KEMCO’s Ancient Phantasma is a dialogue-heavy Turn-Based RPG of the most generic moulds.
First launching this game, I did not know who it came from, and going in, I would not hold it against anyone for thinking Ancient Phantasma was an Indie passion project. That’s right, the title falls under the KEMCO banner but fails to meet their usual standards.
Heavy RPG Dialogue.
From the very beginning, Ancient Phantasma showcases a habit of telling over showing. Characters would often info dump, giving us these long and tedious conversations where everyone is just lost in a vortex of infinite exposition.
Imagine it. You just defeated a group of Thieves and your characters are now meant to have a little look back. I would expect some heart-to-heart with a little insight but instead, I get 20 minutes of yapping.
“Hey, Dean, why do you always insist on dealing with these criminals? You are the son of our leader, you should not be out here. Especially now that your father died in mysterious circumstances and the local leaders seem to be at unrest with us.”
“Don’t worry, Flei. I am a Knight, it is my duty to protect. That is what my father, the king, would have wanted anyway. Let’s focus on these thugs, who have a hideout in the mountains beyond these walls and then….
You get my point? Dialogue heavy!
Regardless, when not trying my patience, the plot of Ancient Phantasma is not the worst. It’s very generic, as most RPGs go, but it has its hooks if you like this sort of jam.
Heavy RPG Plot
In Ancient Phantasma, you follow Dean as he crosses paths with a formidable monster during a mission with his knight buddy, Flei. Not long after, they bump into Krucia from a neighbouring kingdom, who’s alarmed about monster invasions in her homeland.
Like I said, the plot is your standard fare, but it slots right into that retro RPG charm. Along the way, you’ll meet various colourful characters like Sophia, the talented but modest witch, Dean’s loyal best friend Kaine, and Rizelda, the ancient with a sweet tooth. The cast is engaging but dialogue-heavy, and the world feels inviting but overwhelming.
However, I still feel that the landing is off. It is not the worst plot but come on. This is KEMCO we are talking about. Very generic for their standards.
Oh yes, a little background of the story without delving into spoilers. The land is Sandoria, your default RPG world 101. Many years of peace, sudden war, magic nonsense. A Legendary leader dead, demon king on the horizon. You know, the usual.
All is well and good but let’s get to the bread and butter of any good RPG, the Combat.
Butter
Don’t get your hopes up too high. Once more we have failed to do anything too special. Still, it is an acceptable turn-based system, just not awe-inspiring.
You’ll immediately notice that regular attacks let you time a couple of extra button presses to boost damage, which is a nod to Super Mario RPG.
The Accel gauge introduces some choice—slide it left or right to speed up or slow down, with the usual trade-offs of more damage or less. Elemental skills can hit groups of enemies, and there are secret techniques that drain your LP gauge for heavy hits. Link skills, similar to those in Chrono Trigger, add a bit of strategy, and the ability to swap rows and reserve characters mid-battle is a nice touch.
Overall, while the variety of bosses and their minions can be satisfying to defeat, the turn-based combat system doesn’t exactly break new ground. It’s functional, but nothing that really stands out.
The Game That Could Have Been
So, where does that leave us with Ancient Phantasma? Unfortunately, it’s a bit of a letdown. While the game doesn’t stray too far from the familiar RPG mould, it doesn’t bring anything particularly fresh or exciting to the table.
The turn-based combat is serviceable but lacks innovation, and the constant barrage of random encounters can quickly become tedious. Despite its retro charm and a few decent features, it doesn’t quite manage to break the mould.
Ancient Phantasma feels like a missed opportunity for KEMCO to push their boundaries. It’s business as usual with a few tweaks, but it won’t be the game that hooks you in for the long haul.
