New information about Enix's upcoming release Dragon Quest Monsters II: Marta's Mysterious Key has been revealed, as the March release date draws nearer. Relating mostly to the game's story and setting, the new details will doubtless add to the anticipation surrounding the game, and draw attention away from speculation that at least one of the game's two parts will be delayed.

Dragon Quest Monsters II: Marta's Mysterious Key is set in Marta, rival to the land of Daiju in which the original Dragon Quest Monsters took place. The heroes will be a young girl and her brother, Iru and Ruka respectively. Both characters will have a separate adventure, and there are fears that these two games will no longer be released simultaneously, as was originally intended. This is, however, unconfirmed at this point; Enix has remained silent on news of the delay, and has offered nothing to confirm the delay or to provide an alternate release date.

Rumours notwithstanding, the two adventures promise to be quite distinct, as the main characters are very different in nature. Ruka employs attack-type monsters in his attacks, while Iru uses assistance-type monsters in battle. There is a link between the two games, represented by the 'Mysterious Keys' mentioned in the subtitle. These keys are randomly generated throughout the game, and allow the player to travel to unknown worlds. They can also be exchanged using the game link cable. Finally, if trading keys isn't enough to keep players occupied, there's also over 300 monsters available, promising to provide hours of monster-hunting goodness.

Dragon Quest Monsters II - Marta's Mysterious Key: Iru's Journey and Dragon Quest Monsters II: Marta's Mysterious Key - Ruka's Adventure are both set for release on March 20th at this point. There are currently no plans for a North American release.