Square Enix's E3 2019 conference was dominated by new information concerning Final Fantasy VII Remake and Marvel's Avengers, but there were some other announcements made that were significant to long-time fans of the company. Square Enix revealed that Seiken Densetsu 3 had been translated into English for the first time (in an official capacity) and was being released as part of Collection of Mana for the Nintendo Switch. Square Enix also revealed that Romancing Saga 3 was also being localized for the first time and would be ported to modern systems in the future.
Square Enix president and CEO Yosuke Matsuda has also talked about the possibility of porting all of the company's old games to a proprietary digital streaming service, which means that there wouldn't be a need to share any profits with Steam. The possibility of Square Enix creating its own video game streaming service means that a lot of the company's classic titles from the 8-bit and 16-bit era are now looking more appealing than ever, as official localizations of each game for PC and smartphones means that these old titles have access to a massive worldwide audience.
A lot of Square Enix's Japan-exclusive games for the Super Nintendo have already been translated into English by fans, as it seemed unlikely that they would ever see an international release. The fact that both Romancing Saga 3 and Seiken Densetsu 3 have been localized means that the floodgates have now been opened and that many other deserving games from the Super Nintendo era could see an official international release in the future.
Bahamut Lagoon
Bahamut Lagoon was originally going to be part of the Final Fantasy series, as it was known as Final Fantasy Tactics during development. The connections between Bahamut Lagoon and Final Fantasy VI are especially apparent, with several monsters from the former being reworked sprites from the latter.
Bahamut Lagoon is a tactical RPG where the player forms parties of adventurers that fight alongside mighty dragons. The dragons can change into new and more powerful forms, depending on the items that the player feeds them. Bahamut Lagoon has an epic story of love, betrayal, and the importance of duty told amongst a background of cities on floating islands.
Live A Live
Live A Live might be the strangest RPG ever released by Squaresoft. The story of Live A Live is broken into chapters that follow different characters, with each chapter involving a unique time period and gameplay style.
The first chapter is set in prehistoric times and follows a caveman named Pogo, who must fight off dinosaurs in order to win the heart of the women he loves. The second chapter is set in ancient China and follows an old Kung Fu master who must take on new students in order to pass on his techniques. The third chapter is set in feudal Japan and follows a ninja named Oboro-maru as he must sneak through a heavily-guarded mansion in order to assassinate its owner. The fourth chapter follows a cowboy named the Sunset Kid, who must team up with his longtime rival to defend a town from bandits. The fifth chapter is set in modern times and follows an aspiring martial artist named Masaru Takahara, who must defeat other fighters in the ring in order to improve his strength. The sixth chapter is set in the near future and follows a psychic boy named Akira, who must use his powers to foil a sinister plot. The seventh chapter is set in the distant future and follows a robot named Cube, who must survive as an alien menace tears apart his ship and crew. There are other chapters after this, but it's hard to talk about them without spoilers.
Live A Live meshed numerous genres together in an intertwining story told across time and space. The game was released on the Wii U Virtual Console in Japan but has yet to receive an official English localization.
Radical Dreamers
Radical Dreamers was released for a Japan-exclusive add-on for the Super Nintendo, called the Sattelaview. Radical Dreamers is important due to its connection to another prominent Squaresoft game, as it was the original sequel to Chrono Trigger.
Radical Dreamers is a visual novel that follows three thieves named Kid, Magil, and Serge, as they sneak into Viper Manor in order to steal the Frozen Flame. Elements of Radical Dreamers were reworked into Chrono Cross.
Radical Dreamers has only ever seen a single release back in 1996 and has never been reissued in any form, even in Japan. The fact that the game is a visual novel with some minor RPG elements would make it an easy game to remake and it seems like an obvious candidate to be ported to modern systems in the future.
Treasure Hunter G
The Sega Genesis had some of the best strategy RPGs during the 16-bit era in the form of the Shining Force series. The Super Nintendo was no slouch in this regard (at least in Japan), as Treasure Hunter G was an amazing strategy RPG for the system that is often overlooked by fans.
Treasure Hunter G follows two brothers, a girl, and a monkey, as they go on a quest to find the brothers' father. Treasure Hunter G is a strategy RPG where every move costs action points, of which each character only has a limited pool. It's up to the player to plan out their moves beforehand and to use the best ability for each situation without leaving themselves helpless in the next turn.
Treasure Of The Rudras
Treasure of the Rudras is a fantasy game with themes that are heavily inspired by Indian religions, such as reincarnation. The most fascinating aspect of its gameplay revolves around the way in which the magic system works, as the player has to create words in order to conjure spells.
The magic system in Treasure of the Rudras involves piecing together words which are altered with prefixes and suffixes in order to change their effects. It's possible to copy the magic spells used by enemies in this manner by memorizing the words they used to cast them. Treasure of the Rudras has one of the most unique magic systems in gaming history, though the complexities of it may turn off the people at Square Enix who are looking for easier games to port to modern systems.