Phantom Breaker was a fighting game from the mid-2010s for the Xbox 360. There’s a good chance you might not have heard of it because it didn’t exactly take off in the EVO scene and was relegated to Xbox Live Arcade only. This was a very weeby fighter that emphasized weapon combat and stances like Last Blade, but with more thigh high stockings and frilly skirts.
At some point in the 2010s, beatem-ups became popular again. A lot of it had to do with the Scott Pilgrim game being a hit with its charming, Kunio-like visuals and gameplay. Phantom Breaker was spun off with its own beatem-up called, Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds. It was well-received and was ported to PS Vita, PS4, and Xbox One.
After Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds became a cult classic, it got DLC characters. Combining all the DLC into one package would be appealing, but instead we get that and more in this ultimate port. How much more? Find out in our Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate review!
Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate
Developer: Rocket Panda Games Japan, 5pb. Games, Division2
Publisher: Rocket Panda Games, Mages., Degica
Platforms: Windows PC, Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4 (as Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Overdrive), PlayStation 5, PlayStation Vita (as Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds), Xbox 360 (as Phantom Break: Battle Grounds), Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S (reviewed)
Release Date: April 17, 2025
Price: $24.99
Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate is about a chase to rescue Cocoa from the nefarious Phantom; a huge evil old guy. Who are Cocoa and Phantom? Unless you’re a Phantom Breaker veteran, you’ll have no idea since this Battle Grounds barely explains anything despite having plenty of cutscenes and characters arguing about finding Cocoa.
Never mind the story. Anybody who plays Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate will lose interest in the narrative the instant these girls start yapping on about dimensions, ancient clans, and the nightmare world. You’re here to throw down the gauntlet and to beat the coins out of everything that moves, learn moves, and fight huge-ass bosses.
Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate is a thick beat-em-up set across eight stages and a lot of characters to play as. Anyone who’s played Guardian Heroes will feel right at home with it’s multi-plane levels where foes can be fought in the background or foreground.
You have two planes to fight as opposed to three, which is good because two is all you ever need and the game has no problem filling the screen with tons of goons and huge thugs to battle.
In this version of Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds, the foes are playable and while they are hilariously unbalanced, its always fun to play as these joke characters for a laugh.
Most of the main cast are chicks from the Phantom Breaker fighting game which leaned heavily on weapon combat. Every character feels diverse and unique to warrant multiple playthroughs to experiment with play styles. There are different perks and mods to equip. Individual stats to boost and skill trees to master.
Combat feels fluent and looks flashy as hell. A lot of fighting game mechanics found their way into this spin-off. The cancels, air-dashing, and teching are fleshed out and the range of expression for combos is deep. Pulling off a huge combo that can fluidly connect to another looks and feels incredible.
The art in Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds always looked great and this Ultimate version packs on more effects to emphasize heavier and more satisfying crunchiness. Unlike the fighting game, the cast in this beat-em-up are reimagined as big-headed babies, or “chibi-fied” versions of themselves. It’s a cute look and there are some cool enemy designs that prevent this from being a total chick-fest.
The range of poses, gestures and fluidity of the animation is some of the best in the genre. The craftsmanship in Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate is top form, making Scott Pilgrim vs The World: The Game, look like a Chris-Chan drawing. Backgrounds are pleasing and have high contrast lighting, making the image quality pop.
The troubles with Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate are the lack of amusing stage gimmicks. Levels are all basically the same flat plane. There are no parts where players have to outrun a killer bulldozer, no platforming, and there’s no elevator stage.
The lack of variety feeds into the monotony and repetitive gameplay. As refined and polished as the combat is, after a while you feel numb to it. You can always liven things up by brawling with co-op buddies or partake in the many modes, but at the end of the day, it’s a whole lot of noise and relentless fighting on barren, flat stages that look nice.
The tedium creeps up on you faster than a ravenous tarantula on a mescaline bender. There just isn’t enough to do apart from just smacking Phantom’s goons with the fat end of a sword. Despite this, the game remains a solid experience.
Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate is an awesome beat-em-up to play at parties and in small doses. It looks incredible and sets the bar very high for pixel art and animation for all beat-em-ups. Even the combat systems and mechanics are unbelievably technical and deep.
Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate was reviewed on Xbox Series X|S using a code provided by Rocket Panda Games. You can find additional information about Niche Gamer’s review/ethics policy here. Phantom Breaker: Battle Grounds Ultimate is now available for Windows PC (via STEAM), Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X|S.
