2010 Square Enix Games

Welcome to a new year and another great lineup of video games from our heroes over at Square Enix! Sure, some of the games we were promised last year have been delayed, but I’m happy to say most have definitive release dates now, so check out some of the next stories in your favorite series and make a gaming schedule for 2010!

Final Fantasy XIII (PS3 and X-Box360)

First appearing at E3 back in 2006, the newest Final Fantasy story will become available in North American and PAL regions on March 9, 2010. XIII belongs to the Fabula Nova Crystallis collection, which includes two other games under the XIII title, although these have yet to get a release date of anything other than, TBA. The story follows a resistance team who fights to stop the purging of civilians and features a former solider named, Lighting. This game proves to be especially interesting, as no other Final Fantasy release has had a female lead, with the exception of X-2, which stems from its predecessor, X, where the main character was Tidus, not Yuna.

Final Fantasy XIV (PS3 and Windows)

Said to be released sometime within the 2010 year, Final Fantasy XIV is like XI, as it will be a massive, multiplayer online, role-playing game. The title is suppose to be released in all regions at the same time and will be available in French, German, English, and Japanese. The story follows the nations of Eorzea being challenged by the Garlean Empire. They banded together despite their past warring so they could repel the common enemy, however, the Empire never invaded, which left an enormous amount of soldiers and mercenaries without jobs. The game is said to have at least five playable races and four different disciplines which are, War, Magic, Land, and Hand.

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep (PSP)

While us Kingdom Hearts fans were hoping to get this title released last year so we could learn more about the three mysterious characters shown during the secret ending of Kingdom Hearts 2, it still is, most unfortunately, not yet out. However, the game has just been put on sale in Japan on January 9, 2010, where it was also sold in a limited edition bundle, so our time can’t be far off! General internet rumors put the release date somewhere within the months of June and July and realistically, that doesn’t seem too farfetched. Referred to by Nomura as Episode 0, Birth by Sleep is the prequel to Kingdom Hearts 1, taking place ten years before Sora’s first adventure and the three characters are keyblade apprentices in search of their lost master.

The 3rd Birthday (PSP)

This game is the third entry in the Parasite Eve series, although this is a spin-off title, which is why the name, ‘Parasite Eve’ was excluded. One of the designers of this to-be-released game, sometime in the year of 2010, is Tetsuya Nomura, lead director and character designer of such Square Enix series like Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. The 3rd Birthday, though lacking in information, seems it will follow Aya Brea as the main character while she responds to an attack on Manhattan by creatures called, the Twisted. The game, said by director, Hajime Tabata, will be a true third person shooter.

Nier (PS3 and X-Box 360)

Nier, known as Nier Gestalt in Japan and there an X-Box 360 exclusive, will be released in North America sometime in the spring of 2010 on both the X-Box and Playstation 3. The Playstation 3 exclusive of the game, known as Nier Replicant in Japan, will not be leaving the country, as Square Enix designers were said to believe that the younger Nier will appeal better to only Japanese audiences and the older Nier was better for the Western gamers. The only major differences are said to be the aesthetics of Nier and his relationship with the character, Yonah. The story follows Nier as he searches for a cure to the Black Scrawl virus, which has infected his daughter. The game also features a hermaphrodite swordsman, Weiss, who serves as Nier’s access to magical spells and a demonic weapon named, No. 7.

Star Ocean: The Last Hope (International Version) (PS3)

This version of The Last Hope is a PS3 exclusive, featuring additional content as well as dual voices, (Japanese and English) and multiple subtitle options. The Playstation 3 release will be February 9, 2010. The story takes place on Earth in the year of S.D. 0010, where the planet is deteriorating and mankind is forced to live underground after WWIII has broken out.

Other Games

Square Enix is pretty good at keeping everyone on the edge of their seat, waiting for news conferences and reveals at conventions to kill rumors and set facts straight, which is why some of the following games have little information on them. Supreme Commander 2, a real-time strategy game is set to release in March on Windows and X-Box 360, there is news of a Dragon Quest X to be released on the Wii and Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Reverie for the Nintendo DS sometime within the year.