Typical Final Fantasy games cast you as a spiky haired hero that leads a party of characters on a perilous journey through monster-filled dungeons. Square Enix's upcoming WiiWare game, Final Fantasy Crystal Chronicles: My Life as a King brushes aside this cookie cutter formula in exchange for a simulation experience. Some gamers may balk at exchanging their swords for building tools, but strategists looking for something deeper should find a lot to love.

Instead of battling creatures and collecting new weapons, you play as the pint-sized King Leo that returns to his exiled father's kingdom in the hopes of rebuilding it. You'll construct homes for your loyal subjects, as well as item shops and armories for your soldiers. After providing them with the best equipment, you'll order troops on dungeon crawls and they'll send reports of their findings. In addition, you can post jobs on a town message board, and various passersby will take you up on your offers. In addition, you can only build on glowing land, and Square Enix gives you a helper in the form of Chime, a youngster that aids you in your exploits.

My Life as a King is a fully 3-D adventure, and although the visuals look dated, Square Enix still did a nice job making things look colorful and detailed. With that being said, the strategy element makes the graphics a secondary priority, and we doubt most gamers will complain about the jagged edges on a building, not with nearly unlimited replay value and the promise of downloadable content.
What they may moan about, however, is the game's price. Whereas most WiiWare games will probably fall in the 500-1000 point range, My Life as a King will cost a whopping 1500 points ($15). That notwithstanding, it appears that Square Enix created a delightful sim that'll appeal to its audience. Prepare to enter your new kingdom May 12.