*Read the following while listening to the original game’s background music

In a press release today, Square-Enix has announced the next big Final Fantasy title they will be working on, and it’s nothing anyone suspected. The RPG juggernaut has begun work on a sequel to Final Fantasy Mystic Quest entitled simply Final Fantasy Mystic Quest 2. The reason for this remake supposedly comes from surprisingly high sales of Final Fantasy Mystic Quest on the Wii Virtual Console. After seeing how popular the title was, Square began planning for a retro-remake sequel.

Mystic Quest 2 is being planned for the WiiWare platform only. It will use traditional sixteen bit sprite graphics, much in the way that Final Fantasy IV: The After Years did. Much like The After Years, Mystic Quest 2’s sprites will actually be larger and higher resolution, more closely resembling sprites form Final Fantasy VI than anything else.

The original Mystic Quest system will be used for this remake, which means the game will be part action-adventure and part RPG. Players will be able to jump, cut down trees with a sword, use bombs to open us secret passage ways, or use a grappling hook to clear wide gaps. Square is also adding a pair of dash boots, to allow you to run quickly, a bow and arrow, to allow you to hit targets and switches from afar, and a boomerang, to retrieve items at a distance and bring them back to you.

As was the case in the original Mystic Quest, enemies will be present in the overworld, but contacting them will take you into a battle screen. Here, your party will line up in front of the enemy in Dragon Quest style, and attacks will employ a turn-based system. As before you will be able to swap your weapons in the middle of battle, and your HP will be represented by a Fire Emblem-esque tick meter.

The story of the game takes place ten years after the previous Mystic Quest. The kingdoms in Fireburg have declared war on all the other nations of the Mystic Quest world. It’s up to Benjamin and Tristan to gather their companions and find the crystals once more, in order to fight back against Fireburg and the dark force that is controlling it. Gamers will be able to revisit all the locales from the previous Mystic Quest.

Final Fantasy Mystic Quest 2 is planned to release on April 1st, 2012, which is a peculiar decision. Personally, we wonder if fans will be able to even notice the game’s release amongst the inevitable sea of false news stories and April Fools jokes that will flood the internet.

We wonder …

Hmmmmm …

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