Bleach: The 3rd Phantom – Familiar Faces

The second and third chapters of Bleach: The 3rd Phantom feel like fan-service. (In a good way though!) Of course, the whole game is a bit of fan-service, allowing players to pick a male or female avatar and then facing off against Hollows and Arrancars alongside their favorite shinigami (aka Soul Reapers). However, the game doesn't start feeling like fan service until the first chapter has ended.

The second chapter finds Fujimaru and Matsuri all grown up. They've graduated from the shinigami academy and are now going to be joining the ranks of full fledged shinigami. Both are accepted into the 5th Division, under Captain Suzunami and Vice-Captain Aizen. And yet, they aren't quite ready for the major leagues. Enter Kaien Shiba, newly appointed trainer and guide to the twins.

Familiar faces abound in the second and third chapters of the games. Aside from being trained by everyone's favorite, dearly departed shinigami, Fujimaru and Matsuri do their training in the Rukongai districts. There they pass by a seriously scary Kenpachi Zaraki, help Momo Hinamori find a lost Toshiro Hitsugaya, run into Rukia and Renji Abarai, feed a hungry Gin Ichimaru and Rangiku Matsumoto and talk with an in-training Soi Fon.

The twins also run into quite a few established shinigami. Urahara, Yoruichi, Aizen, Yamamoto, Unohana, Ukitake and Kyoraku all make appearances as playable characters during the "past" chapters in Bleach: The 3rd Phantom. Urahara and Yoruichi each receive new character sprites (and are treated like new characters in terms of relationships with Matsuri and Fujimaru) after Chapter 8 of Bleach: The 3rd Phantom, since their characters look different in the "present" chapters.

Images courtesy of Sega.