DS Critic Reviews

It helps to be a Bleach fan, otherwise much of the story will whistle by your ears. [Mar 2010, p.87]

Overall, The 3rd Phantom isn't exactly terrible, it's just devoid of much real gameplay to satisfy gamers looking for more meat than just a bit of fanservice and origin stories.

Dedicated Bleach fans will find a lot to love about The 3rd Phantom but, as far as true RPG and strategy fans are concerned, its few flaws are just too noticeable to ignore. That said, however, the game manages to squeeze in plenty of Bleach lore and the battles can be loads of fun thanks to the great number of characters available so you may want to check this one out either way.

Made for the fans. If that's you, go for it. If it's not, the DS library has several other great strategy RPGs to choose from -- go check out Final Fantasy Tactics A2 or Fire Emblem: Shadow Dragon instead.

A brave attempt at a new direction for Bleach games that stumbles at key points.

Bleach: The 3rd Phantom is a true surprise: it's a neat and enjoyable strategic RPG especially aimed at the fans of the series who will find all their favourite characters and villains in a single cartridge. Casual players will probably be annoyed by the lengthy cutscenes and slow battles, however it's rare to play such a well made niche-oriented game.

Though this game will certainly please longtime fans of the franchise with it's original story, the lackluster RPG format relegates this title to the "fans only" designation.

For Bleach fans, this will be a positive though, and for those people, this will be a worthwhile story led SRPG. For others, stick with the excellent Final Fantasy Tactics A2 or Disgaea DS for you SRPG fix.

Bleach the Third Phantom is a good strategic RPG title, but it doesn't offer any important new features for the genre.

The Third Phantom is a game made for the fans. If you’re not a fan you’ll find a simple RPG game.