Dirge of Cerberus was released back in 2006 for PlayStation 2 as part of a subseries stemming from the main Final Fantasy franchise. The derived installment was set within the Final Fantasy 7 universe and took place three years after the events of the original game. Dirge of Cerberus never received a sequel and on some level, Square Enix also never showed any interest in looking back in all of these past years. However, with the next generation around the corner, the developer/publisher may perhaps by considering doing so.
Last week, Square Enix filed a trademark for Dirge of Cerberus in the United States Patent and Trademark Office. The accompanying description carries no details and in all fairness, the filing may just be to renew the trademark. That being said, the filing features a text-based logo different from the stylized one of the original. There may perhaps be a slim chance that Square Enix is bringing back Dirge of Cerberus with either a remake or remaster.
Dirge of Cerberus was different from the mainline installments because of being a third-person shooter. There were still role-playing elements and battles occured in real time. Despite having sold over 500,000 copies worldwide, Dirge of Cerberus received mixed reviews in the west as well as in Japan. The game was criticized for having unintelligent enemies and a simplistic setting. There was still some appeal to be had but in all, Square Enix was said to have taken a gamble by creating a Final Fantasy shooter. Players were split between the game and perhaps that was the very reason that Square Enix never considered a sequel.
The most interesting thing though is that Dirge of Cerberus was meant for Final Fantasy 7, which is getting a beautiful remake later in the year. Hence, by that logic, could Square Enix be running a full circle by remaking Dirge of Cerberus as well? That’s certainly something to think about.
The Final Fantasy 7 remake, by the way, has been delayed to April 10. Originally set for March 3, the remake needed extra development time to ensure that everything was in line with what Square Enix wanted to deliver. The release will be exclusive to PlayStation 4, for those unaware.
