Featuring jobs and locations from the popular Final Fantasy Tactics series, Crystal Defenders requires players to strategically deploy units to fend off encroaching enemy hordes and prevent them from stealing their party's crystals.

The WiiWare version includes several improvements to the interface and a new design optimized for consoles. A worldwide ranking system allows players to upload their scores to leaderboards and see how they stack up against other players around the globe. These and other new features are sure to increase excitement and enhance replayability.

John Yamamoto, president and chief executive officer of Square Enix Ltd. comments, “The release of these two Crystal Defenders titles on WiiWare demonstrates Square Enix’s commitment to providing new downloadable content, meeting the needs of its customers. Crystal Defenders combines easy pick-up and play mechanics, great depth and an addictive quality that make it ideal for the platform. I hope that many people experience and enjoy it.”

In a land ruled by might and magick, peace is ensured by the benevolent power of the crystals. When a young moogle charged with guarding these crystals learns of an evil presence gathering on the horizon, he calls upon heroes from the far corners of the realm to join forces and stand against this new threat.

Wielders of blade and bow, keepers of arts arcane, unite! As darkness draws nigh, only you can protect the light that binds us. The fate of Ivalice lies in the hands of...the Crystal Defenders!

Crystal Defenders R1 is a defensive simulation game in which players deploy characters from the Final Fantasy Tactics series onto a variety of different maps to battle wave after wave of encroaching monsters. The first game in the series, Crystal Guardians, was released in Japan for mobile phones in January 2008. In December of the same year, iPhone 3G, iPod touch and iPod versions were released under the new name, Crystal Defenders. To date, the total number of downloads for the series have reached over 800,000.

Crystal Defenders R1 is simple and easy to learn – monsters will enter an area and march through it until they are defeated or reach an exit, at which time they will steal one or more crystals. It is up to the player to decide – by pausing the action at crucial moments – when and where to deploy various jobs such as Black Mages or Soldiers that will attempt to defend the party’s crystals. Factors such as map terrain, monster strengths and weaknesses, job attributes, and more will play a crucial role in determining what steps a player should take.

The first of these defensive simulation games, Crystal Defenders R1 will be available for download in April, while a release date for Crystal Defenders R2 will be announced at a later stage.