NIS America has finally released Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle for the Playstation Portable. As a port of the Wii version with additional characters, Phantom Brave offers plenty of extras for gamers looking to experience this RPG.
If you had the opportunity to play the Playstation 2 version back in the day, you will also notice that there is a new story.
Phantom Brave is a tactical role-playing game that offers plenty of dungeons, phantoms and other goodies. If you are familiar with NIS America’s previous role-playing games, you will know what to expect from Phantom Brave.
You take control of Marona; she has the ability to heal with a special gift to see phantoms. Losing her parents at the age of five, she feels the need to help everyone that needs it. Marona is on a holy crusade to earn enough money to purchase the island of Sienna, where she resides.
Phantom Brave is a tactical, turn-based RPG that is a cross between a few of NIS America’s more recent releases. One feature that seems to be borrowed is the ability to find and equip items while in combat (this is a feature from Z.H.P.). This is one ability that I have always liked; it keeps the gameplay fresh and adds a new element to the experience.
Morona has a skill called confine; this allows her to summon phantoms such as Ash to fight during combat. By selecting rocks and other things on the battlefield while using confine, your Phantom’s stats will increase. For example: selecting a rock will increases your phantom’s defense. Using a flower will increase the phantom’s intelligence, making it ideal for a caster/healer.
You can use the coffin skill as many times as you wish during battle; there is no limit. The main problem is that each phantom doesn’t last forever; each phantom has a remove stat. This means that after a set number of turns, the phantom will disappear and you will not be able to use it again during the same battle. So choose your phantoms wisely; you can only have a maximum of 16 phantoms in a single battle. Strategy is very important during combat, so pick carefully when deciding on which objects to confine each phantom to.
The combat is what you have come to expect from NIS America. The one thing that makes Phantom Brave very challenging is the limited time your Phantoms have during combat.
Phantom Brave is a lengthy RPG that is perfect for anyone looking for an in-depth experience. There are 20 episodes divided into four chapters. Depending on your playing habits, Phantom Brave will have you logging anywhere between 40-50 hours of actual gameplay time.
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There is no shortage of narrated speech. What is available will keep you entertained for hours as the characters interact with each other. The music fits the Phantom Brave world perfectly. It almost reminds me of Z.H.P; it sounds very similar.
Phantom Brave has a wonderful story that can compete with the best of them. You find yourself caring about the characters, their trials and tribulations, and even their personal development. NIS America did a great job developing Phantom Brave for PSP.
If you have been looking for a new role-playing experience that offers unique characters, a solid combat system and a story that doesn’t follow your standard cliche, then Phantom Brave just might be the change you have been looking for. It is definitely not your average RPG.
James ‘Daripp3r’ Pittaro
Platform: PSP (Available on PSN)
Developer: NIS America
Publisher: NIS America
Price: $19.99
ESRB: T (Teen)
Size: 585 Megs
| Review Score | |
|---|---|
| Graphics |  |
| The 2D graphics are colorful and well-defined. | |
| Sound | |
| The music fits the Phantom Brave world perfectly. | |
| Gameplay |  |
| Challenging combat sequences will keep you busy for hours. | |
| Overall |  |
|---|---|
| Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle is a unique role-playing experience that will delight and entertain. | |
