Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero Review

It's nice to see a real sequel come to life at a time when remakes and remasters are so common in video games. After the first Phantom Brave, which came out on the PS2, PSP, and Nintendo Wii more than twenty years ago, comes Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero. Phantom Brave was developed by Nippon Ichi Software (NIS), the company behind the popular Disgaea series.

Its freeform, circular battle system was unique to strategy RPGs. Now, more than 21 years later, NIS is bringing the series back with The Lost Hero, a new game that has grown up while still maintaining the unique charm and difficulty that made the first game stand out. The developers of this game want to make Phantom Brave one of their main series, as they did with Disgaea.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero takes place six months after the events of the first game and follows Marona, the main character, who can talk to ghosts. There is a dramatic turn in the story right away: Ash, Marona's best friend, has disappeared. Now that Marona is stuck in a group of islands, she meets Apricot, a ghostly friend who is the daughter of a pirate captain. They set out on a journey to find Ash's father, fight pirates, and find out the truth about Apricot's disappearance.

The story doesn't do anything new, but it does manage to be fun and interesting, with the kind of strange character interactions, humor, and charm that NIS is known for. The characters' conversations are really funny, and the full voice acting (in both English and Japanese) makes the world come to life. Even though the characters are in danger, the game's self-aware humor and constant inside jokes keep things light.

You're already halfway there if you're familiar with the first Phantom Brave. The gameplay is mostly the same as in the last one, with a few minor changes that improve the experience. Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is a strategy role-playing game, but the battlefield is round instead of square, like in Final Fantasy Tactics or Tactics Ogre. Players can place characters and phantoms anywhere they want in this freeform system, giving them a lot of freedom.

The main character, Marona, can summon ghosts by tying them to objects in the environment, such as trees, rocks, or even cannons. These things give the phantoms they're attached to different bonuses and skills, which makes the game even more strategic. For instance, a rock will make you smarter, and a flower will make you stronger. This feature makes players want to look around the battlefield and come up with new ways to position their troops.
  

The summoned ghosts also have an interesting class system added to the game. You can make monster phantoms, warriors, healers, samurai, and even wizards. Each class has its own set of skills, and as the game goes on, you'll meet named characters with special abilities that will help you on your journey. The system for summoning phantoms is very complicated. It's fun, but you need to really understand how it works to get the most out of your units.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero's battles aren't like most strategy RPG battles. The game doesn't use a grid-based movement system. Instead, it uses a circular system that gives you more freedom and new tactical options. The main way the game works is that Marona calls up phantoms by tying them to things in the environment.

After that, you can tell these ghosts how to move, attack, and use their special skills on the battlefield. There is a catch, though: the ghosts don't stay. The "remove stat" of each phantom tells you how many turns it can stay on the battlefield before it goes away. Some classes have better remove stats than others, which means that some phantoms are more reliable for longer.

The turn order gauge, located in the upper right corner of the screen, is one of the best features of the combat system. It helps you plan your moves better when you know whose turn it is next. During the battle, it's important to have this small but necessary tool to keep order.
  

The combat system is very flexible, and you can keep phantoms inside a variety of objects, which is a great feature that keeps things interesting. The turn order gauge is a valuable addition that helps keep battles moving smoothly. The phantoms' class system is also very strong, offering numerous ways to customize them and play.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero's difficulty curve can be very tough. The game can still be challenging, even with the new "easy" mode added based on player feedback. Some battles might feel too hard, especially if you don't know how to handle your phantoms and their gear well. Phantom removal's randomness can also be annoying at times since you have to keep an eye on the battlefield and change your plan all the time.

In Phantom Brave 2, grinding XP is an important part of the game, especially since the battles are so hard. You'll have to fight and complete goals in order to level up your phantoms and characters.

You can use the experience points you earn in battle to level up your phantoms and give them new skills and better stats. In addition, weapons are very important for character growth. Giving your phantoms better weapons will not only raise their stats but also teach them new skills that will help them survive tougher battles.

In addition to the main game, you can get extra XP by doing things like sending your crew on expeditions or leveling up at home base. However, even though grinding is an easy way to earn XP, the game is still challenging and requires careful planning and resource management.
  

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero looks great because it has a great mix of old-school charm and new graphics. Fans of NIS games will recognize the distinctive and colorful style in the art, featuring bright, expressive character designs and detailed environments.

The battlefields are full of interesting characters, and the fact that you can call up phantoms with different objects makes the game look even more interesting. The game's graphics are polished and fit its tone well, with smooth animations and bright effects during battle, but they aren't groundbreaking in terms of realism.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero's music is great. It has a mix of happy, upbeat songs and sadder songs that fit the game's different moods. NIS has always been good at making music that people remember, and this game is no different.

One of the best things about it is that you can choose voice acting in both English and Japanese. It helps the characters come to life and makes the game's funny dialogue even better. The voices give the characters more depth, making their interactions more interesting.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is a welcome return to the series, building on and improving the gameplay elements that made the first game so great. The freeform, circular combat system and phantom summoning mechanics are still at the heart of the game, but new features like the easy mode and gadgets make it more fun and easier to play.

There is a lot of humor and charm in the characters, which makes the journey fun, even if it can be hard at times. The graphics are bright and colorful, the music is catchy, and the voice acting is excellent. Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is a new and exciting strategy RPG for people who like grid-based games but want to try something different.