Phantom Breaker: Omnia Review

Developed By
MAGE-X
Published By
Rocket Panda Games
Genre
Anime, Fighting
Platforms
Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, Xbox One

In recent years we have seen many titles that were exclusively released in Japan being released worldwide! In the past we would even be lucky if a niche Japanese title would even get mentioned by news sites. However, a special case was Phantom Breaker. Phantom Breaker was first released on the Xbox 360 and was created by MAGE-X. In 2012 it was announced that 7Sixty would be bringing it to the west. Months would go on without any word when suddenly and quietly the western release was quietly canceled for unknown reasons. Fast forward 10 years later and the west has finally seen Phantom Breaker released in its current version , Phantom Breaker: Omnia. Now published by Rocket Panda Games, western players finally have a chance to get their hands on a series that I did not think would see a proper western release! Has the wait for Phantom Breaker been worth it? Let’s get into it.

Phantom Breaker: Omnia is a four-button, 2D anime fighter in the same style as games like Melty Blood and Persona 4 Arena Ultimax. There are a total of 22 playable fighters, two of which are completely brand new for Omnia. Something pretty special for this game is the inclusion of characters from other MAGE-X
properties such as Kurisu Makise from Steins;Gate and Rimi Sakihata from Chaos;head. The inclusion of these two characters is what drew me to want to play the original Phantom Breaker.

Almost every character can choose between Hard Style, Quick Style, and Omnia Style. Each style is uniquely efficient for each character and the mechanics that they have. I was a huge fan of Hard Style and used it most often because it had a parry mechanic like Street Fighter III. This let me open up to my opponents in unique ways that helped turn some matches I was playing. Now the main buttons are Light Attack, Medium Attack, Heavy Attack, and Special Attack. Outside of the certain button combinations, Phantom Breaker: Omnia keeps inputs pretty simple. This keeps the initial experience very beginner friendly, as most characters do not have any special inputs outside of a specific direction and a button press. I didn’t mind this because I found it exciting to learn new combos with my characters.


You’ll find a lot of the modes here that come standard in most fighting games like Story, Arcade, and Versus. While Phantom Breaker: Omnia does have a tutorial, I wish it was more interactive and not just a couple of pages of text. I feel that fighting game tutorials have come a long way and this is a step backward in teaching players your systems. Playing Phantom Breaker: Omnia locally with some buddies is pretty great and feels smooth and very fast! Online on the other hand is another story entirely. I’ve been spoiled by recent fighting games that implement rollback netcode because I would say about 65% of the matches I played online were a struggle. I play fighting games with a wired connection to ensure the best possible connection but even with that a lot of my matches had so much delay that it took some of the fun out of playing with others online.

Understandably, a smaller company wouldn’t take on the challenge of implementing roll back in their title, but I hope moving forward that it’s at least considered. There is also a weird bug that kept happening to me before starting an online ranked match as well. Right before coming to the character select screen, the game would just crash after connecting with an opponent. Normally I would overlook this but it kept punishing me for my disconnects and kept pushing the percentage on my player card up. It got up to around 16% at one point and I was worried that no other player would connect with me if it kept happening. Luckily it seems like it stopped but I might have to test it more later to find out.


Visually Phantom Breaker: Omnia has a pretty unique style. A lot of the characters have unique designs and fighting styles to go along with their looks. The only complaint I have is that some characters are 2D and others are 3D, so they don’t mesh that well when put against each other. I wish the developers stuck to either 2D or 3D when designing the characters. Surprisingly there is an English dub that is very high quality and nice to see in a title that could be considered very niche.

Overall Phantom Breaker: Omnia sits in a weird place for me. I enjoy playing these types of anime fighters but even this latest release already feels dated when put next to current fighting games. Some people might not mind much. But with other games getting re-released at the same time with better netcode and a more cohesive style I fear many players will look over this title. Phantom Breaker: Omnia is currently available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Microsoft Windows, and Xbox One.

Phantom Breaker: Omnia Review
Phantom Breaker: Omnia review
This latest release already feels dated when put next to current fighting games. With other games getting re-released at the same time with better netcode and a more cohesive style I fear many players will look over this title.
Pros
Simple but deep gameplay
22 playable characters
Cons
Tutorial is a step backwards for fighting games
The delay based netcode is not great
3
Score