Phantom Brave: Heroes of the Hermuda Triangle for PSP Reviews by Gamers

In some reviews I read, people compared this and Fire Emblem. They obviously didn't play the game, as the two have nothing in common.

The storyline is a little different than most games, which is a plus. The character you control, Ash, is a phantom that decided to protect Marona, a thirteen year old Chroma(which is like a mercenary, it seems). Marona is on a mission to get enough money to buy the island she's living on, which is where most of the conflict comes from.

The battle system itself is very unique. Instead of a tiled area, your characters can move anywhere within their movement range. Marona is the only character who you actually start the map with, though. This is where the Confine System kicks in. Y'see, Marona isn't too normal. She can see and speak to phantoms, and Confine them into objects laying around, which is how most of the battles go. The Confinements last around five or six moves, so there is a large degree of strategy in when to Confine, where to, and into what. Each item gives different stats when they get Confined into.

There is an O.B. system in place, where almost anything on the map can be tossed out and taken out of play, including all your characters, save for Marona and Ash.

The story battles are linear, as in you do a fight and it unlocks the next. There is also a Random Dungeon system, which unlocks powerful Titles you can give your characters or items, boosting their stats.

The graphics are like most Nippon Ichi games, using what I think are 16-bit sprites.

The music doesn't really stand out much. The English voice acting I didn't like, but lucky for me, there is an option to use Japanese vocals instead.

All in all, Phantom Brave is a very fun game, and will last long enough to satiate most gamers, even if the fighting gets a tad repetitive at times. Like most Nippon Ichi games, expect to grind quite a bit at times. I recommend trying this Phantom Brave, at the very least, especially if you like Disgaea.