Square Enix’s output on the PS3 was odd, to say the least beyond HD remasters. The publisher had hits consistently from the SNES, PS1, and PS2 eras, but something changed on PS3. Square Enix’s efforts seemingly instead shifted to portable platforms like Sony’s PSP and Nintendo’s DS.
That’s where their innovative games were going likeThe World Ends With YouandCrisis Core: Final Fantasy 7. The company’s biggest titles on PS3, likeFinal Fantasy 13, were met with mixed responses. This meant that their B-tier titles were often overlooked. Should they have been or is Square Enix’s catalog of PS3 games worth looking into for modern ports?
Square Enix produced two games around this era that used similar gameplay mechanics perhaps to double down on their idea.The 3rd Birthdaytechnically came first in 2010 but only in Japan. It was the third game in theParasite Evefranchisealthough it was a lot different mechanically.
Players could take over control of NPCs who were running around in environments. That’s howMindJackwas set up as well, although it was its own thing. The story featured hacking into minds, terrorists, government conspiracies, and other surface-level futuristic mumbo jumbo. It all felt a bit clunky leading to some bad reviews. It’s probably one of the worst reviewed games Square Enix put out on PS3, according to Metacritic at least.
Square Enix built its brand on turn-based, action, and tactical RPGs. One of their niche tacticalfranchises isFront Mission, which features mechs.Front Mission Evolvedthrew the tactical gameplay aside and was instead an action spinoff that was seemingly aimed at fans who also enjoyed theArmored Coreseries.
There were some elements of the main games that carried over like mech customization. However, there wasn’t much to it as a basic model could get players to the end. It was okay for what it set out to do, but it didn’t excel at anything particularly well enough to stand out.
Murdered: Soul Suspectwas an ambitious adventure game with some combat moments. As the lead detective in a murder case, players were Ronan who was gunned down during the investigation. However, Ronan did not die and was instead turned into a ghost for mysterious reasons. Players could investigate crime scenes which were all seemingly connected to the main case along with the person who gunned Ronan down.
Some weird reaper-like enemies tried to suck out Ronan’s soul from time to time. They looked and acted like a Dementor from theHarry Potterfranchise.Murdered: Soul Suspecthad some good ideas, but they were built around a cluttered system overall.
Moon Diveris truly a forgotten game from this era and it is one of the few digital exclusives that Square Enix published. It felt like a spiritual successor to Capcom’sStriderfranchise, whichwas about ninjasand fast fluid combat and platforming. That’s exactly whatMoon Diveroffered to players as well, but it had one thing overStrider: multiplayer.
Players could team up with three of their friends in four-player co-op through sprawling 2D levels. It was challenging on its own otherwise, so multiplayer was definitely the focus of this action platformer. Digital games were still in their infancy at this time, which led to many games getting passed over alongsideMoon Diver.
Drakengardnever hit its stride in the West and yet it still received three main games along with two spinoffs. For those unaware,theNieRseriesis spun off from theDrakengardseries which undeniably became more popular than the main series. Also of note, whenDrakengard 3was released, it was in a blue case like PS4 games but it was never released on PS4.
Weird history aside,Drakengard 3starred a female warrior and her dragon who had to fight against her bewitching oppressors who tried to bring her down. One could interpret her as a villain, but the game is more complicated than that as are most games in this overall series. The story is definitely the thing to play this game for as the action combat is just fine.
Dragon Quest Heroes: The World Tree’s Woeand the Blight Below is a classic Square Enix title that is a bit long in the tooth. This was a collaboration with Omega Force most known for theDynasty Warriorsfranchise. This too was a Musou game with action combat meaning that players had to fight against hundreds upon thousands of classicDragon Questenemies like Slimes.
There was also a tower defense element to some levels wherein players had to fend off swarms of monsters around a central core.Dragon Questhas always been a bit behindFinal Fantasyin the West, so spinoffs like this often went overlooked. Musou games also aren’t for everyone. Despite these facts, there was a sequel and fans should definitely seek that one out at least.
