Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero Reviews

When it comes to titles from NIS America, I doubt anyone is going to list Phantom Brave as their favorite all time. To be fair, it’s not a terrible title by any stretch of the imagination: a fairly decent SRPG with cute characters and a whimsical approach to summoning and dismissing troops. However, NIS also publishes Disgaea, which has always done some wild ideas with SRPG elements, as well as Labyrinth of Galleria, which broke my heart back in 2023. Still, Phantom Brave was a fond memory ...

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is a challenging and fun strategy RPG that delivers a satisfying blend of nostalgia and innovation. With an accessible, easy mode, engaging combat, and a great sense of humor, it's a must-play for fans of the genre.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero can scratch that SPRG itch if you have it, but it is unlikely to be intriguing to those without an interest in the genre.

This long awaited sequel’s story is filled with adorable characters and combat that is both solid and designed to be busted open make it a great return for Marona in Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero.

Phantom Brave returns with a new entry in the series. Featuring a graphical refresh and some inventive mechanics, The Lost Hero is a charming addition to Marona's otherworldly adventures.

If you like Nippon Ichi's strategy JRPGs, check out DualShocker's Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero review.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is an amazing experience and story that rides the experience from the first game well. There can be some technical hiccups with the free movement features, but it doesn’t lessen the experience in combat.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is a clumsy-feeling game, but its scatterbrained energy comes from an admirable place of bucking standardized gameplay conventions in a genre that doesn’t budge often. The first game had some interesting ideas back 20 years ago, and those ideas are streamlined and expanded upon, without losing that experimental feeling. Its systems are as grindy as they are weird though, and the writing mostly being on the happy-go-lucky side isn’t going out of its way to yank you along. Instead it wants you to relax and tackle things at a slower pace, which feels good until it starts exposing problems. Anyone who loved the original (greetings, fellow 30 or 40-something RPG dork) will probably have fun here, although the rounded edges may be disappointing. For anyone else, I’d say go for it if you’re specifically looking for something new and novel. Come in prepared to be overwhelmed at first; if you make it over the hump there’s a solid adventure on the other side. It's a perfect use case for a demo, and sure enough there is one. Check it out!

I never thought we'd get a sequel to the highly underrated 2004 SRPG gem but here's Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero and it's great.

The 3D models look good and serve as a suitable translation from the pixel art of the original Phantom Brave, and The Lost Hero does have a lot of fun special attack animations. The Confriend ones stand out in particular, with the designs of Marona’s fusions looking cool. The voice acting and music are stellar, with a few tracks immediately getting stuck in my head.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero revives a two-decades-old series with aplomb, all while managing to stay accessible to not only newbies but also relevant to long-time fans.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is a good sequel to a beloved series that introduces a lot of good ideas. Still, it's a game that falls flat in its storytelling, going a bit too over the top, resulting in something that is hard to get engaged with.

Tactical RPGs are always a hit and miss with gamers but Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is a fun and accessible title for anyone looking to get into the genre and those who already enjoy it. With a fun cast of characters and entertaining, if somewhat simplistic combat, I found myself addicted and had a hard time putting it down.

It's been just over twenty years since the original Phantom Brave released on the PlayStation 2, becoming a cult classic among fans of turn-based strategy games and JRPGs, as well as admirers of the game's now-iconic developer, Nippon Ichi Software. The game brought a blend of unique and quirky approaches to turn-based combat, as well as a surprisingly bleak and dark story, with themes of death and the afterlife spread across the entire campaign. Cut to now and the game has finally received a full-blown sequel in the form of Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero, and while the newest installment does succeed in bringing the original game's formula to the modern era with improvements in quality-of-life features and updated mechanics, it doesn't manage to make sufficient introductions for new players unfamiliar with the dynamics of an NIS title.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is tough to recommend. This is a deep, difficult strategy RPG with a long campaign, tons of characters, and satisfying mechanics. Unless you’re coming here from the Disgaea series. Then it’s a shallow imitation of a superior franchise with an even more inconsequential storyline. On the other hand, if you’ve never played Disgaea, it’s unlikely you’ll encounter this game at all. If you’ve somehow gotten here with no Disgaea in your history and a love of complex strategy RPGs, The Lost Hero will be an excellent adventure. Otherwise, I’m simply not so sure.

Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is a superb SRPG that every fan of the genre needs to play. Its complex battle system and engaging story make this an absolute blast to play through!