Good, Clean Fight- Bleach: The 3rd Phantom Review

Game critics frequently bemoan publishers that churn out a steady stream of near-duplicate titles. This practice seems especially despised when the games are based on a licensed property. Flaunting your financial motivations for a new anime or film license is a sure way to raise the ire of both reviewers and consumers. 

While both critics and consumers were content with the first two Treasure-developed Bleach titles for the Nintendo DS, the third iteration invited innovation. Both Bleach: The Blade of Fate and Bleach: Dark Souls were competent fighters, but they were also constrained by the amount of buttons on Nintendo’s portable. Although moving the franchise away from Treasure’s proficient teams seemed risky, the potential for revitalization seemed accessible.

The recently released Bleach: The 3rd Phantom admirably abandons the brawling formula, reimagining the anime and manga as a strategy role playing game. While there are better tactical diversions for the DS, 3rd Phantom is robust enough to please fans of the series, while offering a palatable diversion for those unfamiliar with the source material. Still, a tolerance for often banal dialog is a requisite- the title overflowing the conversations.

3rd Phantom’s narrative was helmed by series creator Tite Kubo, and commences a century before the events of the manga. Players choose between two twins -Matsuri or Fujimaru Kudo, serve as the game’s central protagonist. The other sibling becomes a character that will accompany you along the title’s numerous battlefields. As the adventure persists, gamers will encounter a multitude of individuals from the Bleach universe, as the title ultimately intersects with some of the contemporary proceedings depicted in the popular anime.

3rd Phantom’s strategic depth is fairly middling. All characters have a fixed attack range, requiring players to be adjacent with a foe to initiate an attack, thereby eliminating the tactics of long-distance strikes. The game employs a Rochambeau mechanic, where characters have speed, tech, or power aptitudes, although tech users seem slightly underpowered. However, 3rd Phantom does have two noteworthy components that elevate the title’s gameplay. First, players under attack may choose from a solid defensive stance or opt for the slightly riskier counterattack.  Second, players may occupy Reiki squares on the battlefield, where characters may augment their attack stats. 

Graphically, Bleach: 3rd Phantom’s character portraits are functional, while the battle animations are clearly the game’s visual highpoint. Seeing characters attack with screen-filling assaults gives the game a dose of vibrancy missing during the title’s extended dialog sequences. Battle sequences are voiced by the actors responsible for the English dubs, lending the game a sense of authenticity. It’s too bad some of the title’s conversations weren’t vocalized as well.