'Tis me again, another boring review, yes, I know... but EB had a sale on and I wanted a new game. So I bought this one, as far as the definition of new can be stretched.
This one bears a marked resemblance to Revenant Wings - to the point where Vaan and Penelo actually make an appearance! I've only played the GBA tactics version and really, this isn't different at all. Sure, the option is open to use the touch screen, but this really doesn't make the full use of it the way that FFXII:RW did.
It really is your basic, turn-based strategy game; you have a clan full of variously clad party member options and each "job" (because that's what we call classes these days) has -mostly- unique qualities and moves. Black Mages use the traditional fire, blizzard and thunder combination, White Mages do the usual healing jobs; then there's your melee classes/jobs like Gladiator, Fighter, Soldier, Berserker, White Monk, etc. I could go on, but you get the picture.
Most quests you can dispatch a party to (cheat's way of getting through the MASSIVE amount of jobs on offer quickly). But as well as the main storyline quests, there will be a few that you can't dispatch. Usually, there will be a reason for this - a new job on offer (take Veis, Assasin, for example, or the long-running feud between the Bangaa Brotherhood and the Nu Mou Nobles) or a particular item that is both functional and useful. Either way, you'll have to lead the charge yourself on these occasions.
In any one of these bouts, the rules are usually the same: follow the laws the judges hand down, or you'll be refused re-entry into battle if one of your party members falls to a foe. That means no use of Phoenix Down or Raise on anything that currently calls your clan host. You can, however, still use these moves/items on the undead. Go figure. If it were up to me, I would rather have had the law-breaker unable to re-enter battle, or disabled. Affecting the WHOLE clan is a bit much.
All in all, it's a very well structured game, the bones of which carried over in Revenant Wings. It's not boring or dragging, but the combat can be a bit samey, which is the real drawback in this case. Still, if you are anything like the perfectionist I am, you'll be searching all over to find all the job classes.
Verdict: A great time-waster if you have a few weeks free.
Showing posts with label final fantasy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label final fantasy. Show all posts
Monday, July 19, 2010
Monday, June 7, 2010
Pnuemonia and old games
Well, as most of my friends and minions know, I've been stuck in the house for the last three weeks at my doctor's behest in order to recover from a particularly nasty bout of pnuemonia. Those of you who haven't had it, you don't want it and those that have... well, you can share my pain. I'm starting to feel like a human pin cushion with the amount of blood tests I've had and all they can tell me is that my white blood cell count is up and that my lungs still sound a bit rattly. Gee, really. I wouldn't have expected that from a lung infection.
In other news, all this time being made to rest has forced me to replay some of my old games. Sadly, there are parts of my Kingdom Hearts II games that won't load properly - sad face - so therefore I went back to play Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings for the DS.
It must be said that I quite liked this game, hence why it wasn't traded in. The strategic nature appealed to me, along with the ability to constantly summon Yarhi/Espers. The storyline was quite acceptable and I found myself warming up to Llyud, the first Aegyl you meet in-game. I'm a bit neurotic with games, so I've had to try and finish every mission, summoning melee, monster melee and all-out brawl. This has led to my party having some pretty tricked-out gear that has better stats than the stuff they came with (example, Bathier comes equipped with Rygel, his gun. Crafting one with Cu Sith, however, boosts most of his stats +10, so what's the point in keeping the old one?).
The other game I restarted is Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise. Yes, yes, I know I bought it around this time last year, so technically it's not all that old for me, but the Viva Pinata game itself is old, therefore it counts. This time round, it seems to have lost a lot of the fun for me. I don't know why, but maybe it's just one of those games that you absolutely love the first time round but the second... you forget what you saw in it in the first place.
Completely off-topic, today is Johnny Depp's birthday, so happy birthday to you, sir! Funnily enough, I was reading a topic over at the escapist forums and found a nifty little video clip starring said handsome actor that I'd never seen before (and for those of you complaining that Johnny Depp has nothing to do with video games, I have one thing to say to you: The Legend of Jack Sparrow. Ha).
Oh... and happy birthday to Karl Urban for yesterday. The gorgeous kiwi is now 38. I watched reboot!Trek in his honour. ^_^
In other news, all this time being made to rest has forced me to replay some of my old games. Sadly, there are parts of my Kingdom Hearts II games that won't load properly - sad face - so therefore I went back to play Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings for the DS.
It must be said that I quite liked this game, hence why it wasn't traded in. The strategic nature appealed to me, along with the ability to constantly summon Yarhi/Espers. The storyline was quite acceptable and I found myself warming up to Llyud, the first Aegyl you meet in-game. I'm a bit neurotic with games, so I've had to try and finish every mission, summoning melee, monster melee and all-out brawl. This has led to my party having some pretty tricked-out gear that has better stats than the stuff they came with (example, Bathier comes equipped with Rygel, his gun. Crafting one with Cu Sith, however, boosts most of his stats +10, so what's the point in keeping the old one?).
The other game I restarted is Viva Pinata: Pocket Paradise. Yes, yes, I know I bought it around this time last year, so technically it's not all that old for me, but the Viva Pinata game itself is old, therefore it counts. This time round, it seems to have lost a lot of the fun for me. I don't know why, but maybe it's just one of those games that you absolutely love the first time round but the second... you forget what you saw in it in the first place.
Completely off-topic, today is Johnny Depp's birthday, so happy birthday to you, sir! Funnily enough, I was reading a topic over at the escapist forums and found a nifty little video clip starring said handsome actor that I'd never seen before (and for those of you complaining that Johnny Depp has nothing to do with video games, I have one thing to say to you: The Legend of Jack Sparrow. Ha).
Oh... and happy birthday to Karl Urban for yesterday. The gorgeous kiwi is now 38. I watched reboot!Trek in his honour. ^_^
Sunday, May 18, 2008
Review: Final Fantasy XII - Revenant Wings
This is one of Square Enix's more brilliant excursions into RTS (Real-Time Strategy) games, since it's original debut as Final Fantasy XII. One year has passed and the land of Ivalice is pretty much at peace. Or so everyone thought. Because now there's an odd airship (that I renamed The Phantom) in port at Rabanastre, a lost sky continent has reappeared and things are about to go from bad to worse for air pirate Vaan and his trusted navigator and poor cook, Penelo...
Game Play:
Like all the best Final Fantasy games, you play in a party. You can have full control over each member or set different members to use certain tactics. I prefer to have full control over my characters, but that doesn't automatically mean that your characters will do everything you direct them to, which can work in your favour but often doesn't.
The espers (renamed as Yarhi) return, as do the quickenings. Like the original, you gain them steadily throughout the game. This can get particularly annoying when a) You don't have enough auracite to form a pact with a more powerful new one or b) You have too much auracite and not enough new espers/yarhi to form pacts with. The second one is particularly accurate once you reach the end of the game and the only yarhi left to form pacts with only become available after you whup them in seriously difficult side missions.
The upside to party-fighting is that you can split the group up and send each half to mow down enemies on each side of the fighting map. Also, thanks to the inclusion of summoning gates, if you lose a Yarhi, even the most powerful ones from Rank III, you can re-summon them at full strength. There is a limit to how many you can summon, but they are useful when entering battles that are dangerous to central party members.
Interface - The Nintendo DS:
In truth, there's probably nothing gained from using the dual screen. A similar style of RTS play was demonstrated in Tactics and the GBA (Game Boy Advance) version worked just as well. But it is handy to have the map in the top screen to show you mission objectives and enemy locations. The touch screen also makes it slightly easier to control larger parties (once summoning yarhi has become second-nature).
Graphics/Music/Sound:
Harking back to the days when Nintendo made excellent use of the angular sprites, most of the game is enacted through little representations of the characters so beautifully represented in the original FFXII. The only time the player is shown the resplendant original portrayals is during dramatic cut scenes.
The music is quite beautiful and changes with each mission. My personal favourite is the music played during the adventure on the Isle of the Yarhi, the place from which all Yarhi are summoned. In retrospect, it casts the Final Fantasy regular back in time to the tenth official installment in the series during Yuna and Tidus' fateful excursion to Macalania Woods.
The sound effects are enjoyable and not really repetitive. Still, like will all games, you wouldn't want to be listening to them constantly. There's good breaks and even usage of them.
Overall Impression:
It's really quite an enjoyable game with good plot structure for the game narrative and excellent pick-up if the player can't understand it by the end. While it does have its faults, it is perfectly playable during long trips and excellent escapism with the nostalgic element for those who played its predecessor on the playstation 2. I'd give it an 8/10.
Game Play:
Like all the best Final Fantasy games, you play in a party. You can have full control over each member or set different members to use certain tactics. I prefer to have full control over my characters, but that doesn't automatically mean that your characters will do everything you direct them to, which can work in your favour but often doesn't.
The espers (renamed as Yarhi) return, as do the quickenings. Like the original, you gain them steadily throughout the game. This can get particularly annoying when a) You don't have enough auracite to form a pact with a more powerful new one or b) You have too much auracite and not enough new espers/yarhi to form pacts with. The second one is particularly accurate once you reach the end of the game and the only yarhi left to form pacts with only become available after you whup them in seriously difficult side missions.
The upside to party-fighting is that you can split the group up and send each half to mow down enemies on each side of the fighting map. Also, thanks to the inclusion of summoning gates, if you lose a Yarhi, even the most powerful ones from Rank III, you can re-summon them at full strength. There is a limit to how many you can summon, but they are useful when entering battles that are dangerous to central party members.
Interface - The Nintendo DS:
In truth, there's probably nothing gained from using the dual screen. A similar style of RTS play was demonstrated in Tactics and the GBA (Game Boy Advance) version worked just as well. But it is handy to have the map in the top screen to show you mission objectives and enemy locations. The touch screen also makes it slightly easier to control larger parties (once summoning yarhi has become second-nature).
Graphics/Music/Sound:
Harking back to the days when Nintendo made excellent use of the angular sprites, most of the game is enacted through little representations of the characters so beautifully represented in the original FFXII. The only time the player is shown the resplendant original portrayals is during dramatic cut scenes.
The music is quite beautiful and changes with each mission. My personal favourite is the music played during the adventure on the Isle of the Yarhi, the place from which all Yarhi are summoned. In retrospect, it casts the Final Fantasy regular back in time to the tenth official installment in the series during Yuna and Tidus' fateful excursion to Macalania Woods.
The sound effects are enjoyable and not really repetitive. Still, like will all games, you wouldn't want to be listening to them constantly. There's good breaks and even usage of them.
Overall Impression:
It's really quite an enjoyable game with good plot structure for the game narrative and excellent pick-up if the player can't understand it by the end. While it does have its faults, it is perfectly playable during long trips and excellent escapism with the nostalgic element for those who played its predecessor on the playstation 2. I'd give it an 8/10.
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