PixlBit

You know every once and a while the Nintendo Wii would see the re-release or remake of some unexpected PS2 title. I could never explain it it myself. These quickly turned into pun filled purchases. With many critics and gamers alike dubbing them "Wii"makes or "Wii"releases. Today's game is one such oddity and a strategy RPG to boot. Today on Bargain Bin Buys- Phantom Brave: We Meet Again (At least it avoided the dreaded Wii pun) A game I bought for $10.

The original Phantom Brave was released for the Playstation 2 way back in 2005, Phantom Brave is one of the few games that I never got around to buying... let alone hearing about. Of course my exposure to the Disgaea series at the time was also nonexistant as well (of which this game is a spirtual successor of and even features Disgaea playable characters).

The story  of Phantom Brave follows Marona, a orphaned girl with a happy go lucky positive attitude. Branded as an outcast by society due to her ability to summon phantoms (those trapped between life and death), Marona has spent most of her life stranded and alone, associating herself with very few people other than her Phantom guardian, Ash. Having died alongside Marona's parents nearly eight years ago, Ash has since pledged his loyalty to Marona, protecting her in the world she lives in.

To make ends meet, Marona works as a Chroma, a mercenary of sorts who completes dangerous jobs for those who are wimps like me. Because of her status as "The Possessed One", jobs are few and far between, and even when they do come, her employers try to loophole their way out of paying her in full. And most of them don't even pay her at all. Strangely enough, it doesn't bother Marona. Her mindset is one of great optimism, always telling herself that if she keeps helping others, one day, everyone will eventually like her. It's incredibly poignant. The voice acting is really well done, and even though she is just a fictional character... I felt bad for Marona.

At its heart, Phantom Brave is a spin on the tale of the ugly duckling, and for that, the story is a success. Marona is an endearing character who remains sympathetic and wholesome for the entire stretch of the game. Her victories are as heartwarming as her defeats are crushing, and I found myself rooting for her. Her endless amounts of pep and optimism check off a list of traits likened to a JRPG cliché character, but even then, her childlike nature makes it seem so much more genuine than older heroes in positions similar to hers.

Unfortunately, the story takes a nosedive about 3/4 of the way into the game when it replaces its ugly duckling story of a girl trying to make friends with a tried and true, but wholly unecessary JRPG save the world story. It's a real shame it goes in that direction because it's Marona's quest for friends in a world unaccepting of her that makes it stand out. When she sets about trying to change the world of their opinion of her it really has something special going for it. Watching Marona make her first true friend is just so much more satisfying than uniting the entire world against a destructive evil being hellbent on destroying the world.

The world of Phantom Brave is brimming with creative ideas and beautiful areas. As bright and colorful as everything is, Phantom Brave doesn't sport the greatest graphics. That might be an obvious observation though, as it's just a PS2 game slightly updated to the Nintendo Wii console. I could see that some polish and effort had been put in over what was seen in the PS2 version, but even then, We Meet Again doesn't offer a full-on graphical overhaul. Character sprites are stale and mostly unimpressive, and environments and spell effects feature jagged edges and sloppy textures. During story events, however, you are greeted with absolutely beautiful hand-drawn backgrounds. The entire game has this fantastic tropical feel to it, and nowhere does it come across better than in those cutscenes.

We Meet Again has a spectacular musical score, which I consider to be the highlight of the entire game. Despite the game's tropical island atmosphere, there aren't a lot of tunes that really match up with that, though the music is just fine. Much of Phantom Brave's music is completely unique. You will often hear a lot of melodies involving hums and chants and all other sorts of vocal accompaniments. Marona's island which doubles as the hub of the game, for example, features a song that's sung in a strangely angelic fashion. Sound effects are pretty awful though. I remember a boat scene later on in the game where the waves sound like someone just blowing into a microphone.

As far as the gameplay is concerned, there's a lot to say. Phantom Brave has a lot of learning curves and customizable options for you to wrap your head around. I'm not even convinced that I was able to master all of them. Before the battles actually happen, you get to run around Phantom Island, Marona's home and hub world. Here is where all your party management takes place, from character creation and the equipment they'll hold to weapon synthesis and skill enhancement. The best part about the island, though? Anything can be stacked and placed wherever you want. Weapons and people can be stacked on top of each other to create insane staircases that ascend high into the air. If you're committed enough to create the most towering pile of crap you can, you'll even get hidden rewards.

Once you're done stacking crap, story events and battles can be found on the world map. While it can be said that Disgaea is a mindless grind, Phantom Brave tries to be the opposite. Strategy is most certainly key here. With Marona being a little girl, she's not physically capable to defend herself properly, requiring her to place her army of phantoms on the battlefield. At any given time during Marona's turn, she can call forth her phantoms by "Confining" them to the scattered items surrounding her (rocks, trees, weapons, dolly-carts, bombs, fish, etc.). Each item grants various bonuses or penalties depending on its properties. So if you've got a mage, a magic-boosting tree would be ideal, while a tough and sturdy rock would be a poor choice. A pillar might increase your axe-wielder's attack by 50%, but will the 70% speed reduction make him too slow? What's more is that Phantoms can only remain on the field for a set number of turns before they vanish completely. If a map is sprawling and multi-tiered, for example, you might want to actually think about how you approach the battle before busting out your strongest teammates right from the get-go.

In addition to the summoning mechanics, some items might be boasting a Protection spell to further shake up battles. Say there's a tree on the other side of the battle field. That tree might be sending a Protection spell to three other items near the enemy, such as 20% defense increase or unlimited turns in battle. By destroying those items, enemies can't benefit from this. The game loves giving bosses invincibility Protection, forcing you to get rid of the item (or even more frightening in the plural- items) before being able to damage the boss at all. There is an upside, you can use those same items (granted they aren't being used by the boss) to help Marona as well. It's a double edged sword if you will.

Other than that, the battle system is fairly normal. You'll take turns moving around a gridless field (each character can move within a certain circular radius as opposed to individual squares) and defeating monsters and enemies. It's a bit of a vanilla process. (aside from defeating a bonus character in battle you don't necessarily have to... they often pop up at random)This makes it more of a traditional Strategy RPG, but nothing is really wrong with that. After all this game is Disgaea-lite

The thing that prevents Phantom Brave from it's full potential is balance.  I was never really sure what sort of damage output my characters and those attacking them were going to be. It wasn't random, but it certainly wasn't consistent. I found myself amazed at how powerful bosses are despite their stats, and how weak my own characters were, even when I knew what they could do. In games like these, being able to strategize based on what you've encountered previously is what leads to winning. But with Phantom Brave, things constantly seem thrown together at random, leaving me to resort to the tried and true level grinding that RPG's are known for having.

The controls and menu interface are a bit strange. Navigation and button inputs are clunky and complicated at times, but I'd say it's significantly enjoyable overall.  The game thankfully features multiple control options utilizing the Wii-mote, nunchuck, classic controller, and GameCube controller. I personally found anything other than the Gamecube controls unplayable, the options are there though, and it's a nice touch on NIS's end even if the other options weren't to my liking.

Movement in battle can also be quite odd. At times, you might be trying to simply jump onto a ledge, but instead of executing a simple jump, your character jumps onto it, back down, then up again, over and over until the movement limit has been reached. Even moving in a straight line might prove troublesome, as there were times when my characters decided to veer off at and end up in places I hadn't originally lined up. Thankfully, you can reset your turn at any time, so it's a minor inconvenience.

We Meet Again comes with Another Marona, an entirely new scenario designed for players already familiar with the story. This separate story features brand new characters (both NPC and playable), new objects and weapons (my favorite being the Stupid Bonfire), and of course, a new story. The "what if"/alternate dimension plot really didn’t do anything for me, and I found myself completely underwhelmed, but just like the main story, Another Marona isn't without its moments.

Recommending Phantom Brave: We Meet Again is a bit hard. Have you played the game before when the game first made its appearance on the PS2? I don't know... Another Marona is a nice extra to have but it's a bit pointless though it does add longevity to a fairly lengthy game too (An additional 10-20 hours depending on your play style), but maybe someone might find enjoyment in the "what if?" scenario. But hey, if you missed Phantom Brave back in 2005, it's definitely worth having it for Wii.

Personal Opinion: 8/10- I spent hundreds of hours on this game and the just loved it.

Critical Opinion: 7/10- There's a fresh coat of paint on this cult classic jrpg, and the overall experience outweighs it's cons. It's light and breezy just like the tropics, but every once in a while a storm comes brewing and will cause you to think about living there.

Overall Determination: 7.5/10- What a Bargain!