Final Fantasy creator Hironobu Sakaguchi didn't leave Square Enix for no reason. As many of us know, he founded Mistwalker to make new games. Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey may ring a bell, but some have missed Archaic Sealed Heat (ASH) - Mistwalker's tactical RPG for the DS.

In all fairness, we haven't really heard much about the game even if it was announced quite awhile ago. For those who are interested, Famitsu's got some new details on the game's combat with some fresh screens to boot.

ASH may sound like your run-of-the-mill turn-based strategy RPG, but it redefines that concept. During battles, you gain control of three characters that share the same Action Points (AP). You move them around the grid, lose AP and all that, but you don't just watch a simple attack animation when attacking a target.

Using both screens of the DS, you'll see foes on the top and your guys below when you approach enemies. They face off in turn-based combat, something we don't see from SRPGs everyday. If that doesn't sound hot, check out the screens Famitsu dished out. Everything looks good, from 2D character portraits to 3D CG shots.

   

Japanese video game development studio Mistwalker will be attending this year's Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco. But even before the company got on stage, Mr. Hironobu Sakaguchi revealed the release dates for upcoming Xbox 360 titles Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey as well as DS RPG ASH.

ASH or Archaic Sealed Heat has been under development for some time now. The story of this game focuses on Queen Aisha who is trying to understand the mystery behind the ancient flame. In this video game's universe, it is believed that people will be burnt by the ancient flame and will then be revived in the future. ASH is scheduled for release this coming Christmas season.

Going over to the Xbox 360 side of the story, Sakaguchi revealed that the long awaited Blue Dragon will hit retail stores in August. The creator of the Final Fantasy series and founder of Mistwalker also mentioned that a new dungeon is already being planned as a Downloadable Content">downloadable content for the game.

Lastly, Lost Odyssey will see the light of day during the later part of 2007 - the holiday season to be exact. Sakaguchi mentioned that the release will be simultaneous both for Japan and North America.

Japan game news may not seem very relevant to an English-language game site whose audience is largely from the United States and Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and United Kingdom and Ireland, but you know that when it comes to Nintendo games, the Japanese market is something to pay attention to.

DS. Just look at Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan (Go! Fight! Cheer Squad) from iNiS - it became the "instant DS classic" Elite Beat Agents,. Japan is going to get the sequel later this year, and Moero! Nekketsu Rhythm Damashii Osu! Tatakae! Ouendan 2 (Burn! Burning Rhythm Soul Go! Fight! Cheer Squad 2) promises more fun: 4-player wireless play. Where do we sign up to demand Elite Beat Agents 2?

Mistwalker's tactical role-playing game ASH: Archaic Sealed Heart will also be released this year.

Bad news. The release date for Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass is no longer 2007. It's now "undecided release date" according to Siliconera.

Wii. The brain-testing game Wii Yawasaka Ataka Juku or Yawaraka Atama Jyuku (let's just call it Wii Big Brain Academy,) looks like it will be released on April 26, 2007. The racing game DK Bongo Blast (Donki Kongu: Taru Jetto Resu - "Donkey Kong barrel jet race") is another 2007 Wii game along with Wii Fitness.

According to Siliconera, these are the Wii games that Nintendo will publish in 2007:

• Fire Emblem: Goddess of Dawn - Feb 22
• EyeShield 21 - March 8
• Super Paper Mario - April 10
• Wii Yawasaka Ataka Juku (Wii Big Brain Academy) - April 26

TBD Wii Games in 2007:

• Wii Fitness
• Disaster Day of Crisis
• Mario Party 8
• Project H.A.M.M.E.R
• Wii Music
• Super Mario Galaxy
• Super Smash Brothers Brawl
• Battalion Wars 2 (BWii)
• DK Bongo Blast
• Forever Blue
• Mario Strikers Charged
• Metroid Prime 3: Corruption (We want to add that the wait for this game has been long, but it's been justifiable. We want them to take their time with making this game perfect for the Wii.)
  

Announced with an undetermined date:

• Animal Crossing
• Kirby