Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings is everything it is meant to be
Revenant Wings takes place years after the original Final Fantasy 12, and while it does not use the same character perspective in terms of controls, it does offer a combat system that draws away from older turn based RPG games. FF12 is a free ranged strategic combat type of game where you are not bound to turn based attacks and instead allows you to use the touch screen to command your characters, whether it be in a massive group or in individual parties. This game is pretty much reliant on the stylus though
You have up to 6 playable characters per mission in your party, and each character has creatures called Esper's (which you do not have access too right away) as well, you can pair up your Esper's based on your own characters abilities, whether it be healer types, ranged combat, flying or melee types if you choose. As you progress through the game you will be able to unlock all of the Esper's in the game, including bosses that you have defeated. Depending on the level and rank of an Esper, you need to have a certain amount of points during a mission in order to summon one from a summoning pad which adds to the strategy part as each Esper has it's own spells and abilities. Eventually you unlock a feature that allows you to level up each different Esper type during battle using AP crystals which you get after beating batches of enemies.
The downside to the combat is that the difficulty of this game can be extremely frustrating and younger players might get annoyed with the swarms of enemies that you have to face, of course you still get your own swarm of monsters to fight at your side. Veteran players of the Final Fantasy Tactics series (at least with the GBA game), will recognize many enemies from the games of old, including Flan's, Bomb's, Mad Cap's as well as the varieties of Bangaa, Viera, Moogles and whatnot.
The story follows Vaan and his companions, Kyte, Penello, Tomaj and a few other friends who hijack a skypirate ship in the early portion of the game and find themselves outside of Ivalice, a strange place in the sky with winged creatures who are being attacked by skypirates and the evil Judge of Wings, a vile creature bent on becoming a being who will live forever ny destroying the creator of Ivalice, the Eternal. This game, like so many other Final Fantasy games, revolves around the crystal theory, in that the destruction of crystals will bring an end to the world, which is one of the Judge of Wings prime objectives.
Overall this game boasts an impressive gameplay experience, a solid game length and is just a lot of fun. One of the more unique games Square Enix has made but still a worthy purchase for any Final Fantasy fan or someone looking for a challenging RPG.