When I found out the game was going to be mainly touch screen only, I was wondering how boss fights would play out because usually you have to dodge and hit at the same time in ARPGs. It turns out they play out fine as well because just like some of the more complex enemies, you’re really making use of different weapons and tactics so again, it’s not all about button bashing. You still have to dodge some projectiles and other lethal things but the touch screen control doesn’t fail here. Even though there isn’t a huge selection of weapons to equip, every weapon you obtain has a unique use and the sheer amount of ways you can use them together is so entertaining, you’ll be amazed!


You have to make use of multiple weapons to beat bosses.

Discovering new dungeons in PH means you’ll be repeating the Sea King Shrine dungeon a few times and a lot of sailing. There are basically four sea charts to obtain in the game and each one means venturing deeper into the Sea King Shrine labyrinth but several features set this dungeon apart from every other in the game. It’s timed and it’s where the “Phantom Hourglass” comes in.

Every time you enter this shrine, the hourglass starts ticking away on the top screen unless you run into any of the glittering sanctuary areas scattered throughout each level. That means you only have so long to get that next sea chart. The timer only resets after you return to the top of the shrine. Once your timer runs out, your life starts getting sucked away at a fairly quick rate. And if that wasn’t enough to keep you on your toes, there are invincible entities known as “Phantom Knights” who will chase you the moment they hear you making a sound or if they see you. Get caught and you can die in one strike.

Fortunately, if you do die because of them you only restart at the stairs of the dungeon level that you died on with a few seconds of time taken off. The funny thing is these guys don’t chase you relentlessly. You can run in front of them then run away far enough and they’ll stop chasing. Somehow it’s like tapping someone on the shoulder then pretending to look innocent! It’s one of those mischievous acts that make you laugh when you get away with it or get anxious when it fails. Sometimes it’s necessary though because you’ll find them carrying items such as keys you need to progress or they’re just blocking your way!


You have to repeat levels when venturing deeper into the
main Sea King Shrine.

On the other hand, it’s not so fun if you die because your health has expired in a dungeon because it means you have to start all over again from the very top, resolving puzzles again. But it’s not all bad news because any notes you made on the map are left intact and each dungeon isn’t very long. They’re around 3~5 levels deep but can get very complex.

While having invincible Phantoms and a time limit in the Sea King Shrine makes the dungeon exciting, there’s one thing that can get a little tedious about it. You see, you start out with very little time in the Phantom Hourglass, just enough to venture deep enough to retrieve your first sea chart. Once you’ve done that, you can go exploring the islands within that chart and defeat a boss in one of the dungeons to extend the maximum time of the hourglass. You then have to return to the shrine and repeat the earlier levels of the dungeon as you venture deeper for the next chart. That means you have to repeat everything you done before which can be a little tedious even when you gain new weapons to play with.