Microsoft hasn't given an importer such as myself any reason to care about Xbox Japanese games except for Phantom Dust, its post-apocalyptic 3D battler. Eager to hop into a playfield and cause mass destruction, I've had my eye on this game ever since it was released overseas, but thankfully I didn't need a foreign system to play it, as Majesco has brought the game to the States and slapped a generous $19.99 price tag onto its box. All that and a bag of chips, this game was definitely worth the wait.

In theory, Phantom Dust is sort of like Super Smash Bros. Melee in that it takes place across several highly-detailed arenas where up to four combatants gather together and beat the holy hell out of one another, but that's where the similarities end, for you see, Majesco's game is much darker than Nintendo's cute and cuddly love fest. The game takes place in a post-apocalyptic Earth that has been ravaged by a mysterious dust that has not only erased our memories but forced us to live underground. Monsters and robots patrol its surface, and most of us can only watch, staring blankly at a devastated society of which we have no recollection. However, while we have trouble remembering our names and who our family members were we haven't lost hope. We still aim to once again reside top side basking in the sun's warm glow, and our saviors are the Espers, humans who were given special powers by the dust. Not only are they able to return to the surface for brief periods but they can also harness this insanely powerful energy to launch fireballs, lasers, and other special attacks at their enemies, and this is where you come in. Playing as a strange man who was pulled from a mysterious coffin-like pod, you're to aid other Espers in the battle against evil.

There are so many different things that I love about this game, and the best place to begin is with its fabulous artistic style. The Earth is a complete mess, an Escape from New York/Fine Fantasy: The Spirits Within wasteland of crumbling buildings, desert, and debris, and what makes Phantom Dust really cool is your ability to pretty much destroy anything in your path. The highly-detailed arenas are for the most part destructible, so as you race around them firing off all sorts of attacks you literally bring down the house! A dodged fireball will strike an overpass and bring the whole thing down where it'll explode into a million fragments as soon as it hits the street. The same goes for giant pillars and concrete dividers, none of which can withstand your might. It's simply one of the greatest collection of videogame effects that I have ever seen, so awesome that missing opponents produces rewarding results.

Underground things look equally impressive. You can't blow things up (all you can do is walk around and talk to people), but your HQ is spectacularly detailed, a sci-fi rich environment defined by its artificiality as well as its drab, end of the world appearance. Cables hang from the ceiling like dead tentacles, expensive-looking equipment lay wrecked and on the ground, and metal staircases are bent and twisted. It's sort of similar to Zion in the Matrix films, except less cheery, if you can imagine that.

I'm also floored by Phantom Dust's soundtrack, which is an eclectic mix of eerie Blade Runner music mixed with orchestral themes. Hearing Moonlight Sonata play in the Leader's chambers is quite haunting.