Review
Release Date: 11.20.2007
Platform:
Nintendo DSDeveloper:
Think & Feel, Inc.Publisher:
Square-Enix USAReviewed by
Mikey Dowling on 3.3.2008
| Review Rating: 7/10 | User Rating: 8/10 |
Since
Final Fantasy, the
Final Fantasy franchise has been nowhere near final. Then with
Final Fantasy X-2,
Square Enix (then just
Squaresoft) proved that none of their fantasies would have to be final either, and also made the seemingly hardest video game title for most people to pronounce correctly. For reference, it’s “Ten-two,” not, “Ecks-two.”
So not wanting to let their fantasies die, Square-Enix decided to make a sequel to their most recent critical and fan darling,
Final Fantasy XII, with
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings. Developed by
Think & Feel Inc., a different route was chosen not only for the gameplay, but for the console as well. Instead of being on the PS2, the sequel would appear on the DS. And foregoing the traditional RPG (and thank goodness, a dress-up sim) they decided to make it an RTS.
That’s right… a real-time strategy game.
To just toss the familiar cast of
FFXII into an RTS without some sort of explanation would be odd, so the reasoning behind it is that Vaan and Penelo, after an encounter with Balthier and Fran, have found the long-thought-to-be-lost land of Lemurés, the home to the Aegyl (a race that was previously only alluded to in
FFXII thanks to a bracelet). Shortly after their arrival, they discover that the land is protected by magical stones known as Auraliths. Fragments of the Auralith known as Auracite open up sections on the Ring of Fate (think of it as a license board just for units) which gives you access to the Yarhi -- which are the Espers to Lemurés -- to control in battle.
So since you get to build a small brigade of Yarhi to accompany you, and taking turns for everyone would be ridiculous, making the game into an RTS makes a little more sense. And it works, too!
… Kind of.
While a system like the DS with its touch screen seems like the ideal handheld to have an RTS, the limited screen space is the first shortcoming. The RTS genre is generally home to epic battles, but in
FFXII:RW they're more like limited skirmishes. You’re only allowed a certain amount of units at a time, but more often than not you’ll just be sending in everyone at once (Zerg rush total) just to get things done faster. Kind of knocking the whole rock, paper, scissors strategy out the door (although it does come in handy sometimes, but you could honestly go through about 98% of the game without having to pay much mind to it).
Even with its flaws though,
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings is still a good game. The soundtrack, which is once again composed by Hitoshi Sakimoto and Kenichiro Fukui is amazing and easily one of the best on the DS. The story, although not original, is still compelling enough to see what happens (especially if you like the cast of
FFXII), and the CG cut scenes are incredibly well done. Plus, if you get 100% (achieved by completing all of the missions in the game) it makes every enemy on the last map at level 99 making you have to grind a ton to even come close to winning. In the end, if you can look past its combat flaws, and let yourself enjoy a decent sequel to a great game, you won’t be disappointed.
