Square Enix has just announced a new strategy RPG called The DioField Chronicle. It's been created by a team of "veteran" strategy developers at Lancarse Ltd, is filled with "amazing" visual and sound design, and promises to satisfy fans of the genres, and new ones as well.
In a nutshell, this title is described as a "deeply strategic RPG" set within a world of honor and political intrigue. Over the course of the story, players will direct units through multiple combat encounters using a 'Real-Time Tactical Battle' system.
combat takes place in real-time - you can pause the game to give orders and survey the battlefield, but the world and enemies won’t sit still and wait for your troops to take their turns.
This means that you’ll have to carefully assess front line conditions, be decisive with your orders and make smart use of a wide variety of skills, classes and equipment to gain the upper hand. And, of course, this all takes place on stunning battlefields that fuse diorama and reality and give the game a distinct and beautiful visual style.
Here are some of the veterans working on this project:
That includes character designs by Taiki (Lord of Vermillion III and IV), concept art by Isamu Kamikokuryo (FINAL FANTASY XII and FINAL FANTASY XIII) and scenario design by Yuu Ohshima (Fire Emblem Awakening).
It also features a stunning orchestrated soundtrack, by world-renowned composer Ramin Djawadi - best known for his work on Game of Thrones, Westworld, Pacific Rim and more!
And here's a full rundown of the game's story:
The game Is set in a unique world that blends fantasy, medieval and modern-day influences. Under the hand of the Shaytham dynasty, the Kingdom of Alletain on DioField Island has known peace for 200 years - but the rise of new powers and Modern Magic means that’s about to change.
The Kingdom of Alletain is rich in Jade - a precious mineral, prized for its use as a base ingredient in magic and sorcery. Of course, so valuable a resource will always draw attention, and inevitably the Empire and the Alliance both turn their gaze towards the island.
Amid this conflict, you take command of a group of elite mercenaries who call themselves ‘Blue Fox’. But will this name become a symbol of hope for the embattled Alletain, or signify darkest tragedy? …and when will you be able to find out?
Once again, the game is coming out at some point later this year in 2022, and will be released on the Switch and multiple other platforms? What do you think? Tell us below.
[source square-enix-games.com]
Comments 59
Dude I swear that Square makes a new RPG every week.
I never thought I’d be addicted to tactical RPGs. Thanks, Fire Emblem: Three Houses! 🔥🔥🔥
Great for those into strategy RPGs. Pikmin and Mario+Rabbids are about the only strategy games I can manage. 😬
Whoa this looks amazing.
I need to clone myself a couple of times in order to get to all these games I wanna try. Especially these SRPGs.
Wow! This actually looks really good and it comes out this year to! Man, I still haven't gotten around to Triangle Strategy yet 😅
Looks nice, wonder how it will look on switch
Looks great. It'll fill that FE void for me.
I’m totally looking forward to Fire Fantasy: Final Emblem!
What a nice surprise! I want to learn more, but what I see looks really good.
I can’t decide if I’m surprised this is getting a Switch release or not. Seeing it in the State of Play had me convinced it’d be a PlayStation exclusive.
So the only games at PlayStation State of Play that I actually was interested in (this and Ninja Turtles) are coming to Switch as well? Not bad
This is a great year for Strategy fans
Looks great! Kinda close to Triangle Strategy but that is okay.
This looks great. I really like the HD-2D style lately but this still looks really good.
Damn Square I hadn't even got through Triangle Strategy yet and now you're throwing me this? Just kidding this is fantastic and I will be keeping my eyes on this one too. Also a Final Fantasy Tactics remastered would be nice as well.
This is a great year to be a srpg fan. I just need a clone and a second job.
DIO game and JoJo game announced on the same day.
Definitely NOT uselessuselessueselessuselessuselessuseless
This is amazing, especially since it blends together SRPG and RTS elements together.
I really miss good RTS games, especially since MOBAs are essentially dumbed-down, multiplayer-focused RTS games.
And the Final Fantasy Tactics has not even been announced.
2022, the year of the SRPG
Is this the game that kinda looked like a FE Three Houses (An Empire, an Alliance and a Kingdom) knock off?
I think it's funny that Square Enix announced an SRPG with a silly name immediately after releasing an SRPG with a silly name.
@StarPoint They have a lot of teams, and a lot of different divisions in the company. I think they like to always be putting out ideas to see what sticks, so that they can always turn out fresh content. It's not a bad idea. I do wish they had just a tiny bit more quality control like they used to, but at least they are not saying no to fresh ideas as often as other companies do. However, I wonder sometimes if they aren't always put in the best hands. Koi Tecmo is hit or miss.
I still can't forget how bad Dissidia NT was. I hope it didn't destroy the series, because I really liked the franchise.
@Aurumonado There's nothing silly about the DioField Chronicle just like there's nothing silly about the Gunvolt Chronicles, White Knight Chronicles, Final Fantasy Chronicles, or Xenoblade Chronicles. My point is any title with the word chronicle on it is not silly.
Triangle Strategy is so 🔥 I can hardly believe how good it is. It's absolutely blown me away- I wasn't expecting a timeless classic, masterpiece grade game... but that's what I got.
This looks interesting. It's by the devs of Monarch, Lost Dimension, Etrian Odyssey 1 and 2, and SMT Strange Journey. Nothing too exciting. But the Fire Emblem Awakening guy writing the scenario with Final Fantasy veterans also working on it... you can see the influence. The music is great (check the game's web page) and the story sounds similar to Triangle Strategy.
I have high hopes for this one.
Lord of Vermillion would love to see those games on switch. Psp and Vita have some great RPGs.
Why so desaturated? The 90’s are here to stay
If in the 90's we had Enix vs Square, now we have Kemco vs Square-Enix!
Jokes aside, Square released A LOT of RPGs for the Super Famicom at the time.
@Xiovanni Final Emblem: Three times bigger budget house
Meh looks crap. I’ll pass.
Cool looking game. But what’s with Square Enid game naming decisions lately. Very meh. Triangle Strategy, DioField?
I watched the STate of Play (pretty meh overall) over at Pushsquare and this (along with Turtles) was the game I would have been jealous if it was a Playstation exclusive. So, happy dance
It still feels a bit weird to be a Nintendo fan with this many games to play… 😳
So Square Enix does indeed support Switch! Good.
I just hope there will be a focus on exploration for once. Tactical RPG’s are usually a fixed series of missions for some reason, but I also want a world to get lost in. It’s the reason I could never get into FFT or Triangle Strategy.
That said, can anyone recommend similar games that do focus on exploration?
@Mr_Fox Kings Bounty 2 maybe? Not the best reviewed game, but seems decent enough. Has your typical walking round town, gathering quests, before swapping to an SRPG for battles. Might be worth watching a video and see if that is the thing you are looking for?
My god, another SRPG for this year, that looks pretty good!
SE is on fire, definitely. How many games are they releasing this year...??
Just watched the trailer again and the world map absolutely looks like Russia invading the EU and Britain has to save the day. Not very sensitive of the world we currently find ourselves living in.
@Kiz3000 I thought the same, but then I figured I was biased with the international context right now — and I decided that it looked like a generic map with land and water.
The game looks very confusing to me, not sure this one is for me.
I am interested. Will monitor and wishlist. Looks visually good.
Looks great. But I haven't even touched Triangle Strategy, lol
A tactical JRPG with PoE-flavoured real time combat? Count me the heck in.
The preview didn't look to be anything special. This is one I'll have my eye on and hope for the best.
I'll wait and see, I don't really like real-time strategy.
Oh damn.. it IS coming to the Switch. That's sick! I don't feel this hitting as hard as Triangle Strategy, so I'll wait for reviews on it (and not pick up day one).
looking at these comments, i feel like maybe the "real time tactical battle" part hasn't quite sunk in for people. this game isn't like ff tactics, fire emblem, or triangle strategy in a really consequential, genre defining kind if way. it looks like those, but those games are far more similar to each other than to this game.
I'm really excited for this! looks gorgeous!
@Kiz3000
don't, don't, don't let's start!
we'll get the whole comments section shut down 😅
What did we SRPG and strategy fans do to deserve this boon!!!???
@Mr_Fox Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia is the only SPRG I can think of with an exploration/dungeon component.
@Kiz3000 lol
@Mr_Fox The old Shining Force games are kinda like that but you don't actually explore much, just wondering through towns or dungeons sometimes. I also believe the Disgaea series are like that too, you explore some areas but a majority of the time will have you go through long battles of tactical combat.
Also Musou style games like Hyrule Warriors, Fire Emblem Warriors, Dragon Quest Heroes, Warrior's Orochi, Mystic Heroes, and Samurai Warriors are all real time strategy action games where you could fully explore the field instead of taking turns like actual strategy or tactical games. I think those will cater to you more.
Some even had hub world where you could leave the field too to explore or grind for experience but the story won't progress and new areas won't open unless you return. The only drawback between those and regular RPGs is that once you got to a new area, you can't go back to the old areas anymore unless the story took you back so in those kind of games make sure to fully get what you need for your party members before progressing.
Those landmasses in the video are looking strangely European...
Looking pretty good otherwise but that little fact...
Fire Emblem anyone.....
The Real Time aspect has me very curious and skeptical. Real time strategies can be tricky to pull off on consoles. With the pause option I wonder if it plays like the crpgs like Baldur's Gate. Honestly I prefer crpgs that got the option to do full turn based like Pillars of Eternity 2.
I absolutely NEED this. Square Enix seems like they won't be content until they bleed my wallet dry this year. Hope it's a Christmas release so I can try and beg someone to gift it to me - Also here's hoping a special edition is announced that comes to North America so I don't have to import.....looking at you, Triangle Strategy.
I can't understand the constant FE comparisons literally every single TRPG that gets announced seems to elicit (they were rampant with Triangle Strategy too).
This game looks absolutely nothing like FE mechanically.
@Mr_Fox Same feelings here. I love SRPG mechanics but usually these games, outside of combat, everything is too linear. Triangle Strategy demo was enjoyable but I don't see myself getting it because there isn't a lot to do outside of the main attraction. I've watched and read a little bit about Fire Emblem so I might try that one since there are Persona-like things to do.
EDIT: I just remembered Marvel's Midnight Suns is a game to look out for. Sounds like it will have some exploration and social links on the side to do in between battles.
It reminds me of Valkyria Chronicles
@DJDM whether or not it's compared it will be every game is and will look similar to another because they are build on the same principal. So not sure whom made you the game Lord but if you don't understand this concept then the lost is lost on you.
Guess I'm going to have to hurry up and get done with Triangle Strategy...my brain can only keep track of so many fantasy worlds and all their intrigue at once...because this is looking like my kind of game, yet again.
Looks a bit like Divinity OS 2. Except this one looks interesting. Rarely been as bored as with Divinity :S
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