Aleste, Actraiser Coming To Euro Mobile Phones
What's Square Enix doing with a Compile game, anyway?
By David Smith
07/08/2004
Continuing both its expansion in Europe and the broadening of its mobile gaming offerings, Square Enix today announced a partnership with European mobile provider Vodafone. Over the coming summer, three new Square Enix mobile games -- Aleste, Actraiser, and a mobile version of Drakengard -- will see release in Europe through the Vodafone Live mobile content service.
Aleste, a cousin to the Genesis vertical shooter North American gamers knew and loved as M.U.S.H.A., was originally developed by the now-defunct Japanese company Compile. Exactly how it wound up in Square Enix's hands is a perplexing question, but we won't argue with the opportunity to try it out in mobile form.
Actraiser, meanwhile, should be very well-known from its early appearance on the Super Nintendo. It's a blend of Populous-style strategy and side-scrolling platform action, marking it as an early genre-melding effort on consoles.
All three games will debut in Germany this month, and gradually roll out in England, Spain, and Italy over the rest of the summer.
They're also apparently just the beginning of expanded mobile offerings from Square Enix. "The addition of Square Enix's quality games titles to the Vodafone live! portfolio is a real win for our European customers. This agreement marks just the start of an exciting new relationship with Square Enix, with more classic titles to come," said Vodafone's Tim Harrison.
