Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate Review: Chibi Arcade Brawler!

Who among you was an Xbox 360 fan? Yes, many of us have not-so-fond memories of the Red Ring of Death, but once Microsoft got their act together, it was hard to argue with their library of games. But for me, the coolest aspect of that console was its Xbox Live Arcade, or XBLA for short. This digital distribution service ushered in a new era for indies, focusing on bite-sized niche releases from a wide variety of developers and publishers. Over 700 games ultimately came to Xbox Live Arcade, including titles such as Castle Crashers, 'Splosion Man, and yes, Uno. I still have nightmares about some of the images I saw through people’s Xbox Live Vision cameras.

Among the games released via XBLA was an arcade-style brawler called Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds, a spinoff of the somewhat niche fighting game franchise. In Battle Grounds, up to 4 players could bash their way through a series of different levels utilizing various combos, air juggles, and special attacks. It was a fun game that I owned, with an adorable chibi art style that was almost too kawaii to handle. I’d say that it's surprising to see this game return over a decade later, but in truth, nothing surprises me anymore. Yes, today we are reviewing Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate! But does this bite-sized combatant hold up all these years later, or is it a complete underperformer? Let’s find out in our full review.

Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds is the same arcade-style brawler that a small handful of you likely remember, with a host of new features and refinements that update it for modern audiences. But before we get into all of that, let’s explain just what this title is all about so that you have an understanding of what you are getting into.

You’ll choose between a variety of adorable chibi girls—well, mostly girls—battling against the evil Phantom to save your friend who has been taken captive! The four lead characters include Mikoto, Waka, Itsuki, and Yuzuha, though plenty more can be unlocked. The four main characters all feature individual stories in the story mode. Running through the story mode only takes around an hour and a half, but thankfully, Battle Grounds gives players plenty of reasons to go through its stages over and over again.

I’ll be blunt: the story featured in Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds is a complete throwaway. It’s poorly acted, written, and 100 percent NOT the reason you’ll want to play this game. Going through story mode is merely a means to unlocking additional content, so don’t expect a deep, foreboding plot full of rich characters and dialogue—you won’t find that here, nor should you expect to in what is essentially an arcade brawler.

Thankfully, the single-player story mode isn’t all that this title offers. There’s co-op where you and up to 4 friends can brawl together locally through all eight levels, or you can even battle against one another in a versus mode aptly named Battle Ground Mode. There’s also an arcade option for players who wish to try and earn a high score through score attack, or they can try out time attack to see how quickly they can conquer a level. Want to take the fight online? That’s an option too, and it even includes crossplay for both co-op and Battle Ground Mode. This supports up to 6 and 8 players, respectively.

You might be saying, all that’s great, Joe, but it’s still the same boring old levels time and time again, right? It’s a fair criticism, especially when considering that the last few zones feel of a lower quality than the rest of the game. But think about it—brawlers were always pretty short experiences historically, and how many of them featured a fairly robust combat system, a slew of unlockables, and even the ability to level up individual characters? The answer is, not all that many until more recent times. So in that regard, I can give Phantom Breaker a bit of a pass.

The moment-to-moment brawling is quite fun too, sitting somewhere between a 2D fighter and a more traditional brawler. There’s decent depth to the combat engine, with a variety of combos, throws, air juggles, special attacks, and more! Each character feels distinct enough, with individual strikes and speed. And I loved the RPG mechanics, where in between each area, you gain levels and can even disperse points to learn new skills and improve stats such as strength and defense. This incentivizes players to come back for one more level time and time again. And with 38 characters in total, you’ll have plenty more reasons to. I especially like the ability to hop between the foreground and background with the press of a button. Enemies will sometimes infest both areas, meaning you’ll have to hop between the two different planes. It’s a fun feature that’s been seen in a few other brawlers, but isn’t all that common. 

I will say that the versus mode didn’t do much for me personally, but your mileage may vary. I was only able to try it with a second player, so the potential for fun exists with a larger crowd, but my gut says not a lot of people are going to be playing against one another. The real heart and soul remains in the arcade side-scrolling action, but at the least, the developer tried something, and it makes for a mildly amusing distraction. 

All told, there are hours and hours of gameplay potential in Phantom Breaker, though again, it is a fair criticism to say that this experience will get repetitive for some. And despite some fancy systems, you can still ultimately mash your way through the game—just ask my 12-year-old daughter, who helped me with this review. This means that it's best to enjoy this one in shorter bursts, a playthrough here or there at a time. It’s the perfect game to bust out during a social gathering with a few friends. Nobody has to think too hard about how to play, and yet there’s enough to the gameplay where it won’t necessarily feel boring for more skilled players.

Other new features for this version of Phantom Breaker include improved visuals and higher resolution, elevated frame rates, brand-new characters to discover—including some of the game’s enemies, which are now playable—and an entire remastering of the soundtrack. The remixed tunes are especially awesome, bringing with them great rock energy, blazing lead guitars, and memorable melodies. The original soundtrack is still available, but I find it unlikely that you’ll want to switch back. As for those visuals, they were adorable then, and remain so now. Animations are smooth, enemies are fun and large, and overall, the game has a lovely visual and audio presentation. The only major flaw I would point out is that some of the backgrounds are a bit boring and repetitive, mainly in the last few areas. The game ran beautifully too on my PC with no frame drops or crashes to report. 

Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate is a lovely update to a cute and interesting arcade brawler that many of you likely missed out on the first go-around. It’s accessible for casual players and has enough depth to entertain more skilled gamers who enjoy fighting game mechanics. Its visual and audio presentation are impressive, and there are lots of reasons to keep playing with so many unlockables. Yes, the backgrounds get a bit repetitive, as does the gameplay after an extended amount of time, but there’s good turn-your-brain-off fun to be had. If you like chibi art, arcade brawler action, and have a few friends to play with, then get ready for the next battle! Sorry, that’s a different game. It’s not an exceptional release, but it is a fun one worth adding to your collection at some point.

GOOD