DS gamers around world have reason to rejoice this week. Why? There are loads of games a-coming! In fact, it's a big week for all platforms, but DS owners have reason to be particularly pleased. Whether you're going to be grinding away in Final Fantasy Tactics A2, or getting your groove on with a portable Guitar Hero, we're willing to bet there's something coming that will inspire a little wallet-opening.
American Girl: Kit Mystery Challenge
Cake Mania 2
Code Lyoko: Fall of X.A.N.A.
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift
Gourmet Chef
Guitar Hero: On Tour
Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Ninja
Mega Man Star Force 2: Zerker x Saurian
Midnight Play! Pack
My Weight Loss Coach
Top Spin 3
Wall-E
Check out the releases for the other major markets after the break!
Did you forget that Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift ships in North America this week? We wouldn't be surprised if you did, as, aside from two magazine advertisements, Square Enix hasn't done much to promote the SRPG sequel.
In fact, unless we've missed something, the only two handheld game commercials Square Enix has aired in the U.S. since the GBA were for the Final Fantasy III remake and Dragon Quest Monsters: Joker -- Mario Hoops 3-on-3 doesn't count. That's a shame considering how creative the original Final Fantasy Tactics Advance commercial was!
Bring your mages, ninjas, and gunners past the break for the GBA clip and the two FFTA2 magazine pieces we mentioned above!
You know a game is epic when the publisher can release dozens of screens -- dozens -- and you still feel as though you're only getting the barest glimpse of the depth that awaits. We've seen so much of Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, from videos to screens, and previews of jobs to boot, and none of that is even a patch on the hours of gameplay that awaits. For once, we're not even upset about the Square Enix "tax" that elevates the price of their games; here, we'll know where those extra dollars went. Sometime next year, we might have finally finished everything there is to finish.
Toys R Us is holding its annual "buy two, get one free" DS promotion again starting on Sunday the 22nd, according to the latest weekly ad (as transcribed by CAG denizens). It's a great time for it, too: people getting Guitar Hero On Tour should be able to defray some of the cost by bundling it with two other games. Of course, even if you don't care about On Tour, you can get a great deal on some DS games. We just focused on that because it's new and it's so expensive that any other DS game comes in at an "equal or lesser value."
Guitar Hero is expensive enough that, under the right conditions (purchasing two Square Enix games along with it), you could get a free Square Enix game! Final Fantasy Tactics A2 comes out next week, for example -- $90 for Guitar Hero, FFTA2, and The World Ends with You is a relatively non-terrible deal.
With our economy in its current dwindling state and the unemployment rate rising, it's nice to hear that some people are still able to find jobs, even if they're fictional jobs for fictional members of a fictional race existing in a fictional game world.
Square Enix has released several short video clips introducing five of Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rifts' new jobs -- Chocobo Knight, Seer, Berserker, Geomancer, and Arcanist (above). They're not nearly as interesting as the "rejected FFTA2 professions" we featured, but these jobs are at least a little bit more real than the ones we made up.
Chocobo Knights and Geomancers! If those words make your heart go a-flutter, it's probably a good time to check in with GameSpy's preview of some of the more inaccessible jobs in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2: Grimoire of the Rift. Sure, the game comes out later this month, but according to them, you're going to be playing for a long, long time before you see any of these jobs.
Check out five of the jobs, complete with super cute outfits and videos, at the source ... and work your way into our newly-expanded gallery for an explosion of English-language screenshots sure to whet your appetite for the game's upcoming release.
Even if it is really all about plugging their products, we love it when game developers choose to communicate directly with us, the dirty, huddled masses, and today has brought news of two studios who are inviting questions from gamers.
First up is Atlus, or more specifically Nich Maragos, Atlus USA Editor and Project Lead for both of the Etrian Odyssey games. Between now and June 17th, he'll be answering as many of your Etrian-related queries as he can here. Maragos is accepting questions about either of the two DS games, perhaps to accommodate for PAL region players, who only just received the first game last Friday. Ask him why Europe had to wait so long, if you like. Go on, do it.
Next in line is the entire development team for Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, who are clearly pretty confident that they'll be receiving an absolute avalanche of questions, as they're doing this as a group. You'll have to be a signed-up Square Enix member, though, which will mean having to fill in this form.
While we're waiting for Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift to release (verysoon), we're pretty much powerless to do much but look at screens and websites. Now, though, we can at least immerse ourselves in some videos of the upcoming game. Unfortunately, most of them are only short (and tiny) clips teasing the battle system, but it's still nice to get a sense of what the gameplay will entail.
Above, the video delves into a part of the story, although put out of context it's not very telling. After the break, you can watch a few forty-second battle clips, showing three different characters using their attacks, skills, or summons.
There's simply no in-between when it comes to PAL localizations of Square Enix games: they either take absolutely ages to arrive, or no time atall. Happily, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance 2: Grimoire of the Rift will fall into the latter category, with the game appearing across Europe on June 27th, three days after its U.S. debut. We're attaching another gold star to your record, Square! Nintendo and every other company out there who puts Euro gamers through the mill far too frequently: take note!
If you're still too impatient to wait another five weeks, you may want to keep your thumbs and brain busy with a close alternative -- and conveniently enough, we have a whole bunch of recommendations for you to try out.
Paging through the magazine, however, we spotted at least two advertisements that we wanted to share with you. As we were tearing them out to throw into our scanner, we thought, "Why not post all of the other DS ads (and the cover)?" Join us past the break for the scanned pages!
Update 2: And now any mention of the paddle peripheral has disappeared again from our press release! We're confused as can be at the moment, but we're contacting Square Enix for clarification ... now. Stay tuned!
Update: Silly us, we totally overlooked some critical parts of the press release. It mentions an "optional paddle controller" for Arkanoid DS, which causes us to think the game could release in a bundle including the peripheral. We've also included the full press release past the post break.
Fantastic news, but there are two questions we urgently need answering. One: will the two Taito titles enjoy the same budget price that looks likely for the U.S. release? And two: will we be getting the wonderful paddle controller for said games? We can't think of any reason why we shouldn't receive such a peripheral, but the lack of an announcement is concerning.
Posted Mar 19th 2008 3:00PM by Eric Caoili
Filed under: News
Finally! We were beginning to think that Square-Enix would never announce its stateside release date for Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift, keeping localized copies of the SRPG out of our reach to punish us for poor Front Mission sales. Surprisingly, FFTA2 will hit stores as soon as June 24th, usually a slow period for video game releases.
The North American version has been enhanced to improve its touchscreen controls, one of several complaints we've listed about the game. Players should be able to now command their characters and navigate FFTA2's menus using only the stylus, as should be the standard for SRPGs on the DS. This comes in addition to the sequel's new classes, jobs, and clan system. Hit the gallery below for four new screenshots from the English-translated game.
Well, what do you know. We were only just writing about Square Enix localizations, and now the news has spread that Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift is headed to North America. According to Game Informer, the projected release date isn't too far off, and the strategy game will be coming to American shores this summer.
We knew this game would get here eventually, but we can relax now that we really know. In case you thought you might actually get outdoors and be active this summer, though, this announcement might have just caused a rift in your plans.
What separates Final Fantasy Tactics Advance from most other handheld SRPGS? Its level of polish. As with the original Final Fantasy Tactics game for the PlayStation, Square Enix put its talents and resources behind FFTA's soundtrack, character designs, and solid mechanics. Even today, five years later, the GBA title's presentation outclasses releases like Hoshigami Remix and Luminous Arc.
FFTA2 now boasts over 45+ different professions, ranging from Chocobo Knights (Chocobo-riding Moogles) to Bastards (a surly lot). Just as interesting as the vocations included are the ones that were cut from the final release due to time constraints or continuity issues. We came across their design documents while sifting through Square Enix's dumpster for discarded figurines, and we've posted the never-seen-before job classes right here for you!
Chimney Sweep
Action Ability
sweeps your chimney
walks around covered in soot
Combo Ability
after years of choking on grit and dust, dies an early death due to cancer caused by inhaling carcinogenic chemicals in the soot
Real World Roommate
Action Ability
accuses you of disrespectin' her
Reaction Ability
refuses to accept any apologies or assurances that you had no intention of disrespectin' her
Support Ability
tells everyone in the house that you're disrespectin' her
Damn Cargo Shorts-Wearin' Kids
Action Ability
wears those damn cargo shorts every day
has too many pockets for their own good
Support Ability
perpetuates the misbelief that wearing camo anything is acceptable fashion (e.g. camo cargo shorts)
Gangsta Rapper, Circa Early-to-Mid 90s
Action Ability
checks himself before he wrecks himself ('cause shotgun bullets are bad for his health)
is the capital S oh yes so fresh N double O P -- D O double G Y D O double G, ya see
Reaction Ability
calls his crew while you call your crew so you can rendezvous at the bar around two
Combo Ability
is better than your favorite rapper
Overbearing Asian Mother
Action Ability
belittles any and every measure you take to establish yourself as an individual
Reaction Ability
repeatedly insists that you should've become a doctor or a lawyer, like your successful cousins, instead of studying "computer"
Support Ability
leaves you with crippling feelings of inadequacy and social ineptitude
Cute Friend Whom You Have a Crush On
Action Ability
hair smells of strawberries, sunshine, and summer possibilities
is a kindred spirit; totally on the same wavelength as you
Reaction Ability
looks at you pityingly when you ask her out
just wants to be friends
isn't ready to date anyone right now
Combo Ability
sleeps with four other dudes -- simultaneously! -- the following week
Translating Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimoire of the Rift just became serious business, as the GBAtemp community has actually built an application around the project to streamline its script-editing process. With this sort of dedication and this new specialized editor, it won't be long before the team releases an English translation patch for, uh, people with pirated ROMs.
Though an official FFTA2 localization seems certain, Square Enix has yet to announce any plans to bring the SRPG stateside. Why not settle for Front Mission DS in the meantime?
DS gamers around world have reason to rejoice this week. Why? There are loads of games a-coming! In fact, it's a big week for all platforms, but DS owners have reason to be particularly pleased. Whether you're going to be grinding away in Final Fantasy Tactics A2, or getting your groove on with a portable Guitar Hero, we're willing to bet there's something coming that will inspire a little wallet-opening.
There's simply no in-between when it comes to PAL localizations of 
Update 2: And now any mention of the paddle peripheral has disappeared again from our press release! We're confused as can be at the moment, but we're contacting Square Enix for clarification ... now. Stay tuned!
_thumbnail.jpg "Prince of Persia: The Fallen King")
