantasy XII, even though at one point I did have to use a Game Shark to get past a particularly annoying boss. Playing the HD remaster on PS4 is not only nostalgic, but also shows just how much the game holds up today. Of course, the graphics have been improved, with a ton of more detail added to the character models especially. Vaan and his crew have never looked so good. Although, the world they inhabit didn’t seem to translate as well. The landscape doesn’t seem like it got nearly the attention that the characters and monsters did, at least in this demo. I also felt that the Quickening abilities looked oddly blurry, which again could have been a fault of the demo. Although, the music seems to have gotten a welcome remastering, making each note and string swell sound amazing. Voice acting also sounds a step above the original release.
However, playing the game still feels awesome with the battle system’s MMO style of attacking and picking abilities. The demo I played was a mission I don’t remember playing, also taking place in an open field that eventually led me to a cave system dungeon. I spent a lot of time just playing around with the different abilities, noticing the new job system immediately. Characters grow in a completely different way now, more akin to the international version of the game. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to play with the character progression, but putting characters more into roles makes more sense as the previous system was daunting and a bit of a pain to figure out. Other game enhancing features like a speed mode to run the game quicker than usual and a challenging Trial Mode will also be included in this remastered release.
This demo ended in a boss fight with the Mandragora Prince and his buddies. This battle really highlighted how important it is to have a ranged character handy, as I found myself chasing these tricky critters all around the battlefield. Luckily, I could still chain together Quickening powers well enough and beat them in a matter of five or ten minutes. Sadly, there were no Summons to be had in this demo, which was one of my favorite aspects of Final Fantasy XII.
All in all, The Zodiac Age is looking to be the ultimate way to keep Final Fantasy XII alive and well. Like all the games in this series, it’s a timeless classic. I refuse to like Vaan though, Basch all the way! Look forward to its PS4 release on July 11th. Hopefully more and more entries in the series will make its way to the PS4. Square Enix have always been the masters of remasters in my book.
Dragon Quest Heroes 2: Twin Kings and the Prophecy’s End
Next up during my time at PAX East was the sequel to a hack and slash love letter to fans of another timeless series, Dragon Quest Heroes 2. While the first Dragon Quest Heroes wasn’t a substantial move forward in game design, it was a fun romp through the beloved world of Dragon Quest. Dragon Quest Heroes 2 adds more of the RPG elements found in the main series, giving players the ability to explore a world map and enter dungeon-like battle scenarios. For my demo, I was thrown right into the action from the onset of the adventure.
The story begins with a gorgeous cutscene that shows off just how well Toriyama’s style translates into a 3D space. Each character popped with color and each monster looked more lively with tons of details in their animations. Our main hero Teresia is a cute girl who dreams of being a knight, who reminds me a bit of a young Bulma. She is also accompanied by Razel, a dual sword wielding boy who trains Teresia in a tutorial for the demo. After this cutscene and becoming acquainted with some simple combat lessons, I got some dialogue to preface the simple opening to the story, which highlighted the writing. Dragon Quest has recently impressed me with its witty writing and injecting tons of personality into each exchange. This carries into Dragon Quest Heroes 2.
It wasn’t long before I was tossed into combat, which is just as flashy and easy to pull off as one would expect from the Omega Force pedigree. Sure, it lacks the complexity of games like Bayonetta or Dark Souls, but there’s something almost therapeutic about taking down waves of cute monsters with over the top attacks. Really, there’s not much more to say about the combat, other than that bosses are still awesome exchanges. The boss I battled had me jumping over its tail swipes and stabbing its back with as many hits as I could before it turned around. Once again, for long time fans of Dragon Quest, its awesome to see these classic monsters in a 3D world. There’s more scale to play with that just makes them more imposing than there ever was on the Game Boy.
I’ll admit I’m not the biggest fan of the Dynasty Warriors formula, as I consider it to be a bit lazy more often than not. However, I did enjoy my time with Dragon Quest Heroes 2 and with the added RPG elements and job changes for the main characters I could see myself having a damn good time with this title. Thirty years since its release and I still love those little blue Slimes. No wonder Squaresoft and Enix combined all those years ago.
Dragon Quest Heroes 2 is already out in Japan, where it was incredibly well-received. Square Enix is even giving the game a retro release of sorts for Nintendo Switch as Dragon Quest Heroes 1&2 (emulating the Dragon Quest 1&2 Game Boy game that got me into the series), even being a launch title for the system in Japan. Catch Dragon Quest Heroes 2 on PS4 and Windows PC on April 25th. The Nintendo Switch double pack will release on April 28th. There is still no word on an English Vita release, but if I had a guess it would be a digital only game if its released at all.
Final Fantasy XV: Episode Gladiolus
For my allotted time slot, I saved the best for last. Final Fantasy XV was a game I waited literally ten years for and even though the later half of the game was flawed for many players, I enjoyed my time with it. When I learned of DLC coming that let me play as the other party members, I was pretty stoked, especially since the first of these episodes stars Gladio. In this episode, Gladio goes on a journey to increase his power, all to protect Noctis as the world will need him most. To do this, Gladio tracks down Gilgamesh, the fabled strongest swordsman in existence. Defeating Gilgamesh and taking on his trials will take everything from Gladio, maybe even his life.
Immediately, this demo felt like a completely different game than Final Fantasy XV. Actually playing Gladio feels completely different than playing as Noctis. Noctis focused on warping around, darting in and out of combat and making decisions away from the scuffle. However, Gladio is more grounded with his massive sword feeling heavier and packs more punch. I spent each battle timing my shield and overwhelming foes with Gladio’s signature skills that build in intensity as higher combos are performed. Gladio also utilizes rage to boost damage and his MP regulates how long he can defend himself with his shield.
Because this form of combat isn’t nearly as complex, the UI takes up much less of the screen. Combine this with the slower nature of Gladio allows the developers to explore different ways to approach level design as well. Instead of open fields and massive monsters, this demo focused on tighter areas with complex visuals. I also felt that the dungeon I explored felt more foreboding due to the more deliberate nature of the game.
Playing this DLC feels like playing as Gladio and I can’t stress that enough. Everything about this episode is designed to embody this and I can’t wait to see how Ignis and Prompto will play in future episodes. Final Fantasy XV: Episode Gladiolus releases for just $4.99 on March 28th with the Season Pass being $24.99 and containing three additional pieces that will release later this year. Players can also jump into Score Attack and Final Trial after completing Gladio’s story.
Amazingly, after killing the boss in the dungeon and told that the demonstration was over, I noticed a well-dressed man chatting with our host in Japanese. After a quick discussion on what I thought of the demo and its use of more grounded combat, I was introduced to the man who was none other than Haruyoshi Sawatari, one of the main minds behind the DLC. Needless to say, I was a bit star-stricken as I was suddenly talking about deep game design concepts with someone who makes it happen in one of my favorite studios. We talked quite some time, which was interesting since I was being translated by our host Stephanie. I would have loved to have talked longer about some of the larger concepts of the series, but our talk on this DLC was definitely a highlight of PAX for me. I was blown away by the politeness of Square Enix at this event, as I was treated like a highly respected journalist, even though I still consider myself an amateur. It felt awesome to be there among these developers that I revere so much.
All in all, Square Enix didn’t have any world shattering announcements like they did when they announced the Final Fantasy VII remake, but what was shown all had that unmistakable quality and style that continues to make the company a highlight of the industry.
Now there were some mobile gaming announcements from Square Enix at PAX. One of which can be found here for KINGDOM HEARTS Union χ[Cross].
