Playing Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate for the purposes of this review made me realize two things. First, I don’t think I was ever aware of Phantom Breaker. I think that may be forgivable, though—I mean, how many of you reading this review have heard of it before now? I’ve probably mentioned before that, despite always liking them, I was never a big fighting game aficionado, lacking the skill to play games like Street Fighter or Tekken at higher levels.
Second, despite really loving the beat ’em up genre, I’ve never branched out much beyond a handful of favourites—Castle Crashers, Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Turtles in Time, most notably. So I’m always excited to check out new and interesting beat ’em ups when they come around, and honestly, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate may be one of the most fun beat ’em ups I’ve played in a long time.
I’m genuinely sad that I missed Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds when it was released in 2013. Considering how much I was into Castle Crashers and Scott Pilgrim vs. The World: The Game back then, this would’ve been right up my alley. The fundamentals are rock solid, and yet it feels so distinctly different from any other beat ’em up I’ve played that I found myself getting lost in it for hours. But I’m getting ahead of myself…
“Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate may be one of the most fun beat ’em ups I’ve played in a long time.”
If you’re unfamiliar with the lore behind the Phantom Breaker series, that’s okay! Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate gives players a basic rundown of the plot at the beginning of the game’s story mode and sets the stage for the unfolding narrative—which remains essentially the same regardless of which of the four main characters you choose. A mysterious man named Phantom is attempting to regain his lost powers by giving young people with special abilities weapons known as Fu-Mension Artifacts (or F.A.s).
However, using the F.A.s is causing dimensional rifts, allowing Phantom’s minions to spill into the mortal realm and other parallel dimensions—rifts that threaten to break the seals on Phantom’s power. Thankfully, a group of high school girls are on hand to fight off this evil menace. During an early encounter, Phantom kidnaps the younger sister of one of the protagonists, prompting the girls to begin a rescue mission and put a stop to Phantom once and for all.
It’s a decent enough story that doesn’t take itself too seriously and is rounded out by a lot of fun characters. Furthermore, unlike some other games I’ve played recently, it paces itself perfectly—delivering a small bit of dialogue at the start and end of each level. I guess it makes sense, since Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate is an updated version of a game from 2013, when arcade action titles still knew how to pace themselves.
But the real standout for me was the gameplay. I can’t remember the last time I clicked with a game’s style so quickly and was immediately having fun. At its core, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate plays like a beat ’em up, where players move through levels eliminating waves of enemies. However, unlike most beat ’em ups, which usually offer a standard combo and a few special attacks, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate leans into its 2D fighter roots, giving players an expanded move set with light, medium and heavy attacks.
This allows players to chain together massive combos, leaving lots of room for experimentation and making it an easy-to-learn, difficult-to-master experience. While players can still button mash and have fun, the 2D-plane combat means it’s just as easy to get caught between groups of enemies and stun-locked by their attacks. Those who master the timing—and get a feel for jumps and aerial dashes—will not only have more fun, but also be far more effective in combat.
As players advance through story mode, they can allocate stat points at the end of each level to Attack, Defence or Strength, as well as unlock new abilities essential for combat. This means it’s possible to build characters in completely different ways. I naturally became a big fan of the ninja girl Yuzuha, so while I built her to be very speedy, I was also able to balance her attack and defence stats to make her more viable than the typical “hit fast, but hit light” kind of character.
“Unlike most beat ’em ups, Phantom Breaker leans into its 2D fighter roots, giving players an expanded move set with light, medium and heavy attacks.”
As an enhanced version of its predecessor, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate includes some neat additions. Most notably, players can take control of all the villain characters in the game’s Arcade Mode. Each one has a unique style, and there’s enough variety that fans of the genre will undoubtedly find someone they like. The game also features a remixed soundtrack by the all-girl band The Phantom Breakers, or players can opt for the original Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds or Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive soundtrack.
Visually, I really love Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate’s 16-bit aesthetic. Combined with its chibi characters, it gives the game a distinct personality while maintaining a light-hearted and fun sense of style. The art style allows for smooth, dynamic animations that make tearing through enemies a visual delight. Alongside that, the enhanced soundtrack helps set the tone for each level—keeping the intensity high while embracing a techno-rock vibe that adds a lot to the experience.
I didn’t expect to fall in love with Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate—especially since, as I’ve gotten older, games, where anime girls fight demons in questionable outfits, tend to annoy me more than they impress. But by taking the solid foundation of a beat ’em up and layering it with 2D fighter controls, the game delivers fast-paced, arcade-style action that I genuinely didn’t want to put down. Do yourself a favour and check this one out.
