Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero - Review [Tactical Excellence]

Cane from your breath of fire review, which I saw was 4 years old and was delighted to see you are still making content! Subscribed

Great review. Thanks!

Getting it on the Switch and you have me nervous now. Mostly getting on the Switch since graphically it does not need PS5 power.

I loved this! It's great to see reviewers that clearly appreciate the amount and depth of customization the game has!

Of course there has to be a character named "Juan". Easy pass.

is laharl in this game like with the first one?

Great review for a great game❤ I hope this game sell well it deserve it.

They were never going to be able to runback the tone of the original story. Marona had a very emotional journey I still get feels recalling certain moments. She grew a lot so getting another game for her is a treat her voice actor sounds the same too.

I'm really happy there's a robust end game. The original PS2 release didn't have a lot to chew on post credits which was disappointing after Disgaea served up a crazy fun grind, LV 4000 sounds familiar.

Has a lot of disgaea quality of life in there… hmmmm just got back into D7 might give this a shot

Looks super fun but I'm probably waiting for this one to go on sale at some point.

Seeing as they crippled the fusion system and the SP system of the previous title, I am incredibly surprised that someone is positively reviewing this game after playing the first.

Presentation: Ash and Marona's voice actors in the English dub really did not seem to care. All the other voice actors really did seem to give it their all.

I'm glad that you mentioned the crashing. I have had this game since nearly a week before release due to being lucky with the limited edition shipping out early and being near a repository and had many rage-fits from crashing destroying the tension and methodical curiosity of hard boss fights.

Story: Eh, the story is what I expect from NIS post-Disgaea 5 (the one that doesn't have a story). However, I was sorely disappointed in the story after chapter 10 or 12 where the hype that was built up from chapter 8 really nosedived. The story felt contrived after chapter 10 and before chapter 8 the story was quite easy to predict.

Combat: If you enjoy the way combat is in this game, then you would be taken aback by how the original game handled its combat and its weapon system. The SP slog is still there and is akin to the proficiency slog from this game, but it makes a lot more sense given the fusionist capabilities of the game. The fact that you have a diameter in this game that limits the movement of the 3D characters really removes any slipperiness that existed in the prior game and adds a whole new dimension of control that actually takes players out of the fight when they realize that the diameter system keeps them from actually using the physics in the game.

Customizability: This game is incredibly limited in customizability in comparison to the last game, and I believe that is specifically to broaden the target audience for the game. Fusion has been completely torn down, and the equip% and confine% buffs that you could use prior are no longer available. This severely limits what weapons you can use in the late game without sacrificing power. Dungeoning has been stripped down to its core implementation and the people playing have little idea how the dungeon is going to go due to the randomness of the dungeons, instead of using a system that tells the player how big the levels can be expected and how the climate will be.

The fact that you no longer can make a watermelon that is as strong as the most powerful sword in the game is something that shooed me away from giving this game a positive review myself. Fusion was and still is a major mechanic of the Phantom Brave series, and it is heartbreaking to see it stripped.

Post-game: So.... in regard to the fact that you do not have enough time to get into the post-game content proper, I would like to note that there is a new game + mechanic in which you are able to replay the original story with a much higher level. If you are like me and really enjoy grinding, I would suggest going to the final difficulty. If not, I would recommend the second or third to last difficulty. This will allow you to get your characters to the levels necessary to take on the 4k leveled post-game boss with a lot less dungeon grinding where you are completely and utterly confirmed to lose your progress due to crashing from menu-ing.

Anyways, this game is addictive as all get-out. I have Marona at level 6k right now and have completed multiple phantom rarity dungeons.

Can I put it down? No. Do I recommend it? No.

Great original system, bad implementation of a perfectly good setup.

Great review brother, I just recently picked this one up for Switch myself! Looking forward to it~

Am i the only one experiencing the game crashing on me several times in 2 days on the Switch?

awesome review! as soon as I’m done with DQ3 I’m jumping straight to this game

My friend is getting me the game for my birthday

I just wish we could fuse allies together so that they could inherit otherwise unobtainable skills. I used to have Marona go around using the zombies' bite attack, healing her a bit whilst also poisoning the enemies. 😅