The Phantom (v1.013)

A pulpy jungle adventure drives this arcade beat-’em-up, casting the legendary masked crimefighter against the Singh Brotherhood’s bid for power. The Phantom relies on fists, improvised weapons, and the unnerving reputation of the “Ghost Who Walks” while pursuing pirates and criminals across a new comic-book storyline. Its mood lands somewhere between a Saturday-morning serial and an old-school brawler: colorful, earnest, and built around clean heroics rather than grim violence.

Combat focuses on moving through compact stages, clearing crowds of enemies, and using straightforward hand-to-hand combinations to control the screen. Weapons add extra reach and damage when found, while Phantom’s animal allies—Devil the wolf and Fraka the falcon—can be summoned to disrupt opponents or help turn a dangerous encounter around. Players can tackle the 14-level campaign alone as The Phantom or bring in a second player as Diana Palmer, giving the action a welcome co-op rhythm. The structure stays deliberately accessible, favoring immediate arcade action and recognizable enemy patterns over the dense upgrade systems found in modern action RPGs.

What separates The Phantom from many licensed brawlers is its commitment to the source material’s visual identity. Every scene uses hand-drawn, frame-by-frame animation, and the presentation feels like an animated comic brought to life rather than a generic action game wearing a familiar name. Full-screen story sequences make the campaign feel like an official new chapter, with approval from the character’s rights holders lending it extra credibility for longtime readers. Fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge, Streets of Rage 4, and uncomplicated couch co-op beat-’em-ups should find plenty to enjoy, while newcomers get a friendly introduction to one of comics’ foundational masked heroes.