Revenge of the annoying countdowns: Square Enix hints at 'new game'

by Jem Alexander { Jun 26th 2009 at 12:15PM }

Yes, another countdown. Don't worry, we hate them as much as you do, but Japanese publishers seem to love them. This time it's Square Enix's turn to announce a new (or, knowing Square Enix, old) game through the medium of time itself. The countdown takes place on a blank canvas with a landscape sketch taking shape in the bottom hand corner, along with the number four. We imagine this will expand to fill the page as the countdown makes its way to zero, which will occur on July 6.

There's also some very faint music, which will probably get louder as the countdown proceeds. It sounds like an old-school MIDI to us, though we, along with our pals Shazam and Midomi, don't recognize it. It could be a remake, but at this point there's not much to go on. Hopefully we'll find out more when the countdown finishes, but nowadays we can't even be certain about that ...

[Thanks, Sean]

Tags: countdown, square-enix

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

sketchampm @ Jun 26th 2009 12:20PM

Chrono Trigger/Cross sequel please?

tetheredwings @ Jun 26th 2009 12:29PM

It must be, considering a couple months ago they made the people who were making their own ROM sequel to cease.

Either that or another lame Final Fantasy Spin off game for a Nintendo system.. (cough.. insert a Crystal Chronicles name here..)..

cjshrader @ Jun 26th 2009 12:36PM

tetheredwings,

If by "a couple months ago" you mean for 10 years now, then you'd be correct.

THE WICKER MAN (BWF) (GT: Dalek Prime) @ Jun 26th 2009 12:40PM

Stop reporting on the timers then. I hate them and they always turn out to be sub par.

BigD145 @ Jun 26th 2009 12:41PM

The music is all wrong for Chrono.

Snowblind @ Jun 26th 2009 3:10PM

The Crystal Chronicles games are actually really good. Dungeon crawling at its finest, and the new Wii single player one looks really good too, definitely more interesting than any of the XIII games.

sjenky @ Jun 26th 2009 10:34PM

The japanese believe it's Romancing Saga 4, so I'll go with that..

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 26th 2009 12:22PM

Don't you actually have to make good games in order to hype them by making announcements of a countdown to an announcement? It was one thing when Kojima was doing it, cause ya know...Metal Gear kicks ass.

Neuromancer @ Jun 26th 2009 12:25PM

I don't care who you are, it's inexcusable.

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 26th 2009 12:27PM

I agree, I hate this whole announcing announcements fad too. But when people who don't even make good games anymore start doing it too, that's when it's crossed the line. It's officially time to end this stupid fad now.

WINterfang @ Jun 26th 2009 12:32PM

But Squarenix does good games.

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 26th 2009 12:35PM

Yeah they did 10 years ago, but certainly not this gen.

WINterfang @ Jun 26th 2009 12:39PM

Well they have done that DS game TWEWY and all the sequels and remakes on DS has being quite good.

mr nimblewick @ Jun 26th 2009 12:41PM

I was going to argue with tmac, then I remembered that the last two SE games I bought are the horrible FFIII remake and the crap-on-a-crap-cracker Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2.

McWilly @ Jun 26th 2009 12:48PM

Only according to PS3 fanboys. So that makes you....

Doreo (Psn-doreo503) @ Jun 26th 2009 12:52PM

Um tmac... Dragon Quest VIII, that was from 2005 and it wasn't a good game... IT WAS A GREAT GAME!!!! Another example would be Kingdom Hearts 2 from 2006 and The World Ends With You from 2008. Let's keep adding to the list of good games that should be coming out from SE and that would be Final Fantasy 13 Versus (Kingdom Hearts Team), Final Fantasy Dissidia, Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep, etc.

Now I'm not crazy about Square Enix, but they deserve credit where credit is due.

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 26th 2009 12:56PM

I've played very few games that were more boring than DQ 8 for ps2, and besides level 5 made that anyway. Kingdom Hearts 2 was an abomination of a game compared to the first one (which wasn't that good either, but was ok).

TWEWY? I'm not commenting on a handheld game that oozes traditional JRPG mediocrity. You know, spiky haired people with belts and zippers everywhere, all that stuff.

The console games they've been involved with this gen have been beyond awful, like Last Remnant and Infinite undiscovery.

Doreo (Psn-doreo503) @ Jun 26th 2009 1:02PM

Well tmac the reviews prove everything and just because the game isn't worthy of praise from the almighty tmacairjordan87, doesn't mean they aren't good games. A company can't just cater to one individual, they cater to entire audiences and many people have liked Square Enix's games. So just because you don't personally like them, doesn't mean they aren't good titles. I guess one could say that this is all very opinionated, but I can say that you will find many people that disagree with you.

For example Kh1, Kh2, and DQ VII were greatest hits titles. That would mean that at least 400,000 people bought that title in that area. Now not necessarily everyone is going to like that title but I can guarrantee you not all 400,000 people are going to dislike.

WINterfang @ Jun 26th 2009 1:03PM

Now that's just whining, Just because you didn't liked anyway they have release on the past years doesn't mean every single one of those games are bad.

but I don't know what am I doing defending squarnix I rarely play RPGs.

Doreo (Psn-doreo503) @ Jun 26th 2009 1:03PM

it... *Forgot the it at the end, lol*

Taylor @ Jun 26th 2009 1:04PM

DQ8 was probably one of the greatest rpgs we've had in the past console generation. I'm not sure how you consider it boring, but if you like TRADITIONAL JRPGs then this game delivered on every level.

I will agree, they have not yet produced a good game for this gen's consoles (exluding handhelds), but hopefully FF13 will live up to the hype.

Fun DMC @ Jun 26th 2009 1:19PM

I agree with Tmac. Lately, Square Enix has been able to sit on their laurels and capitalize on nothing but nostalgia and the 'omg buy everything regardless of price or relevancy' nature of their great number of fanboys and fangirls. They have their occasional gem, but they've never been able to bring out the same volume of great games that they did during the PS1 era, and it's because they #1 aren't going to change anything about the way they write stories or design characters - for the most part, it's going to be the same cliche schlock we've already heard or seen in ten thousand other SE games, and #2 because THEY DON'T HAVE TO CHANGE ANYTHING, because many SE fangirls and boys are both unfathomably loyal and wear the finest rose tinted goggles money can buy when it comes to SE games.

I could go into depth about every Square Enix game since Final Fantasy X and why I haven't liked them much if at all, but hell, I could fill a novel doing that, so I'll save it. Fuck, it's not even just the games themselves that peeve me - Square has the audacity to price their games way higher than any other games on each respective system - which is in no way indicative of the quality of the games themselves, but of the loyalty of the fangals who'll buy Square Enix's shit regardless of the price.

Baaaaaaaaaah

Fun DMC @ Jun 26th 2009 1:21PM

"I'm not sure how you consider it boring, but if you like TRADITIONAL JRPGs then this game delivered on every level. "

Tradition = the same for years and years.

Old RPGs, from the NES and early SNES era, weren't able to deliver truly engaging stories because the technology didn't allow for it. Dragon Quest stemmed from that era, but aside from Dragon Quarter, they've NEVER advanced their story telling technique. I like RPGs, but Dragon Quest 8 was a chore to play, because it didn't do much to keep me interested, something that might have been excusable due to technical complaints years ago, but in this day and age.... come on.

Doreo (Psn-doreo503) @ Jun 26th 2009 3:40PM

How did I get voted down for talking about the good games Square had made? That makes no sense.

Girugamuk (Moptimus Slimed) @ Jun 26th 2009 4:00PM

"TWEWY? I'm not commenting on a handheld game that oozes traditional JRPG mediocrity. You know, spiky haired people with belts and zippers everywhere, all that stuff."

so the game is bad because of...........character design?

tmacairjordan87 @ Jun 26th 2009 5:41PM

I don't know if it's good or bad since I don't have a DS, but everything about it seems like generic jrpg garbage which has been used in square games forever now. There's a good reason why those games don't sell very well anymore, outside of FF (which is driven largely by its name anyway).

Shagittarius @ Jun 26th 2009 12:22PM

Sweet a 'Simon in the Land of Chalk Drawings' rpg!

Neuromancer @ Jun 26th 2009 1:11PM

You cheeky bum-looker!

MAtt @ Jun 26th 2009 12:22PM

me thinks a new kingdom hearts

Preston @ Jun 26th 2009 12:25PM

Considering they JUST released a Kingdom Hearts DS game? I doubt it.

doreo @ Jun 26th 2009 12:47PM

I don't think a Kingdom Hearts ds game just recently being released in Japan guarantees that the chance of a true Kingdom Hearts sequel for Ps3 or multiplatform (even though a multiplatform KH wouldn't make sense due to it being exlsuive to Ps2 and handhelds.) Hopefully it is indeed KH3 for the ps3!