1UP: Final Fantasy Agito XIII Hands- On Preview

1UP writes: "Square Enix's DKS3713 fan event in Tokyo brought with it a few surprises, all of which were welcome. In particular, the news that Final Fantasy Agito XIII (the mobile phone installment of the Fabula Nova Crystalis franchise) will be released for PSP echoes E3's revelation of Final Fantasy XIII for Xbox 360 as a move that guarantees far more western fans will have access to the game. We're not entirely certain if Agito is exclusively PSP-based now, but it seems likely given the brief glimpses of gameplay shown in the revised game trailer.

And what a trailer it is. Where previous glimpses of the game showed what appeared to be a sort of card-based battler with the usual Tetsuya Nomura style CG art -- young beautiful people looking heroic -- the new teaser for the game is considerably darker. It begins with heavily stylized CG footage designed to resemble World War II-era newsreels (sepia tinted, high contrast, and a highly militaristic feel) as a Hitler-esque leader commands a stylized army to symbolically assault a castle-like structure -- the magic academy depicted in the prior game trailer. Inside, the academy's crystal cracks and fragments, and a team of young students stands at bay as they're surrounded by an army. It definitely has shades of the Final Fantasy Versus XIII trailer, with almost-real world magic users overwhelmed in a standoff with realistic military forces, yet it has a feel all its own and stands apart from anything that's ever borne the Final Fantasy name before."