Square Enix has been showing plenty of support for the PlayStation 4 so far. In addition to recently releasing Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, the company also has the Dissidia Final Fantasy reboot, Dragon Quest Heroes, Dragon Quest Heroes 2, Final Fantasy XV, Kingdom Hearts 3 in addition to Star Ocean 5: Integrity and Faithlessness in the pipeline. Shinji Hashimoto, the producer at the company, recently hinted that more game announcements will be coming in the future as well. Below, you can find our wish list of games that Square Enix should announced for the PS4.
About Remasters
Before we start the countdown, let’s take a look at a few remastered releases that we don’t mind seeing on Sony’s current-gen console. With Kingdom Hearts 3 being released on the PS4, it would make plenty of sense for Square Enix to port Kingdom Hearts HD 1.5 Remix and Kingdom Hearts HD 2.5 Remix to the platform as well (hopefully with Kingdom Hearts 3D: Dream Drop Distance included). It would also be great if the company release a PS4 port of the enhanced Final Fantasy VIII PC version in addition to re-mastering Final Fantasy XII and Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King.
The above-mentioned remastered releases should be much cheaper to develop for when compared to creating new games from scratch. Hopefully, Square Enix will consider porting some of the classic titles to the PlayStation 4.
With that said, you can find our list of the top ten new videogames that Square Enix should announce for the PlayStation below.
10. New Big Budget JRPG I.P.
While Square Enix has a big stable of intellectual properties, it has been a long time since the company has to rely on something other than Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy and Kingdom Hearts. Creating a new JRPG with a big budget should bring a lot of excitement to fans of the company as well as curious onlookers who weren’t previously interested in the prior Square Enix titles.
9. Bushido Blade 3
For the uninformed, the Bushido Blade series composes of fighting games with several interesting mechanics. One of which is that you can die from one perfectly-timed attack from your opponent. These quick fights are made even more intense as you can also get your limbs damaged. A third installment of the series, with HD graphics and online multiplayer, should please a lot of fans looking for a different type of game from the fighting genre.
8. Front Mission 6
Front Mission is one of the more underrated franchises from Square Enix. The games are typically turn-based tactical RPGs where you get to control “Wanzer” giant robots, which are highly customizable. The last mainline release was Front Mission 5: Scars of the War on the PlayStation 2, so it would be great seeing the series make the jump to HD (Front Mission Evolved came out for the PS3 and Xbox 360 but it was an action-based spin-off).
7. Vagrant Story 2
While the original Vagrant Story came out in 2000, it is still fondly remembered due to its complex battle system where you can target specific limbs of enemies. Not to mention that it also has a compelling and mature storyline. A sequel that addresses some of the minor issues from the first game (such as the sometimes troublesome camera as well as the lack explanation of the combat mechanics) should easily get plenty of critical acclaim.
6. Final Fantasy X-3
After initially teasing the possibility of Final Fantasy X-3, Square Enix denied that a third game of the Final Fantasy X series is in development. With that said, the world of Spira is one of the more fascinating settings in any JRPG. So, returning to it once again under different circumstances would be great. If they do decide to develop a sequel, however, Square Enix should steer clear of focusing on Tidux and Yuna as a lot of fans already did not like the tone and plot of X-2.
5. Nier 2
The first Nier was a flawed game that ended up being loved by many thanks to its excellent soundtrack, innovative new game plus in addition to the heartbreaking story. It was a title that was definitely better than the sum of its parts. A sequel on the PlayStation 4 that fixes some of the major issues associated with the graphics and gameplay should help the series get the mainstream attention that the first game couldn’t achieve.
4. Parasite Eve 3
Both Parasite Eve and Parasite Eve 2 masterfully combined JRPG elements with survival-horror. Unfortunately, Square Enix took a massive step back with The 3rd Birthday on the PSP. The company should bring back what made the series great with Parasite Eve 3 on PS4, especially when you considered that the survival horror genre is seemingly on the rise again with games like The Evil Within and P.T.
3. Valkyrie Profile 3
The original Valkyrie Profile is one of the most unique JRPG experiences with its heavily-inspired Norse setting and reliance of 2D for exploration. The combat is also quite fun as you have to time you party’s attack to get the most out of one turn. The sequel, Valkyrie Profile 2, further expanded on the battle mechanics by adding the ability to target specific parts of an enemy. With two excellent games under its belt, another mainline installment for the PS4 seems like a no brainer.
2. Chrono Break
Even after many years, Chrono Trigger is still considered by many to be one of the best JRPGs of all time. Being able to travel through time and changing the course of history, especially in new game plus, hasn’t really been done as well since. While disappointing to fans of the original, the sequel, Chrono Cross, was also an excellent game with its own unique flavor. The Chrono Break trademark was registered way back in 2001 although nothing ever came of it. Hopefully, Square Enix will finally develop a sequel to the fan-favorite series.
1. Dragon Quest XI
After skipping the PlayStation platforms for the past several years, the Dragon Quest series is making its triumphant return to Sony’s systems with Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woe and The Blight Below as well as the recently-announced Dragon Quest Heroes 2.
With any luck, Square Enix will be convinced that the next mainline single-player game of the series should be developed on the PlayStation 4. The last major console release, the above-mentioned Dragon Quest VIII: Journey of the Cursed King, really got a lot of western JRPG fans into the series. So another high budget installment should help revitalize the franchise outside of Japan.
As you can see above, Square Enix has more than enough potential projects that could be released for the PlayStation 4. Hopefully, some of the future announcements from the company will feature these projects.