Square Enix Tokyo Game Show News Tidbits

I feel like the Square Enix fanbase has probably been waiting a while for TGS this year, after the performance at E3 which this author was underwhelmed. The Tokyo Game Show, though, is right in Squenix' wheelhouse - it's the best chance the company has to get its core properties out in front of a group of gamers who remain enamored of everything the company does.

They did not disappoint.

We'll start first with Final Fantasy XIII-2, which naturally was the largest individual game on display this year. It's being released on 15 December in Japan, with a near-obligatory-in-Japan PS3 bundle. It will have post-launch DLC. It will have not one, but two theme songs in Japan, sharing a melody but with different arrangements and lyrics. One of the performers is Charice, who might be known to some American readers from her three-episode arc on "Glee" last year; the gist of the news seems to imply that Charice's track will be present on virtually all non-Japan copies of the game for both consoles. There were also two trailers at TGS, one for each console, which debuted a couple of new characters named Yaru and Kaias. The trailers also appear to reinforce the notion of time travel as a gameplay and plot mechanic. One trailer was also Kotaku did one better by actually grabbing some gameplay footage from the Xbox demo kiosk. The second video even shows off the giant Megatron hand from earlier screenshots - in battle!

Squenix are also supporting the new Playstation Vita with a few games; announced at TGS this year were both Lord of Apocalypse and the fantastically-named Army Corps of Hell. Both appear to be action RPGs from first blush.

On the MMO front, the company showed off a long-form video for Dragon Quest X, the recently-announced foray into online multiplayer for the DQ franchise. Reaction is decidedly mixed, possibly even more so than when Final Fantasy XI was first announced; however, some people are likening the game more to Phantasy Star Online than FFXI or WoW, and that might be enough to find the game a niche when it's released.

Oh, and do you like Kingdom Hearts? Have you been wanting more information about Dream Drop Distance for the 3DS? Well, there isn't that much. However, it is slated for a "Spring" 2012 release in Japan, which means we might yet get it over here next year. Not only that, it even gets a crossover character from The World Ends With You, which I'm told is one of the best reasons to ever pick up a Nintendo DS.

The "business days" of TGS have wrapped up already, thanks to the time difference between most of us and Japan, so that will probably do it for the big news for Squenix fans from the conference. It's open to the public for the weekend, though, so perhaps some more leaked video or other media will emerge - just don't bet on any further groundbreaking news.

Note: Seems like andriasang is having some issues today - the links work, I promise, just keep trying.

Source: andriasang, Kotaku