We’re at that weird point in gaming history when games we’d normally never see worldwide do show up everywhere. It’s especially fun when that happens with something quite unexpected. You know, like with Phantom Breaker: Omnia. This is one of those fighting games we didn’t get for a long time. It’s reasonably obscure. And yes, by modern standards, it is lacking a lot of the fighting game niceties. There’s no rollback netcode, for example, and it might not be as pretty or mechanically tight as an Arc System Works game. But even though it isn’t perfect, I can’t help feeling like there’s still something special about it.
The first is that Phantom Breaker: Omnia continues that tradition of a developer building on a game over a period of years, refining it to make it better. So yes, the original did show up in 2011. In Japan, it ended up rebalanced and with additional characters in arcades (Another Code) and on consoles (Extra). This incarnation means rebalancing, the new characters Artifactor and Maestra, new audio options thanks to English or Japanese voice acting and new or old soundtracks. But more importantly, it’s the only opportunity people outside Japan had to easily play it. Yes, people could have imported. But this is the easiest way to hop into the fighters. Which is great!
Sure, there is a downside that most people didn’t get a chance to see it grow into its current form firsthand. But there’s a lot of goodwill that comes from a game not only making a worldwide debut 11 years after its initial release, but doing so it perhaps its best and final form. It’s definitely exciting!
Especially since it expands on one of Phantom Breaker’s key elements. After you pick a character, you choose your style. In the past, Hard and Quick Styles would be available. One is hard hitting, and the other involves quick responses. This version brings in Omnia Style, which feels like an all-rounder option. It is a midpoint between the two. It omits Hard’s Solid Armor option and Quick’s Clock Up for the sake of generally boosting a character’s average stats. Which the game clearly shows you with attack, defense, and speed icons and bars showing how each one will change depending on the other styles chosen. Combine this with the game flat out telling you exactly what sort of fighter each character is when you select them, and it’s incredibly approachable. It is okay if you don’t know anything about the game! Phantom Breaker: Omnia will help you!
There’s also the way that its story mode feels like a lot of older fighters. Odds are, players who come to Phantom Breaker: Omnia will be as clueless about what’s going on as Mikoto is when Shiro-Mikoto comes from another universe and decides she needs to die. “What’s an F.A.?” “Who’s Phantom?” “Why is everyone fighting?” Since this is building on past games, there is a text-based Phantom Breaker: Extra Prologue packed in. This explains that the various competitors are Breakers with Fu-mension Artifacts fighting to apparently earn the right to have Phantom grant a wish. (It is never that easy or simple, as you might imagine.) But the organization has this classic feel to it, which is very welcoming in its way.
So is the fact that Phantom Breaker: Omnia, in this version, offers every mode you’d expect from a fighter. Major, original characters have storylines. You get Arcade, Endless Battle, Score Attack, and Time Attack modes. You can compete locally or online. Heading online means casual player match options, while you also can improve your ranking. Training is a bit more barebones than folks might expect. You can go into its options to set if a second player or AI will control the opponent and determine how the foe will act. (You can determine their actions, if they perform counter hits or guard, and determine if air recoveries or throw breaks are possible.) It’s as well rounded as the Omnia Style, basically.
But perhaps what I was most excited about is what this does for characters not original to Phantom Breaker. Yes, GameLoop and Rocket Panda are handling it. However, this was a 5pb product. Which means it and the Phantom Breaker Battle Grounds spin-off include Steins;Gate’s Kurisu Makise. And she’s not the only Science Adventure person showing up. Rimi Sakihata is here too. Since Chaos;Head won’t be appearing worldwide for the first time until 2022, I’ll spare the spoilers. But Kurisu is perfectly in-character here. She has the right look. She’s equipped with Future Gadgets. (Including multiple versions of certain types.) There’s a reference to Mayuri Shiina in one of her attacks. Like the rest of the game, it’s fun.
Phantom Breaker: Omnia is one of those games I look at and go, “You know, I’m glad you’re here.” Because for so many years, it wasn’t! This is a fun opportunity. It’s executed well for what it is. We did get what is probably the best version of it. At this point, it’s a novel piece of history that could be enjoyable to play around with alone or with a friend locally.
Phantom Breaker: Omnia is available on the Nintendo Switch, PS4, Xbox One, and PC.
