As we quickly approach E3 (now only two weeks away!), more and more companies are unveiling their wares that'll be on show publicly. Sure, the really good stuff won't be announced and shown to very select few press members, but that doesn't mean the stuff everyone's talking about is necessarily bad. In fact, from the looks of Square Enix' E3 booth, things are downright peachy.



It's not surprising that few RPGs are on show at the megacompany's booth this year; with the Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest (Dragon Warrior in the States) series selling almost a combined 75 million copies, it's easily where the companies made the bulk of their bankroll. So, it should come as no huge shocker that they're committed to kicking out a few more. Fortunately for you (and unfortunately for any journalist that stares at the growing list of games on hand), there are more than a few RPGs to be had in Square Enix land.



The list is impressive, to say the least. Final Fantasy X-2, Final Fantasy XI, UNLIMITED SaGa, and Star Ocean 3 have all been released already in Japan, and are finally nearing U.S. releases. The games as a whole have met with good reviews (the SaGa series has always been a little spotty, and gamers as a whole seem a little more sky to hop on the MMORPG bandwagon, so FFXI isn't selling like previous Final Fantasies), and should garner a whole hell of a lot of press in the next few weeks.



There was a minor surprise, however, found in the form of Drakengard, a new RPG that marries programmers from Resident Evil: Code Veronica, Bust-A-Groove and even Ace Combat into a dragon riding escapade involving (what else) a trio of friends; Kyme, his sister Friae and a childhood friend to Kyme and fiancé to Friae named Yuvalt. Other than causing spellcheckers all over the world to go into overload, Drakengard seems like an interesting concept, enabling not only character development, but also a little dragon suping up too. If nothing else, the development team seems comprised of some of the most eclectic and varied members in recent memory, and while the idea of a survival horror dancing flight sim sounds intriguing, it looks like the game will stick to more familiar RPG territory.



It's also worth mentioning that multi-platform gamers will get treats in the first Final Fantasy game on a Nintendo console since the Super NES in the form of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles for GameCube, and the return of Square tastiness to handhelds with Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Sword of Mana.



We'll have full, no-doubt exhaustive impressions of Square Enix' PS2 lineup during E3.