## 2026-11-07 This game vastly exceeded my expectations, although I suppose that's somewhat easy given I didn't have any to speak of when I first grabbed it. I figured it'd be at least as good as [[Onimusha - Way of the Sword]], but it turns out that I think I like this game even better? Which is pretty wild. I compare it to **Onimusha** specifically because it has a somewhat similar action cadence. But this game is a lot more forgiving and a *lot* flashier. In fact, I'd argue the game's purpose is to make you feel and look as cool as possible at all times. Combat has you using attacks to deplete a stamina bar and do more damage, which at this rate has to sound familiar to you. The pacing and cadence are what **Phantom Blade Zero** apart. The pace is breakneck, as you parry a whirlwind of attacks before firing off your own. It perfectly captures the wuxia aesthetic, with your character looking like he's being pulled by wires as he flips and spins and slashes. It's all gorgeous, and has rock-solid performance to boot. Major depth stems from the weapons as well. I thought the weapons would be stat sticks, more or less, with different weapon types having different animation timings. The latter is true, the former is decidedly not. The game has a myriad of weapons that all do very different, interesting things. One early weapon I picked up let me switch to an entirely new drunken master moveset if I spent a few seconds pressing an input that let me drink, as one example. And upgrading a weapon does more than increase its attack and guard breakability — it also changes how the weapon works. That drunken master sword has a perk later on that will let me drink at the same time as my parry, for example. It's nice that all the weapons and accessories I find are all so interesting, because you have to explore to find them, and holy shit this game is *huge*. I'm no where close to being done, it would seem, with a myraid of side-quests I'm progressing through. I've spent the past five or so hours in an area that is completely optional, far as I can tell. There's a new item or questline or ability around every corner, making exploring very satisfying as a result. All that said, if [[Final Fantasy Resonance]] had a terrible story, then **Phantom Blade Zero** has a seemingly incomprehensible one. I don't know what's going or why, outside of the very basic plot point of the main character having a heart that's going to stop in 66 days. And I believe he was framed by his ~~boyfriend~~ training partner? I don't know man. The spectacle makes up for the confusion for me, with incredible boss fights and an absolutely *fantastic* score. But I do wish I understood what the fuck was going on at some points. The issue is that a lot of the plot is explained via supplementary notes, and there are so fucking many. Like, enough to make **Control** blush, lmao. I'm going to try to make more of an active effort to understand it as I play but hopefully VaatiVidya shows up and fills in the blanks, lol.