E3 unofficially kicks off a little earlier this year, with Microsoft's Natal conference starting on Sunday. Surely, there will be many game reveals, game demos, game release dates, game trailers, and other things that you might relate to games.Though huge bald dudes in space armour is still the 'in' thing amongst 'hardcore' gamers, there are sure to be some RPG gems hidden in the rough. Below is my annual stab in the dark on what to expect/look for/hope for/complain about from E3 (ranked from most probable to least probable):
Nintendo announces Xenoblade, The Last Story, and the next Legend of Zelda for 2010 release.
In my opinion, Nintendo is definitely the show to watch this year. With double the time set aside for their conference, the above three titles already confirmed in the works, and no needless gimmick to waste their show on (see Natal and Move), Nintendo is poised to rock our RPG socks off this year with their first party offerings alone.
Fable III to get a 360+Natal bundle for launch
Regardless of whether you like jumping around your living room like a crazy person or not, Microsoft is making a big deal out of it with their new motion sensing tech. And while I think their target audience for Natal is not me, they will try to get me to buy it anyway by packaging with something I do care about.
Dragon Age II officially revealed, will have an action-based battle system
Dragon Age: Origins was great, even if it took a half a decade to develop. EA, though, is planning on getting its sequel out in a much more timely fashion, hinting heavily that it will be out early next year. And considering the original’s console success, I expect to see a much more controller friendly sequel, most likely boasting some sort of action-based, uh, action.
Final Fantasy Versus XIII to also release on Xbox 360
Wada kind of hinted at this, then retracted his hint. But seriously, Square Enix’s exclusive days are long past. Whether or not Versus will be announced this year or some other time remains to be seen, but it seems pretty obvious that it will happen eventually. I suppose the real question is, will it too remind me that Final Fantasy has lost its magic? …Probably.
Tales of Graces to be released this year in North America
I don’t know if Namdai will announce this, or if Nintendo will take the initiative, but with the JRPG love settling on the Wii this year, skipping this one would be a drastic oversight. Since the Tales of games are pretty fickle when it comes to getting localized, I can’t move this one any higher on the list in good conscience.
Square Enix announces Valkyrie Profile 3 for 360/PS3
Rumours of this one have been sneaking into the limelight every now and again, and with no formal tri-Ace project announced at the moment, it would seem the next obvious reveal. Whether we’ll see it go timed exclusive like SO4, or multiplat right out of the gate like EoE is anyone’s guess, but it will be on both HD consoles sooner or later.
Atlus announces Persona 5 for 360/PS3
Atlus has been cautious about getting into HD games. Though their North American branch has been localizing the odd title, an Atlus-developed game has still evaded announcement to the point that some may conclude the company will sit HD out this gen. However, we know that Atlus has been hiring for a 360/PS3 project for a few years now. Is this the year the rip the curtain back and show us some HD RPG love? Will it be Persona 5? I hope the answer is a resounding ‘YES,’ but I suppose patience is a virtue.
New handheld Legend of Zelda to launch with 3DS this Autumn
Even though Microsoft and Sony are launching motion control projects this year, the real talk of the tech world is Nintendo’s mysterious new handheld. Reportedly boasting graphics to rival the Wii, and glasses-less 3D, Nintendo is aiming to take on Sony and Apple in one fell swoop. But what good is a handheld device without launch software? Perhaps a new Zelda title will help ease us all in.
Kingdom Hearts 3 announced for Wii
Square Enix has hinted that a new Kingdom Hearts reveal is in the stars for this year’s E3. Whether that is their already confirmed Kingdom Hearts Re: Coded for the DS, or something bigger is unknown, but if someone held a gun to my head and forced me to make financial decisions for the RPG giant, KH3 on the family-friendly Wii seems to make the most sense.
Microsoft announces Lost Odyssey II
Despite the long awaited release of Final Fantasy XIII earlier this year, Lost Odyssey is, in my opinion, still the best Final Fantasy since IX. If Microsoft would just kindly get to backing a sequel (of course with the cooperation of Mistwalker and feelplus), I would happily abandon the FF name all together. Don’t make me beg.
Well, there you have it. I'm hoping E3 doesn't disappoint this year. I'm honestly starting to get a complex about it.
3 comments:
All of these would be awesome if true. I don't think we're getting Tales of Graces though.
honestly, i could see ToG go either way. ToS2 came over because Nintendo helped make it happen, and with their JRPG push this year, i could see them doing something similar for ToG.
honestly, though, i'd give up every game on this list for Lost Odyssey II. (well, maybe not Persona 5.) ;P
really hope to see a new SMT title.
i wish it wasn't persona 5, but iut's better than nothing i guess.
i'd rather a new digital devil title, (yeah not saga since it's done, but yeah a new digital devil game nonetheless.)
DDS 1 & 2 were among my favorite ps2 rpg's.
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