Phantom Dust (ファントムダスト,
Fantomu Dasuto) is a 2004
real-time strategy action video game developed and published by
Microsoft Game Studios for the
Xbox console. The game was released in Japan on September 23, 2004 and in North America on March 15, 2005, licensed for release in North America by
Majesco Entertainment.
Phantom Dust is an action/strategy game with elements of
digital collectible card games. Taking place in a
post-apocalyptic Earth, the unnamed player-character must interact with the few human outposts that remain, all who have suffered a form of
amnesia, to understand what has happened to the planet. Throughout the game, the player takes missions to collect artifacts of the past to help piece the past together, and where they face off in battles with other
non-player characters. The player collects numerous skills by completing missions, which are used to assemble customized "arsenals" that they take into battle arenas against enemies. The game also included a multiplayer mode, allowing players to compete against each other using their arsenals.
[1]
Microsoft sought to use
Phantom Dust to draw in a larger market in Japan for the Xbox, bringing in
Yukio Futatsugi, director of
Panzer Dragoon, to design and produce the game. Later, it was decided to localize and release for Western markets.
Phantom Dust was generally well-received, but was not a commercial success. The game remains a
cult hit,
[2] and
Phil Spencer, president of Microsoft Studios, has been a strong proponent for the game, believing that it was released ahead of its time. While
Yukio Futatsugi stated Phantom Dust as his favorite directed video game of all time.
[3] At
E3 2014, a
Phantom Dust remake was announced for the
Xbox One, to be developed by Darkside Game Studios. However, due to monetary issues, Microsoft decided to cancel the remake, leading to closure of Darkside. A remastered version of the game developed by
Code Mystics was released in May 2017 for
Microsoft Windows and Xbox One.
