Phantom Brigade does have a decent tutorial on the battlefield, but it falters in teaching you many of the nuances outside of the mech fights. The issue here though, is there are almost too many. When you do load up for the fight, there are lots of options and customizations at your disposal. Sometimes it’s helping an invaded village, other times it’s attacking an enemy base, or it could be dodging a patrol unit that’s coming right for you. While doing this it acts as a clearer for the fog of war on the map and allows you to choose where you want to fight next. It moves very slowly to start, with some boosts and bonuses to unlock down the line. For one, the map is navigated by a mobile base you control with a simple click of the mouse. Though the battles are a ton of fun, there’s still a whole bunch of time spent out on the overworld map and in menus before and after shots and missiles are fired. Phantom Brigade also gives you the option to immediately replay your last move, giving you the chance to further examine and analyze the battlefield and your enemy’s potential patterns. It’s fun to see it all happen in small chunks as well. When my mechs were getting hit, I heard and felt the crunch of the collision or crash of the exploding missile that just zipped by. Sure, there may have been some casualties (RIP Striker), but that’s how these battles go, especially in tactical RPGs like this.Īdditionally, the mechs and tanks all have a great sense of scale and impact. 40 seconds of game time might actually translate into 30-40 minutes of your playtime.Įven though a battle may have taken me that long, it never felt like a waste and always felt rewarding to come out on top. On one hand, I enjoyed just how much strategy was needed to make even the slightest of moves, but on the other, I do wish many of the battles and instances were settled quicker. These decisions were nerve-wracking and many times what seemed like a clear next move ended up being 10-15 minutes of planning for 5 seconds of in-game battling. Mech 1 might dash to the left before firing, but now Mech 2 needs to fire and hide behind cover, while your third is now a sitting duck. The complexity of each move becomes more intense, and the more crowded the battlefield gets. I found this to be a great way to plan my next attack, dash, run, or block. With a timeline displayed at the bottom of the screen, you can scrub from 0:00 to 5:00 before even deciding on your next move. Unlike many other tactical RPGs where you can move within a grid pattern or a certain distance, Phantom Brigade restricts your mechs through time.īut you’re not the only one working within these constraints, and so is the enemy. That’s how long each turn is in Phantom Brigade. Whether you have a team of 2 or 4 on your side, each and every action is taken within that brief time frame. So now it’s time to suit up and stomp them out. Early on, the cutscenes do a great job of conveying just how brutal the war-torn area really is, with the evil red-coated evil-doers rounding people up, destroying their homes, and patrolling their lands. Nothing about the overarching story struck me as unique, but there are some nice character moments that are delivered through a rare cutscene or a brief text-based discussion with fellow fighters that fleshed out the world. Phantom Brigade starts you off with just a couple of mechs and pilots, and along the way, you’ll recruit new fighters and giant battlers in order to stop the enemy forces. Right away (as part of the tutorial), you and your team are tasked with stopping an invading enemy that is taking over provinces and regions across the map or land in front of you.
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