By Steven Rondina
Well, E3 has come and past with an impressive showing from Nintendo and some key announcements from Sony and a generally disappointing presence from Microsoft (they’re not too great at the conventions yet). Now comes the Tokyo Game Show, the Japanese equivalent of E3 where the overseas (over the Pacific, that is) publishers really come out in force. But Microsoft isn’t planning to slouch off this time, either. Here are some key things that you can expect at the TGS:
Capcom Zombie and Demon Slayers
The PS3’s playability didn’t draw a crowd at E3 like the Wii did, and one of the main reasons was that there just weren’t too many high-profile game present. Well, Capcom is lining up to show just how great the PS3 can get with Devil May Cry 4 and Resident Evil 5. Many were disappointed by the notable absence of these two huge games, but Capcom stated that they would push these two to let them be truly unveiled (as in PLAYABLE) at this year’s TGS. While only Devil May Cry 4 is confirmed to be there, it’s likely that we’ll at least see a trailer for Resident Evil 5.
RPGs Abound
There is a load of them, big and small, that are likely to make a showing across all platforms. Microsoft has their big two from Mistwalker (a developing team primarily made up of veterans of Squaresoft and Enix back from the Chrono Trigger, FFVI days), Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, at least one of which (Blue Dragon) will be present in playable form.
Namco-Bandai’s Tales series has three installments that are going to be present, being Tales of Phantasia for the PSP, Tales of Destiny for the PS2 and Tales of the Tempest for the DS and alongside it is the much-anticipated-by-otakus .hack//G.U. series (the //G.U. games are already one deep in Japan, while they are making their debut in America later this year).
The upcoming MMORPG, Phantasy Star Universe will be on display for the PC (though the title is also slated for the Xbox 360). There are many, many more but who cares? Final Fantasy has a plethora of games coming out which are sure to vacuum the TGS attendees. Four portable Final Fantasies are slated for release. Ports of the SNES classics, Final Fantasy V and VI are going to join Final Fantasy I, II, and IV on the GBA, a strong boost for the nearly deceased handheld. To complete the old-school FF cycle, Final Fantasy III for the DS is going to be shown off, and is definitely one of the most highly-anticipated DS titles ever.
Last but not least is the final installment in the Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core. Gameplay details are still relatively unknown when it comes to Crisis Core, but we do know that it’s focusing on Zack, the black-haired swordsman who Cloud steals the life of, and that the game has the best graphics there is on the PSP. Oh, and you can’t forget about Final Fantasy XIII.
Nothing From Nintendo
Yeah, there is going to be a load of DS and GBA stuff on-display (not much for the Cube, though) from the likes of Namco-Bandai and Ubisoft, but Nintendo themselves took the TGS off, going with their own personal convention earlier this month. Because of that, nobody can expect any details on Twilight Princess, Smash Bros Brawl or any of the other big first-party titles.
Way Too Many Cell Phone Games
According to IGN, there are 125 games for cell phones. That’s the overall highest-represented platform behind PC at the Tokyo Game Show. While this isn’t really an overall fault for the TGS, it’s just a general point of interest that there is such an incredible variety of games in Japan…for CELL PHONES. It’s just somewhat ridiculous that these games would not end up on the DS or GBA or something that is NOT A CELL PHONE.
Fighting Games
They are everywhere and that’s just awesome. The big two are, of course, Virtua Fighter 5 and Tekken 6. These two PS3 exclusives are definitely the most-anticipated of fighting games at the TGS, and are two of the biggest coming to their console.
That isn’t all, of course. SNK is bringing us an Xbox Live Arcade game similar to Street Fighter 2: Hyper Fighting with Fatal Fury Special, along with two compilation packs consisting of past Fatal Fury games (which probably won’t end up in America). Also from SNK come two blasts from the KOF past with the KOF: Nesutsu Chapter, a compilation made of King of Fighters 99-2001 and King of Fighters ’98 Ultimate Match, a remake of quite possibly the greatest King of Fighters game. Add to that a handful of other games like Battle Stadium D.O.N. and Capcom Classics Collection having good ol’ Street Fighter 2 and you have one nice batch of fighters present.
Metal Gear Solid
Yeah, this does deserve its own category. Metal Gear Solid 4 is going to appear in, in all likelihood, in playable form and just like MGS2 before it, set the bar in both graphics and gameplay for all PS3 games to come. Not to mention Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops. The first real Metal Gear Solid game (as in, the first action-based Metal Gear game) for the PSP is the highly anticipated, direct sequel to MGS3. Much like MGS4, Portable Ops is projected to be one of the best games for its platform.
Probably Not Many Huge Surprises
For the most part…we know everything about all the next-gen consoles. Because of that, we won’t be getting any announcements like a groundbreaking controller or disappointment from companies not changing the names of their consoles back. Sure, we may get a big announcement or two for some high-profile games, but the building excitement from announcements about the next-gen consoles during these conventions ended at E3 earlier this year.
Editor in Chief - been writing for mygamer,com for 20+ years. Gaming enthusiast. Hater of pants. Publisher of obscure gaming content on my YT channel.
- Twitter @ZackGaz
- youtube.com/@ZackGaz
- Personal blog at: https://squallsnake.com/
- BuyMeACoffee: https://www.buymeacoffee.com/zackgaz
- Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/squallsnake
- Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/squallsnake7
- I am the EiC of: https://www.MyGamer.com/
Leave a Reply