So Phantom Breaker Omnia is a game I actually bought long before it’s release date last year; however, I bought the physical edition that was being made by Limited Run Games so that’s why it took me so long to do a review.  At the time of writing this I don’t actually have the physical edition but the digital version had a deal where you could get the game for $5 so I decided to get it now.  The story of the game is that a mysterious figure named Phantom is luring fighters to duel each other to receive a wish of their own desire; however, what they don’t know is that a granted wish disrupts the fabric of reality.  These various fighters are all after their own agenda many of them with no idea of the consequences of their actions and each character has their own story mode detailing their experiences.

The characters individual stories are all interesting.  You do have some characters functioning as your expected hero of the story trying to do the right thing from the start.  However, you also have some very unique characters such as two fighting to save the life of the same person, another who wants to remake the world to be like a video game and another that just wants more castles in the world.  The characters are all very different which made it interesting to explore each and every one of them.  Now of course I liked them all to various degrees but that’s something I like from a fighting game is when each character is fleshed out and I have a unique opinion on each one of them.

Another thing I found interesting was how most of the characters had more than one story to unlock so it also motivated me to revisit their stories to see if I could somehow trigger a new event and see more of what these characters had to offer.  I was not disappointed at the twist and turns of these various stories.

The gameplay is a lot of fun and fast paced.  Moves and combos can happen instantly but one thing I really like about this game in particular is that it has a lot of options that can change the tide of a battle very quickly.  Some moves allow you to temporarily move faster for quick combos and others allow you to instantly stop an enemies combo.  So the battle changes rapidly and I love how you have to constantly adapt in order to keep an advantage.

I also like how not only do you have about 20 playable character, but each character has one of three styles to choose from.  So it’s possible you can find a good playstyle that works for you with any of the characters since you have various versions of them to play as.  Plus most of the character’s have their own story that helps you get fully immersed with the characters themselves.

Going back to what I said earlier I’m actually still waiting on the physical version of the game.  I got it because it had a physical soundtrack and not only do I collect those but I also have a lot of respect for the artist behind the music Jamieson Boaz. In fact I mainly got this version to support his work and while I’m still excited for it this will be my first and last time buying from Limited Run Games.  That was the company involved with the development of the physical release and frankly I find it to be a bit unreasonable to wait over a year and a half after the game released to the point it’s offered on sale for next to nothing before getting the physical copy.  In waiting for the game I know I missed out on the height of the game’s popularity which is something I’m a bit annoyed by.  It’s simply not a wait I’m going to choose to endure again when I can already be playing the game.  I’m still excited for that soundtrack though as the music is really good.

The game also allows you to change the various announcer dialogue options.  The normal one is something you would expect from a fighting game where you’re asked to choose your character and then told to fight; however, the spicy edition does this with way more personality.  Though I did hear “keep on trucking” a lot to restart levels because the game took me awhile to get the hang of; however, the spicey edition adds very enthusiastic commentary during the fight which only adds even more to the hype of the already fast paced battles.

Overall Phantom Breaker: Omnia is a very fun 2D fighting game with lots of options to easily change the tide of battle.  It features a roster of about 20 playable characters all of which three unique styles so their are plenty of options to choose from to find what works for you.  It’s a fast paced and fun game for sure. I might update this once I get the physical version to let you all know how much I like the merch but with the wait I’ve had to endure to get it I won’t be supporting Limited Run Games again.  When a game is discounted to $5 while you’re still waiting on a game you paid for you know the wait it just too long, but at least the game offers a lot of entertainment that will keep you busy for awhile.