Split-Screen :: The Game-Geek’s Daily Read

By Ravi Sinha

Teaser sites. Countdown sites. It’s bad enough I’m waiting for games still months from release, crossing the days off on my calendar, plucking the pages off my calendar and counting the hairs of assorted cats (okay, so I have issues) in anticipation. With the newfound teaser sites, I’m waiting for the game’s revealing so I can begin the waiting for it’s release. Dante Alighieri’s Inferno has nothing on the gaming industry.

But every once in a while I come across something…intriguing with these countdowns. Maybe it’s the hints they give, but all it took for Square-Enix’s New Game countdown (to finish on July 6th) was the prodiguous number 4 to get me itching. There are several possibilities for what SE are planning, but this seems like the most likely one: A trademark issued one month ago. Titled Hikari no Yon Senshi or Four Warriors of Light, it was the one hidden title that escaped mention at E3 2009. Some people may point out that this is likely the Final Fantasy I PSN release Square-Enix announced before the countdown began – since the protagonists of FFI were referred to as the Four Warriors of Light. It sounds plausible – which is why we’ll leave it out there for people to decide.

Another possibility is that of Romancing SaGa 4. Some will debate that Square wouldn’t go to all this trouble to create publicity for a sequel to didn’t score well either critically or commercially. However, that same lack of common sense has resulted in many more SaGa titles, so I wouldn’t put it above SE to do so. One of the original supporting cast from Romancing SaGa 3 was a dragon named Gwayne (though, dragons in a fantasy title is nothing new). Something else struck me, however: Square considers Romancing SaGa to be the fourth edition in the SaGa franchise. The 4 could be a reference to Romancing SaGa specifically, rather than to a four-quel for any game (it could be a Romancing SaGa X, for all we know) As of now, a new Romancing SaGa is tied with Four Warriors of Light as being the SE’s new game.

And now we veer off to pure wishing. It’s stupid and yes, wishful thinking but…How about Grandia 4, Square-Enix? They published the third one, developed by GameArts. However, I fear that Lunar: Dragon Song for the Nintendo DS broke the spirit of many a fan and dev alike. It may be just plain wishing. But Grandia is one franchise that deserves to be introduced to a new generation of gamers and would simultaneously reel in the hardcore. Only time can draw us closer to what this new game will be but until then, the above three our are top contenders.