Mist Walker working on strategic RPG for Nintendo DS

Japanese development studio Mist Walker, which was founded by former Square Enix staffer Hironobu Sakaguchi, has confirmed that its first project will be a strategic RPG title for the Nintendo DS.

Sakaguchi is best known as the creator of the Final Fantasy series, and continued to work on the series right up until his departure last year from the company that he helped to put on the map.

Speaking in an interview on the official Japanese DS website, Sakaguchi said that he is a big fan of the strategy RPG genre - which includes the Final Fantasy Tactics games - but has never created one himself before now.

"I think that the elements in strategy RPGs, such as moving around the pieces or instructing [pieces to move to] areas, go perfectly with the touch-sensitive panel," he continued. "I'm hoping to make it into a game that can be deeply enjoyed with just the stylus."

The project will no doubt be watched keenly by handheld fans, especially since Final Fantasy Tactics Advance proved to be such a major catalyst for early sales of the GBA SP console in Japan.