RPG starved European gamers were given a huge boost when Square set up a European base in London, UK last December. Finally, the fruits of that creation are starting to show and this month Square announced their European release list for the year 2000. This list includes games such as the astounding Vagrant Story and Front Mission 3 and will cement Squaresoft further into Europe, given that Final Fantasy VIII is already released and March 2000 saw the release of SaGa Frontier 2.

The full release list is as follows:

• Vagrant Story: Mid June 2000
  Vagrant Story is the stunning new adventure from Squaresoft which scored a never before attained (for a playstation game) 40/40 in Japan's prestigious Famitsu magazine. The title will be released in English, French and German and will have manuals translated into Spanish, Italian and Dutch.

• Front Mission 3: Early July 2000
  Front Mission 3, recently released in North America, will only be released in English, but manuals will be available in French, German, Spanish, Italian and Dutch.

• Parasite Eve 2: Mid August 2000
  Parasite Eve 2 is the sequel to the million selling Parasite Eve (never released in Europe) and this release date stunningly places it ahead of the titles North American date of September. The game will be available in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. Additionally, a manual will be available in Dutch.

• Final Fantasy IX: TBA Q4 2000
  Final Fantasy IX will follow up Square's European success with Final Fantasy VII and VIII, and will be released later on this year. It is not been confirmed as to what languages this will be released in.

All in all, this is very good news for RPGamers across Europe who will finally see a steady release of Squaresoft titles. Hopefully, with Square wading in, other companies might see fit to also announce a European strategy and give Europe some much needed console RPGs. The only surprise is that Legend of Mana is missing on list, which was initially intended to be released. This is surprising given the success that the Super Nintendo title, Secret of Mana had in Europe, but beggars can't be choosers as they say. In other news, Square Europe have completely revamped their site, using Flash, which means you'll need the plug-in should you decide to visit. It is now in several languages and has it's very own members area. RPGamer will watch Square's European progress intently and to see if other companies follow suit.