Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings

Developer: Think & Feel, Square Enix
Publisher: Square Enix
Release: 2007
Platform: Nintendo DS
Genre: RTS

In a time when Square Enix can even manage to screw Chrono Trigger it can be hard to remember their brand used to be a bastion of, at bare minimum, high production values. But a decade ago Revenant Wings soared high above that bare-minimum mark and delivered much more than a portable Final Fantasy spin-off has any rights to.

Being a rare case (even within major developers’ ranks) of a game that brings novel ideas to the table AND execute them well, Revenant Wings excels in almost every field: from putting an RTS twist to FF to work surprisingly fine through the use of summonable espers troops—which can be unlocked in the gotta-catch-‘em-all-esque Ring of Pacts with the Auracite gathered as loot in the levels—to the bold mash-up of non-bordered pixel art sprites over the 3D animated dioramas that comprise each level.

Mechanics wise the rock/scissors/paper battle system (melee>ranged>flying>melee) works well for both welcoming genre first timers (a must for an aimed classic turn-based JRPG audience) and making the game stay on the “less is more” side elegantly.

On the setting front things go well too. The plot is nicely strung together will plenty of side material to help developing a great sense of immersion—hundreds of interesting and/or relevant lines of dialogue, lore (with quotes) filling up an history book as you progress, quests that serve not only the purpose of grinding/farming but also help to bond the characters towards the endgame, weapons that are crafted according to your relationship with your party’s peers (and can even be christened as unique pieces of gear), and so on.

Difference in styles of traditional tactics pixel art to RW: a more expressive angle and no borders

Unfortunately the scope may have brought some pebbles in. The late game crowded fields can make for much more tougher pixel perfect “clicks” (touches) when it comes to selecting units or their targets (slowdowns in those very same scenarios don’t help a bit either). Even the localization (despite the awesome translation work) can be responsible for some hindrances, since the developers upped the game’s difficulty (and created uneven spikes in the process) for Western audiences due to RTS being a more established genre overseas.

In the end Revenant Wings is not only a Final Fantasy of its own but also quite an achievement of a game by any standards.