Phantom Brave Review (no fat)

Game Description

Phantom Brave is the story of Marona. Her parents, along with their guardian, were all killed during a vicious battle with a powerful demon. Her parents did not want to leave their daughter alone, so they returned their Guardian Ash to a half-life state. He is a Phantom. Interestingly, Phantoms can be seen by Chromas at all times and other people only when they choose to. Marona is a powerful Chroma, often called the “Possessed Chroma” because she has Ash following her around and doing his best to raise her. Marona has the power to create Phantoms at will. It is a great and terrible ability that people both worship and fear. The same darkness that killed her parents is starting to spread over Marona again. It is up to Marona and Ash to find out what is happening.

Phantom Brave Gameplay

Phantom Brave is a strategy action game. You play as both Ash and Marona throughout the story. On your island, you run around as Ash and can pick items up, talk to your created allies, or throw everyone around. During battle sequences your main character is Marona, who can use her Chroma powers to pull Phantoms into her battles. The game is played out by going through “books”. Each book takes you deeper into the mystery surrounding the evil presence in the land as well as introducing you to various characters that will play roles in the larger story.

Items in the game are bought from merchants or found on the ground. The only item that can be bought or used, are weapons. Healing is done by spells that characters possess through skill upgrades or weapons. Weapons are not just limited to swords and spears, but also books, cactuses, rocks or even bones. Allies increase their powers through leveling up or by combining them with weapons or other characters. Another important feature is the ability to customize both your weapons and the allies that you create.

Phantom Brave Battle System

Phantom Brave’s battles take place on a grid level. Character can move according to their speed. Faster characters move more frequently than slower characters. Another factor is a characters move range. The higher the range, the farther a character can move. Marona is the main player during battles. She is the only character that will appear on the battle scene. You must use her special ability, confine, to place your Phantoms (your allies) into objects that are scattered throughout the level. “Confining” a character to an object can increase or decrease their stats depending upon the stats of the object…but confining is the only way to bring a character into battle so always check the objects stats before placing a character in one.

You are given 12 slots to fill on each level. A slot can be occupied by one of two things: a Phantom and/or a weapon. If you bring in a character who is holding a weapon, than that counts as 2 slots and not just one. Once a slot is used, it is consumed and cannot be reused. If a character dies, he or she cannot be replaced by “confining” another character to an object.

A character can attack through weapons or through special skills. The weapon or skill determines the radius of the attack. An attack can hit one enemy or a group of enemies, enemies in a line of sight, or enemies in a circle surrounding the character. There are several types of attacks and each character class handles the types differently. Fighters are good with sword attacks but generally have bad magic skills. Witches on the other hand are great at magic, but bad at burst or sword attacks. You can change your characters abilities by combing them with other characters.

Phantom Brave Ally Creation

As a Chorma, Marona can call Phantoms to aid her in battles. To call them however, Marona must first create them on her home island. You initially start off with only a handful of Phantoms that can be created. Ash can talk with Marona on the home island and initiate the Ally Creation screen. Once you select an ally, a random stats screen appears and you can purchase level upgrades (with Bourdeoux, the island currency) to increase their stats. Once you have decided upon their stats, Marona brings forth the Phantom and places them on your island. As you progress throughout the story, you can unlock other Phantoms for creation. Some Phantoms you earn through story completion, while others will require you to battle them a certain number of times before Marona will learn how to create them. A good selection of Phantoms are the key to winning battles.

Phantom Brave Technicalities

Phantom Brave does not contain and CGI screens. All of the characters and the “movie” sequences contain a drawn animation look. The colors are bright and vibrant which reflect the young age of Marona. No matter what happens, the world is still a wonderful place. Even the chipper, upbeat music reflects a sort of childishness that the game is trying to keep. There is humor and plenty of jokes, but they are not tinged with innuendo like some other games in this genre.

Phantom Brave 2cent

Phantom Brave is yet another wonderful tactics game. It is a fun game whether you play it for the story, or to see how powerful you can make your characters. You can play the game straight through or you can take the long road and replay beaten levels or create dungeons to strengthen your characters. The story, even with its dark tones, is a sweet and touching tale filled with morals.

Phantom Brave is one of the most interesting games in this genre. You are given a vast character creation system that you can expand with dozens of humans and various animal creatures. You can increase your character levels by fighting or by combining them with other stronger characters or weapons to increase their stats. You are able to buy weapons or to find them during battle. There are many different features to this game that make it so enjoyable. Phantom Brave is a game that will take you hours to play as you work your way through the enchanting story, and even when you finish, there are still so many things that you can enjoy and even a few secret characters that can be discovered.

Phantom Brave

Phantom Brave retails for $13.50.