Nippon Ichi games test my brain in ways that most do not. If you’ve ever played a Disgaea or Labyrinth game (and you really should have), you know what I mean. The strategies required to work through them run deliberately and distinguishedly deep, and the same can be said of Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero.
This is my first Phantom Brave game, although the second available for Nintendo Switch (Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle Remastered is included in Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 1). The series dates back to 2004, but you wouldn’t know it from playing The Lost Hero.
Before I get into why that is, let’s take a look at the setup. We meet the characters Marona and Ash as they reminisce on their previous adventure (one you don’t need to have played in order to hop aboard here).
These two are quickly attacked, however, and Ash basically gives himself up to buy time for Marona to escape. Marona ends up on a mysterious island where she meets a group of pirates with troubles of their own, including a young phantom girl, Apricot, who longs to reunite with her father. Marona agrees to help this crew, knowing they can also assist her in saving Ash.
That setup launches the player across the seas of Ivoire to engage in numerous turn-based battles. Don’t be fooled, however…this turn-based system is quite unique, beginning with the Phantoms. The characters you take into battles are actually ghosts that most people can’t even see. Marona not only sees them, but can confine these spirits to objects on the battlefield. When you greet a new level, you’ll be able to assign your created party members to items such as rocks, flowers, and axes. The object to which they’re assigned gives them different enhancements, but they can only stay on the battlefield for a limited number of turns. After that, they return to phantom form, and you’ll need to assign a different phantom to that or another object.
With me? Because it gets more complex. Phantoms come in numerous customizable classes with unique abilities. Some classes can bring items back to your base. Some can stay on the battlefield longer. Of course, some come with enhanced melee or long-range attacks, better defense, or healing skills. Marona herself has unique abilities you’ll need to put into play—speeding up an ally’s turn or keeping him on the battlefield longer. Marona even has the ability to confine a phantom to herself, giving herself the skillset of that phantom and extra turns to utilize. The closer the friendship, the more powerful this ability becomes.
It’s an awful lot to consider in battle, but the combat system affords you time to think about it. The action is turn-based, and you’re allowed to move freely on the battlefield as you determine what action to take. As you move, a circle collapses around you. When it’s the size of your character, you can no longer move. You can, however, back up the start to try something else before committing. Many battles come with gadgets you can utilize to your advantage (preventing your enemies from doing the same). You’re also given numerous ways to win, including knocking enemies completely off the map, which never stops being fun. This freedom provides a low-pressure way to experiment, but that doesn’t by any means make things easy.
Although I was able to win the first few levels, I did so knowing I’d quickly be overwhelmed if I didn’t get my act together. There is so much tinkering to do on and off the battlefield that it’s very easy to get confused. The tutorials help, but they don’t adequately explain many of the key strategic elements and options. In my first battle, for example, my strongest fighter was unable to use his sword; the weapon was grayed out and unavailable in combat. Why? I have no idea. I’m sure it wasn’t a bug, just something I did wrong in the setup.
As a result, I delayed my progress (and this review) by simply replaying the early levels numerous times (the game gives you the ability to do so) until I had a firm grasp on what I was doing. That helped a lot, making the journey across Ivoire much easier to battle through. That’s important, too, because the game rarely stops throwing new items at you. New Phantom classes open up additional abilities such as a Marina that provides passive skills for your fellow pirates or the ability to Salvage for items. Afraid that needed characters will get behind in levels? Don’t be. You can open a juice bar that stores experience gained in battle, then reassign it as needed down the road.
Get the right Phantom class and you can even create randomly generated dungeons. Why? For experience and rare items, of course.
In other words, there is a lot of game here. There is so much to take in, alter, and master that it almost seems like you’re helping the developers test every idea that made the whiteboard. Except that you don’t have to. Numerous difficulty options mean you can force yourself to utilize everything or you can pretty much breeze right through with nary a thought given to custom dungeons. You really can play and have fun with Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero in whatever way is comfortable.
Unfortunately, it’s not a perfectly enjoyable experience. There are some performance issues (being asked to select between Quality and Performance at the start is never a good sign). This isn’t a huge deal considering the turn-based gameplay, but it’s still weird when simply spinning the camera can choke the visuals. Also, the controls are a bit clunky, making it difficult sometimes to position your character properly for attack. And finally, having so many customization options means too many screens to work through when you really just want to play; the game never really establishes a nice flow.
Still, I came to embrace all of Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero because of its uniqueness. I’ve played countless SRPGs on the Switch, and this will definitely be one of the most memorable. Give the demo a try to see if you feel the same, but be sure you give it a fair try; this one takes some work to fully appreciate, and Marona and her crew of phantoms are worth the effort.
