Nintendo DS owners now have a valid reason to celebrate this day amidst misleading news that constitute April Fools' Day. It has been revealed that Square Enix' Final Fantasy IV remake on Ninty's handheld is definitely coming to the west, and Atlus is taking the action to the surgery room once more with Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2.

Contents of Nintendo Power's upcoming May 2008 issue have been leaked much to everyone's delight. Aside from promising reviews for Mario Kart Wii and The World Ends With You, explosive announcements caught our attention.

First up, Final Fantasy IV's reincarnation has basically been confirmed to ship west. Square Enix' fan service-filled bite-sized had an all-star Japanese voice acting cast, though we are yet to learn if localization will do justice. There's also no release window, but we at least know that development progressed enough for English screenshots to be released.

Final Fantasy IV director Takashi Tokita, talking about a possible DS remake, also slipped an interesting tidbit that can push fans of classic Squaresoft games to the edge of their seats. He was quoted saying:

Chrono Trigger was a no-holds-barred, swashbuckling adventure that was a lot of fun to work on... If the demand is great enough, it's certainly possible. But as a creator, I feel the need to create new titles and not just series installments and remakes. I realize it's a little strange for me to be saying that in an interview about Final Fantasy IV (laughs). But I need to remind myself of that, too.

On the other hand is the scalpel of famed surgeon Derek Stiles. Together with his assistant Angie Thompson, Trauma Center is returning home in form of a sequel featuring a new story and fresh characters without leaving familiar personalities behind. The plot reportedly focuses on the GUILT virus aftermath and mysteries surrounding it.

Affectionately titled Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2, Atlus did not mention if new tools are coming, but it is said that previous ones will perform better. Easy difficulty is going to be available for greater accessibility, which should attract newcomers to the series when this hits stores come summer 2008.



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