Bleach

Bleach: The 3rd Phantom

Storyline

This game features a spin-off storyline in the Bleach continuity written for this game by Tite Kubo himself. The story will differ according to the chosen gender of the game. Two shinigami, Matsuri Kudo and her twin brother Fujimaru, obtain positions in the 5th Division under their adoptive father Seigen Suzunami. The two fend off an Arrancar named Arturo Plateado (debuted from the Bleach: Shattered Blade Wii game) who is bent on the destruction of Soul Society. After their 'final battle' with the strange Arrancar, the twins are suspended in time, until their reawakening in the present day. In the living world, Fujimaru (if you chose female it would be Matsuri instead of Fujimaru) meets Ichigo Kurosaki and a strange girl named Shiyo as well as many of the other characters of Bleach. It is here that they learn about the true intentions of their former 5th Division Vice Captain Aizen Sōsuke, as well as the passing of many of their dear friends and family. Acquaintances of Kaien Shiba, Rukia Kuchiki, Renji Abarai, Rangiku Matsumoto, Gin Ichimaru, Momo Hinamori, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, and even Soifon, the twins are genuinely surprised to discover that all of these children now outrank them, and confronted with sadness upon discovery of the true extent of this lost time. Your character soon discovers that Seigen and Matsuri are indeed still alive, but have joined forces with Aizen, believing that Soul Society organized the death of Konoka Suzunami and the destruction of the Suzunami House. After many battles, your character finally reunites with his/her sister/brother, and together they resolve to bring Seigen back to Soul Society. However, they are unable to do so, as Seigen has been transformed into a gigantic, bestial Hollow-like monster. Not truly a Visored, and closer in appearance to an Arrancar, Seigen is used as a weapon against Soul Society. Fujimaru and Matsuri decide to lead an expedition team to Hueco Mundo in order to defeat Aizen once and for all. They never do get that far, as after attacking the monster Seigen, they are transported into a strange 'in-between' place, where they defeat Seigen, momentarily returning him to his own form, before he, Konoka and Shiyo fade away from life. The game ends with Fujimaru and Matsuri in the living world, trying to learn the alphabet, which Fujimaru messes up each and every time as Ichigo and his friends call them out.

Gameplay

Unlike the two first Bleach DS games, The 3rd Phantom is not a fighting game, but a turn-based tactic game. Two teams fight each others on an isometrically viewed battlefield in a style similar to the Final Fantasy Tactics and Fire Emblem games. When a character attacks an opponent, the screen switches to a side view, similar to the Bleach DS fighting games. If two teammates are near the same opponent, they can perform a tag team move more powerful than the basic ones which may make it easier to kill an enemy. This game also allows you to use kido and other special moves (e.g. Getsuga Tensho, Senkei and Tsugi no mai Hakuren). Once the player has won the battle, his characters will earn experience points which will increase their stats and unlock new abilities.

Characters

This game has around 180 characters. Most of the cast from Bleach: Dark Souls returns and the newcomers include Shinigami Retsu Unohana, Yumichika Ayasegawa, Kaien Shiba, Jidanbō and Tetsuzaemon Iba, Visoreds Shinji Hirako and Hiyori Sarugaki, and Arrancars Ulquiorra Cifer, Grimmjow Jaegerjaques, Yammy, as well as the Números. Sōjirō Kusaka, the antagonist of the movie Bleach: The DiamondDust Rebellion, is featured in the game.
During their journey, the Kudo siblings will also meet younger versions of Rukia Kuchiki, Renji Abarai, Tōshirō Hitsugaya, Rangiku Matsumoto, Momo Hinamori, Gin Ichimaru, Soi Fon and Kenpachi Zaraki though they are not playable .

Characters created for this game, aside from Matsuri and Fujimaru Kudo, include former 5th Division Captain Seigen Suzunami who raised the Kudo twins, his sister Konoka and a girl in the living world named Shiyo.
The visoreds including Ichigo are unable to transform into their hollow form in this game however when Shinji Hirako and Hiyori Sarugaki do special attacks in the battle scene they will put their mask on .