"A Budget Flight RPG From Natsume That's Flawed But Fun"

Here's an idea that, to my knowledge, is rarely really done; Freedom Wings is a flight game with RPG elements, complete with different towns to visit, new upgrades and what not to buy, and levels to climb. But how does it work out?

Gameplay
Using a very simple formula, Freedom Wings delivers solid but fun gameplay that mostly revolves around dogfighting. You'll find yourself engaging planes in the air most often, but occasionally, you will have to take out things such as boats and other ground targets. You can choose between one of two weapons - your gun or your secondary weapon. Both of these can be changed in the numerous shops around the world in Freedom Wings, allowing you to choose simple guns to gatling guns and missiles to homing missiles and bombs. Each has it's advantages and disadvantages; for example, the longer range missiles go farther and seem to hit harder, but you get to carry less of them.

Throughout the game, you must travel city to city, liberating them from pirates. This is usually done by flying towards the city, shooting down any enemies along the way, and once you get there, having something that's like a boss fight - it can either be dogfighting a certain pirate, taking down a rather large blimp, or simply destroying all of the land or air targets that guard the area. Along the way, there are other missions to perform; sometimes, you will find other pilots in flight, under assault from pirates, and you can choose to rescue them or to just say "Forget them" and continue on to your destination; but it's always to your benefit to rescue them.

In town, you have a few options to do, all of which are selected from the menu. You can go to the Shop, where you may buy new weapons, armor, wings and so on for your plane, or you can upgrade parts of your plane such as Power, Maneuver, and so on. Alternatively, you can visit the cafe, where various people can be chosen to talk to; talking to these people usually does little more than further the story, but it can also gain you extra missions to do, such as an escort mission. In the cafe, you'll also find people you saved out of town, who will sometimes reward you with gold or information. Finally, you can go to your Hangar, where you can switch planes, re-equip your plane, save your game, or take off.

The game is somewhat repetitive, as this is what you do at every town, but I suppose you could say that about any RPG; the only problem is that this one is somewhat light on the story, focusing more on the gameplay itself. Still, it's very proficient and surprisingly entertaining.

Score: 9/10

Graphics
Somehow, Freedom Wings is both good looking and ugly at once. You're presented with some pretty nice looking plane models, and some art work that is passable, but at the same time, some of the areas outside are pixellated and not very detailed. Though we can possibly excuse this, as in Freedom Wings, you fly around the entire world map, in full 3D. Truth be told, you won't notice the sort of ugliness of the ground textures unless you decide to fly your way right into it. Of course, another problem with this game is the lack of collision with objects, so ramming yourself into the ground will have no damaging effect upon you.

Still, the visuals in Freedom Wings are proficient, and the action is smooth, so I have no real complaints. But like other 3D games on the DS, don't expect your jaw to drop in amazement.

Score: 7/10

Control
This part of the game is what may keep a lot of people away from Freedom Wings entirely, or at the very least, keep them from enjoying it as much. The controls in Freedom Wings are very tricky to get the hang of, but once you do, it becomes second nature to you. You're presented with two types of flight modes: AI and Manual. In AI mode, you tap a place on the touch screen, and the plane will fly itself there, including take off, climbing to the altitude you set, and the speed you set. If you choose to have it auto-lock, the plane will automatically lock onto enemies and begin firing at them. Alternatively, you can have it self lock, where you lock onto the planes, but it will still fire upon them automatically. Though, the auto-fire only works with your first weapon, and you can still fire your second weapon on your own. However, this mode is flawed and a bit undesirable; your plane will only fly in a straight path at enemies, which can cause you to get shot down very quickly if you don't take your enemy out first. If you enable AI Mode from a close range or manage to not get shot down, your plane will give chase, but it will not do so well. Often times, this has resulted in my plane doing endless loops, trying to catch my enemy with no success, or repeatedly crashing itself into the ground.

Manual Mode does as it implies; you get to do everything in the plane, from adjusting the speed, taking off and landing, and flying up, down and all around. You can lock onto enemies so that an arrow will point to them and they're easy to track; from there, you must adjust your speed and maneuver accordingly to keep up with them, and fire ahead of them to account for the distance, and so on. It's accurate and makes the game a lot more fun, but it can take some adjusting, especially for new players. The only real flaw in this mode is that, for some reason, while flying in a straight path to a destination, your plane will often end up leaning to the right slowly, and flying right slightly. Some people say that this is due to the weight of the guns, but I don't recall if there ever was an official reason. This is probably what will be the most frustrating for people, but honestly, it doesn't happen all the time, and it's easy to deal with.

The key is to switch between AI mode and Manual mode to get the best method of flight going. AI Mode does not suffer from the leaning, but fighting is not so great; Manual mode is great for fighting, but not so much for direct flying. Still, it can be tricky to pick up at first, and a little difficult to fully master.

Score: 7/10

Sound
I suppose most people don't expect a lot on the sound level from games like Freedom Wings, but it still delivers rather well. The music when in town and flying is well done, although a bit repetitive after a number of hours of playing it. Still, it's nice to listen to and provides a good addition to the other sounds in the game. Speaking of which, it's complete with gunfire, missile launching sounds, engine sounds, and even skidding when you land on the runway. The sound is well done and I find little to complain about here.

Score: 9/10

Difficulty
As with most RPGs, the difficulty with Freedom Wings really depends on whether or not you want to take the time to level. That said, it can be a very difficult game, I must admit. If you choose to go out and fight an enemy that is ten levels higher than you, it is definitely possible to win, but while you are dueling with this enemy, there's a pretty good chance that a number of other enemies will show up to take a piece out of you, too. When you get overwhelmed, if you're good enough, you can take all of the enemies out and carry on, but if all of them are higher in level than you, it might take a while, which can bring on even more planes.

You have to fight smart in Freedom Wings, and fighting pirates that are in your level range will provide a sufficiently challenging experience, as well as decent experience. Rarely will you have to relentlessly grind in order to face a challenge ahead.

Score: 9/10

Re-playability
Though it does not offer any support for Nintendo's Wi-Fi Connection, Freedom Wings does offer Single Card Download play as well as Multi Card play, both for up to four players. Other than that, I can't say if you'll come back to the game or not. The only other option is to keep playing the main game, which does not change very much. Thus, while it delivers on multiplayer I'm afraid it doesn't have the most replay in the world.

Score: 7/10

Overall
In the end, for only $19.99, Freedom Wings provides a solid and entertaining flight RPG; but unfortunately, it may not appeal to everyone. Once again, as with any game, if this genre is up your alley, then by all means, give Freedom Wings a shot; if not, you may still gain some enjoyment out of it, and you can't exactly go wrong for the price.

Score: 8/10*

*Score is rounded to the nearest whole number

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 01/25/07