TGS 2009: New Trailer and Release Date for Crystal Bearers

If Final Fantasy XIII is looking to fill your need for a moody techno-punk melodrama, then Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers is hoping to satisfy the younger, more energetic side of you that just wants to mess around and have some fun.

Despite its horrendous title (3 titles in one!), Crystal Bearers is looking more and more like a breath of fresh air for the FF series. It promises humour, a stuck up hero, motion controls, and girls in bikinis (no lie). Check out the trailer below and see if Crystal Bearers is your jive or not.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers will be available for Nintendo Wii on November 12, 2009 in Japan (2 full weeks earlier than originally announced), and on December 26, 2009 in North America (that's Boxing Day up here in Canada ;P).

E3 2009: Nintendo Announces Golden Sun DS, Shows Several RPGs

UPDATE: Trailers for Crystal Bearers, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, and Golden Sun DS up. Still waiting on Bowser's Inside Story vid.

During Nintendo's E3 press conference this morning, the company showed off several RPGs for both their Wii and DS systems, both from Nintendo itself, as well as several from RPG giant Square Enix.

As the only representation for the Nintendo Wii, Square Enix's Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers received some time in the spotlight, gaining a new trailer, but still silent on a release date. The game continues to look interesting, but may not appeal to fans of the older Crystal Chronicles, as it appears to be heavily story-driven.



Next, Nintendo gave us another look at Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days for Nintendo DS, the latest in Square Enix's Final Fantasy meets Disney crossover ARPG series. It is slated for a release in North America sometime this September, and will apparently feature the English version Hikaru Utada's song 'Passion,' known as 'Sanctuary' and used in KH2.


Nintendo then took some time to announce Mario & Luigi RPG 3 for North America, receiving a name-change to Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story. M&L3 features classic 2D sprites with timed elements in battle. The story follows Mario, Luigi, and several other citizens of the Mushroom Kingdom as they get trapped inside Bowser's body. It will be reportedly available in North America and Europe sometime this fall.

Finally, Nintendo's big RPG announcement came that they would be resurrecting the GBA RPG franchise Golden Sun with lazily-named Golden Sun DS. It will feature full 3D graphics (think the Final Fantasy DS remakes) and a new story. Details are scarce at the moment, but it was announced that we will have the game sometime in 2010.



It should be noted that The Legend of Zelda: Spirit Tracks was also mentioned, but no new footage nor a release date were given. It will apparently be playable on the show floor, so there is a good chance to see the game's release in the near future.

Overall, though Nintendo failed to show Microsoft up in terms of technology and innovation (plus the incredibly embarrassing pulse tracker peripheral), their selection of new game announcements was very impressive.

I personally would have liked to see the new Golden Sun get the Wii treatment over the DS, but I guess I'll take what I can get. Also, if Nintendo is bringing that over, what's the deal with ditching ASH and Soma Bringer (which are exceptionally well-developed titles)?

But all in all, not a bad show, Nintendo. Not bad at all.

Reasonably Sized Scan Update

There are a bunch of new scans this week which may or may not be relevant to your interests. For your browsing pleasure, I have posted them below, as per the usual setup.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers
Nintendo Wii
Square Enix
TBA



Rorona no Atelier: Arland no Renkinjutsushi (Atelier Rorona: Alchemist of Arland)
PlayStation 3
Gust
June 25, 2009 (Japan)



Takt of Magic
Nintendo Wii
Nintendo
May 21, 2009 (Japan)




Tales of Graces
Nintendo Wii
Namco Bandai
Winter 2009 (Japan)



Takt of Magic, previously announced at Nintendo's not-TGS press conference, has finally started to get some exposure, even though it goes on sale in Japan next month. I wonder if Nintendo actually cares if people are interested in it? Ah, probably not. It's not called "Wii Sports" or "Wii Fit," after all, so it will likely get as much attention as ASH did. Such a shame.

Anyways, if any of the above scans interest you, go ahead and leave a translation request in the comments. (Except Atelier Rorona, which is way too poorly scanned to be properly legible. Sorry.) Cheers!

Crystal Bearers is Kind of... Different

If you were to mention 'Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles' to me, I would probably stop listening to you, just because my experience with the Crystal Chronicles FF spin-offs hasn't been exactly what I would call positive. Basically a stripped down hack-and-slash game with loose references to Final Fantasy.

Well, Crystal Bearers wants to change my mind about the series. It says, "Hey man, I'm story-driven, implement innovative controls, and feature voice acting!"

"I'm listening," I say.

It then proceeds to show me this next trailer.



And then I say, "....wtf did I just watch?"

I'm still a little wary of Crystal Chronicles, but the trailer is at least interesting.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers will be available for Nintendo Wii, but has yet to receive an official release date.