Final Fantasy XII Battle Details

via ign

Square Enix has been shy on details and screens for Final Fantasy XII: Revenant Wings, one of its big Tokyo Game Show surprises. At long last, the silence has come to an end. Thanks to the latest issue of Famitsu, we have a few additional gameplay and story details.

As originally reported, Revenant Wings focuses on the further adventures of Vaan and Panelo. Following the events of FFXII, Vaan has grown some, and is working as an air pirate. Panelo is Vaan's girlfriend, and also serves as his navigator.

Revenant Wings takes place in Remless, a large island chain that floats above FFXII's Ivalice. The Eagle race of winged Hume creatures reside in this world within a world. These creatures have short lives of around 40 years. So far, we know of one particular Eagle, a young soldier named Llyud who ends up meeting Vaan and Panelo.

In addition to these story details, Famitsu also provides first details on the game's battle system. The battle system looks like it has some real time strategy elements to it. Vaan and his party -- the Famitsu screenshots show up to three allies -- face off against enemies directly on a 2D map. Your party members automatically attack their nearest enemy. It's up to you to tell the characters where to go and select a target if you wish. You also use the stylus to draw the area of attack for magic attacks.

Based on the screenshots in Famitsu, Revenant Wings looks like it's completely 2D, with lots of sprites, effects and color. The screens also make references to a "Gambit" system, suggesting FFXII's artificial intelligence system will make it over.

We weren't able to see any shots of the game's dual screen support, but director Motome Toriyama provided a few hints. The second screen will be used to help display data, which can't all fit on a single screen. You'll be able to switch the two screens between top and bottom.

Revenant Wings is still being flagged with a TBA release date. But with a new trailer expected to debut at next week's Jump Festa in Tokyo, we expect the Japanese release to not be too far off.