The world of Ivalice has been an oft-tapped vein for the Final Fantasy series, with the world
showing up in titles like Final Fantasy Tactics and Final Fantasy XII, and even
popping up in non-Final Fantasy games like Vagrant Story. The reasoning is
pretty obvious, as the land of Ivalice has a rich universe and plenty of great
characters and art direction already available from previous games. Square-Enix
has announced their Ivalice Alliance, offering an upcoming series of games that
will take place in the world, with Final Fantasy Tactics: War of the Lions for
the PSP currently being available. The next title to hit the US is Final Fantasy
XII: Revenant Wings.
A sequel of sorts
to last year’s phenomenal Final Fantasy XII on the PS2, Revenant Wings is a bit
more of a ballsy title, opting for a fast-paced RTS style of gameplay as opposed
to the series’ tried-and-true turn-based mechanics. However, the gamble has
ultimately paid off, as the game is a great direction for the series, and fits
well on the Nintendo DS. While the controls themselves are a little hard to get
used to, the game is a deep and complex handheld game that will keep Final
Fantasy fanatics entertained for a long while.
As I’ve already
established, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings takes place in Ivalice shortly
after the events that took place in Final Fantasy XII. The game centers on the
two leads from FFXII, Vaan and Penello, as they commandeer an airship and leave
their hometown of Rabanastre and head for the land of Lemure. Upon arrival, they
meet up with Llyud, a member of the winged Aegyl race, who are falling upon hard
times due to treasure hunters. With the help of Rabanastrean buddies Kytes and
Filo, they embark on a quest to discover what is happening on Lemure and help
the Aegyl race with their plight.
On a certain
level, the game has a lot of elements of the Final Fantasy Tactics series. The
checks and balances between your characters and their abilities (as in magic
users or flight-capable fighters) are in place here. Some of your characters
will be better suited for close combat while others will work best at long
range, and it’s up to you to properly manage your units and their gambits
(basically AI instructions) to ensure that they don’t get creamed on the
battlefield.
You’ll also be
able to up your troop numbers by summoning Espers to fight by your side. This
allows you to either summon a ton of small Espers to fight with your crew, or
fewer large Espers, depending on your play style and the situation at hand.
While the RTS
action is a nice touch for the series, the game’s controls are possibly the
weakest element of the game. The stylus simplifies things a lot and makes it
easier to get into for fans who aren’t terribly proficient with strategy
interfaces. However, I had a few grumbles with it. It doesn’t do much for
lefties, as the D-Pad has to be used to move the camera around the map and
cannot be remapped to the face buttons, making it tough for southpaws to hold
the stylus and still try to control their units.
Secondly,
selecting between units on the battle field is not terribly intuitive, since the
characters all seem to cluster together frequently and picking one out of the
crowd is awkward. My last problem with the controls is more of an annoyance than
a problem with the game. When you select a unit or a number of units and then
order them to perform an action, the game will suddenly unselect them, requiring
you to re-highlight them with the stylus should you change your mind. This can
be problematic when you have many troops on the field, and are trying to
micromanage and have to put everything else on hold so you can reselect a bunch
of soldiers.
Graphically, the
game is pretty good. The world of Ivalice and the phenomenal art direction
behind it is well represented in the game’s lavish 3D backgrounds, which boast a
great amount of detail for a Nintendo DS game. However, the character models
could’ve been done better, as the 2D sprites look blocky and lack a lot of
detail. The music is fantastic, bringing back the wonderful score from Final
Fantasy XII and applying it nicely to the DS.
Revenant Wings is
a pretty different Final Fantasy title, and the control scheme might take some
getting used to, but the game offers deep and complex gameplay that will keep
you enthralled for hours on end.
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Gameplay:
8.5
Final
Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings brings the series to new heights by offering up some
interesting RTS-style gameplay. The control scheme uses the stylus almost
exclusively, but selecting your troops feels somewhat clumsy. Still, the game is
very deep and quite complex, and will have you playing for many hours.
Graphics:
8.0
The 3D
backgrounds look great and have tons of detail and great art direction. However,
the blocky sprites are pretty ugly and lack detail.
Sound: 9.0
The
great soundtrack from Final Fantasy XII on PS2 has been ported nicely to the DS
and sounds great, even changing with the mood of the game.
Difficulty:
Medium
Concept:
8.5
Taking
the series away from its tried and true turn-based mechanics was a gamble, but
the game has an extraordinary amount of depth for a handheld game. The story
isn’t quite as coherent as the actual FF games.
Overall:
8.5
Final
Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings is a great addition to the DS’s library and an
interesting entry to the Final Fantasy universe. While the controls take some
getting used to (especially if you’re a southpaw), there is plenty of fun to be
had in Revenant Wings.
