Twenty years after the release of the originalPhantom Brave, NIS America are finally debuting the long-awaited sequel to the classic PlayStation 2 SRPG withPhantom Brave: The Lost Hero.
10 Underrated JRPGs You Can Play On Steam Right Now
We’ve all heard of Pokemon and Persona, so let’s dig deeper for some gems!
Earlier this month, Hardcore Gamer was invited to sit down with Scenario Writer Kento Jobana and play an exclusive hands-on demo of the game, featuring a new segment and many of the Facilities features, and we’re pleased to say that after all this time the magic is still there!
Returning to Phantom Brave
The Lost Herois a sequel that stays admirably loyal to its predecessor, while also enhancing the experience with updates to visuals, mechanics and quality-of-life systems. The most obvious change is in the art style, ditching the original’s pixel artwork for three-dimensional chibi models in combat and hand-drawn portraits for dialogue. The thought of combining anime art and 3D can be off-putting to hear, but NIS have managed to perfectly execute it. The characters are all unique and expressive in their emotions, while maintaining a high-quality level of design and detail.
Outside the well-executed changes in art direction, this is classic Phantom Brave, through and through. Marona and Ash return for another stunning adventure full of confined phantoms and epic battles. The original’s iconic radial-based movement system returns, sporting dynamic (and grid-free) combat scenarios that embrace fluidity and intuition.
Gameplay was intuitive and easy to pick up, boasting a level of accessibility not usually seen in SRPGs
With the shift to 3D, players can now rotate the camera freely to gain new angles and perspective, as well as preview where the area of effect of a character’s moves will land exactly. Despite the lack of tutorial during our demo, the gameplay was intuitive and easy to pick up, boasting a level of accessibility not usually seen in SRPGs.
A Whole New Adventure Awaits
In a major shift from the original game,The Lost Heroembraces a pirate theme, with Marona leading her own crew across the seven seas. Items that are confined can now be looted and brought back to the ship, where they can be sold as part of a shopkeeping side-hustle that was teased. There were a lot of these new side-adventures that we got a brief look at, including a hands-off scavenging mechanic that allows you to command ships in your arsenal to hunt for materials while you’re away. Certain characters that get added to your crew throughout the story add these kinds of new abilities to your island hideout (and some of them even apply these skills in battle).
The first major new mechanic we got our hands on was Gadgets, a new kind of object to confine that has its own unique set of moves and abilities. Phantoms confined to these gadgets (in our case, a giant cannon) can’t use their own moveset, but are instead able to utilize the innate abilities of the gadget. Confining a phantom to the cannon allowed us to send long-range projectiles across the map, obliterating any enemies caught in the blast.
Another new addition we were excited to see was the “Confriend” ability, which allows Marona to confine a phantom withherself, evolving into a more powerful combination of the two (with a cute character model to sweeten the deal). The combined power of Confriending can be made stronger by increasing the personal bond between Marona and the companion of choice, tying together combat and narrative with a stylish bow on top. The Confriend ability is not only the perfect embodiment (no pun intended) of Marona’s growth since the last game, but how far NIS has grown in its creativity and design.
The Confriend ability is not only the perfect embodiment (no pun intended) of Marona’s growth since the last game, but how far NIS has grown in its creativity and design.
Phantom Brave: The Lost Herois sure to be a hit with fans and newcomers alike when it releases next year. If you’re still eager for more juicy details about the game, you can read our interview withScenario Writer Kento Jobana here, where we discuss the game’s new story, its ties to the Disgaea series and even the portfolio of film director Tim Burton.
8 Things Every Good JRPG Needs
A solid story? A colorful cast of loyal teammates who’d follow you anywhere? These are just a few things quality JRPGs have.
