Arika has opened the official website for its Nintendo DS RPG Tsubasa Chronicle. Jointly developed with Drag-on Dragoon (Drakengard) makers Cavia, this RPG is an adaption of the popular manga and anime Tsubasa. The game will use the DS' main screen to display event scenes, while the handheld's second, touch-sensitive screen will display a map. Touching a certain item on the screen will result in the characters moving to this particular location. There they will encounter enemies or initiate event scenes. As the game's story moves on, players will also obtain various cards. Battles will be card-based, as players use decks of 16 cards playing the good old rock-scissors-paper game with their opponents. Your foe's cards will be visible on screen. Cards will eventually level up and as they become more powerful, giving you access to special techniques. Depending on the level of a certain card, the in-battle character animations will also change. The game will feature more than 100 different character cards waiting to be collected.

Tsubasa Chronicle tells the story of an aspiring archaeologist who happens to be the childhood friend of Sakura, princess of the Crow Kingdom. One day an intrigue leads to Sakura losing her memory. Together with her and other friends, the protagonist has to travel to another world in other to retrieve the heroine's memory.

In addition to the main story mode, Tsubasa Chronicle also offers a connect mode, allowing players to challenge their fellow users to a card battle or two or exchange cards. The connect mode also offers a feature known as help card. Using this feature, players can copy one card of a fellow user without having to trade for it. This function however is limited to one card per player. If the player wants to get a new help card, the old one will be deleted. Furthermore, a help card's stats can't be enhanced. Last but not least there is a fortune-telling feature starring the pet Mokona. Once the game starts, the pet with the big ears will tell you your lucky color or character for the day.

Tsubasa Chronicle will be available in Japan on October 27th for 4,980 yen ($43.34 US).

• Official Tsubasa Chronicle Website