So you’ve battled in Disgaea, strategized the snot out of La Pucelle, and now you think you’re ready for what Nippon Ichi Software has in store for you with Phantom Brave. You poor, silly sap. You haven’t seen anything yet. After all, how can anyone realistically blow through all three of these games in a little over a year? Each of them contains what seems to be a lifetime’s worth of gameplay and depth that the prospect is mind-boggling. Yet here we are with NIS’s third title, and boy is it a doozy. There are just so many missions, sub-missions, enemies, tactics, plot-developments, and more that it’s hard for me to figure out where to start.

How about from the beginning…



While Phantom Brave contains a bit of the same charm and humor as its older brothers, the game is actually quite dark in its subject matter. Revolving around a thirteen year-old girl named Marona, the story takes place in a violent world. Others consider Marona to be odd, even cursed, because of her ability to communicate with Phantoms, like her guardian, Ash. As the adventure progresses, Marona will attempt to bring light into an otherwise dark world.

But even as prevalent as the storyline is in NIS’s games, the battles are the meat of the games. Those familiar with NIS’s earlier games will mostly feel at home here. However, as aluded to earlier, this game one-ups just about everything in terms of customization and abilities. The battles again take place in a turn-based strategy format, but now take place in a more natural terrain, rather than a grid-like environment. This can be a bit unsettling at first as it’s a bit more difficult to map out your attacks and see precisely how everything is going to play out. Another unique ability is the Confine system, which allows Marona to possess nearly everything with a Phantom. You read correctly: rocks, plants, trees, shells… You name it, Marona can add it to her party and send it off into battle. Adding to that, each of these objects also has unique abilities it can use to aid it in battle. This aspect alone gives Phantom Brave a ton of depth, but there’s also the ability to pick up objects and use them to your advantage. You can even pick up an enemy!

I sense you’re starting to understand the depth of this Phantom Brave.

This is all just the tip of the iceberg as Phantom Brave allows you to customize everything. In addition, there are loads of hidden items, characters, levels, and more. This game is absolutely huge. But therein lies a bit of a problem. This game may just overwhelm some players to the point where they just have to give up. Phantom Brave requires a real commitment to explore thoroughly, and only the truly hardcore will have the patience to take that time. This game can truly wear you out it you’re not ready for it.

Compounding this depth is the overall difficulty of the game, which can be a real bear once you journey deeper into it. There are some incredibly challenging enemies found in Phantom Brave and you may find yourself repeating the same battles numerous times. It seems that the game’s designers want players to level up like crazy as that’s what it takes to get beyond some of the stickier moments.



Another factor that may turn off people new to the Strategy RPG experience is the game’s presentation, which may seem primitive to those unfamiliar with NIS’s work. While not as simplistic as La Pucelle, the game shares the old-school flavor of its predecessors. Worlds are depicted in blocky locales, and the detail is mostly functional at best. The voice-acting is similar to La Pucelle in that its very caricaturized and not entirely realistic and the soundtrack is mostly forgettable with only a few really memorable moments. Once again, the efforts of the game’s creators seem to have been focused completely on the incredibly deep gameplay.

Like La Pucelle and Disgaea before it, Phantom Brave is aimed squarely at the hardcore strategy fanatic, and I fear that few others will give it a chance, especially during this busy holiday season. It’s a shame, really, because this one game could in all likelihood eat up 100+ hours of gaming time. But with all the other delicious morsels out there waiting to be eaten, who’s going to have the time? And for those wondering if Phantom Brave is better than its predecessors, I would have to say that it’s at least as good, with only the lack of a grid system hurting its chances. I can say with confidence that if you enjoyed the first two, you’ll fall right into the groove here. Just be prepared for a huge time commitment.



Article By: John