From the latest issue of Famitsu comes the news that Sega will be releasing a new entry in the Phantasy Star series. This latest entry, the first of the series on the Nintendo DS console, will be called Phantasy Star 0 (Zero).

The game will be using the 3D capabilities of the DS hardware and will feature character designs from Toshiyuki Kubooka, who did the character designs for the Lunar series. The scenario will be a joined effort between Tooru Shiwasu (who previously worked on PSO) and Teru Arai (a mystery novel writer).

The game will draw its inspiration from the recent "Online" Phantasy Star games and not the older turn-based RPGs of the Master System and Genesis era. Phantasy Star Zero will offer a multiplayer mode of up to 4 players and the story mode can also be played with up to 4 players in local wi-fi. The game will also have integrated chat in the forms of stylus sketches (Pictochat).

The game is scheduled for release this winter in Japan. You can check out some screenshots of the game in the scans below.

• Wii@Everyday