0 to Z of Playstation 1 Games - Armored Core Project Phantasma

         

Armored Core Project Phantasma is the second entry in the Armored Core series, developed by FromSoftware and self published by them in Japan. Like the two previously covered Armored Core games, Project Phantasma is a 3^rd person mech shooter it was released in Japan on the 4^th of December 1997. The main story is a continuation of the first game.

The game received a North American release also with Agetec handling the publishing with ASCII Entertainment Software taking over at a later date, the game release just under a year after its release in Japan. The game would also receive a PSN release in September of 2007

Armored Core Project Phantasma continues from the events of the first Armored Core game, they can either start a brand new came or convert their save file from the first Armored Core game. Converting the save data allows the player to transfer over certain parts that would be unavailable, such as the Moonlight Laser Blade.

The third game in the Armored Core series Master of Arena focussed on the arena battle, it was however this title that first introduced the idea of arena mech battles, with the player able to fight against a total of 50 opponents, these opponents are of varying difficulty.

The arena mode is an entirely optional part of the game however if a player does complete it they are able to earn extra credits as well as unlocking additional parts for their Armored Core. The game offers far more customisation to help you shoot your way through the 17 missions in the single player story mode, in addition the game has a 2 player mode, either split screen or via a link cable.

The main story focuses on a Raven operating in Isaac City, the pilot receives a vague and cryptic message to infiltrate an underground urban complex, known as Amber Crown, a mid sized suburban complex which has fallen into disrepair over the years and is rumoured to be the home of a shadowy organisation called the Doomsday Organization.

The Doomsday Organization unsurprisingly with a name like that are shrouded in mystery, it is rumoured that the organization which claims to be a research organization is funded by a group of companies and are the driving force behind Project Phantasma. Little is known about Phantasma but rumours suggest that it is top secret weapons system project.

The message the Raven receives bypasses the usual channels, with the message sent directly to the pilot, no information on who sent it or if they are aligned with a particular corporation. Only that a monetary reward will be paid, and a substantial monetary reward at that.

The sheer amount of money on offer clearly means this will be a dangerous mission however a Raven never shies away from a challenge especially not such a well paying challenge, the Raven climbs into their Armored Core and heads off towards Amber Crown.

Not a huge number of critic reviews but overall they range from above average, up to very good as usual lets start with the best which comes from Absolute Playstation who rated the game an 88/100. Their review conclusion starting with Armored Core: Project Phantasma is hands down the reigning champ of mech-style games for the Playstation.

They concluded with even more praise for the title with the following, It ends up being the perfect sequel to the original AC game...the graphics are a bit nicer, the sound is a notch up in the right direction and the gameplay and control are as flawless as the initial title. I found the missions to be absorbing and in some cases downright challenging! The missions do a good job in combining all out attack and warfare, with some not so easy puzzles thrown in to keep you off balance a bit. This is another fine effort brought to you by From Software and deserves a spin in your PSX.

PSX Nation were up next with their 85/100 review who recommended the game as a must buy for fans of the original while those who have not yet tried the series it could well be worth a purchase. They concluded calling Project Phantasma the best mech game on the PSX.

IGN while offering praise to the game did conclude that it is not a high key Playstation title but fun all the same in their 78/100 review, Intensepsx.com who scored the game at a 70/100 were critical of the lack of progress from the first title, concluding with Other than new levels, new parts, new songs, and the other obvious changes, Armored Core: Project Phantasma is really just Armored Core 1.5. That's ok, really, but I can't highly reccomend that people go and pay $50 for a game that, in essence, they already bought. They did however recommend the game to fans of the first game.

All Game Guide In their 70/100 review also recommended the game to fans of the first game and praised the new weapons, missions, and story, a tournament mode, and the ability to import robots from the first version of the game. GameSpot is the final and lowest review available they were critical of the nature of this release with it seeming more like an add on than a new game

They did however end their conclusion on a more positive note for fans of the game with the following On the PC side, add-on packs are fairly popular because folks can get new missions, enemies, and options for their favorite games, without having to wait out the basic one- to two-year development cycle. Sure, the graphics, controls, and gameplay are basically the same, but add-ons provide what everyone essentially wants from a good game: more.

This is the part of 0 to Z where is visit four online retailers and see what the availability of the title is, and what price you would be looking at if you wanted to pick this title up, the sites that I will be using for this are Amazon.com, eStarland.com, retrogames.co.uk and Gamedude.com I know the last one is very location specific, but from a podcast I listen to, I’ve heard they have a huge stock of older games, Ebay has now been dropped unless the game is unavailable at other retailers.

So lets get down to business with Gamedude who will give you $15 for your copy of the game if you are looking to trade in. If on the other hand you are looking to buy a copy from Gamedude then you will be looking at an outlay of $29.

Heading over to Retrogames.co.uk and unsurprisingly this Japanese and North American only release is not available on this site so quickly moving on to eStarland.com. Who have just the one copy available, this is priced up at $31.95, this is for a complete copy of the game so comes with original case, cover, manual and disc. They also offer a trade in and are willing to pay $15 for your copy of Armored Core Project Phantasma.

Lastly we head over to Amazon.com where like the third entry in the series we find both the North American release as well as the Japanese imported version. Lets start with the North American version first, which is pricey if you are looking for a used copy in decent shape. The cheapest complete copy on offer comes in at just under $34.

If you are looking for a like new copy of the game then you will be looking at a current minimum price of just under $48 once you have added in shipping costs. At the time of writing this there are no new copies of the North American release for Armored Core Project Phantasma available on Amazon.com.

Moving on to the Japanese imported version of the game which is significantly more abundant that the North American versions, with prices and condition far more superior as well, with a complete copy in good condition available for $12.65 and comes with free shipping as well.

A very good quality used copy is available for a few dollars more at $15.99, for a new copy of the game we have a rarity here for a 20 year old game we have more new copies than used, a new copy of the Japanese version can be picked up for $35.91 this comes with free shipping as well as do many of the new copies on the market. Prices for a new copy reach a high of around the $53 mark.

Written by

P J Gibbon