Square Enix, famous for game franchises such as Final Fantasy and Kingdom Heartshas finally announced the release date for its latest strategy RPG game, The DioField Chronicle† It brought the information into a The DioField Chronicle trailer posted to the official Square Enix YouTube account.
The DioField Chronicle was first announced during a presentation by Sony outlining upcoming games for the PlayStation consoles. It is a tactical strategy RPG, with gameplay similar to titles like XCOM and fire emblem, but with what Square Enix calls a "Real-Time Tactical Battle" system more like real-time strategy RPG combat.
The release date trailer is only two and a half minutes long, but showcases a mix of cinematics, gameplay and character art from the game. The gameplay showcases some of the strategic user interface, with the character walking towards a card table from a third person perspective. They then select the table, which asks to zoom in on the map where they select a mission to play. After that, the trailer shows some in-game combat, where the player gives commands and uses unit abilities to outflank and destroy the enemy forces. Art of the main characters and their names are shown, and at the end the release date is revealed: September 22, 2022.
While at first glance the combat looks like turn-based tactical strategy games, the trailer seems to show it's more like RPGs like pillars of eternity, where battles take place in real time, but players have access to a pause that allows attacks, moves, and skills to be queued. The mission selection seems to lean more towards: XCOMbut the capabilities and user interface definitely resemble an RPG more than a tactical strategy game.
While the gameplay differs significantly from last fantasy, there is still a draw for fans of the Square Enix franchise. Despite no official ties to the Final Fantasy universe, the art style is similar and Final Fantasy artist Isamu Kamikokuryo is responsible for some of the character art. He previously worked on Final Fantasy 12 and Final Fantasy 13, so it's safe to assume there might be some more matches showing up.
The real-time battle system may turn down some players who are more used to the traditional turn-based systems that games like XCOM use. Even with a tactical pause available, real-time tactical combat can be chaotic and confusing, causing players to lose track of where vital units are, or potentially resulting in the loss of a key character to an undetected enemy attack. Despite this, there are some great examples of real-time tactical combat, and it can lend itself to a much faster gameplay flow, meaning there's less chance of players losing patience and interest.
The DioField Chronicle out September 22 for PC, PS4, PS5, Switch, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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