Final Fantasy Tactics coming to DS this summer
All-new game in development to rival PSP's The War of the Lions
FFT: The War of the Lions, which was released on PSP late last year, remains one of the best games yet to come out on the console. Tactical RPGs don't come much prettier or more epic and all-round engrossing than this one. (Well, unless your name is Disgaea.)
So DS players will be pleased to hear they won't be needing to go out and buy themselves a new console to play it any more. Provided they don't mind waiting until the summer for their own version, that is, because that's when publisher Square Enix has announced Final Fantasy Tactics will be coming to DS.
It's a first appearance for the series on the handheld, and follows up on its 2003 outing on Game Boy Advance.
Its full title – which is suitably lengthy in the style of all good RPGs – is Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift. The game takes place in the world of Ivalice with a schoolboy hero called Luso who's stumbled upon an ancient book with magical powers while doing detention in the school library. Warped into the middle of a battlefield, Luso meets up with old Final Fantasy XII stars Vaan, Penelo and Al-Cid and they all set about looking for a way home.
For those who are filled with trepidation at the words 'grid-based battles', the game's director Yuichi Murasawa has some words of reassurance: "Grimoire of the Rift makes the tactical RPG genre accessible to fans who may be unfamiliar with the grid-based battle system. While maintaining the classic functionality of the much-loved gameplay, this newest release boasts upgrades that enable a more engrossing and fulfilling tactical RPG experience." See – it's not just for big nerds.
Other features for the DS game include stylus controls, new jobs and character classes, a new clan system and up to 400 quests. Which sounds like a lot of game to us.
The summer release date of June 24th announced is for the game's US release. But Square seems to be dishing out quite a lot of love to UK shores recently, releasing games at the same time or even earlier here than in the US, so there's every chance we'll be getting it around June, too.
