Square Enix has announced its new strategy RPG game, The Diofield Chronicle, is arriving on Steam on September 22. The game's Steam page is here and a demo will be released August 10, the save data from which can be carried-over to the full game.
The publisher describes Diofield Chronicle's combat as a real-time tactical battle system in which you issue "decisive orders that take advantage of your troops strengths and weaknesses to gain advantage over your foe." It's a 3D strategy game where there's no grid, and it plays out in realtime but with a pause function for the ordering bit that seamlessly overlays the battlefield then disappears after the instruction.
The game's setup is a fairly typical fantasy RPG world which is mired in endless war, where you take command of a band of mercenaries called Blue Fox. The character designs are by Taiki (Lord of Vermilion III, IV) while the orchestrated soundtrack comes from composers Ramin Djawadi and Brandon Campbell, best-known for their work on Game of Thrones.
Square Enix has a long and distinguished history in this genre, and is behind some of the very best examples of strategy or tactics RPGs ever made. Some of Diofield Chronicle's trappings may seem a little over-familiar, but the diorama-style visuals are beautiful and soon enough we'll know if this new battle system is as special as the publisher thinks.
