Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 1 is a neat collection of two unique games from NIS’s past. The games are worth revisiting, though the remasters themselves feel pretty underwhelming due to the seemingly unchanged nature of the games.
Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 1
Developer: Nippon Ichi Software and Coldglue
Price: $40
Platforms: Nintendo Switch (reviewed)
MonsterVine was provided with a Switch code for review
I’m a big Disgaea fan, but I’ve never had the chance to play some of the titles published by NIS from around the original game’s launch. I’ve always been interested in Phantom Brave, Soul Nomad, and Makai Kingdom, and now, two of those games are available as part of Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 1. They’re presented in a pretty barebones way, but it’s still great to be able to experience these two classics on the Switch.
For this collection, I’m going to split the review into three sections: Phantom Brave, Soul Nomad, and Prinny Presents. That way, I can tell you about each game on its own and conclude with the presentation of the collection itself. Now then, let’s get down to business:
Phantom Brave: The Hermuda Triangle Remastered
In Phantom Brave, you play as Marona and Ash: a young girl and her phantom companion. Marona can see phantoms, which are people who exist between life and death, which makes her a pariah in the world around her. Regardless, Marona and Ash try to help others in getting rid of evil spirits in order to make enough money to survive. As it seems that the evil being Sulphur will return, the duo must work with all sorts of peculiar characters to save the land of Ivoire. The story starts rather dour with the whole world being against Marona, but as it goes on, it becomes rather exciting and fun to follow with its strong characters.
The gameplay of Phantom Brave is quite unique, as it’s a tactical RPG that isn’t grid-based and focuses on temporary allies. As Marona, you have to confine your phantom allies to different items around the battlefield. Depending on what you confine them in, they may have different stat buffs. This means that some allies are best confined in rocks or flowers for their respective boosts, while others thrive in trees or potted plants. At the same time, you have to keep Marona alive in case you need to confine more phantoms, as losing her means you can only win so long as your phantoms have turns left on the field.
It’s an awesome system that feels like it’s never been done before, especially since each ally can only stay on the field for so long in each stage. This makes every battle a strategic affair, as you have to plan each ally’s moves carefully to get the most out of them while they’re on the field. The fact that you aren’t confined to a grid, but rather a set range of free movement, is also a refreshing change from most Nippon Ichi games, as it makes combat feel more free-flowing and distinct. Overall, Phantom Brave is a rather different RPG from many other games like it, and is worth a shot if you enjoy Disgaea or tactical RPGs in general. Plus, Laharl’s in it. You can’t beat that.
Soul Nomad & The World Eaters
Soul Nomad takes place in a world that has been ravaged by the villainous Gig and his three enormous World Eaters. Though Gig was slain in a battle with the elder Layna, his soul was sealed into a sword while the World Eaters fell silent. You play as a young individual who, 200 years later, sets out with an old friend to destroy the World Eaters after being deceived into merging with Gig. There’s an alternate mode where you can choose to be a completely evil antagonist as soon as Gig joins you, which is a very cool addition for such a long RPG. Soul Nomad has a strong story that feels very bleak, which I can appreciate now and then.
The gameplay takes place on a grid, like the type you’d see in Disgaea, but the party management is vastly different from anything else. You make “rooms” of characters with different formations, with decor items that boost certain stats and give you advantages. Each character has different attacks in different positions, so you can form your own party to your playstyle. Then, you and your opponent each get an attack in with each strike, like in a Fire Emblem game.
It’s a very different system from most tactical RPGs, but it’s fairly easy to grasp and fun to play around with. Battles feel dynamic thanks to the combat animations, which can be quite impressive for such an old game. The sprite work also helps give the titular World Eaters adequate scale, as they feel huge and terrifying compared to your party when in battle. Overall, it’s another distinct and enjoyable title that I’m glad can be experienced on the Switch.
Prinny Presents
Now for the presentation of both games. Unfortunately, it’s fairly stringent, with little to no updates or improvements made to the titles. Both games feature blurry sprites in cutscenes, with no quality of life improvements made to either game. They feel more like ports of PS2 roms than full remasters, which is a shame.
Unlike many recent remasters and rereleases, there’s no bonus content like art, advertisements for the game, or behind-the-scenes insight. These things aren’t necessary, but the lack of them combined with the shoddy visuals and lack of QoL improvements make this collection feel a bit half-baked.
The Final Word
Both games on the Prinny Presents NIS Classics Volume 1 collection are unique and a joy to play through for their own reasons. Unfortunately, the way in which they’re presented feels dated and barebones, as they look the same as they did on the PS2 and have no new features or quality of life updates. I’d say it’s still worth trying these games out, but don’t expect the remaster itself to blow you away.
MonsterVine Rating: 3.5 out of 5 – Fair
