Since the HD remaster of Phantom Dust is currently free on PC, it's an easy proposition to give it a try at least. The game is a 3D action battle game, with the key draw to it being that it uses card game mechanics for its combat. The implementation of these mechanics is very well done and fun, with tons of possibility for depth and variation as the player becomes more skilled.

I played the campaign for several hours, past the stage where you can start building your own "decks", and I feel I can comfortably shelve the game where I stopped. The reason is that, although it's an enjoyable game, there are a few key weak points to its design from a modern perspective. The enemy AI often is not very aggressive, leading to battles mainly playing out in familiar cycles of hovering around the area where your "cards" spawn and repeating some simple strategies. The multiplayer aspect of the game would obviously change that a lot, but for the campaign there could at least have been the possibility of somewhat randomizing the spawn points of cards in order to keep you on the move and engaged with navigating the arena.

It's a fun game and a great idea, but one that was ahead of its time. It would really soar with a modern sequel of some sort.