Square-Enix, they of the beloved, monolithic RPG franchises Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, have quietly released an original strategy RPG for, of all things, the iPod. Even more surprising is how cool it sounds. In Song Summoner: The Unsung Heroes, you build an army (Tune Troopers as they’re called in-game) using the songs stored in your iPod. You level your forces through the usual fighting and whatnot but you can also build their stats by listening to the song that created them. That is, frankly, one of the coolest game features I have ever heard of in my entire life.
It’s interesting to hear about such a unique and well-considered game coming out specifically for the iPod, especially in light of the recent announcement of the iPhone’s grand gaming aspirations. Games have been coming out on the iPod for close to two years now, but they’ve been pretty terrible. A little wheel is just not conducive to controlling even the simplest of games; Pac-Man and Ms. Pac-Man are unplayable messes, and the less said about Sonic the Hedgehog the better. Apple’s success with the iPod in Japan, not to mention the slow iPhone sales, certainly has something to do with Square-Enix’s efforts on the platform, but it’s still strange. 
I’m not sold on gaming for platforms not specifically built for gaming. Cell-phones, iPhones, Blackberries, iPods, etc. aren’t ergonomically sound for videogames. Sure, they’re fine for card or board games, even simple puzzlers like Snood, but anything deeper is a stretch. RPGs do seem like a good fit, but Square-Enix and any other developer throwing their hat in the ring will have to make sure that the game they build is made for very quick, short use.
Do you play games on your iPod? Do you like them? Let us know in the comments