Tactical thinking and magic on the background of an all at once funny, mystical, and psychologically plausible story
Unlike the other Bleach games, The 3rd Phantom is not purely a fighting game but a turn-based strategy RPG likewise based on the manga series by Tite Kubo, and it is just this well-dosed mixture of anime, role-playing, and martial arts-related combat tactics that gives the game its particular interest.
Written for this game and distinct from the original story, the plotline follows the two blond twins Matsuri and Fujimaru Kudo in their distressful quest leading them from the Soul Society to Hueco Mundo and the Human World in which the player can assume the role of either Matsuri or her brother Fujimaru; though characters cannot be further customized besides the names, the individual refinement of the different skills and abilities for them as well as their friends and allies is a key element of the game.
On mission against an exceptional joint Hollow attack together with fellow Soul Reapers Sosuke Aizen and Kisuke Urahara, squad captain Seigen Suzunami saves the about eight year-old Kudo twins from chief Hollow Mad Eater's greedy grip, as does his sister Konoka the main playable character from the brink of death.
Keeping them in their noble Seireitei mansion in spite of their modest Rukon district origins, the Suzunami have Matsuri and Fujimaru start their formation in the Soul Reaper General Academy in order to them to become Soul Reapers themselves. Well-grown thanks to whose caring education, the now teenaged twins --the Academy usually takes six years-- join Soul Reaper Squad 5 known for its "swift action" among the Thirteen Court Guard Squads just as its proper captain.
Calling him Captain Suzunami at work and Lord Seigen at home, Fujimaru and Matsuri pursue their training in missions which lead them through the eighty unsafe divisions of the Rukon district surrounding the peaceful Seireitei where Hollows show up at any time, mainly getting to help kids as poor and as starving as formerly themselves. Repeatedly confronting their nemesis Mad Eater still interested in devouring their "twin souls", with the help of likable new acquaintances like the habitually drunk Squad 8 Captain Shunsui Kyoraku, or the Chief of the Punishment Force, the mysterious Yoruichi Shihoin, Matsuri and Fujimaru learn about their "Zanpakuto", the physical manifestation of a ready Reaper's metaphysical power, but also a certain Arturo Plateado, an "Arrancar" combining the ferocious characteristics of a Hollow with the spiritual abilities of a Soul Reaper. Having once invaded the Soul Society wiping out half of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, a now fully developed Arturo with the Hollows under command will have to be defeated by means of their ultimate "weapon" thanks to its soul-absorption capacity, the Shisui Mirror, only one living person has the spiritual makeup to manage...
Yet Arturo's arrogant freakishness making him oscillate between direct threat and weary retreat leaving the field to his minions does buy some time for the squad captains to work out a strategy and the Kudo twins to release their Zanpakuto, sort of a personalized weapon only the riper Reaper --or Arrancar-- is able to use when managing the potential of his (or her) spiritual power. Whereas Matsuri and Fujimaru get to upgrade their weapon --still a pole--, skills, and abilities first in chapter 3, it is only in chapter 6, Soul Reaper Eater, that releasing the --nameable: Arturo's own blade is called Fenice-- Zanpakuto allows further specialization and the possibility, for the playable twin, to choose between Speed (sword), Tech (chains), and Power (spear), while the other continues with the default attribute (Speed in case of Fujimaru, Power in that of Matsuri).
Organized in the manner of rock-paper-scissors --Tech prevailing over Power, Power over Speed, and Speed over Tech types-- but with any of them having its genuine advantages (greater range/evasion for Speed, higher damage for Power, equal defense-attack for Tech) those characteristics are to be employed thoughtfully given that the Hollows sport the same, plus the ability to block skills or mobility, whereas the more important ones like Mad Eater or the Arrancars, including Arturo, have attribute "All" being superior to all the others (in exchange, "guests" are mostly NonCom types with no offensive powers).
Anyway, nobody has been foreseeing the devastating outcome of the battle: Arturo though defeated is not dead, yet Lady Konoka whose soul is sucked up through the Mirror used to weaken his spiritual power, and while a number of Soul Reapers led by Sosuke Aizen joins Hueco Mundo profiting from Arturo's weakness, the Kudo twins are separated, one disappearing with Seigen Suzunami whereas the other --and the player along with-- reawakens in the human world...
This is a game featuring a lot of weirdos some of whom might be yet familiar to those knowing the manga, and whose involvement with the current story are learned notably thanks to the Free Time interludes, event panels organized in sort of a minigame allowing to raise affinity with the different characters (marked by a heart); win precious equipment (treasure chest/"I") distinguishing consumable, equipable, and special items ("Maiden's Hopes", "Rukia's 'Fool'"), for attack (Fireball) and HP/SP increase or recovery (Ointment, Energy Drink) during battle which otherwise cannot be bought; get combat training (sword); enhance the status (fist) of the playable twin, even tail others (sex-free) in the Hot Springs. Free Time "animator" is Kon "come-on-is-that-all-you-got?", substitute Soul Reaper Ichigo Kurosaki's pathetic plush lion, who both are also the first we meet in the human world, together with some of their friends --Orihime, Chad, Uryu-- equally known to the manga reader. And Urahara, former captain turned shopkeeper in order to have more time for his inventions and link between the Soul Society and the human world like Ichigo himself, through whom Fujimaru (or likewise Matsuri) now learns --"you look exactly like the last time I saw you"-- that they must have been suspended in time (the Wandering Spirit World) while at least another ten years have been going by. Henceforth tagged "the Soul Reaper who came from the past", our twin's visit in the human world won't be extended, although harassing Hollows can be found also here, but (s)he soon returns to the Soul Society guided together with Shiyo, an unworldly female spirit, through the same mysterious Yoruichi (now in her cat form) as later are also Ichigo and the others, and who too monitors most of our character's training as the story proceeds.
The Third Phantom is no role-playing game for experts in that matter: conversational choices when possible usually have identical consequences, and the story unrolls more or less in the same way when choosing the more serious Matsuri or the carefree Fujimaru as playable character, regardless of their combat specialization. Yet the revelations either of the two still about fifteen year-olds has to face make also Fujimaru look quite mature: those formerly starving kids --Hitsugaya, Rangiku, Renji, Rukia-- well ahead now as Soul Reapers hierarchically, while traitor Aizen artificially creating Arrancars in Hueco Mundo succeeds even in turning Seigen and Matsuri (or Fujimaru) against the Soul Society they hold responsible for Konoka's death.
It is not until five chapters later, An unexpected enemy, that the two twins are to meet again, and under quite unpleasant circumstances pitting them against each other, time enough for getting in touch with quite some characters among the Soul Reapers helpful for the many fierce battles yet to come: Kukaku Shiba, the sister of dead Kaien, the still drunkard Captain Kyoraku, robust lupine Captain Komamura, right-hand Rukia, red-haired Renji, resistant Rangiku, or the proficient Ichigo himself, and alike Matsuri not really inferior in skills compared to her brother this includes also several capable female Soul Reapers not less combative than their male counterparts.
Albeit not very linear in itself the organisation of each of the 25 chapters usually is as follows: manga-style conversation precedes Free Time events constituting the changeable squad to be deployed on the isometric battlefield. Here up to four parties --allies, guests, enemies, wholes-- alternate their respective turns by employing their weapons, skills, or equipment, usually time-limited only through winning and loosing conditions like Defeat enemy characters/leader or Fujimaru/Matsuri defeated depending on the map, similar to when playing wireless against a human enemy, though the number of turns taken contributes negatively to the amount of bonus EXP obtained at the end.
While upleveling (at every 100 EXP) automatically raises HP (Hit Points/health), SP (Skill Points/mana), and other individual characteristics like Attack, Defense, or Evasion, the experience points gained in combat can also manually be assigned to each character's Stats via the Form Party screen, though it might be more appropriate to spend them on the weapon's up to 16 level upgrades which reflecting the idea of the Zanpakuto as symbol of its wielder comprise above all abilities and skills --or spells-- to be learned or improved. Power upgrades vary strongly in order and between different characters and include adding Shock, Freeze, or Burn to the attacks, boosting spiritual pressure and experience or increasing mobility during the turns, reinforcing the attack or defense ability when supporting an adjacent ally, improving the accuracy/efficiency of a skill, or lowering the chance of being held, burned, or poisoned through an enemy attack.
As weapon upleveling permits to add new skills and to power up those attributed to every character by default, it is advisable to choose any of the threefold upgrades carefully since investing in the characters' strategic giftedness in an irrevocable manner. Talking strategy it might also be wise to choose the up to seven squad members joining the playable character for their respective skills, as only combat participation permits gaining necessary experience points, though the game's level design may sometimes require picking also the less favored ones, and given the subsequent combats' relative unpredictability a solid mixture of Power, Tech, and Speed types seems almost ever opportune.
Executing one of the special power skills during one's turn can help avoiding own damage, as does choosing Guard instead of Counter, but may result also in a costly "miss" for being due to both parties' SP as well as accuracy while mostly unavailable when spiritual pressure is too low so that it might be good to begin each round pressurizing where the more resourceful --red, orange, yellow-- squares can be seen thanks to the Reishi map. Yet the skills, or kidos, some of which can be used only before (until getting Eishohaki and the "move" mark), others still after moving on the squared battlefield, are as colorful as are the characters equipped with them and permit seizing/holding a target, attacking various enemies in reach or along a paced way, restoring HP and curing status ailments of squad members, even materializing one's Zanpakuto (Minazuki), but may also cause damage to allies in the same line or range including oneself (e.g., Byakurai, Rasen, Hainawa).
Again others are available only during Bankai, an ability limited to certain Soul Reapers presupposing high spiritual pressure and available until the maxed out SP drop to zero, though prolongable; adjacent support not being possible during this phase whilst still able to move and apply equipment or special skills, the thus transformed character temporarily disposes of superpowers like (speed-type) maximum mobility for Ichigo, a superposed dragon head (Renji) or wings (Hitsugaya), even a "pet" giant insect (Mayuri) or heavy warrior (Komamura) occupying various squares instead of commonly only one.
With vivid colors and clear lines recalling the anime, fighting sequences and cutscenes in particular when using team attacks or Bankai and other special power skills look as splendid as in the other Bleach games, and the soundtrack suitably changing between lyrical guitar, lively electronic, and martial battle music does a good job in adequately illustrating every situation's mood.
The different characters use voiced English during combat in the manner of "Here I come!", "Don't mess with me!", or "Have a taste of this!", but also Japanese ("Getsugatensho") and even Spanish ("El Directo") when invoking the skills, while one of the characteristics of the game as likewise the manga is Hollows, especially Arrancars, and Soul Reapers being able to verbally communicate with each other and even more so as lengthy conversations in well-written American English precede and follow every battle. Yet it might at times also appear difficult to tell the difference in a world where practically all acting characters are endowed with metaphysically powered skills and abilities, Hollows dispose of Soul Reaper virtues, and humans use monster strength, be it actively, as during combat, or passively, "possessed" like a Whole becoming a violent Hollow if not applying Konso in due time, tempted by power's evil side, as Aizen, Gin, Tosen, or for mischannelling forces like Lord Seigen, who unforgetful of his sister's death is finally transformed through the former into a destructive tentacled giant.
The Hollows themselves rank between level 1 up to level 35 and beyond and are characterized through said Power, Speed, Tech attributes as well as strength and size, but little intelligence as for the smaller Familiar, Screamer, Hell Mantis, Frog Head which may be spawned through Sky Rifts, while the bigger ones like Numb Jelly, Grand Savage, Menos Grande, Evil Eater, though themselves not yet Arrancars, require quite more tactical thinking to be defeated, as more as their AI lets them easily focus on the most vulnerable (weakened, exposed) figures on the battlefield. It is useful here to predefine a set of (respectively up to four) one and two-way co-op kinships in the Co-op Settings of the Form Party screen which together with the adjacent support are applicable when the characters are side by side on the field and score also positively in every battle's bonus results. This being the same for both allies and enemies (except teams) the individual fights that with their sideview recall somewhat the two anterior Bleach games --only that the player here cannot further interfere-- thus may be fought through up to four characters where the secondary one besides joining a team can provide either attack or defense support, ability shown, like for instance "Attack+" or "Accuracy/Evasion+" strengthening that of the temporarily adjacent ally, as information also on his/her Status card along with the number of turns available (what too can be upgraded).
The Third Phantom is a story where it is impossible to tell what happens in the next chapter, so as if Arrancars weren't enough, it is also doppelgangers Aizen does infiltrate in the Seireitei to replace the acting captains through improbable impostors: Kyoraku a sober workaholic, Hitsugaya after female squad members, Mayuri asking to be dissected, Unohana putting salt in wounds..., but of course they are rapidly expelled as nobody likes them there while the episode offers yet another reflection on the unknown another person's character may be.
The Arrancars' hostile realm --Hueco Mundo-- won't disappear after the final boss fight in a spatial non-world by means of the Shisui Mirror used thanks to Shiyo's having absorbed Konoka's soul thus able to communicate with her brother, and the Suzunami family won't be reunited, either, so that in the end we'll see Matsuri and Fujimaru in the human world, together with Ichigo and their friends, eager to learn the use of modern Japanese, or English --"barbershop", "skyscraper", "global warming"--, perhaps also Spanish regarding the game's many terms: Las Noches, Hueco Mundo, Arrancar, Menos Grande, Brazo Derecho del Gigante. From here, loyal to their duties as Soul Reapers and mentored by Urahara, they can continue their training on the Bleach Tower battle ground as before in the Free Battles, for hopefully another sequel yet to come: "Chance meetings, inevitable farewells... But to meet once more...?"
Bleach: The 3rd Phantom is an outstanding game combining tactical thinking with martial arts and magic on the background of an all at once funny, mystical, and psychologically plausible story; together with its manga-like visuals and the varied music well-suited to the different situations it should figure in any best-of list.