A unique foray into the RTS genre and an amazing story make this Final Fantasy one of the finest works on the DS.
The Bad: Selecting just one character of a particular set can be difficult; so-so AI; it's kind of short for a Final Fantasy game.
Square Enix is known for producing the best RPGs on the market. Even though there are thirty or more Final Fantasies and other RPGs that have been churned out over the years by these guys, they continue to innovate with every title released.
That's pretty impressive, and Final Fantasy still hasn't gotten old. The name is a bit of a misnomer nowadays, since there are a lot of games in the series. But Square's first Final Fantasy was going to be there last game, as they were going bankrupt. That is, until it buoyed the entire company on its own.
Since then, Square has put great effort into every title they make (except, sadly, the Crystal Chronicles games). The turn-based system, time-based system, almost-but-not-quite real time system in FFXII, summoning, class system, tactical combat, more character maneuverability, fantastic production values, even addictive multiplayer in some cases, have all been in Square's games in the past.
Now the real-time strategy genre is getting the Final Fantasy treatment, and proven to be awesome on a system other than the computer, with Revenant Wings for DS.
You'll be controlling what is basically a small army by the conclusion of the game, and most of the way through, but the game lets you in easy. You'll learn that each character and Esper (spirits they summon to help you in battle) has one of three fighting styles: melee, ranged, and flying. Melee beats ranged beats flying beats melee, which is important to take into account in all battles, as a rock-paper-scissors element to study before the fight.
Most Espers also have a type assigned to them: fire, lightning, water, etc. These are strong against certain enemies and weak against others, leading to more strategy to incorporate in your selection of your team.
It's also important to remember that you don't have access to all the Espers at first. Instead, you find Auracite in certain levels that you can use in your "Ring of Pacts" so Espers are willing to fight for you from then on. You can then summon whichever types you bring in that you want, in any combination, during battle, fortify them (or level them up), and assign them to certain people while you fight.
Plus, you'll be selecting main characters to bring in with you. Vaan, Penelo, Basch, Ashe, Balthier and Fran were all playable in Final Fantasy XII, but now you can also play as old faces Kytes, Filo and Ba'Gamnan. And with the new race, the aegyl, comes a new character named Llyud, whose history is what the story revolves around.
You can equip clothing and weaponry to these characters, and select either them alone or the group of Espers along with them for the fight to go certain places. Or, alternately, you can just have them all go as a pack. You'll be fighting masses of enemies (you could be controlling thirty or more at once), and taking over summon gates, to be allowed to bring more Espers into the fray, as you go.
Your characters, as you'd guess, also level up as they go through fights. As they do, they'll be able to learn new techniques. You can manually choose what they attack with in the battle, but you can also give them a "gambit" move that they'll use on their own while you're busy.
This all sounds like it'd be impossible to manage at one time, but it turns out easy once you get it, and a whole lot of fun. Controlling an army is an awesome, fresh new take on the franchise that hasn't really been tried before.
It is difficult to select certain Espers on their own, or a group that you want to go somewhere else, unless they're all under the control of the same leader. That's a bit annoying because it gives you less options in battle, even though Square's idea of characters leading groups lessens the issue.
The AI generally moves to where you tell them to go, but they can run into obstacles, run into each other, and go different directions when a path branches. It's not a big issue, but it needs to be mentioned. The point is, there are just minor quibbles with this fantastic, unique gameplay experience.
The story, meanwhile, is outstanding. Each character is unique and interesting to follow, and many different real-life issues arise. Fighting between friends, love, betrayal, morals, and your choices all come into play. It'll surely be enjoyable for FFXII fans to see what happened next to these characters, but it never once leaves out those who are unfamiliar with them (though it makes allusions to FFXII's plot sometimes).
To enhance the enjoyment of watching the tale unfold, the in-game and pre-rendered cutscenes are fantastic. During play, the graphics rival what Nintendo themselves do on their system, which is well-known for being the best most of the time. The cutscenes, meanwhile, look like they're from a console.
The music has some familiar tunes to it, but these have been in the franchise for years. Just as in Mario, Zelda, or hell, Halo do, certain music pieces keep reappearing. But that's certainly not a bad thing, since these are some of the best songs in any game franchise ever. Plus, there's plenty new work, and work from Final Fantasy XII before it, to hear.
The game's length is pretty solid, if a tad short. You can always go to random battles to level up, blast through the main missions (for the most part), or play Tomaj missions, which are more difficult but more rewarding. By the end, for example, the hardest main game battles require you to be at level 50 or so. To beat the hardest Tomaj missions, you'll be fighting level 80 enemies.
So there's more to do if you keep working at the game outside of the main plot, but even with that this game doesn't come close to rivaling the length of most Final Fantasy games. Final Fantasy VII famously took up three PS1 discs, and Final Fantasy XII has about 100 hours worth of play. You'll play closer to 30 if you beat absolutely everything in this one. That's not bad for a handheld game, but a bit short on Square's part.
There are plenty of different areas to go do battle at, there are plenty of characters and Espsers to handle, and there is a rich, powerful story to work your way through here, though. The only complaints to be had really aren't that bad, and as of 2007, this was the greatest third party effort on DS, hands down. Additionally, this is one of the best titles on DS, and is absolutely worth picking up, regardless.