Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings review

Cutting through the jargon as a legendary RPG goes RTS on the DS

GamesRadar+ Verdict

Pros

  • +

    Best DS graphics to date

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    Gambit system works well

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    Gripping Final Fantasy story

Cons

  • -

    A bit too simple for some

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    Limited stylus controls

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    A few more puzzles would be nice

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Nov 16, 2007

The Final Fantasy for everyone. That's a promise likely to make hardcore fans fear for this spin-off from the epic PS2 game, but while it's definitely not in the same league of complexity as last year'sFFIII remake, it's undeniably a more immediate experience.

So out go the menu-driven, turn-based fights, the random encounters and the giant dungeons. Instead of all that daunting stuff, Revenant Wings has a combat system and open battlefields reminiscent of a realtime strategy game, simplified enough to negate the requirement for fiddly micro-management. At its most basic level you just show your team the enemy, wind them up and watch them go.

Of course there's a little bit more to it than that. You have five team leaders, each of whom can summon allies, called Espers, from the monster generators dotted around most of the levels. The maximum number of Espers depends on the experience of the team leaders, and by assigning units evenly across the team you end up with five squads that can break up a larger enemy army and attack from multiple directions.

More info

GenreRole Playing
DescriptionIt's very simple for a strategy game, and quite easy for an RPG, but there's something about Revenant Wings that makes it one of the most enjoyable and complete DS games in ages.
Platform"DS"
US censor rating"Everyone 10+"
UK censor rating""
Alternative names"FF XII: Revenant Wings"
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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