Coming to a close on playing the top games that came out over the holidays, and entering the short reprieve before the Feb./March onslaught, I decided to catch up on some of the smaller titles I missed. First on my handy dandy Gamefly list was Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings for the Nintendo DS, a spinoff of Final Fantasy XII for the Playstation 2 (my personal GOTY for 2006) which takes place shortly after those events. It would be nice if you could get a chance to play FFXII for PS2 before this game but not neccessary. The question is, is this title worth your money or at least a spot on your rental list?

Those looking for something exactly like FFXII for PS2 will be disappointed. Those looking for a lighthearted diversion with characters they know, love and hate from Ivalice will be rewarded. The gameplay is a new style of real time strategy that Square Enix has been using lately on the DS. I’d have to say I’m not a big fan of it, and thats coming from a long time RPG and Strategy game fan. It works, and its not terrible but I would just rather have the ol’ tried and true method. The setup here tries to be too many things at once and ends dumbing down the gameplay to compensate for the flow. There are strategy elements here with the equipment customization, magic, a very light gambit system and classic rock, paper, scissors element weaknesses. The problem is, all of these grid based or RPG strategy elements become unneeded and just plain cumbersome when used in the heat of battle. Most notably when trying to pick out individual troops or manage a menu in battles that last a mere few seconds. It’s so much easier to just build up your troops and “Zerg” them into enemy parties finishing the battle quickly. Unfortunately there’s no real reward to play any other way.

My only other gripe before moving on is the difficulty level that takes a mysterious jump 2/3rds of the way through the game. You’ll be cruising along fine, just playing normal missions and side missions with no grinding, when out of nowhere the difficulty takes a jump beyond your level without any increment or warning. Then you are forced to grind. This was especially annoying to me in an RPG for a system meant to be played in shorter bursts. I don’t have time to grind on portables with not nearly enough rewards compared to full fledged console RPGs. Fans of 16bit Square RPG’s will love the art style along with the surprisngly great music. Most of which sounds as if it was ripped right from PS2 FFXII. The story is good and pretty straightforward for those that get tired of the long and complicated stories of console RPG’s. As a bonus there are plenty of opportunities to save, which is critical to portable RPG’s.

Fans of Final Fantasy and especially Final Fantasy XII won’t be disappointed. Fans of light hearted, semi-complex RPG’s should also check it out. The only caveat is the even more uncomfortable relationship between Vaan and Penelo being adopted brother and sister. If you thought you were confused about that relationship in FFXII prepare yourself, unless you’re into that sort of thing (you freaks), then you can add it as a plus.