Tales of Phantasia out in March

Nintendo has announced that Tales of Phantasia for GBA will be released in Europe at the end of March.

ToP, which first appeared on the SNES more than a decade ago, tells the story of two youngsters called Cress and Chester. Their village, Totus, is wiped out by a band of mysterious Dark Knights who are looking for two magical pendants which have the power to resurrect an evil sorceror. Wouldn't you know it, C&C just happen to have the pendants in their possession, and set out to avenge their village and do over the knights in the process.

So, yes, it's an RPG, with a battle system that requires "both strategy and reaction speed," according to Nintendo. You are able to position and command a troop of up to three characters before taking direct control of Cress, pulling off attacks and casting spells while your AI opponents do the same.

As the game progresses, you'll earn experience points which cause your character to level up, improve their abilities and learn new skills. Plus there are lots of weapons and special items to collect, unsurprisingly.

ToP also features "a unique cooking system" - as you travel around you can pick up rare and unusual ingredients, and combine them to create food or potions which come in very handy during battles.

Environments include villages, caves, forests and fortresses, and the whole thing plays out on "a huge multi-directional field map" which you guide your characters around.

Tales of Phantasia is out on March 31st.