As you probably know, AC: Project Phantasma is an add on disk to the Japanese AC. I picked up the game two days ago. I've played it for almost 6 hours straight. After playing that long, I think I've gotten a pretty good handle on the game. I don't know the exact story, since I can't understand Japanese, but I can tell it is much more involved than the original AC. For one thing, there seems to be much more dialogue in this game. Unfortunately, though, the game contains very little FMV. The FMV sequences of the original AC weren't spectacular anyway, so I guess it doesn't matter.
The missions in Project Phantasma, 17 in all, range from destroying generators to ambushing secret forest bases. Suprisingly, I haven't seen any other ACs in the missions, only MTs. There are two major MTs that are important to the story. One white MT with a shield and laser rifle, piloted by a man. You encounter this MT many times in more than one mission. I think you encounter the pilot many times as well, piloting this and other MTs. The other MT is a small pinkish gray MT, piloted by a woman. This MT is your partner in some missions and the pilot helps you in other missions as well. Despite having only 17 missions, Project Phantasmas missions are as diverse and involved as the original's, maybe even more so.
Another major part of the game is the arena mode. This is where you fight other ACs one on one to reach the top. The arena mode is by far the best feature of Project Phantasma. Fighting your way to the top can be quite frustrating when your opponents seem much faster and stronger than you are. Some of the arena ACs are in fact "plus". One thing I've noticed about the hardest ACs is that most of them have weapon arms. This is where the game gets its replay value. You can even view a replay of the battle and see what happened. I personally love watching my AC crush its opponent. The ability to choose a stage is also great since it gives you an advantage over your opponent.
The gameplay and music in Project Phantasma are pretty much the same as the original. There is now more in game music than there was before and the style is the same(techno). I don't really think the music is very important. The gameplay is what's important and it follows the original flawlessly. I've noticed a bit more slow down in Project Phantasma than in the original AC, though. It's not a big issue and it only happens in certain areas under certain conditions.
The VS mode in Project Phantasma has improved since the original. This time instead of quarter screen you get a larger half screen for each player. The frame rate does suffer a little though. New stages have been added to increase variety. And replays make victories ever so sweeter. You can finally watch how you expertly destroyed your friend.
To sum things up, this game is a worthy add-on to the original(japanese) Armored Core. It has some flaws but what game doesn't. You don't really need to know Japanese to play but you do need to know Japanese if you want to know the story. The game is worth buying even if you don't have Armored Core (Jap) mainly because of the Arena mode. You don't even need to play any missions because you get cash in the arena. After beating every AC in the arena, you'll have enough cash to buy everything in the shop, literally. I recommend getting this game as an import since there seems to be no plans for an English translation. In my opinion, Project Phantasma has an even greater replay value than the original Armored Core because of these new added features. This is one game no Armored Core fan should be without.
