Bleach: The 3rd Phantom, a strategy RPG based on the popular anime and manga of the same name, was released in Japan on June 26, 2008. Sega has recently announced that the company will be bringing the title to North America in Fall 2009.

Bleach: The 3rd Phantom was developed by Sega for the Nintendo DS. The game's 30 hour story mode, supervised by Tite Kubo, creator and author of Bleach, will reveal what occurred before the start of the Bleach anime series. Players choose one of the fraternal Soul Reaper twins, Fujimaru Kudo or his sister Matsuri Kudo, to be the game's lead character.

The player can form a team of up to eight Soul Reapers from over 50 characters such as Ichigo, Aizen, Rukia, and others designed just for The 3rd Phantom. Players will unlock items, enhancements, and hidden characters as they play through the game. Character abilities will be customizable after earning experience points in the game's tactical turn-based battles. The 3rd Phantom does not end when its story mode is completed; tower mode's 30 levels will allow players to build up their characters further, and a two-player wireless multiplayer mode will also be included. More information can be found at http://www.sega.com/bleach.