Phantom Brave

First let me say that I'm a big fan of Nipon Ichi and it's sister company, Atlus(US), so maybe I'm a bit biased when it comes to this game.<br><br>The story is about Marona, a fair-minded young girl, and her best friend Ash the phantom. Growing up on an island alone, she's had to come to terms with her ability to see phantoms, in a world where no one understands her. Even so, she's managed to keep a positive outlook, and wants nothing more than to help people in need. To do this, and to help pay the rent, she's taken a job as a Chroma, the hired mercenaries of the realm.<br><br>It's in the course of this job that the story takes place, as our young heroine faces great challenges and some mean people...mean people can be really mean, as you'll see if you read the letters she gets, and the newspaper articles about her. Throughout her trials, Ash is there to give her good advice, and protect her from harm.<br><br>Now, lets have a look at gameplay:<br><br>The combat controls are a bit more complicated than what they've used for La Pucelle and Disgaea, and takes some getting used to. Where as before there was a base panel you'd bring your party out of, now you use you're main character, Marona, to bind, or "capture", phantoms into objects that are strewn throughout the levels. These phantoms have turn limits that shorten their time in battle to a few turns, making strategy a major factor when choosing who to summon and when.<br><br>There's a wide range of summonable phantoms, and a large party is possible and preferable until you get the hang of the system. The battles are similar to Disgaea in that a characters speed determines how quickly they have their next turn. Building up this skill can have some humorous results, and as with the other games, there are short 'example battles' that play if you wait at the start screen, that show you just how much you can do with this game.<br><br>If you liked the other games by Nipon Ichi, I'd say give this one a try, I really enjoyed it!

i don't mind 2D games... but the character designs for this game a little bland.. unlike the Atelier Iris series, this game lack the brightness and character expressions.. which kind of ruined the game experience for me... also, it's a strategy RPG.. a battle could take much longer to finish comparing to turned based RPG or action RPG.. It's worth a rental if you are a strategy RPG gamer.. other than that.. it's better to look elsewhere.

Phantom Brave became the third game that NIS made for the PS2, and earned a loyal fanbase.<br><br>The game itself is rather unique, in that it was one of very few SRPGs that lacks a grid movement system. Instead, players move based on dm (decimeters), which represents the range in a red circle, allowing for pinpoint placement. However, because of this new feature, it no longer matters whether you attack an enemy from the front, side, or back, as it will not affect damage dealt. In addition, accuracy has been thrown out the window, so in most cases, you either do or do not deal damage.<br><br>Phantom Brave is far more serious in plot than the other games, perhaps Nippon Ichi's most serious title thus far. This does not mean the game is without at least a little humor, though. Instead of the still, realistic anime portraits in Disgaea, it features full-blown, pseudo-anime type sequences during major (and sometimes minor) plot points. The sprite animation is not as detailed as Disgaea, but if you don't mind that, then all the better.<br><br>Difficulty-wise, Phantom Brave is more difficult than Disgaea, but not as difficult as La Pucelle. While Phantom Brave lacks multiple endings and a New Game Plus feature, it has 10 "post-game" quests that you can partake in after beating the main storyline, each of which, except for one, is harder than the last.<br><br>Phantom Brave's soundtrack blew me away. I was stunned by how much it had improved even considering Disgaea and La Pucelle's excellent tracks. If I could give separate ratings, I'd give its music a 9.8, not a 10 because it's not COMPLETELY perfect!<br><br>Overall, I give it a 9.7, for great music and innovative features. It brought me more challenge than I'd ever had in most gridless SRPGs, only topped by Dragon Force, and if Nippon Ichi can make a sequel or another game like it (other than Makai Kingdom), I'd be thrilled!

lets start with if your some one who cares deeply for graphics and compare old games to new u might not play this. <br /> <br /> (8/10)The artistry is great for 2d srpg all with the lack of depth developers can or should go into with small characters. The map art is equal or maybe a little less than the level or the characters. <br /> <br />(7.5) the sound track is good i dont mind it but during battles the music stays popish and happy kinda leaves me disappointed waiting for a music befiting what your doing. <br /> <br />(8)The game play is confusing if you play it with a closed mind or comparing to other srpgs. The game work in a way that try to make u learn real strategy and at least now the basic applications of most the characters abilitys as many have out side battle uses. start pretty easy u go throught the beginning a little boring but than it jumps several lvls to where the monsters at same lvls are stronger than you but a little grinding(lvl building) can fix like in any rpg or closed to type of game <br /> <br />(7)Story well its good or great based on how u see the two main characters Ash and Marona. Some see a strong girl who has learned to except herself and Ash being their to help her. And i saw Marona sad and kinda beaten; the rules she lives by hard for every one, self conscious and scared. Ash who trying to help her having no faith in himself to do so believing he is the full fault of her problem. Their are many ways to see the story and all are better than average. <br /> <br />Now i am not comparing this to any other srpg or game made by the same company mainly cause i dont care who makes a game just it its good. This game is good bit tedious at time but a game u could buy. Might be better to rent first if u compare game to other titles of the same genre.

I love Final Fantasy Tactics and every SRPG seems to pale in comparison to it and this is a perfect example. The graphics are nice but the gameplay borders on the unplayable. There is little or no strategy to the battles and the joy of upgrading your job/class/ability is sucked dry by the pure blandness of this game.