The return of older games have always found willing players in modern audiences, and one to look out for is Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate. Originally released on the Xbox 360 as an anime-inspired side-scrolling beat ’em up, the Rocket Panda Games title now has a new lease of life.
With the re-release, Phantom Breaker has seen several improvements to its graphics and performance, including higher frame rates and resolutions. The playable roster has also been significantly improved, with a substantial addition of new characters, including the list of enemies.
Multiplayer game modes are a significant focus of this update, featuring four-player couch co-op and online co-op with up to six players, as well as competitive modes for up to eight players. Crossplay has also been added to the game, enabling players on any platform to participate in the action.
As for the narrative of Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate, the story unfolds in Tokyo, following the four girls: Mikoto, Waka, Itsuki, and Yuzuha, as they journey through parallel worlds. Phantom, the main antagonist, seeks to regain his strength by unbinding his sealed supernatural abilities.
To do so, he gave the girls mentioned above Fu-mension Artifacts, weapons with reality-bending properties. With the weapons causing reality itself to fracture apart, Phantom’s powers are unleashed, and after capturing Nagi, Waka’s younger sister, he escapes.
During this adventure, players will engage with an in-depth combat system that features mechanics inspired by various genres of action games. The actual combat itself is reminiscent of 2D fighting games, with strategic inputs being imperative to success. In terms of progression, characters will have their skill trees, giving each one a unique identity, and catering to different play styles.
Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate is now available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
