"A Gamer's Bleach Review (Bleach the 3rd Phantom)"

BLEACH THE 3RD PHANTOM

Bleach the 3rd Phantom is a long awaited game for some. It is more than not a Japanese game (seeing as Bleach comes from Japan) and is probably not for everyone. If you have no knowledge of the Shinigami's (Soul Reaper's) World what so ever, chances are you will have a tough time trying to adapt. Non-fans can definitely play it and have fun but fans of the show will be able to shift into second gear as soon as the game starts and know all or at least most of the terminology.

The gameplay is pretty much what is expected of an RPG. It is fun to play and has a moderate-high replay value. This game can seem difficult but once you get the hang of it, you'll pretty much sail through most of it, Except for those levels that I think were designed to know overconfident players off of the high horses (or video game playing chair?). The controls are really basic. The touch screen capability of the Nintendo DS is not utilized in this game. The only thing you need to worry about is which way is up and which way is down on the map.

The storyline of this game is at least half-original. It follows two young twins, who are the main characters, that grew up in dumps but faced a decision to re-pay someone and become soul reapers. The get hurled into the future where they meet up with our fans' favorite orange spikey haired soul reaper Ichigo Kurosaki. The story then follows Ichigo's struggles against the Arrancars and throws some new faces into the fray. The twins face despair and are separated from each other. Will they meet up again? I won't spoil it all, you have to play to find out!

The games graphics seem pretty good for a Nintendo DS game and you'll probably notice yourself tapping your feet to the soundtracks on this game. I am not particularly skilled in this section so I will let you go on this: The visuals are above standards and the sound is unbelievable.

It takes about 1-2 weeks to play the game if you play it non-stop (which you might end up doing once you start,but this is not recommended since you need to take a break every so often).
Like I mentioned earlier, it has a moderate-high replay value. I found that you have to play the game a total of at least 4 times to select a choice that will effect your main character at the end of the game. This game is definitely worth getting and playing.

This game is definitely worth buying new but there isn't really a difference between new and used since you can delete any save files left on the game. If you like RPG games and you are a fan of Bleach, Japanese games, or soul reapers, you should definitely search this game out. I would say that only 2 out of 10 would return this game if they got it as a gift. Once you buy this, you might not wanna give it away in the 1st place.

All in all I found this game to be astounding to the Bleach World but it doesn't follow the other prequals in their real-time fighting mechanism. This is a strategy game that may not be for everybody but is definitely worth getting and playing. It has good sound and visuals but the cutscene's can get annoying when you just wanna play. This is a game future generation will be talking about and with that, I leave you to wonder, to where you'll go out and get this game and write an incredible review like I just did.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 12/15/09

Game Release: Bleach: The 3rd Phantom (US, 09/15/09)