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This week, we get our first taste of Nintendo's new WiiWare demos. Surprisingly, it didn't take Nintendo that long to flip the switch for North America, considering the company revealed the long-overdue feature -- and day-one annoyance -- only earlier this month. And on top of the free trial versions of select WiiWare titles (five total this week!), there are also two new Virtual Console titles to enjoy, as well as three new DSiWare games. Hit the break for the full list.

Of all the shocks out of Nintendo's E3 presentation, perhaps nothing was as shocking as the revelation that Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers is still happening, and even happening in North America. Well, not really. But we must admit that even when we saw the demo station in Nintendo's booth, we didn't really ... believe it was real. And they even let us play it. Really. We played Crystal Bearers. Have a look at some new screens and then check out our impressions after the break.

The latest issue of Famitsu has a pretty extensive preview for the upcoming Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Crystal Bearers, a game that we've only recently seen in action. There's no denying it: Crystal Bearers doesn't look like your average Final Fantasy game, let alone your average Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles game. That's because we now know it's set in a uniquely futuristic world that has traded in swords for guns. It's a world where magic has been forgotten and where the Yukes have fought a long, vicious war with the Lilties and lost (as in, like, every Yuke). The Lilties are still around, though, and now use the crystals to help people.

Enter Layle, the person who has been all over the trailers and art for the game (and in the image above this very post!). As a Crystal Bearer of the Clavat race, he has some unique abilities that allow him to manipulate gravity (not everyone forgot magic, we suppose). The story of the game revolves around him and his run-in with one of the supposedly extinct Yukes.

We won't go into the story any more than that in case you're trying to remain pure, but know that the game plans to use the Wiimote in some interesting ways. Since Layle can manipulate gravity, he can do a variety of different things to the environment around him and the objects in it. He can grab demons and toss them at other demons, kind of like a basic attack (though the Famitsu article says Layle will have different options depending on the demon he grabs). If he tries to grab something heavy or stationary (the example given is a ceiling lamp), then it will send him flying toward that object like he's using a grappling hook.

If you want to read IGN's summary of the Famitsu piece, then go ahead and give this a click. For those of you that want to look at the pictures, a scan has found its way online here. Oh, and in case you were wondering why it's taken so long to get details on the game, know that it's due to Square Enix not even having started development on it when it announced the title. Smooth move, Square Enix!

Iwata just announced two new Final Fantasy games for WiiWare! My Life as a Darklord is a spooky-evil sequel to the WiiWare launch title My Life as a King. Final Fantasy IV: The After Years is the previously cellphone-only sequel to Final Fantasy IV!

Even better, vintage Final Fantasy is coming to the Virtual Console! The Final Fantasy games will be arriving on Nintendo's download service starting later this year.

Those of us who've been seeing what is going on with FFCC: Echoes of Time and happen to live in North America, know that we get our chance to check out the DS-Wii compatible game on March 24th, when both the DS and Wii games will ship to retail. Square Enix has just cleared the game for release in the region, so you can be sure that we'll be looking to check it out then. What about you all? Looking forward to getting your hands on Echoes of Time?

There's plenty available to DS gamers this week. Heck, when is that not the case? Gosh, we love the DS. It just gets so many darn good games. Like, all of the time. So, check out which games are going to be begging for your money this week below.

This week's North American releases are:

• The Chase: Felix Meets Felicity
• Imagine: Cheerleader
• Jojo's Fashion Show
• Coraline

Head past the break for the rest of this week's releases around the globe.

Some new videos for Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time have hit GameTrailers and they show us what we're dying to see: integration between the DS and Wii versions of the game. As you all know, playing the two are very similar, so it should be nothing but good times come this spring when the game releases.

Check out the comparison video above, then head past the break for two more videos, which show off character customization and two-player gameplay.

The latest update about Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time, Square Enix's DS/Wii action RPG, shows off some of the extra stuff that can be done in-game with pals. You can get new quests from Stiltzkin the Moogle, who has previously appeared in Final Fantasy IX and both previous Crystal Chronicles games, as well as from people around town.

One of the quests shown: wrangling wayward cattle in a dungeon! Your team must use red flags to direct wandering cows to their destination without allowing any of them to get killed. Now that's adventurin'!

When not corraling, you'll also be able to play a few multiplayer minigames, including boss rush and some kind of game about getting a floating beach ball into a whirlpool.

We're slowly being converted into full-on Dragon Questism by the Dragon Quest IX hype, and this trailer from this weekend's Jump Festa event is certainly effective in that respect. It just looks like pure fun in a genre that is often dour and pretentious! We are officially in love with Koichi Sugiyama's Dragon Quest theme now. Square Enix and Level-5 may have been planning changes to the gameplay at one point, but any traces of action-RPG are gone now, and this is absolutely canonical Dragon Quest.

After the break, a trailer for another Square Enix RPG that may not inspire as much adoration in so many: Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time. Your enjoyment of this trailer may hinge upon whether you think Echoes of Time's cross-platform release is innovative or merely cheap.

Anyone who picks up a copy of the Japanese version of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time will get a bonus: a trailer for the oft-discussed, much-delayed, and not-canceled The Crystal Bearers. As to whether or not it's an all-new trailer, we can't say. We can only report that it's a "special" trailer. But hey! The real news here is that Square Enix wants us to be reassured that The Crystal Bearers lives, and it's coming. And maybe we'll get lucky and it will be an all-new trailer filled with amazing footage that will knock our socks clean off. We'll find out come the end of January, when Echoes of Time is released.

The North American release of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time will be echoed in Europe, according to a Square Enix press release. There's no solid date beyond "spring," but the press release specifically mentions both the DS and Wii versions of the game.

The cross-platform RPG features both online and local wireless multiplayer, through which up to four DSes can play together with one hosting, or one DS can host three DS players. The European release features English, Spanish, French, and German language modes, with multiplayer across languages also supported. To aid in communication, Echoes has a selection of fixed macros as well as user-customizable ones.

Check our gallery for the first English screens (of the DS version, mostly)!

Square Enix has announced plans to release Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time in North America next spring. The cross-platform ARPG will let players of the DS and Wii editions fight, level up, and build junk together, regardless of which console they're playing on. Both versions will come out on the same day, because that's kind of the point. Worryingly, GameStop has the Wii game priced at $10 more than its DS cousin -- in Japan, both cost the same.

Lumping DS and Wii players together means both games are pretty much identical (minus some on-screen furniture), but also allows us to pass the DS gallery off as a Wii gallery. Handy!

[Via press release]

After the recent back-and-forth, is-it, isn't-it on the fate of Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers, Game|Life's Chris Kohler sat down and did a little in-depth examination of the situation, and in his opinion, things aren't looking too great for Square Enix fans hoping for an epic SE experience on the Wii. While he grants that Square Enix stated outright that the game still exists and is still in development, he calls it vaporware and seems to doubt that the title will ever see a release. There's some interesting analysis of SE's press release that's worth looking at, as well as prior statements on rumors from Electronic Gaming Monthly.

Either this is going to be the best game ever, or something -- like Dragon Quest IX and Final Fantasy XIII? -- is diverting resources. Even SE can only make so many sprawling gaming experiences at a time. We diehards need to just settle back and wait for the dust from Final Fantasy XIII and co. to clear (if it ever does); after that, we'll probably get word on The Crystal Bearers. Chris Kohler may not agree, but if Square Enix says The Crystal Bearers are coming, well, we'll just believe they are. Someday, at least.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: Echoes of Time‎ utilizes a specifically designed game engine that allows Wii and DS owners to play online together.

Both versions of the title will look, sound, and cost (¥5,040 in Japan) the same, but there are slight benefits to each. Even with its screen-within-a-screen design, the Wii game will still feature a larger viewing area when hooked up to your TV, while the DS edition obviously has the bonus of increased portability. If you are getting Echoes of Time, which platform will you be buying it for, and why?

Update: Huzzah! Square Enix says the game is still on.

Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: The Crystal Bearers is more than just a long title -- it's also a questionable game with a sketchy history. It's a history that may finally have come to a close, however: after back-and-forth rumors of the game's continuation and demise, apparently the latest issue of EGM points toward the game's cancellation. While the EGM rumor may be off track, we're certainly not surprised if it does turn out to be the truth. We've been considering it gone for some time, and only now, as we are reminded of what could have been, are we saddened again. Lament with us in the comments, if you wish.

[Via GoNintendo]