Don’t rub your eyes in disbelief, that’s not a typo. Granted, ‘Nintendo Mobile JRPG’ isn’t usually something you see bound together, but it’s about to become a reality, even if it’s unlikely to come to the West just yet. Dragalia Lost is a combined effort between Nintendo and mobile developer Cygames, with the game set to release in Eastern territories such as Japan and Taiwan over the summer.
Besides that, details are thin on the ground. The trailer, which you can see for yourself below, offers very little in the way of groundbreaking concepts with its art style reminiscent of World of Final Fantasy. The gameplay, though, seems to move away from more traditional turn-based battles in favor of something more akin to a top-down Ni no Kuni 2 with an emphasis on hack-and-slash within a party of three.
Elsewhere, all the JRPG tropes you can come to expect are there: evil monsters, spunky teenage protagonists and a colourful rogues’ gallery, headed by what looks to be an evil monarch. So far, so very ordinary. What isn’t ordinary, however, is the fact that Nintendo are suddenly choosing to make waves on mobile, sandwiching the title in-between Super Mario Run and the forthcoming Mario Kart World Tour.
This could be a watershed moment for Nintendo; having dipped their feet in the mobile pool, they’re now looking to dive in headfirst with something a little more obscure and risky. Whether they can pull it off remains to be seen but, if anyone can, it’s sure to be Nintendo.
For those located in the Far East, you can now pre-register here. My Japanese is a little rusty (okay, okay non-existent) but it looks like registration bonuses are on offer.
