By: Shawn Collier   (@ShawnCollier)

Back in February XSEED Games announced that they would be brining The Last Story to North America with a tentative Summer 2012 release. The publisher has now announced the finalized release date for the game alongside word of some special pre-order bonuses that will be included with the game upon release for pre-orderers.

Led by Hironobu Sakaguchi, the father of Final Fantasy, his team at Mistwalker and in collaboration with AQ Interactive, The Last Story puts players in control of a group of mercenaries in search of work in the harbour town of Lazulis Island. The game features a variety of mechanics, from a cover system to to long range Focus attacks, and online co-op and competitive modes.

The North American release of The Last Story will be released on August 14. All initial copies of the game will include a bonus 44-page softcover art book packaged together with the game inside a custom outer box. And if you pre-order at participating retailers you will also get a bonus soundtrack CD with seven of the game’s tracks.

Source: Gaming Union