Last month, Square revealed that it was working on a DS-based action RPG titled Blood of Bahamut that has humans duke it out with huge giants. In order to defeat these towering creatures, players first have to take aim at their "core." Once the player has succeeded in destroying the armor protecting it, the core can be damaged more easily than other parts of the giant. Once the core has taken a certain amount of damage, the player can start shifting his attention to other body parts.

Once a giant has been defeated, the player will obtain so-called "materials" depending on the body parts he has destroyed during battle. These "materials" can also be acquired by defeating small monsters summoned by the giants in battle. Collecting these "materials" will enable the player to produce powerful weapons.

The game's development team is led by producer Eisuke Yokoyama (who previously worked on Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings). Direction duties are handled by Motomu Toriyama (Final Fantasy X, X-2, XIII, etc.) and Takanari Ishiyama (Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings). Toshitaka Matsuda (Final Fantasy IX, X-2, XII Revenant Wings) is serving as art director, while Airi Yoshioka has been responsible for the character designs. Last but not least, Naoshi Mizuta (Parasite Eve 2, Final Fantasy XI) is composing the game's soundtrack.

Today's update also revealed two previously unannounced characters. As a summoned creature, Ifrit may be a welcome sight during battles in a main series Final Fantasy game, but in Blood of Bahamut's case, he is anything but. Ifrit is one of the towering beasts players will face in battle. The second character, a skilled military commander named Kamo Ogre, will be playable. He seems to have some kind of relationship with Ifrit. He has not joined the volunteer army fighting the giants, but instead has chosen to fight alone.

Blood of Bahamut has yet to receive an official release date.

• Famitsu