Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings

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Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings

North American cover art for Revenant Wings

Developer(s)
Publisher(s)
Director(s)
Producer(s)

Think & Feel[1]

Square Enix
Motomu Toriyama
Yasuhito Watanabe
Eisuke Yokoyama
Artist(s)
Ryoma It
Toshitaka Matsuda
Isamu Kamikokuryo
Writer(s)
Motomu Toriyama
Takanari Ishiyama
Composer(s)
Hitoshi Sakimoto
Kenichiro Fukui
Series
Final Fantasy
Ivalice Alliance
Platform(s)
Nintendo DS
Release date(s)
JP April 26, 2007
NA November 20, 2007[2]
PAL February 15, 2008[3]
Genre(s)
Tactical role-playing game
Mode(s)
Single player
Distribution
1024 Megabit Nintendo DS Game Card
Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (XII
Fainaru Fantaj Revananto Uingu?) is a real-timestrategy RPG developed by Think & Feel and
published by Square Enix for the Nintendo DS. It is a sequel to the best-selling 2006PlayStation 2
role-playing game Final Fantasy XII.
One year after the events of Final Fantasy XII, the protagonist Vaan is now a sky pirate possessing his
own airship. He is joined in a new quest by his friend and navigator Penelo, other returning
characters from the original title, along with new characters such as Llyud, a member of the Aegyl
race who have wings protruding from their backs.[4] Their treasure-hunting adventures take them to
the purvama (floating continent) of Lemurs and the ground below, where the story begins.

Revenant Wings is the first title announced in the Ivalice Alliance series of video games. The North
American release of the game was rebalanced to be more difficult than the Japanese version, and
was released on November 20, 2007.[5]

Contents
[hide]

1 Gameplay
o 1.1 Battle system
o 1.2 Summoning
o 1.3 Synthesizing
2 Plot
o 2.1 Setting
o 2.2 Characters
o 2.3 Story
3 Development
4 Audio
5 Reception
6 See also
7 References
8 External links

Gameplay[edit]
After completing a prologue sequence, the player starts the game with an airship, named after their
clan (with a default name of Galbana, or Beiluge (?) in the Japanese version). The
airship is used as a base where the player can check on their current mission and view other tasks,
customize equipment in the synthesis shop, or travel between the four islands of Lemurs. The
airship's interior can also be customized by the player.[6]

Battle system[edit]
Revenant Wings is a real-time strategy game, but with elements reminiscent of the turn-based Final
Fantasy Tactics and Tactics Advance.[7] It can be played entirely with the Nintendo DS stylus. Battles
are initiated when the player begins a mission or chooses to fight a melee battle in a particular area.
The characters attack automatically once the enemy is within range. The player is given the option to
give commands to the characters by tapping on them with the stylus. Possible commands include
changing the character's target, setting their gambit, or using various abilities.[8]
Each character is distinguished according to three types: melee, ranged and flying. Melee characters
attack at a close range, and ranged from afar, while flying are able to travel unbound to terrain. The
types oppose each other in the manner where melee wins over ranged, ranged wins over flying and
flying wins over melee.[9]

Summoning[edit]
Summoning magic returns from Final Fantasy XII in Revenant Wings and has a larger role; director
Motomu Toriyama stated that Revenant Wings has more summons, or Espers, than any previous
Final Fantasy game.[4] Summon abilities are learned via the new Ring of Pacts system, which is used
to allow the summoning of Espers. Each slot in the Ring of Pacts is placed with an Auracite to create
a pact with the Esper.[9] The number of summons available to the player is fifty-one, and they are

classified in different categories, with each character able to summon a large number depending on
the party's combined capacity.[10]
Summoning Espers to aid in battle is accomplished by using a Summon Gate located in the play field
area. The ability to summon the different creatures depend on the Affinity of the player characters.
Additionally, two Espers per character are automatically summoned at the beginning of each battle
where Espers are allowed. Espers can be linked to battle groups using a system reminiscent of the
earlier Square game Bahamut Lagoon. Summons are ranked from 1 to 3, with Rank 1 and 2 able to
manifest in large numbers, as opposed to Rank 3 which summons only one entity. Before the battle
begins, players can select up to five Espers to possibly summon through Esper Gates in the upcoming
battle (Esper Troupes); one Rank 3 Esper, two Rank 2 Espers, and two Rank 1 Espers. Summons are
also differentiated by varying elements, which are fire, water, earth, and lightning. Recovery and
non-elemental are two other types.[9]

Synthesizing[edit]
An element of alchemy and synthesizing is used in the game, where the player obtains recipes and
materials necessary for the synthesis process. Only leader characters can obtain the materials, of
which can be synthesized into weapons and armor and the stats of being dependent on the
materials' grade.[9]

Plot[edit]
Setting[edit]
Main article: Ivalice
A few locations in the Ivalice of Final Fantasy XII and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance return in
Revenant Wings, along with a new setting: Lemurs, described in the official website as a legendary
purvama (floating continent) raised into the skies by the god Feolthanos long before the events of
the game. Because of the effect of Cloudstones or "Auraliths", magical stones used to erect barriers,
this purvama is shielded from the rest of the world. In time, the "Legend of the Floating Land"
became an ambition for sky pirates who seek the island and what riches are on it. The ruins of
Lemurs are where the Aegyl reside; the Aegyl are a human-like race with wings sprouting from their
backs and a life-span of forty years. Due to being shielded within Lemurs, the Aegyl have no
knowledge of the outside world but what they learn from intruding sky pirates.
The magicite in Lemurs are known as Auracite. Fragments of Auralith, Auracites are used in the
Ring of Pacts to summon beasts known as the Yarhi, referred by others of Ivalice as Espers.[9]
However, extended use of Auracite can purge the user of his or her anima, which becomes a new
Yarhi and continues the cycle until the user becomes a soulless shell.

Characters[edit]
See also: Characters of Final Fantasy XII

Ryoma It's design for Vaan

Revenant Wings added four additional main playable characters to the six in Final Fantasy XII: Kytes
and Filo, two orphans from Rabanastre; Llyud, a resident of Lemures; and Ba'Gamnan, a sinister
bounty hunter who has a grudge against Vaan and company for having involved themselves in his
affairs during the first game. Kytes and Filo appeared as a NPCs in XII, while Ba'Gamnan had been a
recurring antagonist. All three characters gain larger roles in this game.[11]
Summon designs have also been changed. The lizard design of Salamander, for example, was
changed to be boar-like to ensure the designs would come out well and distinguishable within the
DS' graphical capabilities. Each summon has three Ranks,[10] and the designs of each Rank are so that
there are relations between one Rank and another.[11]

Story[edit]
Revenant Wings begins a year after the events of Final Fantasy XII, with Vaan flying his own airship
with Penelo after Balthier and Fran "stole" the Strahl. The foursome is revisited in Bervenia and
decide to accompany each other inside to obtain the Cache of Glabados.[12]
While obtaining a treasure, two strange crystals, the building begins to collapse on itself. In the
ensuing chaos, Vaan loses his airship and are forced to flee the site on Balthier's airship. Balthier
soon drops Vaan and Penelo back in Rabanastre where they, along with Kytes and Filo, witness a
strange object flying overhead: a derelict airship. After sneaking aboard the airship and defeating the
Bangaa headhunter Ba'Gamnan, Vaan and company christen the airship whatever the player decides
(default Galbana) and find themselves on the purvama Lemurs by accident. While looking around
the unknown ruins, they meet Llyud of the Aegyl race and learn his people are locked in battle with
sky pirates who are raiding the island for treasure. Lemurs is said to possess summoning crystals
called Auracite. Deciding to aid the Aegyl in defending Lemurs, Vaan's group learns the pirates were
recruited by the mysterious Judge of Wings, who seeks out the three Auraliths, grand masses of
Auracite that protect Lemurs from the outside world.
When the group confronts the Judge of Wings at the site of the first auralith, the Judge of Wings
destroys the auralith, leading Vaan and his friends to have visions of Balthier confronting the Judge

of Wings and losing, after which they hear sky pirates are gathering at the Skysea, and they go there
to find Rikken, a friend of Vaan's. He says he may know something about the Judge of Wings, but to
get answers, Vaan must compete in Rikken's tournament.
After saving Rikken, it is revealed Rikken knows nothing about the Judge, but Tomaj discovers there
is an auracite shrine beneath the Skysea. When venturing there, the group encounters Ba'Gamnan
who kidnaps Filo, taking her deeper within the shrine. When the group catches up with him, Rikken
agrees to help rescue Filo, and once she is rescued, the party moves on to confront the esper Belias,
the Gigas, that was summoned by the Judge of Wings. Once defeated, the Judge summons the
massive esper Bahamut, who destroys the Skysea, and the party becomes island-trapped.
While stranded, the group meets Velis, a man who was at Nalbina and got lost while searching for
his lover, Mydia. After a lot of character development, it is discovered Velis is, in fact, dead, and
actually an esper who you later must battle when the Judge of Wings comes and controls him. After
Velis is defeated (as the esper Odin), it is discovered the Judge of Wings is Mydia, but she then flees
the island. Tomaj runs to the group, tells them the airship is fixed, and that he has spotted the Strahl,
Balthier's ship.
When the group finds the ship, they find Fran, who says Balthier is within a mountain on the island
they are now on. Once inside, the group discovers an auralith, and the group plus Fran must defeat
Mydia and the esper Mateus while protecting Balthier. Once defeated, Mydia flees without
destroying the auralith, but Balthier then turns on the group and destroys the auralith, which sends
the party into an illusion.
While within the illusion, the team discovers the Aegyl are so emotionless because they are
deprieved of anima, which is harvested by their god, Feolthanos, and stored in the auraliths. It is
discovered this illusion is the world of the espers, and they find Velis, who makes everything clear:
Mydia is a body, stripped of its anima, controlled by Feolthanos to reap anima for him, and if the
auraliths are destroyed, the Aegyl's anima will return and as such, they must destroy the auraliths.
Once awoken from the illusion, Vaan confronts Balthier, who already knew these newly discovered
facts, and Balthier and Fran join the team. The group then finds the Leviathan, the ship of Queen
Ashe and Judge Magister Basch, who join the team as they venture through Ivalice, Emperor Larsa
also joining. Mydia, as it turns out, is a Feol Viera, more commonly known as an Exiled, of which
have white skin and shorter ears and hair as compared to the normal Viera who are darker-skinned
and longer-haired. While in Roda Volcano, the team battles Mydia and the esper Chaos, and, as
Mydia takes her dying breath, requests the team go to Feolthanos' palace above Lemurs and kill
him. Her anima guides them up as they prepare to open the final chapter of their story.
Above Lemurs, the team battles reincarnations of dead Aegyl, and then battle the reincarnated
form of Mydia's anima, while discovering Feolthanos, the god, is, himself, the last auralith. When the
team ventures all the way to the seat of Feolthanos' power, they battle him and the anima-stripped
Aegyl he commands. When he is almost defeated, he summons Bahamut to do battle with the team.
After his giant shrine is destroyed, there is a one-on-one battle between Vaan and Feolthanos in
which Feolthanos is apparently stronger, but as Vaan begins to lose, his friends come to back him up:
first Ashe and Basch, Balthier and Fran, then Filo and Kytes, Llyud, and finally Penelo---the only
battle in the game where every group leader is involved. In the end, Llyud deals the final blow to
Feolthanos, releasing all the remaining stored anima.
After the end of the battle with Feolthanos, the game ends, and the characters going their separate
ways as the credits roll is shown. If 100% game completion is reached then you are treated to an

extended ending which shows Vaan and Penelo leaving together as a couple on a new adventure
only to be interrupted by Filo, Kytes and Tomaj with some Yarhi and Cuit Sith in toe.

Development[edit]
The game was directed and its story written by Motomu Toriyama, who also directed Final Fantasy
X-2 and Final Fantasy XIII.[13] According to Toriyama, the game is aimed at Nintendo DS owners who
are not experienced with Final Fantasy games, and will remove "overly complicated elements from
the battle system...that will allow [the player] to defeat the enemies with minimal controls."[14]
The game features a sprite-based graphics engine with 3D backgrounds and character designs by
Ryoma It (Final Fantasy Tactics Advance). Producer Eisuke Yokoyama citedWarcraft and Age of
Empires as sources of inspiration and expressed a desire to "extract the pure 'fun' of those games"
and bring it to Final Fantasy.[15] It based some of his designs on those of Final Fantasy XII character
designer Akihiko Yoshida. It "traded secrets" with him, with the confidence he gained from Final
Fantasy XII creator Yasumi Matsuno's praise on his tampering with Final Fantasy Tactics Advance's
Moogle designs.[11]
For the North American localization, Revenant Wings was rebalanced to make it more difficult
because the North American market is judged as "more familiar" with the real-time strategy
genre.[15]

Audio[edit]
Revenant Wings was scored by Final Fantasy XII composer Hitoshi Sakimoto, joined by Kenichiro
Fukui, who had arranged the English version of "Kiss Me Good-Bye". Most of the music for the game
is arrangements from the previous title. While the Nintendo DS has more technical limitations than
the PlayStation 2, Sakimoto considers it not particularly noticeable in practice.[16]
Unlike in Final Fantasy XII, the music is entirely dynamic and context-dependent. Each track
possesses different parts, ranging from musical themes of peaceful moments to frantic battle cries,
which are activated when the actions of the players require it and are looped until the context is
changed again.[17]

Reception[edit]
[hide]Reception
Aggregate scores
Aggregator
GameRankings
Metacritic
Review scores
Publication
1UP.com
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Famitsu
GameSpot
GameZone
IGN
Nintendo Power
X-Play

Score
79.67%[18]
81/100[19]
Score
B+
8 of 10
32 of 40
8.5 of 10
8.5/10
8.3 of 10
7.5 of 10
4/5

As of August 8, 2008, Revenant Wings has sold 1.04 million units worldwide, with 540,000 units sold
in Japan, 220,000 units in North America, and 280,000 in Europe.[20] It was the best-selling Japanese
console game in the week of its release, then the second best-selling in the following week.[21]
The Japanese version of the game scored 32/40 in the Japanese gaming magazine Famitsu.[22] The
game also received praise from reviewers of Dengeki DS & Wii Style. Praise was given to the missionbased storyline and battles for being "simple and more involved". The large number of characters
who can enter the fray at one given time gives a sense of involvement for the player as if they were
"close to the action", and the game's difficulty may appeal even to those who "do not normally play
role-playing games". The only criticism found was with the usage of the stylus, as its usage in
selecting areas on the battlefield can be difficult.[23]
The North American version of the game scored mainly positive reviews. Nintendo Power gave it a
7.5/10, IGN gave it an 8.3/10, 1upgave it a B+,[24] GameSpot and GameZone both gave it an 8.5/10,
and X-Play gave it a 4/5.
Electronic Gaming Monthly also gave it generally favorable reviews, with staff giving it scores of 8,
7.5, and 6 (all out of 10). The reviewers praised the game's combination of role-playing and strategy,
but criticized the screen size relative to the amount of action.[25] IGN named it Nintendo DS Game of
the Month for November 2007.[26]

See also[edit]

Book: Final Fantasy XII

References[edit]
1. Jump up^ "Work" (in Japanese). Think & Feel. 2009-11-06. Retrieved 2010-07-20.
2. Jump up^ Square Enix staff (2007-07-09). "Square Enix brings together fresh new faces and
timeless classics at E3 2007". Square Enix NA. Retrieved 2007-07-10.
3. Jump up^ Matt Berti (2007-12-05). "A mlange of release dates for Europe". Square Haven.
Retrieved 2007-12-05.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b Gantayat, Anoop (October 30, 2006). "Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings
Update".IGN. News Corporation. Retrieved October 31, 2006.
5. Jump up^ Jeriaska (2007-07-14). "Square Enix gesticulates in regards to Revenant Wings
bonus content". Retrieved 2007-07-15.
6. Jump up^ soul (April 4, 2007). "New Revenant Wings Scans". "Forever Fantasy". Archived
fromthe original on 2007-08-26.. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007.
Retrieved April 4, 2007.
7. Jump up^ Sullivan, Meghan (May 1, 2007). "Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings: Pre-Battle
Jitters". IGN. News Corporation. pp. 12. Retrieved May 3, 2007.
8. Jump up^ Xcomp (December 7, 2006). "FFXII: Revenant Wings, Battle System and the Egul
Race". "Xcomp's Yuuenchi". Archived from the original on 2006-12-13..GameBrink.Com.
Retrieved December 7, 2006.
9. ^ Jump up to:a b c d e "Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings" (in Japanese). Square Enix. 2007.
Retrieved March 28, 2007.
10. ^ Jump up to:a b Morcos, Antoine (March 2, 2007). "FFXII : Revenant Wings : les invocations".
Jeux-France.com (in French). Presslite. Retrieved March 15, 2007.

11. ^ Jump up to:a b c Balistrieri, Emily (March 16, 2007). "Previews: FFXII: Revenant Wings".
1Up.com.Ziff Davis. Retrieved March 30, 2007.
12. Jump up^ Balthier's note: Something more valuable: the Cache of Glabados. I await in
Bervenia.Square Enix (2006-10-31). "Final Fantasy XII". PlayStation 2. Square Enix.
13. Jump up^ Freund, Josh (September 20, 2006). "Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings (DS) scan,
details - Update #1". GamesAreFun.com. Retrieved September 21, 2006.
14. Jump up^ IGN Staff (September 21, 2006). "TGS 2006: Final Fantasy XII Update". IGN. News
Corporation. Retrieved September 21, 2006.
15. ^ Jump up to:a b Harris, Craig (May 16, 2007). "Interview: Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings".
IGN.News Corporation. Retrieved May 17, 2007.
16. Jump up^ Shea, Cam (February 15, 2007). "Hitoshi Sakimoto AU Interview". IGN. News
Corporation. Retrieved July 6, 2007.
17. Jump up^ Kulata, Kurt (May 16, 2007). "Second thoughts on Final Fantasy XII: Revenant
Wings".Siliconera. Retrieved July 6, 2007.
18. Jump up^ "Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings reviews on GameRankings". GameRankings.
Retrieved March 25, 2014.
19. Jump up^ "Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings reviews on Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved
March 25, 2014.
20. Jump up^ "Annual Report 2008". Square-Enix.com. August 8, 2008. Retrieved 2008-1220.[dead link]
21. Jump up^ "Top 30 Japanese Console Game Chart". The Magic Box. 2007. Retrieved July 6,
2007.
22. Jump up^ Parkin, Simon (May 28, 2007). "First Impressions - Final Fantasy XII: Revenant
Wings". Eurogamer. Eurogamer Network. p. 2. Retrieved July 6, 2007.
23. Jump up^ Gantayat, Anoop (April 16, 2007). "FFXII: Revenant Wings Reviewed". IGN. News
Corporation. Retrieved April 16, 2007.
24. Jump up^ Parish, Jeremy (2007-11-16). "Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings". 1UP.com.
Retrieved 2008-08-02.
25. Jump up^ Electronic Gaming Monthly, Issue 223; HOL. 2007
26. Jump up^ Harris, Craig (2007-11-30). "Nintendo DS Game of the Month: November 2007".
IGN.News Corporation. Retrieved 2007-12-01.

External links[edit]

Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings official website for Japan (Japanese)
Final Fantasy XII Revenant Wings official website for North America