A great twist on a great game, FFXII: Revenant Wings brings a fresh look to the world of Ivalice.
Story:
The story of Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings is compelling, if a little drawn out at times. Focusing on Vaan and Penelo, the story takes us from the known world of Ivalice to the previously unexplored sky continent of Lemurés. There they meet Llyud, a member of the Aegyl race with wings on their backs, and assist him in freeing his people from the selfish acts of the sky pirates invading their lands in search of treasure. The story takes on a more serious tone, however, when they learn that a character called the Judge of Wings is attempting to make use of the Aegyl artifacts to invade Ivalice. The previous cast of FFXII return and join the party over the course of the game, their personalities intact from the original. A few new faces join the party as well: the aforementioned Llyud, Kytes, Vaan's friend from FFXII, and Kytes' friend Filo. It's an interesting story, though tends to be long-winded; trivialities often surface, taking away from the urgency of the main story.
Gameplay:
As mentioned before, Revenant Wings is an RTS, which leads to often fun and frantic battles. Navigating the world is more or less a point and click interface; in fact, the entire game is effortlessly controlled with the stylus. While your main characters take part, the game also presents a summoning system, where you can summon a certain amount of pre-chosen Espers (or Yarhi, as the Aegyl call them) from gates located in most of the maps. A rock-scissor-paper system is also introduced, focusing on the three types of units: melee beats ranged, ranged trumps flying, and flying dominates melee. What's more, different Espers represent different elements, which each unit has a strength and a weakness towards. You gain Auracite as you complete battles, which lets you unlocks new Espers of different ranks for use in battle. A setup screen appears before the beginning of each map, allowing you to see what types of units you'll be facing, and lets you choose the proper Espers to fight them with. Often is the choices you make before battle that lead to a winning strategy. The difficulty is usually appropriate, though a very hard boss fight following a simple battle is common. You're also able to participate in side missions and melee battles when not progressing through the story, though these tend to get repetitive quickly. Also, while the summoning is a unique twist, the battles can sometimes turn into a mass crowd of hacking and slashing, turning the usual strategy into who has the currently larger force. The License Board of XII is gone; replaced by a conventional leveling system. Quickenings make a reappearance, though, letting your characters unleash powerful moves to decimate your foes, or help your allies. Gambits make a comeback, though in a diluted form. Instead of completely setting up a strategic order of abilities, you decide on one special skill and set it as your leaders' gambit, which they use whenever it's available, or needed. Other than that, your characters auto attack or auto heal.
Graphics:
The CG graphics present in Revenant Wings are stunning for the DS, rivaling even those of the original, FFXII. The in-game graphics are charming, with colorful sprites representing your units. The maps themselves are often detailed and colorful, a 2D treat for the eyes. The Espers themselves sport a lot of individuality, easy to identify their types and capabilities. Different special attacks have a fancy look, though others are a little boring in their execution.
Music & Sound:
Familiar tunes return from FFXII, accompanied by some fresh ones. While the original wasn't known for its OST, the quality of the music is appreciated in Revenant Wings, impressive for a DS title. The sounds are also varied and well timed, though tend to get repetitive when all you hear is the never ending auto attacks.
Extras:
Not too many extras in Revenant Wings. There are many side missions to complete, as well as weapons to synthesize (and rename, which is a nice touch). If you're able to complete 100% of the missions and different battles, you are treated to an alternate ending. You're also able to unlock different decorations for your airship, available once you have met certain criteria, such as a certain number of Espers enlisted, or a percentage of missions completed.
All in all, Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings provides a meaty experience for FF fans and strategy fans alike. While it doesn't add to the original story of FFXII, it's a fun game in its own right.
Game on.