Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings

Ah Ivalice, home of seventeen-year-olds, swinging claymore swords about as if they were made out of paper mache. Where rabbits wear lingerie and where-ah sod it, this game is amazing, that's all you really need to know.

If you were a fan of the PS2 original, Final Fantasy XII then you already know that this is an essential purchase. But if you are a newcomer to the series, or didn't like the turn-based fighting systems of previous installments, then this may be the best entry point in the series for you.

Set a year after the events of the PS2 title, street thief Vaan has now become a sky pirate with his trusted friend Penelo. Together they stumble across a continent floating in the sky that was thought to be a mere myth. There they meet a winged young man, and the quest to save the planet begins anew.

Epic no? This is the tone that these games set, you feel like you really are on a quest to save a wholly believable world that sucks you in by the chain mail and refuses to let go. Lets move on to the real meat of the game.

The story is broken up into 81 small missions perfect for playing on the go. Each level starts with a criteria; kill a certain enemy, survive the fight and so on. Using the stylus to drag and click the screen is perfectly executed and feels like using a mouse on a PC. If you have played any Real Time Strategy game then you will feel at home with this method.

Attacking is as simple as tapping your fighter then tapping an enemy, special commands are selected through clear menus. The real selling point here is the ability to summon guardian monsters called Espers to fight by your side. It's like Pokémon but not for 5-year olds. Choosing your small army of beasts is a crucial choice.

For example, if faced with a hoard of walking monsters you would be safer to use flying Espers that can safely attack from the sky. It's all very clever and requires you to think ahead and plan each fight. With hundreds of Espers to unlock, this is no weekend time-waster.

There are hundreds of items and weapons to create with materials found during each stage, bonus stages to unlock and hours of things to see and do. Although sprites look gorgeous and are well animated they remain in 2D but don't let that phase you, the environments are fully rendered in 3D and boast the system's best graphics to date. Throw in the original PS2 soundtrack and the whole package feels warming, it's as like you never left Ivalice in the first place.

So there you have it, a game that could easily have saw a release on a Sony console finding a perfect home on Nintendo's little box of tricks. If you want a game that will have you hooked for months then this is it, a true masterclass in game design that is utterly essential. To deny this a place in your DS cartridge slot is on par with denying yourself oxygen.