If you still haven't played Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, then drop everything you're doing and go pick it up now.
No really... go pick it up... the E3 coverage will still be around when you get back...
The follow-up of sorts to Disgaea: Hour of Darkness, Phantom Brave, is Nippon Ichi's newest entry into the Strategy RPG genre. The game once again pits anime-influenced characters against others in a macabre fantasy setting. The game stars Marona, a 13-year old girl who resides on Phantom Isle. Marona has the special ability to manipulate spirits such as Ash, a swordsman who serves as Marona's guardian and literal spiritual advisor. Together the two travel Phantom Isle and help out those in need of her special abilities.
During her adventure, which will span over 20 episodes and comprise of over 100 hours of gameplay, Marona will be able to meet up with allies and create your army based on over 400 skills and magic abilities. This system works similar to the one used in Disgaea and Final Fantasy Tactics. You are limited in the number of characters you can have in your standing army. You may even run into a few familiar faces from Disgaea along the way.
True to its strategy RPG roots, Phantom Brave consists mostly of long, tactical battles. At first glance, the system looks like every other tactics game on the market. Once you get into the system, you'll see that the system has been totally revamped, providing a strategy game like none before it.
A free-roaming battle system has been put in place, which allows you to place soldiers anywhere on the battlefield. You begin with only Marona (and by default, Ash) under your control. Marona is weak in battle and must rely on her ability to summon spirits to succeed. The unique aspect is that, in order to summon spirits, you must first find a vessel for the spirit to reside in. These can be anything from a rock to a tree. Selection of vessels is a key component and will have a direct influence on the spirit's stats (in addition to the spirit's innate level). Each object will present its own innate attributes, including elemental bases and stat bonuses. Spirits will also share a connection with the object it is fused to, unlocking new abilities. The system sounds complex in explanation, but plays out much easier, provided you keep strategy in mind.
Once fused to an object, spirits won't remain for long. If they take enough damage, the spirit's connection will be severed. Depending on the spirit's level, its connection will also be severed after a set number of turns.
Spirits, as well as Marona, can also be equipped with items. As items are used in battle, their mana levels will increase. When in town, mana can be spent to increase the item's power.
Given Atlus' stellar track record with localization, players can expect a dual language option (for the purists) as well as a slew of new jokes and witty banter. Phantom Brave is slated for release this Fall.