Update []: Aaaand it's out now! The free demo Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero is available to download on the eShop.
The demo covers the first two chapters of this surprise sequel, and as we mentioned below, you'll be able to transfer your data over to the full game when it drops at the end of the month.
Check out the demo trailer up top, and check out our original article below for more details on the strategy RPG.
Original Story: Nobody expected Nippon Ichi Software to announce a sequel to the 2004 PS2 strategy RPG 'Phantom Brave', but over 20 years later, the company did just that. Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero sets sail on Switch on 30th January, and for those who want to see what it's all about before release, NIS America has announced that a free demo will be available from 17th January (that's this Friday).
In its reveal tweet, the company noted that all save data from the demo carries over to the full version, so you can give the trial your all and not worry about having to do it all again. Ahh, bliss.
But what's this one all about? The Lost Hero is a sea-faring RPG where you play as Marona, a young girl with the power to contact those beyond the grave — OooOOooO. A fleet of ghastly ghost ships is on the prowl, and it's up to you and your spectral pals (and some alive ones you pick up along the way) to stop it.
How you do this is through a series of strategic turn-based battles, where you can bind your phantoms to inanimate objects on the playing field and combine them with gadgets to take down foes — talk about environmental hazards. It's a strange take on the genre's usual Fire Emblem-style sword-focused affair, but hey, at least it looks cute.
Phantom Brave: The Lost Hero's free demo will arrive on the Switch eShop this Friday before its full release lands later this month. We were lucky enough to go hands-on with it briefly at last year's Tokyo Game Show, and you can find our full thoughts in the round-up below.
What do you make of this one? Will you try out the demo later this week? Let us know in the comments.
[source x.com]
Comments 18
Love to see Phantom Brave getting a demo for those interested in giving it a try before getting it and even more so since the save data transfers - as usual I won't play it myself since I don't have the time for it and I've already preordered the full game physically discounted from my usual retailer here in Italy anyway!
Ah, neat. Never did played the original on PS2, PSP, & Wii.
Got it preordered already. Even nabbed a copy of the first one for the Switch too.
I remember playing that one on the psp, it was good fun
I remember playing this on the Wii. It was quite good.
A nice sequel, can't wait to try it especially after finishing the first one via the Prinny collection that came with Soul Nomad.
Looking forward to it!!
The original Phantom Brave on the PS2 was a very special game for me. Never thought I’d see a sequel. Here’s hoping it does the series justice!
It's been 20 years since the first game came out on PS2. I hold that NIS of that era (especially together with Gust) was one of the greatest and most prolific developers of (S)RPGs.
will give it a try when i get the chance!
Very interested in this. Haven't played Phantom Brave yet but have researched it and it's very interesting. So I wasn't sure if this was a sequel or a remake as the bundle has the original. But a sequel why not. I'll try the demo why not.
I played the Wii Phantom Brave ages ago. A very unique game that was a lot of fun! I may be interested in this one too. It would be fun to create ridiculously overpowered and weird weapons again.
It looks very cute, if perhaps a little too overchibified for my taste. I'll check out the demo though
Oh nice, finally a demo that is free!
@the_beaver Back in my day, demos would cost more than the full game! They'd take 10 hours to install and 20 hours to uninstall! And if we stopped playing before completing the whole thing, they'd beat us! And we were grateful.
@N64-ROX Hahaha, yes, demos are so soft now, and always complaining about anxiety...
Loved the first Phantom Brave and La Pucelle tactics on ps2 back in the day. Definitely looking foward to downloading the demo when i get home from work.
@N64-ROX
Im just glad the whole limited uses thing from the 3ds never caught on, especially with some of the demos we get nowadays like the DQXI one.
Loved the demo, nice gameplay and beautiful visuals albeit with some minor performance issues on Switch, just grabbed the full version of the game with a minor discount.
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