Published and developed by Nippon Ichi Software, the original Phantom Brave was released in 2004 for the PlayStation 2 and received critical acclaim. It saw various ports and re-releases on Nintendo Wii, PSP, PC, and Nintendo Switch but has never received a sequel. 21 years since the original game, the long-awaited sequel, Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero, is now finally available on PlayStation 4|5 and Nintendo Switch, with the PC version due out later this year.

Months after the events of Phantom Brave, Marona and Ash set sail across the seas, only to be attacked by ghost ships known as the Shipwreck Fleet. When a mysterious figure attacks them, Ash manages to get Marona out of there but is forced to stay behind. After Marona washes ashore, she meets a ghost girl named Apricot who wishes to find her missing father and reunite their pirate crew, who the Shipwreck Fleet broke up. The two agree to work together, sailing off to reform Apricot’s father’s pirate crew to find Ash and Apricot’s father.

The long-awaited sequel makes quite a few changes from its predecessor but, for the most part, still feels like a Phantom Brave game. It keeps the same turn-based strategy format but switches from 2D to 3D, and now, players can move around freely within a limited open space between turns, unlike the grid-based format seen in most JPRG games. Weapon fusion and customisation have been significantly downgraded since the original game, which won’t be an issue for newcomers, but fans of the original may be displeased with the changes.

Three difficulty settings are available: Easy, Normal, and Hard, depending on how much of a challenge each player prefers. This would’ve been a good way to change how complex the weapon fusions and customisations are, but those are the same in any setting. Overall, the gameplay is still fun, and the battles are exciting, with a wide variety of attacks utilising melee weapons and magic that can all be upgraded, and more can be unlocked via game progression. Each attack and ability has unique properties that can be focused on a single enemy or cover a wider area to inflict damage on multiple enemies, who come in various shapes and sizes.

Being a JRPG, the other big aspect of the game is its story. Marona and Ash return to the original game and will meet a diverse cast of characters, new and old. The story starts slowly, but things will get interesting after a few hours, and players will be eager to find out what happens next.

The story and its characters are brought to life thanks to the talented voice cast in Japanese and English, with a few reprising their roles from the 2004 game, with Marona voiced by Kaori Mizuhashi in Japanese, Sandy Fox in English, Ash voiced by Hiro Shimono in Japanese, and Lex Lang in English, to name a few. Overall, the story may not be groundbreaking, but it’s still enjoyable to experience as you fight through tough foes.

The characters speak primarily during cutscenes, which may only be still images of the characters in front of the background relating to the current location, but it gives the feel of a classic JRPG game. The conversations are fully voiced, and subtitles in speech bubbles are displayed on the screen, providing more context for the story. Like the original game, the sequel sticks to its bright and colourful anime art style.

The 2004 game utilised 2D sprites, but the sequel gets a full 3D upgrade during gameplay but uses cel-shaded graphics to maintain its familiar style and presentation. The soundtrack mixes upbeat tracks during the battles and more sombre music during cutscenes.

Even if longtime fans aren’t accepting of the changes and downgrade to certain aspects of the game, it’s still great to finally have a sequel after 21 long years, as it still has all the other important elements to make it the ideal sequel and something that the fanbase can still be happy with.

It is packed with content and provides about 10 hours plus many more for the completionists. Despite its negatives, Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is the sequel that fans have been waiting for, which has been worth it.

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Written by: Sammy Hanson