Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle Review

In the 1975 play Same Time, Next Year, George and Doris are two soul-crossed souls who schedule an annual, clandestine reunion despite being committed to other people. Ironically, the illicit couple share an emotional intricacy far deeper than the one experienced with their respective partners. This plotline also happens to be a pretty accurate depiction of my relationship with Phantom Brave. After a third rendezvous with the title, I have become endearingly enraptured, and have found the game seeping into my thoughts during time spent with other, more compulsory diversions.

To be honest, our initial acquaintance wasn’t under ideal circumstances. Back in 2004, I found the strategy RPG lurking in the clearance bin at Toys R Us. Half a decade later, the fittingly titled Phantom Brave: We Meet Again found its way to me, this time adorned with a graphical make-over, remixed soundtrack, and a tweaked control scheme. With the recent release of the PSP iteration, subtitled- The Hermuda Triangle, the game has been augmented even further with the inclusion of several Nippon Ichi luminaries. Although a third playthrough of the eighty-plus hour epic might seem superfluous, the title is well suited for portability. With the duration of most battles matching a prolonged train or bus ride, commute times tend to vanish within The Hermuda Triangle.

A significant share of Phantom Brave’s allure comes from its lead protagonist- the thirteen-year old Marona. Shunned by society for her ability to summon phantoms, her eternal optimism and tenacity could charm the most solemn misanthrope. Complementing the young girl’s enthusiasm is Ash, a phantom who died alongside Marona’s parents years ago, and now serves as her ethereal guardian. To make ends meet, the adolescent works as a Chroma- vanquishing evil doers for a meager living, across the game’s tropical landscapes. Altruism serves as the main impetus for a majority of the title, before Phantom Brave regretfully employs a global crisis to drive the story along. With the cataclysmic plotline being so ubiquitous in role-playing games, Marona’s more intimate interactions express a tenderness uncommon to the genre; it’s a shame these moments don’t persevere.

One element which does persist throughout Hermuda Triangle‘s playtime is the satisfaction reaped from the game’s rich combat system. Forgoing the tradition grid of the SRPG, the title allows characters to move within a ring, with the circle’s radius determined by a unit’s move speed. While this mechanic abstains from giving topography and positional bonuses, it also allow characters to launch attacks across  circular fields or wedge-shaped zones. The freedom of movement comes with a few snags- units can cluster together, making it difficult to select a specific enemy or piece of equipment from a stack. Sporadically, characters disobey the player’s wishes- shuffling pack and forth instead of ascending a steep incline.

In between conflicts, a robust party management system awaits, allowing players to create new phantoms, purchase and enhance weapons, heal teammates and save your game. Beyond your basic role-playing workhorses like warriors, mages, and soldiers, players can also create characters which help Marona in more roundabout ways. From merchants who earn a steady stream of income to monks which can generate randomized dungeons teeming with potential experience points, these units embed Phantom Brave with an startling amount of depth. In typical N1 style, there’s a bit of grinding to earn the money, experience, or weapons required to surmount some of the game’s more forceful foes.