Nintendo DS News | Full Metal Alchemist Confirmed for US

Despite being launched back in July, 2005 over in Japan and barely reaching the sales potential many thought it had, the Square Enix property Fullmetal Alchemist: Dual Sympathy, actually developed by Bandai, is at long last being brought over to the US thanks to Destineer sometime during the Autumn period.

Whilst the PlayStation 2 versions of FMA have had a lukewarm reception to say the least in the West, the anime show is fast increasing in popularity and with the DS boom at the moment, the timing is perfect to translate it.

Paul Rinde, CEO of Destineer, was quoted as saying:

"With Fullmetal Alchemist, our goal is to deliver a thrilling interactive experience that is authentic to the TV show by incorporating the character voices and cinematic scenes, as well as the uniquely compelling use of alchemy. There is certainly a groundswell of anticipation already brewing and we are excited to be kicking off the first in a series of Fullmetal Alchemist games with a wonderfully creative Nintendo DS offering."

The game revolves around an alchemist by the name of Edward Elric and his younger sibling Alphonse. In the story they are aiming to get their hands on the infamous Philospher's Stone, which some may know is a magical item that betrothes its owner with the ability to perform human transmutation. Throughout the game, alchemy is vital to the proceedings and there are unique alchemical attacks for each of the game's six players.

Remaining faithful to the anime show, there are two main modes, Story and Character, with the former following the brothers during their adventure and the latter focusing more on the supporting cast that includes Roy Mustang, Alex Louis Armstrong and Scar.

Good news for fans that have held off importing the game is that it will feature voice-acting from the American actors/actresses that work on the TV show. There will also be a nice supply of extra content thrown in, such as character galleries and cinematics from the anime. Finally, to wrap up the package nicely, more than ten touch-screen mini-games are included, examples being 'Whack-a-Homunculus' and 'Fullmetal vs. Flame'.

Stick with Cubed3 for further updates on this...