Square Enix and the Nintendo DS

[Antikhrist]

As Jump Festa approaches, it becomes more apparent that Square Enix is really liking the Nintendo DS. Japan's favorite developer is showing much support for Japan's favorite console. Jump Festa 2006 begins Saturday, and the information keeps on pouring in.

Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book
There have been some new details released featuring Square's beloved Final Fantasy mascot. Announced a couple months ago, Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book will revolve around a lone chocobo as he attempts to save his friends from the great demon Bebezu.

Much of the gameplay consists of wandering around towns to complete mini-games using the touch screen and the stylus, though turn-based battles also make up a major part of the story. Similar to Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories, Chocobo will feature a card based battle system. The two systems are not similar whatsoever, however. In Chocobo, there is to stocking cards to perform sleights. Instead, you are dealt random cards of three at a time to use to damage your opponent. You do, however, still have the option to add or delete cards from your current deck.

Chocobo and the Magic Picture Book will be playable at this year's Jump Festa.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Rings of Fate
For what seemed like ages, new details about the spinoff for the Gamecube classic have been revealed.

The Rings of Fate boasts a lot of similarities with the original Crystal Chronicles, although there are a few key differences this time around. A couple new features have been added to the game to add a new level of depth including a new Jump command. Battles will, again, be action oriented and will support up to four players via Wi-Fi. This time around, there will be no Crystal Chalice. Now you don't have to rely on the moogle or a friend to be a pack mule. It seems that Square Enix has fixed many of the problems that fans of the Final Fantasy franchise had with Crystal Chronicles.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Rings of Fate will be playable at this year's Jump Festa.

Dragon Quest IX
Not much else can be said on the topic of Dragon Quest IX than has been said in an article posted earlier this week. We can, however, provide you fans with the first official trailer for the DS installment of the Dragon Quest franchise.

Dragon Quest IX Trailer

Dragon Quest IX will be playable at this year's Jump Festa.

Source: IGN