Namco only recently unveiled the first details of its latest handheld title, Tales of the Tempest, including the game's name. But now a bit more information has come to light regarding the first iteration of the Tales series on Nintendo's DS system, this time concerning how the game will look and play.

Tales of the Tempest will contain a mix of visual styles, as the game will blend 2D battles with 3D field maps for the overworld, dungeons, and towns. While this marks the first appearance of 2D battles in the series in quite some time, Tales of the Tempest will retain the staple system known as the Linear Motion Battle System, which allows characters to move across a line in battle to attack enemies in different positions.

Namco seems intent on making use of the unique features of the Nintendo DS, as the company has confirmed that characters will be controllable in battle through the handheld's touch screen. Outside of battle, one screen will be used to display the game's main action, while the second screen will have a constant display of various menu information such as characters' status displays. Lastly, the game will make use of the DS' built-in wireless abilities for cooperative multiplayer gameplay.

Tales of the Tempest is set for release in Japan sometime in 2006. As of yet, no North American or European release has been mentioned.