Grimoire of the Rift headed to DS

Square Enix has announced that gamers will be making the return to Ivalice this summer with the release of Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rifts on June 24th.

This title is the sequel to the popular Final Fantasy Tactics Advance on the GBA and brings the popular franchise to the DS for the first time.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2 will feature a familiar grid-oriented battle system with intuitive use of the DS stylus, as well as new jobs and character classes. The game will feature over 400 quests, vibrant dual-screen presentation and improved gameplay.

Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rifts will be available in stores June 24th, 2008 for $39.99. For more information, visit: http://na.square-enix.com/ffta2/

New Summon Night

Atlus has just announced the continuation of the popular RPG Summon Night: Swordcraft Story. This newest title will be a DS exclusive titiled Summon Knight: Twin Age.

Twin Age will be headed for release on May 20th, complete with two playable characters, and the ability to trade items with other gamers via local wireless, and full DS functionality.

More information on this upcoming title is sure to be released shortly. Head to the Atlus site for more info:

http://www.atlus.com/.

FREE Pokemon Guide

Two new Pokemon titles are headed for the DS and Nintendo intends to rewards fans that order early with a free guide to help them succeed in the game.

Starting March 16, 2008, Pokemon fans who order either Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness or Pokemon Mystery Dungen: Explorers of Time will receive a free, limited edition guide for the game.

This guide contains a collection of game tips, interviews, an original manga, and game art.

In these newest Pokemon games, players travel through time and darkness to try and unravel the mystery of why they have been transformed into a Pokemon. This quest will lead them through countless randomly generated dungeons and will allow you to encounter more than 490 different Pokemon.

Disgaea for DS

Nippon Ichi has recentl officially announced the upcoming release of Disgaea for the DS.

The game has already been released in Japan to much praise and will be headed to North American on the DS in summer 2008. Look for more news in the near future.

DQ Swords in Stores!

Square Enix has announced that Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors (whoa, what a name) is shipping to retailers across North America today!

This latest installment in the popular Dragon Quest series is a Wii exclusive RPG that fully utilizes the Wii's motion-sensing capabilities, allowing players to use the Wii remote as a variety of powerful weapons and hack n' slash through familiar monsters. Gamers will also be able to customize their attacks by combining materials to their weapons.

Look for the game in stores now for a price tag of $49.99. For more info, see: http://na.square-enix.com/dqswords/

Dragon Quest Swords Moves Up

Square Enix dropped me a little note earlier today informing me that the release date for their upcoming Wii game, Dragon Quest Swords: The Masked Queen and the Tower of Mirrors, has changed.

Normally this is BAD news, but in this case it's great news because rather than the previous release dsate of February 26, gamers will now be able to get their hands on Dragon Quest Swords on February 19!

Designed specifically for the Wii, Dragon Quest Swords takes full advantage of the systems unique capabilities and allows gamers to use the remote as a powerful weapon. This unique adventure is the latest entry in the popular Dragon Quest series and the first to appear on the Wii.

Atlus Announces Rondo of Swords

Atlus has just announced a new Strategy RPG, Rondo of Swords, for the Nintendo DS.

Rondo of Swords is a fantasy RPG that promises to combine an epic narrative tale complete with storyline branches and multiple endings, with a deep and innovative combat system that takes full use of the touch screen of the DS. Gamers will embark on a quest to cleanse the sacred blade, protect the princess, and vanquish the oppressing armies of your enemy and deliver the Kingdom of Bretwalde from tyranny!

Expect Rondo of Swords to be on store shelves on April 15, 2008. For more information, see: http://www.atlus.com/rondoofswords/

Monster Hunter 3 for Wi

After a recent Nintendo press conference, Capcom announced that their upcoming Monster Hunter 3 will be a Wii exclusive title.

Oddly, Monster Hunter 3 was initially a PS3 exclusive title but high development costs on the PS3 were a deciding factor to switch platforms. The conference also saw the announcement of several Nintendo first party titles.

Monster Hunter is a major franchise in Japan with both PSP games in the series having sold over a million copies. However, the series has had limited success in North America.

Phantom Hourglass Released!

Today Nintendo released The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass for the Nintendo DS.

This latest Zelda adventure has received great ratings in Japan and is already seeing praise in North America.

"The storyline for The Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass represents a new pinnacle for hand-held video games," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "The touch-screen controls make it easy for newcomers but fresh and engaging for Zelda fans."

Phantom Hourglass has players navigate through the game using only the touch screen, making it easy to find your way through. Possibly the coolest feature of all is that players can write notes on their maps to remind them of places they should revisit. How many times have you wanted to do that before? I know I'm always writing things down when I'm embarking on an epic quest... Phantom Hourglass also allows players to join up through a local wireless connection or log-in through the internet.

DQM: Joker Goes Gold!

Square Enix has announced that Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker for the Nintendo DS has gone gold!

The game will ship to retailers by November 06, 2007, and fans who pre-order the title will recieve a free, lmited edition Nintendo DS screen wipe and map! DQM has a suggested retail price of $39.99.

You will play the game as a young hero locked in a prison by your father, the leader of an organization known as CELL. You find yourself released under orders to enter the Monster Scout Challenge, and frm there embark on a journey starting with a single monster and a scout ring, only to discover the dark and mysterious intentions that surround the competition.

DQM : Joker promises over 200 different Dragon Quest creatures and the ability to synthesize customized monsters to create al new ones! Gameplay will be an innovative mix of the monster arena battle from Dragon Quest VIII and traditional Dragon Quest gameplay.

Luminous Arc Ships!

Atlus has announced that Luminous Arc, the strategy RPG for the Nintendo DS, has shipped to retailers across North America!

Luminous Arc promises a traditional strategy RPG experience, enhanced with professional voice acting, an involving storyline, versatile controls, multiplayer mode, and an epic musical score! If this sounds like a game that you're interested in, then make sure to head to your local game store and check it out.

Find out more info about the game from the official site:
http://www.atlus.com/luminousarc

Pokemon is HOT!

After only five days on store shelves, Pokemon Diamond and Pearl have already sold over 1 million copies. Over a half million copies of the game were pre-ordered before launch, and in Japan the game has sold over 5 million copies.

To date, more than 155 million copies of Pokemon games have sold worldwide.

New Pokemon Details

Nintendo has released some interesting new details about Pokemon Diamond and Pearl. The first two DS Pokemon titles will feature the 380 Pokemon avialable in previous versions, along with over 100 new ones! Gamers will also be able to import Pokemon from their GBA games after completing certain objectives.

The game's wireless ability is what's really getting some attention. By using a local wireless connection, up to eight Pokemon trainers can connect and play together. The game's are fully Wi-Fi compatible, so players can log onto Nintendo Wi-Fi and compete with players from all around the wold. The microphone built into the DS will even allow gamers to talk to one another in voice chat.

Diamond and Pearl will also feature a Global Trade Station where players can trade Pokemon with other players all across the world. From here gamers can browse the boards to find out what Pokemon other players are looking for, or post Pokemon that they want to trade.

Starting March 18, fans who pre-order a copy of either game will receive one of two collectible Pokemon styluses

Zelda Grabs GDC Award

At the Game Developers Choice Awards, Nintendo's The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess walked away with an award for writing, which is probably no suprise to gamers who have played the popular Wii title.

In other Nintendo news, Wii Sports picked up an award for innovation and game design. In total, Wii Sports and Twilight Princess had five nominations in four different categories.

Legendary Nintendo video game designer Shigeru Miyamoto was also honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

Nintendo Announces Wii, DS Lineup

Nintendo has announced a strong lineup of games heading for the Wii and DS in the coming months. Noteworthy entries to RPG fans include Pokemon Battle Revolution (Wii), Pokemon Diamond/Pokemon Pearl (DS), and Super Paper Mario (Wii).

Pokemon Battle Revolution will be released June 25, 2007 and is being hyped as "a game of remarkable firsts" because it is:

* the first Wii game to include Nintendo(R) Wi-Fi Connection play

* the first Pokemon game for Wii

* the first game to link Wii and the hand-held Nintendo DS(TM)

* and the first Wii game that can be controlled using Nintendo DS

So, uh, yeah... go buy a Wii if you can find one.