E3 2018: Square Enix Showcases Much More Than RPGs

Jada Griffin
Games
Games

Another year of E3 wouldn’t be the same without Square Enix dropping some bombshell, and this year was no different. During Microsoft’s press conference, we got an early glimpse of Just Cause 4, Kingdom Hearts 3, and Life Is Strange: Captain Spirit, but these franchises are just the tip of the Square Enix iceberg for announcements.

Kingdom Hearts 3

At this year’s Microsoft’s press conference, we got a look into the world of Frozen, but Kingdom Hearts 3 is so big we thought we’d cover it here as well. In the trailer, we saw more appearances from Monster’s Inc., Tangled, Frozen, and Wreck-it Ralph.

There was a quick peek at the residents of Twilight Town as well as Hercules, Toy Story, and more. It also hinted about Ansem’s connection to Roxas and were left with the discovery that Birth by Sleep‘s Aqua may have gone to the dark side. To see it all for yourselves make sure to check out the trailer.

As announced at the Microsoft event, Kingdom Hearts 3 is hitting shelves on January 29, 2019.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider

Lara Croft is back, and full of all sorts of new tricks and tactics in her war against Trinity. Shadow of the Tomb Raider is looking to be the biggest and most dangerous adventure Lara has been on. It looks like there will be more tombs, new animal threats, and even underwater gameplay. The hazards and improvised combat options look fantastic and Lara can blend in and use her surroundings more than any previous game in the franchise.

Shadow of the Tomb Raider comes out on September 14, 2018.

Final Fantasy XIV Under the Moonlight

Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood is getting a new update this summer that not only features new enemies but will also tie-in with Capcom’s biggest title of 2018, Monster Hunter World. Warriors of Eorzea will get the chance to take down Monster Hunter’s most prominent monster, the Crimson Winged Rathalos. Included with the Monster Hunter World update, there will be outfits, items, and even some emotes for players to show off their best Monster Hunter impersonations.

As well as the core 4.3 patch for the Under the Moonlight main scenario, Square Enix is also adding a new alliance raid dungeon for Return to Ivalice, adding new “Castrum Fluminis” trials, new side story quests for the Four Lords, a new dungeon called Swallow’s Compass, and multiple other quality-of-life updates to the duty finder while at the Gold SaucerLinkshells now work across worlds, and other social features.

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age

It’s war in the world of Dragon Quest, and it’s up to the hero to wield the light and defeat the darkness. Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age will feature a vast world with the flashiest combat the game has ever seen and an intriguing cast of teammates to help on your journey.

Dragon Quest XI: Echoes of an Elusive Age is scheduled to release on September 4.

Babylon’s Fall

A total shocker from the press conference, developer of 2017’s smash hit NieR:Automata and previously BayonettaPlatinum Games, unveiled a new IP called Babylon’s Fall. However, the developer only showed a timeline and two armored warriors in combat so there’s still more details to come for this exciting new title.

The game is set to launch in 2019, but the cryptic trailer left us with more questions than answers.

Octopath Traveler

Square Enix shared a brief look into Octopath Traveler‘s world of Astera and announced the eight heroes we can expect to play as. But other than that, the announcement revealed nothing new.

Octopath Traveler is scheduled to launch on July 13 exclusively for Nintendo Switch.

Just Cause 4

Just Cause 4 takes place in Solís and will be bigger and more beautiful than any game before it in the series. The game has included new extreme weather including blizzards, sandstorms, lightning, and tornadoes which will take the destructions and physics to the next level. Square Enix have also added microjets and jet skis, and have refined their driving tech.

The free-form story will allow you to advance as you see fit and there are new enemy archetypes, each with their own unique skills. But the most important new feature is the fact that they have upgraded the tether to have more links, more customizations, and even more applications inside of combat and out.

The game launches on December 4.

The Quiet Man

The Quiet Man looks like it’s a new action game featuring a deaf protagonist. The teaser was short but appears to mix live-action with in-game graphics for gameplay segments. Again, the announcement left us with very little information but apparently, Square Enix will share more details in August.

Square Enix, That’s It?

The other games Square Enix showed also left us with more questions than answers, and as expected, we didn’t get any news on the long-awaited Final Fantasy VII Remake. The conference wasn’t the best showing from the company in recent years, although they did at least give us a few things to look forward to in the coming months.

Jada Griffin
As the Director of Client Partnerships, Gaming at FANDOM. Jada is an Avid Gamer who roots for villains in Games & Movies. Her main fandoms are Zelda, FF, DMC, D&D and most things Marvel/DC. She always Maxes STR & LCK and lives life on hard mode while searching for Pizza & the next difficulty level.