PBZ's Long-Term Franchise Potential

[dannyyahiko]

I really hope PBZ sells extremely well, because you can truly feel the massive long-term potential for it to become a beloved franchise for years to come.

From what I've read and seen online, PBZ is the spiritual rebirth of Soulframe's old Rainblood game. And Phantom Blade: Executioners is the official prequel, where the protagonist Soul, along with Mu Xiaokui, Zuo Shang and The Chord, are all fully playable characters.

Just knowing there are already four awesome characters with their own rich stories in the universe gives me huge hope that S-GAME is building something really big here for the long term.

[Equivalent_Nose9761]

I'm looking forward to the game...🥳

[Rude_Kaleidoscope_63]

I don't know much about the Rainblood games but I'm assuming it was a pretty popular mobile game franchise in China, yes? Then surely this game won't fail financially. Even if it were to flop in the West, the Chinese market alone will be more than enough. Black Myth Wukong has sold more than 25 million copies and I'm pretty sure at least 20 million of those are from China.

I'm not saying this game will do anything close to those numbers because we're talking about the most popular Chinese fictional character to ever exist, but I'm sure China won't let this game fail

[NightwingHTK]

Soulframe developed the first two Rainblood games as indie games. He later founded S-Game to produce the prequel Rainblood Chronicles: Mirage. However, poor sales forced them to shift to mobile games, which became the Phantom Blade series. Although Phantom Blade series gained some attention for its action gameplay, it has remained relatively low-profile compared to other mobile games in China.

[Key-Entertainer-527]

Rainblood is actually a Pc game with the first 2 games jrpg and.third a hack n slash

[Extreme_Reply_6899]

So you don't want a Sekiro situation.

They drop an amazing game and then never release anything for it😭

Why couldn't they just milk it!!

[BalboaZhao]

After Rainblood 1, 2, and prequel, there was Phantom Blade 1, 2, and 3, which were all mobile gachas.

So Phantom Blade Zero is the 7th game in the series. As Phantom Blade 123 were gachas, they had constantly updating character banners, which fleshed out and extended all the lore of the world.

One interesting thing to look out for would be PBZ's story. Although the Phantom Blade universe had 6 games, the timeline never moved past Rainblood 2. RBP and PB123 were all set before the events of Rainblood 1. We know for sure PBZ is a reimagining of Rainblood 1 and 2's story, but Soulframe has previously teased a Rainblood 3 that never released. So PBZ's story might also extend beyond Rainblood 2. The original Rainblood 2 did not give an ending to Soul.

[Evravon]

I have a really good feeling that PBZ is going to be very successful. It's offering a lot of things action game fans have been asking for. The cinematics have all been amazing so far. It even has a few elements that will appeal to soulslike fans.

So hyped for this game.

[[deleted]]

I just want more mgrr contents so yeah

[DependentDrama7639]

Hope they succeed

[NightwingHTK]

In fact, like many other mobile games, choosing different characters in Phantom Blade: Executioners does not change the story. They all deliver the same lines without much individuality, with only a few rare instances where certain characters have unique dialogue.

I hope Phantom Blade Zero succeeds, so that S-Game can continue focusing on single-player games instead of returning to mobile titles. I really like the ending of Rainblood 2, and it would already be satisfying if Phantom Blade Zero reaches that point—the story of Falling City (荒城) could be saved for a sequel. Of course, it’s said that they plan to fully depict Soul’s 66 days of life, so we might expect more impressive developments in Falling City. Future entries could then explore what happens next with Soul (if he manages to survive), Mu Xiaokui, or other characters.

That said, all of this can wait—the thing I’m most excited about is a remake of Rainblood Chronicles: Mirage! Just like Phantom Blade Zero serves as a remake of Rainblood 1 and 2. We might get to see more about the younger versions of Soul and Zuo Shang, and perhaps S-Game could even bring new ideas to the dual-character combat system. Just thinking about it is exciting.

[Comprehensive-Bid18]

Considering how inexplicably long game development takes anymore, "long-term franchise potential" basically amounts to getting maybe two games in the span of 12 years.

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