Square Enix has just surprise-released a strategy RPG called Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes for... iPod, of all things. O_o Apparently they announced it and put up the download at the iTunes Store at the same time. The gameplay involves creating fighting units using the music collection on your iPod; apparently you can then level them up by listening to the tracks you used to make them. It's a simultaneous worldwide release (in English and Japanese), priced at $5, and compatible with iPod 5th gens but not Touch.

Has anyone else tried this out yet? It was cheap and I'm a handheld gaming and Square addict so I just couldn't resist. So far my observations are... it's got all the drawbacks you'd expect from a game on the iPod, namely the tiny screen, slightly awkward controls (although you can tell the developers went to pains to compensate) and massive drain on the battery life, but it's surprisingly fun and full-featured. It feels a lot like a DS game. The constant music references throughout the dialogue and character names are very cute.