Gaming Generations :: Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings

ThingPownin · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:34 pm Post subject:

FINAL FANTASY XII: REVENANT WINGS

Publisher: Square Enix
Release Date: 11/20/2007
Official Website: http://www.ff12revenantwings.eu.com/de/
Genre: Action Role-Playing
Number of Players: 1
ESRB Rating: (E10+) Everyone
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REVIEW

Right when you put this game into your DS and start it up, you can't help but be amazed by what you see. The opening cut scene that starts up before you see the main menu is simply beautiful. I can't describe how amazing it truely was to see something that well polished on the DS. I might have not had a chance to play Final Fantasy XII, but just by the start up of Revenant Wings, I know that I will have to one of these days. Even with this game being an RTS, (and my usual hate for RTS games) it is just so fun to play, and watch as the story unfolds in my hands where ever I go.

Story: Revenant Wings takes place a year after the events of Final Fantasy XII, and we find our heroes on Rabenastre (I can't even think if I spelled that right), just looking for an adventure. Then out of completely nowhere, the main protagonist, Vaan, discovers the Catche of the Glabados. This item may seem useless to most, but Vaan discovers what this little stone is truely capable of. After spotting a aged old ship that might have been from legend, the battle against an old rival commences. Using his power of the Catche of the Glabados, and being able to summon unique monsters to the teams aid, Vaan is able to take control of the ship, and head off on another long ship pirate adventure that will take him and his friends to places unimaginable. The story so far is just what you would expect a Final Fantasy storyline to be, and it is everything that it should be. It is just what I had hoped for and more. The story really hits home with any Final Fantasy fan, and any fan of story-driven games in general.

Gameplay: This is one of those places where this game truely shines. Controling units with the touch screen is about the easiest things I have ever done. You can select single characters to control, a certain amount, or all at once by the click of the X button. Moving units along the map is just as easy as well, because the movement of the map is used by the D-Pad. Equiping items while back on your ship, and recruiting more monsters to control is so much easier in this game because everything uses the touch screen, and it uses it extremely well. Nothing could be easier, and yet still really fun to play like this game is. The battling system itself is also so simplistic, yet fun. Taking an army of your guys, vs an army of their guys, makes for one fun experience, that you can't help but love it (and love how stupid that last statement was). All that you have to do while moving is tap on an enemy to start attacking, and if there are more than one, your team will start to attack the others as well. Abilities are as well, and you are even able to use what is called a Gambit. Using the Gambit feature is perfect for those who hate constantly picking moves. What it does, is you take one ability, map it to the Gambit, and your leader will use it instantly, then once the ability reloads, they will use it again. Simple, easy, fun!

Graphics: I already touched on this at the beginning of the review, but I didn't give full details as you might have noticed. The cut scenes, like noted, are absoulutely beautiful. Nothing has ever looked better on the DS than the cut scenes in Revenant Wings. Once you start playing it, it just drags you in with how good it truely looks. Once you get to the 16-bit main game, for an RTS game on the DS, it looks great. With the map on the top screen, and all your units on the bottom to control with the stylus, the game looks great. Not the best looking DS game outside of the cut scenes, but it still does do its fair part to look decent.

Sound: Everything that Final Fantasy does with sound, you love. I can't help but love the music that is in this game, from the classic main menu theme, to the battle music, it just all fits. Sure, there are no voice overs, but what else would you expect? It is a DS game after all. With everything that is already packed into that little cartridge, voice overs are the least of your worries. Sure, for most story based games, like this one, voice overs are a nice touch, but nothing is lost from the game with out them. Either way, it sounds like a Final Fantasy game, just like it should.

Lasting Appeal: Sure, I haven't made it far in the game yet, but this is one of those games that you know is going to last, and you are going to want to play again. I knew that right from the outset with the opening cutscene. This is just that one game that I am going to play over and over again, and not get old.

Overall: So far, I just can't help but love this game. It has done nothing but impress me. There are a few downfalls, but they don't ruin much of the game at all. All in all, it is a great game. 9.3/10
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Pictures courtesy of GameSpot.com
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ThingPownin