So... Phantom Brave worth $20?

[warning]

I noticed EbGames has Phantom Brave on sale for twenty dollars.  I've never played any of Nippon Ichi's games and the odds of finding a copy of Disgaea without selling a kidney are pretty slim.

So what about Phantom Brave?  How does it compare to the other two by N.I.?  Is it worth $20?  Will I like it if I haven't played the others?

[-Lord Ebonstone-]

In my opinon, Phantom Brave's the best of the La Pucelle / Disgaea / Phantom Brave 'trilogy.'  It's a steal at $20.  Be sure to get the excellent Doublejump guide with it too.

And it's in many ways quite different from the others, so it's not a big deal if you haven't played them.  While the jump from La Pucelle to Disgaea was more one of efficiency and streamlining, the jump from Disgaea to Phantom Brave is a whole new game system.

[TheMissingLink]

I'm the in the complete opposite camp of LE - I think Phantom Brave is the worst of the trilogy.  The guide is quite extensive and fun as hell to look though.

I own Disgaea (for the third fookin' time, but my idiotic puchasing habits are topic for another discussion) and while I haven't put that much time into it, I can see it's a lot like La Pucelle.  

I <3 La Pucelle.  Absolutely loved the characters, the story, the pacing, the location.  ESPECIALLY THE GRID.

Which Phantom Brave tosses aside in favor of a sphere-system that IMO, causes headaches and annoying little problems.  I always had to re-move my people because I didn't put them in the right position for an attack or something like that...I just want a grid, for chrissakes.

And don't get me started on the confinement system.  To this day I don't understand a few things about that game.  Just read over the guide and play the game a lot, I guess.  The story seemed somewhat interesting...but I could never dig it.  Marona was too goddamned nice.  It's a shame

[Chrisoc13]

I think it would be worth it. Too bad you didnt get it a couple of months ago, gamestop had it for free (after a rebate). Well, pretty much at least. I have enjoyed it so far, but I have been playing it off and on and not in a consistant manner.

[Sepiche]

I just started playing Phantom Brave recently and I'd have to agree with TheMissingLength about the sphere system they used in Phantom Brave.  The gameplay itself I enjoy, and while the story isn't as good as Disgaea, is's passable, but the movement system just tends to irritate me more than impress me.

That said it's still better than 90% of the games out there, so I'd probably recommend picking it up.

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[Kevin Grey]

I think it would be worth it. Too bad you didnt get it a couple of months ago, gamestop had it for free (after a rebate). Well, pretty much at least. I have enjoyed it so far, but I have been playing it off and on and not in a consistant manner.

I think you're talking about the other Phantom game-Phantom Dust- about that free with rebate thing.

[-Lord Ebonstone-]

The movement system takes some getting used to -- for example, friction and terrain surfaces play a major role in how your characters move.  Tell a character to move, say, 10 units on sand, and they'll end up ten units away from where they started.  Tell them to move 10 units on ice, however, and they might slip and slide for 15 or 20 units, sometimes right off the map!

It can be frustruating to learn, but really, it's a minor quibble compared to the massive amount of things you can customize and, well, do in the game.  You can kill a monster, pick up its dead corpse and use it as a weapon.  If the monster knew, say, an ice spell before it died, you can cast that ice spell if you're holding his corpse (or his living body)!  You can create your own random dungeons, strip magical titles off of equipment and place them on any other object in the game, fuse items to make super-powerful gear, and much, much more.

Though there is (clearly) debate as to which NIS title is the 'best' amongst those released in the states, most agree that they're all fundamentally great games.  $20 is a steal.

[Chrisoc13]

I think it would be worth it. Too bad you didnt get it a couple of months ago, gamestop had it for free (after a rebate). Well, pretty much at least. I have enjoyed it so far, but I have been playing it off and on and not in a consistant manner.

I think you're talking about the other Phantom game-Phantom Dust- about that free with rebate thing.

You are right, got confused here . I like phantum dust, never played the other one which this thread is about .