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"Go... Cross blades with Omega, and show what that body can do! Will your blade flinch after you learn the truth? Do you have what it takes... to be a hero? You must be the one to determine that!"
—Hidden Phantom, Sub Arcadia, Mega Man Zero 3

Hidden Phantom, known in Japanese as Inshō Phantom (「隠将」ファントム "Inshō" Fantomu, Inshō literally meaning Hidden General)[1], or simply Phantom, is a member of the Four Guardians in the Mega Man Zero series. He was created from X's DNA data to aid humans resettling the Earth after the destruction of the Elf Wars. Phantom is the leader of the Cutting Shadow Squadron (斬影軍団 Zan'ei Gundan) in Neo Arcadia. He wields a fuuma shuriken called Dark Cross (闇十文字 Yami Jūmonji).

Phantom lives on through Biometal Model P in the Mega Man ZX series.

Design[]

Like his siblings, Phantom's armor is based on his biological origin, X, with thematic alterations. Phantom's armor is colored black. A white mask covers the upper half of his face, and he wears a red two-tailed scarf on his back. His gauntlets are armored like his brothers', while they also extend up his arms like Leviathan's gloves. His design is based on that of a ninja, having ninjutsu skills and making use of shuriken, kunai and a katana, as well as using illusions and substitutes to conceal himself. He is thus aptly named for his dark nature and ghostly movements.

Phantom is the only member of the Four Guardians to never access his Armed Phenomenon form, having sacrificed himself in the first game before using the transformation. The Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works contains concept art of Phantom's Armed Phenomenon form, which is a bat/wraith like form.

Personality[]

Phantom's defining characteristic is his indelible loyalty to "Master X" and Neo Arcadia, going so far as to sacrifice himself to serve his master. His sacrifice may be considered admirable, despite the flawed nature of its cause. Phantom has no mercy for those who oppose Neo Arcadia, and is ruthless in cutting down traitors and rebels. He is a disciplined soul with a calm, quiet demeanor, and proved popular and respected by his subordinates such as Tech Kraken.

In the Ciel's Memory drama tracks, Phantom is one of the Four Guardians who is cautious of confronting Zero (the only other cautious one being Harpuia), even explicitly telling the others not to underestimate him. He did not respect Zero at all, calling him an outdated machine not fit to be a hero, but recognized his strength and claimed Zero was a larger threat than the entire Resistance itself. After being defeated again in Mega Man Zero 3, he finally gives in and encourages Zero to embody the legendary hero everyone claims that he is.

History[]

Phantom and the other three Guardians were created from X's DNA to help restore the Earth from its polluted and devastated state after the Elf Wars. Although Fefnir, Harpuia, and Leviathan were given known purposes - restoring atmospheric conditions to proper climates, the restoration of the seas, and to protect the last remnants of humans and Reploids - it is unknown what Phantom's specific purpose was. Upon X's disappearance, the Four Guardians became the military generals of Neo Arcadia, responsible for the overall safely of its human and Reploid inhabitants. Phantom became the leader of the Cutting Shadow Squadron, Neo Arcadia's stealth and intelligence unit.

Mega Man Zero[]

Phantom first appears to fight against Zero in a factory captured by the Resistance. Zero defeated him, but Phantom turned the tables when he informed Zero that he had planted bombs all over the factory. Zero found them and disposed of them, and later defeated one of Phantom's apprentices in the Cutting Shadow Squadron, Hanumachine.

When Phantom confronted Zero for a rematch in the Neo Arcadia Core, Zero defeated him again. However, this time Phantom self-destructed in hopes that his explosion would stop Zero and protect his master. Zero escaped, however, and went on to defeat Copy X.

Mega Man Zero 3[]

If Zero enters Cyberspace in Sub Arcadia, a secret teleporter behind a certain door appears, leading to a confrontation with Phantom's soul. As a digital soul in Cyberspace, Phantom learned all truths about the past, including the truth about Zero's body. This made him claim that Zero never had what it took to be a hero after all. After fighting Zero and being defeated, Phantom admitted his strength and encouraged him to cross blades with Omega to prove himself a hero.

Phantom then met Cyber-elf X, and the two went to help the two Guardians, Fefnir and Leviathan, who were in a critical state from their battle with Omega in the Forbidden Ark. While X helped the two recover, Phantom convinced them and later Harpuia to help Zero finish Omega.[2]

Like the other Four Guardians, Phantom was not mentioned at all in Mega Man Zero 4. Tech Kraken, however, is a former pupil of his, and has joined the Einherjar Eight Warriors for an opportunity to avenge Phantom. Prior to the Japanese release of Zero 4, a blog entry on UCapcom stated that X and the Four Guardians were assisting humans outside Neo Arcadia in escaping Dr. Weil. Artwork featured in the Vile's Incident booklet also showed X and the Four Guardians watching the fall of Ragnarok in Cyber-elf-like robes. Takuya Aizu explained that Neo Arcadia had officially recorded the Four Guardians as deceased, but this didn't mean they weren't still secretly alive somewhere.

Mega Man ZX series[]

Biometal P

Model P

Phantom lives on in Mega Man ZX as the Biometal Model P. He is still fiercely loyal to X, who became Model X. When used by Vent/Aile, Models P and X combine to become the stealth-oriented Model PX. In Mega Man ZX Advent, Biometal P is used by Siarnaq.

Other appearances[]

  • In Mega Man Zero 3, Phantom has a mini-game where the player needs to jump between shurikens without falling, and avoid spiked balls. If the player misses a shuriken or gets hit, they'll fall from the sky to the ground.
  • Phantom also appears in the Rockman Zero manga.
  • Phantom, along with X and the other three Guardians are depicted in an illustration viewing the descent of Ragnarok after Dr. Weil's defeat in Zero 4, from the Vile's Incident booklet included with the Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero Physis soundtrack. Interestingly, Phantom and the other Guardians, are shown with updated armors (in their Cyber-elf forms) with capes matching their armor in color, each with an X symbol on the back. In Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works, developers behind the game state that this piece is nothing more than fan art.

Powers and Abilities[]

As a Reploid clone of the original X, Phantom is an extremely powerful warrior in his own right. Having his design based around X's stealth capabilities, Phantom's fighting style and abilities revolve around various ninja-like arts, such as stealth, deception and misdirection which he combines with a matching set of tools such as smoke bombs, a katana-like blade and a large shuriken which can break apart into several kunai and serve as a flying platform. His EX skill makes the whole background dark and throw 4 kunai in different directions. Together with the fact that he has three health bars arguably makes Phantom one of the most difficult bosses in this game.

Attacks[]

Attack Description Notes
Slash (闇駆け Yamigake, "Darkness Dash") Phantom will dash at Zero and will try and slash him if close.
Clones (朧舞空蝉 Oboromai Utsusemi, "Empty Cicada of Hazy Dance") Phantom will make four copies of himself for Zero to find. If Zero hits the wrong clone, Phantom will use Habutae (刃二重, "Dual Blade"), sticking a sword into Zero from above. If Zero hits the real, Phantom will use Hagane Hubuki (鋼吹雪, "Steel Blizzard"), throwing shuriken and kunai from above. Sometimes he uses it multiple times, which makes finding the real one slightly easier if hit earlier due to him retaining his hit animation when swapping.
Cross Shuriken (十字手裏剣 Jūji Shuriken) Phantom will throw a large ninja star at Zero.
  • Shuriken Ride (螺旋凶車 Rasen Kyōsha, "Spiral Assassin Wheel") - When the ninja star comes back to Phantom, he will ride on the star. Immediately after that, Phantom will use Hagane Shigure (鋼時雨, "Steel Drizzling Rain"), throwing kunai from above. He eventually will use Habutae from above.
EX Skill: Oboromai Tsukinashi (朧舞月無, "Moonless Hazy Dance") The entire background goes black and Phantom becomes completely invisible. Periodically he will fire kunai at Zero's position, and Zero can strike him by attacking the location from which the kunai came. Hitting Phantom will not end the effect.
EX Skill: Sumizome Kyūyō (墨染九葉, "Black Dyed Nine Leaves") During the Cyber-Space rematch in Zero 3, Phantom will disappear and reappear in the air and throw three Makibishis on the ground that will explode upon contact with Zero. They can be destroyed. Immediately after that, Phantom will use Yomigake (黄泉駆け, "Hades Dash"), like Slash (Yamigake).
Suicide Attack (not officially confirmed) In Zero 1, after the rematch in Neo Arcadia, Phantom will create explosions in multiple directions after his dialogue, to hurt or possible take Zero out with his death. If the player dies to this attack and hits 'Continue' at the end game screen, they will have to fight Phantom again. Somehow this attack isn't noted nor documented in any Capcom websites or literatures.

Armed Phenomenon[]

The only Guardian who never displayed this ability due to his untimely demise, but concept art shows that Phantom was also capable of the Armed Phenomenon, in his case becoming a large wraith/bat-like form. The art shows that he is able to aim and fire the tips of his wings as giant blades, and close his wings to assume a kunai-like form.

Dialogue[]

In-Battle Quotes[]

Action Japanese Translation Audio
Pre-battle (Mega Man Zero 3) 今ひとたび…勝負!(Ima hitotabi... shōbu!) Here and now, a rematch!
Hagane Hubuki 投!(Tō!) Throw!
Yamigake 刻む!(Kizamu!) Slice!
Oboromai Utsusemi 裂!(Retsu!) Split!
Clone destroyed かかったな!(Kakatta na!) You fell for it!
Clone destroyed (Mega Man Zero 3) 空蝉… (Utsusemi...)[3] A transient frame...
Sumizome Kyuuyou 滅!(Metsu!) Destroy!
Stunned うっ!(U'!) Ow!
Self-destruction ゼロ!(Zero!) Zero!

Gallery[]

Etymology[]

  • Hidden Phantom's first name references his ninja-like stealth tactics, while his second name refers to myths of phantoms, intangible and elusive spirits from beyond the grave.

Trivia[]

  • Even though Mega Man Zero broke the tradition of defeating a boss at the end of a mission, Phantom still stands out as the only boss in the game that is fought at the very beginning of his stage. This is later carried on with Argoyle & Ugoyle in Mega Man ZX Advent.
  • Phantom is the only one of the Four Guardians to not receive a small visual redesign for their appearance in Mega Man Zero 3. This is likely because he is not featured in the main storyline, and is only a secret boss.
  • Ironically, even though Phantom has shown himself to be one of the more noble enemies in the Zero series, the Mega Man Zero 3 database claims that he is an evil Dark Lord.
    • A plausible reason why Phantom is named an "evil lord" in his Mega Man Zero 3 Secret Disk is that Zan'ei can be translated as "Cruel Phantom", which is odd because of his nature. It is possible this was a mistranslation overseas.
  • Surprisingly, out of any of the other Guardian's divisions, members of Phantom's Zan'ei army are fought most often in the Zero series (five of them: Hanumachine, Phoenix Magnion, Burble Hekelot, Hyleg Ourobockle, and Tech Kraken), while the leader, Phantom himself, appears in only two games.
  • With his sword and long scarf making him resemble Zero, Phantom was originally envisioned as a rival character who'd have a bigger role. Although this did not happen, Inti Creates still sees him as Zero's rival and he is their favorite of the Four Guardians for it. This is the reason he was brought back as a secret boss in Mega Man Zero 3.[4]

References[]

  1. The idiom dictionary of Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works reveals his intended English title to be Hidden Phantom, as does Mega Man Zero Collection.
  2. "Will 2: Light and Shadow." Remastered Tracks Rockman Zero Telos - Drama Tracks. (Translation).
  3. Literally translates to "cast-off cicada shell."
  4. Mega Man Zero Official Complete Works, page 173.


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