David Oates
Tonberry
Reg: 07-2004
Posts: 59
Greatness: 14 (+18/-4)
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 Final Fantasy XII - Revenant Wings review
Okay, I'll admit this - I wanted to like this.
You see, for all its flaws, for all that the combat system stunk, the espers were ineffectual and the weapons and spells looked weak, I really liked FFXII.
Maybe it was the plot, which for the first time since FFVII was actually epic, rather than the emo trash of VIII, the cutesy retro of IX or the short, linear tale of X. Maybe it was the sheer size of the game world, the depth of the political background and intrigue or the gorgeous cutscenes.
For whatever reason though, I was in the camp of those who thought that this game ranks up there as once of the best, so naturally I wanted the sequel not to turn into the same crappy money-making scheme that X-2 was.
Sadly, I was disappointed.
The game pegs itself as an RTS for the DS - an unlikely match if ever there was one, as RTS games really need a large monitor and a lot of time to immerse yourself in.
Putting one on a handheld console is just nuts, given that the whole purpose of a handheld system is to entertain people while on the train to work, staying away in hotels or generally where they can't get to a real PC or console. A good RTS game should be so involved that a level should take an hour or so to clear, and should require a little more attention to detail than can be gained on a crowded train, not to mention the problems with such a small screen for so many characters.
Graphics:
I have to say that I was impressed when I initially turned it on. The opening cutscene is absolutely flawless, and some of the best graphics ever seen on the DS. As with FFXII, I just let the thing play for 3 or 4 times before I even started a game.
That's where the impressiveness ended, however, as the actual RTS game sprites are small, badly finished and somewhat uninspiring. Even the larger sprites of the high level espers look like they've been drawn by the guy on work experience rather than an experienced artist. The backgrounds do try to make up for it, but overall the quality of the visuals is poor.
In addition, although you don't notice it on the initial training levels due to the small number of sprites on the field, in later levels there's no real spacing between members of your army, leading to your force degenerating into an undulating clump of moving pixels that mills around with no particular direction, generally getting in each other's way and not really moving anywhere. With this number of sprites clumped together, it's also extremely difficult to select just the one you want.
Sound
The one area that this game really does shine, with some of the music being ported directly from the original, along with some fresh ones besides.
Not here will you find the irritatingly looped same 10 seconds of elevator musak that you find on most DS and GBA games - some care has really been taken with this, so you never feel like simply turning the volume off, as I do with many other games on handhelds.
Storyline.
Oh dear, we've been contracting this out to the lowest bidder again, haven't we. I haven't got far enough in to see many of the twists yet, but the basics are enough to make me cringe.
Vaan, Penelo and two of the kids from the orphan gang in the last game, Kytes and Filo, travel to a new sky continent that's mysteriously appeared out of nowhere (?) There they link up with a new character, Llyud, of a winged humanoid race called the Aegyl, and try to defend the place against a horde of Sky Pirates looking to pillage it, and a mysterious stranger (TM) that looks set to literally destroy the place.
Hardly the Dune-esque political drama of the original is it - I'm getting a sense of X-2 here. It's nice to see all the old characters again, just as it was nice to see them in X-2, Advent Children, and the other spin-offs, but there's just something lacking here.
I am, of course, trying to ignore the unfolding side-plot of Vaan trying to set up his 11 year old friend Filo with the 20 year old Llyud - I know Vaan can be kind of childish, but what kind of sick, twisted puppy of a scriptwriter thought that one into being?
Gameplay.
In a decent RTS, there is strategy.
In Warhammer, two armies wheel and position themselves to charge the opposing regiments to give them optimum terrain and position advantage.
In Warhammer 40K, you match the right troops for the job and terrain, protecting wide open fields with heavy weapons fire while sending your close combat troups in through heavy cover to surprise the enemy.
In Command and Conquer, you protect your base, research and crank out defence troops until you can construct the right army to steamroller the enemy, or churn out hordes of light infantry to rush the enemy base in the hope he won't have his defences built up in time to counter your early charge.
Sadly, there's none of this with Revenant Wings. Your characters start together and instantly summon their foot troops (in this game, the wild monsters you fought in the wildernesses of FFXII become low-level espers that you can summon to fight for you, and the real espers of FFXII become high level beings that you can summon once you've captured a summoning gate, but which you can only have one of.)
Disregarding the massive plot hole, in which these espers were assigned to one individual alone, permanently, when you beat them in the original game - and so would still be with them after the story finished, rather than wandering around this new realm, this system simply stinks.
Why - well, given that your espers are summoned immediately as battle commences, and you can add further ones or replace lost ones from any summoning gate without cost or penalty for losing them until you reach the maximum allowed, there's no need to worry about strategy.
Your five characters appear at the start of the battle, immediately summoning a dozen espers. The enemy forces are inevitably strewn around the map in small clumps, so all you ever have to do in this game is nab a summoning gate to call your high level esper, then steamroller your vast army around the map, stomping over each group in turn. If ever you lose an esper, or a main character falls, then just summon a few more or raise the person in question.
I honestly think they could have done without the esper footsoldiers. The game would have been a lot better if the game had been balanced so you just had the initial five characters and had to carefully micro-manage their abilities to get to the end of each level. The lesser number of sprites would certainly have suited the DS's small screens more.
Okay, there is the occasional level where you get split up, or don't have your espers, but these are few and far between. Lets also try and forget the fact that the most powerful character in the game, tactically speaking, is a 10 year old.
Conclusion
I have never been so bored in all my gaming life, and I really don't know if I'm going to finish it, seeing as the last time it was in my DS was two weeks ago. Maybe I'll get the chance when I head off for a two week conference next month, but I'll probably just take something else instead.
Rent it and play it if you like, as the missions aren't very hard or lengthy, so you should clear it in a week of occasional gaming or a weekend of nothing but - I wouldn't recommend spending £30 on this piece of trash though.
David.
Last edited by David Oates, 23/Mar/08, 3:26 pm
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23/Mar/08, 1:53 pm
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