NIS America invited me to a preview event for Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero. For those who don’t know, the original Phantom Brave game was released over twenty years ago, and now we’re finally getting a proper sequel to the game, even though we’ve had several remasters and remakes of the original title in the meantime.
The main duo in Phantom Brave are Marona and Ash. Marona is a young girl who has the power to communicate with phantoms. They are spirits who have left the mortal world – basically, they are ghosts. Ash is a phantom he befriends in the first game. Phantom Brave dealt with dark themes due to the use of ghosts of the deceased as allies, and one of the criticisms was that the game stayed dark for too long. This sequel will also deal with heavy subjects and emotional stories, but will also have light moments for balance.
The sequel begins with Marona and Ash being separated by a mysterious ghost fleet. As Marona investigates this fleet, she encounters a person named Apricot, who lost her father to the fleet. Marona and Apricot team up to investigate the ghost fleet and find Ash and Apricot’s father.
The gameplay is simple. You start with a story sequence, which takes place in visual novels. Then you move on to combat. After you finish the fight, you’re on Skullrock Island, which serves as a hub for creating characters, dungeons, using the juice bar, and starting the next mission, among other things. NIS describes this game as a Play-It-Your-Way Strategy RPG. You can go through it quickly or play carefully and methodically. You can also adjust the difficulty of the game according to your taste – whether you want a challenging system or a light story.
During combat you have freedom of movement. While other SRPG or Strategy RPG games use a grid, there is no grid here – units can move in any direction as long as they are within range. You will have to learn how to best use the confine system. You can summon your phantom allies by binding their souls to items on the battlefield. Their stats can be improved depending on the item you attach them to.
The new mechanic introduced in this sequel is called Confriend. You can attach phantoms to Marona to change her appearance and get special attacks. If Marona defeats an enemy while under confriend status, she gets an extra move called Again. Marona can chain up to five Again moves.
On Skullrock Island you can create phantoms to join you in the game. There are new classes, including Musician, Chef, Explorer and Fisherman. Each class has elemental affinities and resistances to flame, wind, and ice. You can use points to decrease or increase resistance to each element. Using Spirit Points for their stats also consumes resources, so be careful not to overdo it.
To get the most out of the confriend system, you need to increase the connections with the characters you create. Links are increased by including them in your group, talking to them or giving them gifts. Interacting with allies is the best way to increase your bond, which is shown by filled hearts next to their names in battle or chat.
Since the goal is to find a fleet of ghosts in Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero, you have to build your own fleet to find them. On Skullrock Island you can acquire ships and upgrade them. You can also set your characters as the ship’s crew. You can improve the ships by using the necessary materials. Each ship has a different Pirate Style. This style determines how many crew members the ship can have.
Although the game serves as a sequel, Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero will be adapted for new players. The game will be stronger for those who played the first part, but enough will be explained that you won’t be confused if this is your first game in the series. With a dungeon and phantom creation system, the game offers a lot of replayability, ideal for those who want to spend a long time in this world.
If you’re familiar with the Disgaea series, it might be useful to start the Phantom Brave series as well. Kento Jobana, script director for Disgaea 7: Vows of the Virtueless and this game, stated, “Disgaea requires momentum and constant humor and jokes. Phantom Brave requires a delicate approach. It needs to be emotional. Phantom Brave also has no parody elements or vulgar jokes.” Instead, the story is more in line with the themes of the Phantom Brave series, while the art style is reminiscent of Disgaea 7.
I can’t wait to play this game when it comes out on January 30, 2025. However, Steam users will have to wait until spring 2025 before they can get their hands on these games.
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