Shaman King to rule PS2, GBA

Having already conquered America's Saturday-morning airwaves, Shaman King is now expanding into games. Konami announced today it has secured the license for the Japanese anime/manga and plans to create a PlayStation 2 and Game Boy Advance game based on the property. "Shaman King follows Yu-Gi-Oh as the second franchise that we have developed into video games for the North American and the European markets," said Konami CEO Kazumi Kitaue in a statement.

Though a Shaman King game was released in 2002 for the PlayStation One and the GBA, the two new games--both called Shaman King--will be all-new creations. According to the release, the PS2 title "blends the elements of strategy, battling and role-playing games" while the GBA game "puts players in an exhilarating side-scrolling adventure." Konami is planning to release the two games in North America in 2004 and Europe in 2005.

Shaman King's source manga/anime profiles Yoh Asakura, a mild-mannered student who lives a double life as a spirit-summoning shaman. The games will follow Yoh's attempt to win a quincentennial tournament and become (drum roll) the Shaman King. Aiding him in his quest is the ghost of a centuries-dead Samurai named Amidamaru.