11.1.2008

Final Fantasy XII was not a game that was met with universal praise. In terms of fan reaction, it was rather mixed. There were a great deal of people who did not like it for the lack of character depth and change to story telling. Just the same, however, there were some who were quite taken with the world of Ivalice and who loved the political and philosophical intrigue of the original Final Fantasy XII. Even if you didn't like Final Fantasy XII, however, Revenant Wings is so different that it's almost an entirely new game. That also means that if you loved Final Fantasy XII there's no guarantee you'll like Revenant Wings.Vaan and Penelo are now full fledged sky pirates.In this adventure they're helping the Aegyl people in the land of Lemure. In truth, the story is a lot simpler than Final Fantasy XII. It is also a bit more character driven. This adventure is an all new one, though. It takes place after Final Fantasy XII but even if you didn't finish the original game, it's no big deal. There are a few familiar faces, and a couple of references to the storyline of the original, but you're not missing anything by not having played the original title.In terms of how the game looks, Revenant Wings stands tall. The cutscenes are some of the best looking the DS has ever had by far. Even superior to Square-Enix's own Final Fantasy III. The game itself also looks pretty good. There is a good deal of unique artistic design here. Those who played Final Fantasy Tactics Advance will be able to recognize the art style instantly. Its also very colorful looking and bright. Revenant Wings also has a strong soundtrack. Much of it being remixed from the original game, but it sounds wonderful nonetheless.Eye candy aside, how exactly does the game play? This is where it becomes harder to judge Revenant Wings. The game is a Real Time Strategy game that's not really made for the RTS crowd. Needless to say, even if you don't like RTS games, you might still get into Revenant Wings. At the same time, however, the game is a little over simplified. Especially when compared to Final Fantasy XII. Everything is controlled via stylus. You can tap units and move them or you can trace out a box to select more than one if need be.If you're looking for a deeply strategic and challenging game, you won't really find it with Revenant Wings. It has a lot of what you'd expect from a strategy game. Such as characters who are better as ranged fighers, or better suited for melee. You'll also find that each type has a weakness. What it doesn't have that you'd expect, however, is a lot of strategy. There's a strategic element to the game but you probably won't have to utilize a lot of it. In terms of difficulty the game is incredibly easy. While there will be some missions that'll take you a while, it'll mostly come as a result of the game speed not moving fast enough. Your units move very slowly on the battlefield. You can't speed things up much either.Along those lines, the game has been simplified a lot. Where as Final Fantasy XII had a lot of complexity--especially with its gambit system--Revenant Wings doesn't offer a whole lot at all. The gambit system has returned but there's not nearly as much tweaking and experimenting to be done with it here. You can only assign one action to characters. On the other hand, you'll probably spend a lot of your time giving orders manually anyway.Units get bunched up a lot as well. Things can get pretty hectic on the battlefield. But it's no fun when units get bunched up and you're only trying to select one.It's hard to judge Revenant Wings. It is by no means a bad game. On the other hand, though, its like comparing Final Fantasy Tactics Advance to the original Final Fantasy Tactics. Final Fantasy XII was a huge game filled with a lot of complexity in its story and gameplay. Revenant Wings sacrifices all that. Perhaps simplicity is key in this case, but sometimes its hard to escape the fact that Revenant Wings, like Tactics Advance, could've stood to reach a little higher. The story could've been a little deeper and the complexities to the combat could've been fleshed out and expanded more. Regardless of that, the game is still pretty fun.

27.1.2009

This is great. This may be quite long but its just such a fab game i have to say as much as i can without writing a novel!! Here goes!The graphics are excellent on the main cut scenes though on in-game cut scenes (ie:quickenings - special attacks for those who've not played last ff)are a bit blocky, it doesn't affect game play or enjoyment.You can fly the ship about and do battle melees at places you've been to gain exp and collect loot, and also get points to get things to decorate the airship such as complete 10 melees to get a nice flower bed,or gain certain amounts of gil/money to get a crest displayed on ship.Or you can just go for the storyline, which has LOTS of twists and turns and keeps you guessing as to whats going on.I'm about 76% complete now, playing for around 41 hrs, i'm at around level 39 for all main characters and the story quests are not too difficult too pass though some require a few goes. The optional melee battles at the point of the game i'm at though are quite hard, and are being put on the back burner for a while yet! This is where the games good too cos if you die you don't actually die and have to start over from the last save - you get the option to replay the last battle and change party members etc or go back to the ship and go somewhere else. You can save anytime as well.You have to collect stones called auracite to be able to forge pacts with espers (friendly monsters that fight on your side) which you can then call into battle. I currently have 37 pieces and 2 espers left to be unlocked which will cost 3 pieces each. The auracite cannot be sold so do not go on a mad auracite gathering spree at a point in the game when it is available as loot after melees. You form a troupe by selecting 5 different espers of the available espers before the battle begins. You can see the enemy monsters and sky pirates,can touch them with stylus and see what type they are,strengths/weaknesses etc then pick your own party. You start with two for each character and you're allocated them by getting matched with your own type which is either MELEE, RANGED or FLYING. Most times you can summon more in battle.The battle system is GREAT. Its real time and the characters are running about on the battlefield with a map on top screen to see where everyone is. I won't go into detail as it will take forever but i didn't find it difficult to get to grips with or understand. Its just great fun and the graphics are FANTASTIC - so much detail. Sometimes your party gets bunched together but thats realistic as they can't walk over or through each other. Just don't put a square round your whole party and send them to the same spot if they are going near a small narrow passage. If you die or leave a battle (you can restart or quit battle anytime you want)you can do it differently next time cos the enemy movements at the start are always the same so you can be ready for them or go a different way. Sometimes you have to kill all enemies, sometimes reach a certain position or collect an item and others just kill one monster or all enemy leaders.My only complaint (4 stars for FUN) is that when you have HEAPS of loot to sell (called materials - you get weapons forged with them) you can only sell it one item at a time. With one of Kytes accessories (GOBLIN POUCH) you do get piles of the stuff and its very time consuming selling it and gets annoying after a (very short) while. . . . specially when you've just sold 500+ items in one sitting (at least thats how it feels), turn off your ds and realise you haven't saved!!Apart from that BUY THIS AND ENJOY!!

27.4.2008

I, too, walked into Revenant Wings expecting a simple FF Tactics spin off, and instead I got this game that instead plays more like some sort of bastard offspring of Command and Conquer and Cannon Fodder, or perhaps to keep things in context, that mini-game from FFVII where you had to 'build' monsters and direct them to fight for you to defend that tower. That's what Rev Wings is... a strategy game.Picking up where FFXII ended, you control Vaan and Penelo as they try to find the missing Fran and Balthier on a mysterious floating island, along the way making new friends and learning the art of 'summoning', using monsters to fight their battles for them Pokemon style. Obviously, unlike FFXII,

24.4.2009

this is a bit of a departure for the final fantasy series on the DS as it isnt a typical straight forward RPGit has the plot,which picks up nicely a year after the original game(which you dont need to have played to enjoy this game) of your standard FF farebut the battle style and general game mechanic isnt RPG in the slightestthere is none of the random wandering about looking for clues that you have in the other gamesno puzzles,no random battles that just appear out of nowherein this you control upto 5 characters with espers at their command and you use the touch screen to select them and then tell them where to go or who to fightand this gives it a nice RTS style of gameplaythe only wandering

14.8.2008

When I ordered this game, i did not expect it to be anything like what it is. Since I recieved it, I have been playing it non-stop, and have played 27 hours in the past week, (excluding the fact that ive had numerous Game Overs, and moments where ive reset my DS without saving.) I have currently completed 71% of the game, all of which has been very entertaining indeed. The gameplay is superb, and the ideas are unlike any others which i have seen other games, especially within the Final Fantasy series. I am still to complete the game: Final Fantasy XII, for the PS2, yet it doesnt matter, because the story line of Revenant Wings doesnt require you to know of the events which took place in the previous game.

13.12.2007

I bought the American release of this game. I was expecting a clone of Final Fantasy Tactics.How wrong I was.The basis of this FF game is much the same as the others in that you must save the world from some evil person who wishes to destroy everything. I won't go into more detail than that as it is nice to discover on your own.The controls take full advantage of the touch screen. You click on single units, or use a drag box to select several. Different units are mor effective against different types of enemy. Different special abilities will heal, attack, increase defence, decrease enemy defence, and various other helpful things. The specials are selected as gambits so the differnt characters can use them automaticly,

19.4.2012

I had not played any of the final fantasy games before, so had nothing to compare too, but decided to give this one a go. Initially I found it hard, and struggled to get to grips with controlling the characters, making them fight, weapons etc, so I finally put it away frustrated.But after a few days I picked it back up, a new look at it, started it again and have cracked it so far. (3 times I started it to get to grips with what I should be doing) But I am now enjoying it, am glad I bought it and will look to get the others. (I am a 42yr old female)It has turned out to be better than I expected when I first started, and is now living up to what I hoped it would.I put it away a while ago for a few days as I was struggling with a mission,

28.4.2008

Revenant Wings, to put it bluntly, is a hell of a game,Set in the usual style of FF games, you command a troupe of comrades through various dungeon style levels, collecting materials and ores for creating new weapons, and in a quirky DRAGON QUEST style twist, you also get to command a horde of Monsters, these include the FF legends of olde such as Ifrit, Shiva, Ultima etc..i'm around 50% through it now, and although up until this point i have found the game quite easy, i'm a seasoned veteran at such games so i cannot say the same for the younger generation, to whom this may be an introduction into drawn out role-playing / strategy games.I'd say this game is like a hybrid of FF:III and YS strategy,

21.5.2009

When I first got this game I wasn't sure what to expect; I hadn't played Final Fantasy XII on the PS2 so I knew that the story wouldn't make sense.When I realised it was a tactics style game I thought that it was going to be rubbish as I have never been into tactics style games I prefer the original FF style game play.After completing a few levels I was hooked; I started to realise how good this game actually is, once I had got to grips with the controls I had a different outlook on the game.If your a fan of FF Tactics then this game is one to get. I recommend playing the FF 12 on PS2 first as this game is based after it.

29.5.2008

I played this game since I wanted something new for my Nintendo DS collection and I had already completed FF XII. To be honest, the PS2 title was not really as good as I expected, but this game was fun and kept me interested for a long time. It has good missions, it's kinda long for Nintendo DS standards and also tough! Especially the final stages are quite a challenge. I recommend it for those who played Final Fantasy XII mainly, since the others will have trouble understanding the plot in a few parts of the game. Thus, 4/5 stars.

20.7.2009

This is the best final fantasy game on the DS, (drawing with final fantasy 4).Its also one of the best strategy games on the DS!This deserves a 5 star fo definate.Its fun, addictive, long lasting and the difficulty is perfect, not a pushover, but not too hard that you stop playing when you get beaten.If you love final fantasy or strategy games or both, this is a game for you.Graphics: 7/10Gameplay: 9/10Storyline 10/10! (it's AWESOME, really engaging aswell!)Overall: 9,1/2 /10.

1.11.2009

I've always been interested in final fanstasy games but never really got to grips with them, so i never bought them. I bought this game and i couldnt believe how easy it was at the start to get your head round. im now 90% through the game and ive loved it so much !I'm played other final fantasy games and they werent as good as this game ! and it came so quickly i was amazed !

28.12.2007

I got the US release of this game and it is quite simply breathtaking. I've never played the PS2 FF12 but you dont really need to know to understand the characters. The music as always is awesome and theres nothing better than sending all of your army into battle in a 20 on 20 fight to the death. I've not completed it yet but so far its been worth every penny.

4.1.2011

I got this game for Christmas, and I've only played about 4 hours but I'm loving it so far. Totally different from all the final fantasy games I've played, but the gameplay is really good and works really well with the DS. Not what I was expecting at all, but really different and fun!

4.6.2017

It takes a bit of time to get used to the game mechanics but it's one of the best games I've gotten for the DS. If you like strategy games, I would definitely recommend it. It's challenging enough that it may take a few attempts at certain battles and lots of hours of gameplay.

Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (DS) - Reviews

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