The Biggest Moves and Mistakes Square Enix Could Make in 2017

Kingdom Hearts 3

The surprising collaboration between Square Enix and Disney that began back in 2002 has had numerous sequels, prequels, and spinoffs over the last 14 years. All of those have been well and good in the general sense, if not more than a little confusing in some ways (still no clue how you say 358/2 Days’ title), but the big Magoo here is Kingdom Hearts 3. Intended as the final chapter in the Dark Seeker Saga, all we really know is that Sora will be working with Donald, Mickey, and Goofy to stop Master Xehanort’s plan to start a second Keyblade War.

Footage and information about Kingdom Hearts III has been few and far between. While there’ll be returning worlds such as Olympus from Hercules, we’ll also receive new places to explore, like Big Hero 6’s SanFransokyo and Tangled’s Kingdom of Corona. We don’t even have a specific release window for KH3, let alone an actual date. While that’s likely to come in time, Square Enix could also improve on how they release this information. Even something as simple as a weekly or bi-weekly video about the progress of the game’s development would sate fans.

Even if the game isn’t going to see a 2017 release–odds aren’t looking good–more transparency about Kingdom Hearts III would be ideal. After No Man’s Sky, it’s been proven that announcing your game and playing close to the vest with footage and information may not work out in a studio’s favor, so it’s best to avoid to that at all points. It may also help to release a primer video for that story, because man, that thing is rather convoluted at this point. 

More Hitman

There were many surprises in the year of 2016, both good and bad. But IO Interactive’s Hitman was one of the more pleasant ones, taking what at first seemed like a rather debatable handling of episodic gaming and delivering one of the best experiences in the episodic genre. It definitely suits the stealth franchise, and with season one having recently wrapped, the question shifts to what Square Enix and IO can do for season two.

While not officially announced, it’s pretty much a given that there’ll be a season two coming. By the end of the final episode, all the big plot stuff is laid out and sets the stage for Agent 47’s next chapter. It’s sure to be a tense battle including tons of garroting, throat slicing, and body hiding, and we can’t wait for it. As long as they continue to deliver stellar content and provide plenty of incentive to return to older levels, we can’t wait to fulfill the next contract.

Celebrate Square Enix History

2017 is going to be a year of anniversaries for games, and for Square Enix in particular, that’ll mean the 30th anniversary of Final Fantasy, which they’ve already announced some plans for. Beyond that, there’s the 15-year celebration of Kingdom Hearts, their Bravely series will have reached the 5-year milestone, and IO’s Kane and Lynch series will be 10 years old as well.

We already know that Kingdom Hearts will be having something of a celebration, thanks to the remasters, but it’s unclear what’ll be done for Bravely Default or Kane and Lynch. Granted, Kane and Lynch may not be their biggest franchise, but they still have milestones that they can acknowledge. Whether that’s a flashy video or message from the developers to a simple Twitter post asking fans about their favorite moments from the games, there’s plenty to celebrate in the year of 2017 that can show how far they’ve come.

Handle Announcements Better

This one may not be exclusively a Square Enix problem, but they do need to work on this as much, if not more, than any other developer or publisher in 2017. As Final Fantasy XV’s last minute delay taught us, it’s best to actually make sure that you’ll be able to hit those milestones before preemptively announcing a release date.

To use a better example: Kingdom Hearts III and Final Fantasy VII Remake. While we all likely knew that the former was going to come eventually, the lengthy gap between announcement of the game and its future release is a little bit of a sore spot. Since the odds of one or both of them coming in 2017 are still currently slim, despite our many wishes, maybe they should learn to not announce games until they’re fairly close to release.

Branch Out with Your Movies

Look, Square Enix, we understand why you’d want to make more Final Fantasy movies. The games have reached the point where their graphics look like real films in and of themselves, they’ve got pretty good voice acting, and some wicked fight choreography. Kingsglaive was a bit of a mixed bag, and Spirits Within was…a thing that happened, but Advent Children is still a damn good time. But there is more under your belt than Final Fantasy that could benefit from a good movie.

Hitman may not be the golden goose that you’re looking for — that may actually be better suited to TV — and we won’t know how Tomb Raider shakes out for another year or two. However, there’s other franchises that you own that could make for compelling films. Dragon Quest has a cutesy, almost Studio Ghibli-like feel that would enrapture kids. Just Cause could draw in the crowd who loves the over-the-top action of the Fast and Furious movies, and when you add in grappling hooks, that just increases the fun.

This also allows you to court an audience that you normally don’t. Not that there’s anything wrong with appealing to just fans, which the Final Fantasy and Hitman films have certainly done, but their core concepts also seem to require you to have more than a passing familiarity with the source material. Something like Just Cause doesn’t really need an explanation beyond “a guy stopping an evil regime in a foreign country,” and Deus Ex is literally just Blade Runner with sharper angles and sunglasses. There’s plenty for you to work with here, you just have to embrace it.