A Witch's Tale gets Release Date, Official Site, Game Details

NIS teased us last fall that they were working with Japanese developer Hit Maker on a new DS action-RPG called A Witch's Tale. Details were scarce, but we were told the game was going to be Halloween-themed, and was targeted for a Halloween release.

UPDATE: Upon further investigation, Hit Maker appears to actually be a Japanese developer, not Korean. Sincerest apologies.

Word came later that the project was delayed due largely to Hitmaker's decision to change the title from an action-based combat system to a more traditional turn-based one, and that the game would like see release a year later than expected.

Since then, we haven't heard anything, and to be quite honest, I hadn't even given it a second thought. But Japanese gaming blog GPara got the scoop on the title which has secured a May release date in Japan. I've given the article a quick and dirty translation rundown to give you a first look in English.

The game's direction is supposed to reflected that of a dark fairytale where the Witches of the Old Book, banished to live underground, engaged the surface-dwelling witches in a drawn-out, brutal war. The Queen of Sorcery, Alice, eventually succeeded in sealing the Witches of the Old Book into a single book, bringing peace again to the world. The book was hidden, and in time the Witches of the Old Book (referred to now as the Ancient Witches), the war, and the Great Queen Alice became nothing more than legends.

The game picks up with a young witch attending Witchcraft Academy named Lidel. Both curious and ambitious, Lidel unseals a book deep in the castle looking for ancient witchcraft, but unwittedly unleashes the Witches of the Old Book (like you didn't see that one coming).

The Witches of the Old Book pay little attention to Lidel, but seek revenge on Alice and the world that sealed them away. They cast a curse upon the world, unleashing monsters upon the populace and attack the ruling princesses.

Lidel, apparently uncomfortable with being blamed for the disaster that the world has fallen under, sets out to stop the witches, alongside the library's guardian vampire, Lou.

In order to re-seal these witches, Lidel must seek out the sleeping power of Alice which is said to reside beneath Lolo, at the center of the world. However, in the thousand years since the banishment of the Ancient Witches, no one has claimed to have seen Alice, and the door to the underground has been sealed by the six ruling princesses of the world's six countries.

Battles are a typical turn-based affair. Both your team and the enemy team can only have up to 3 charaters each. During battle, your party can use physical attacks, witchcraft, items, or attempt to escape. Pretty standard, right?

A Witch's Tale's claim to originality is what they call their "Revolver Icon System" which allows the player to utilize the touch screen to drag commands from each of your characters into the slots used to attack certain enemies. Details are still limited at this point, but we are assured that there is some depth to be had in the battle system.

The game has been officially announced and renamed for the Japanese market as Witch Tale: Minarai Majo to 7-nin no Hime (lit. The Apprentice Witch and the 7 Princesses). It will be published by Nippon Ichi, and available for Nintendo DS on May 28, 2009 there. The official Japanese site can be found here, and is set to open on February 27, 2009.

There is currently no mention from NIS America on the state of the game for North America, but we're sure that we'll be hearing about it soon.