Deep
concentration. Lengthy battles. Choreographed attacks. Carefully planned
assaults. These are a few of the ingredients of a strategy/RPG. Spectral
Souls, a port of a classic Japanese import for PS2, features all of those
ingredients. The grid-based combat is traditional but expansive. Players will
be able to take control of three separate armies, each with their own story to
tell. Better still, you’ll get the chance to combine special attacks for some
explosive (and exciting) results.
Where, you
must be wondering, does the game go wrong? There’s a technical limitation
that’s plagued other PSP titles, an issue many developers have yet to
overcome.
Join me as I
take you through this adventure – a grand RPG that falls victim to a
technicality.
This
Game’s Got Soul
Organically
created for all types of strategy/RPG players, Spectral Souls gradually sets
you up for its most enjoyable features. The introductory battles are clear and
easy. Hardcore players might question the game’s difficulty, while anyone
who’s new to the genre will feel empowered. This isn’t too hard for me,
they’ll think.
Then the
game brings in more difficult enemies. As time progresses you might expect the
battle system to suddenly turn into this ultra-complex array of endless
options. It doesn’t, but you will begin to uncover the game’s most rewarding
intricacies, many of which were there all along. You just won’t realize it
until the game needs you to.
One of them
is the Charge function. It seems strange at first, and much too risky. Using
it means that that particular character cannot attack. You’ll select an
attack, but the character won’t use it. Instead the move is held until another
ally performs the same move on the same enemy. When done successfully, the two
will hook up for a superior link attack. As the game grows, performing
successful links will be the difference between a win and a loss. In the
circumstances where losing affects the course of the story, you’d be wise to
take advantage of this function.
But be
warned: if you fail to have another ally use the same attack on the same
enemy, the Charge attack will be wasted.
Hold
Onto Those Who Care
Another
great feature is the Hold function. The game will tell you how it works, but
after playing through countless RPGs, I barely wanted to skim the description.
That description likely had a few vital details I shouldn’t have missed.
Consequently, it wasn’t until I tried it a few times that I began to see just
how important (and exciting) the function can be.
Here’s how
it works: when it’s your ally’s turn to attack he or she will have several
options appear within that character’s "Skills." Skills can be anything from
the most basic attacks in the game to magic spells and special sword strikes.
If it’s a move that can be used against your enemies, you’ll find it in your
Skills.
Some
characters begin the game with more than one listing for the same skill. You
might have two "Attacks," or two "Slash" moves. This seems like a glitch until
you use the Hold function.
Normally
allies can only perform one action at a time. Select a skill, execute, repeat.
That’s not the most effective (or the fastest) way to take out an enemy. If
you select Hold before performing any skills, you can select as many skills as
you like – provided you have enough AP (attack points). Spectral Souls is
technically a turn-based strategy/RPG, but it’s not one move or a particular
time period that decides who goes and when – it’s AP. Therefore if you have 12
AP and three skills each with a required AP amount of 4 or less, you may
select all three.
Once
executed, the attacking ally will unleash a chain that is potentially more
powerful than if you had chosen to use each move individually. It also goes
much faster, since the strikes occur one after another without any menu
selection breaks in between.
By combining
skills, either of the same kind or of an experimented mixture, players can
trigger new spells, skills, and other cool attacks that were not previously
available. Ice and Wind are two of the most basic (and initially most
powerful) spells in the game. Use them together with the Hold function and
they’ll create a new icicle spell that causes up to four times as much damage
as either spell individually. At the same time, if you have two "Slash" slots
open and choose to use them together, you’ll create a triple-slash that does a
minimum of 50% more damage.
Those are
the first of many Hold combinations you’ll discover in the game. Typically an
RPG’s story is the only thing I have to refrain from spoiling. But if I
continue, I’ll be robbing players of the satisfaction of seeing these new
skills come to life after trying their own combinations. If you hate the
thought of strategy guides and love to play through games without knowing
what’s coming next, you’ll be glad I stopped here.
Disc
Access
Spectral
Souls’s spectacular battle system is all a strategy/RPG needs to be
remembered. The story could be a snore as long as the battles are in the right
place.
Within a
battle system – good or bad – certain things are expected. Players expect to
be able to play a game freely and quickly, without any pauses unless they
decide to take a break. Strategy/RPGs require a lot of integral thinking. But
once your thoughts are finished, you want the game to jump into action, just
as you’d want to quickly complete your move after finishing your strategy in a
game of Chess.
In 1992 we
had RPGs that allowed us to do that for the SNES. We had comparable RPGs for
the PSone in the latter half of the 90s, and have had continuing quality on
the Game Boy Advance, PlayStation 2, Xbox and GameCube.
Which is why
Spectral Soul’s single (but very significant) gameplay flaw does not make any
sense. The load times are insane. Almost everything you do – whether it’s
reading dialogue or selecting an attack – requires several loading periods
before the action can be completed. There are times when the game will load
before an attack is set up, and then again in the middle of the attack! It
really bogs the game down, and makes it hard to tough out at times.
That’s the
most unfortunate thing of all. Spectral Souls is great RPG. These moments of
boredom (and at times, torture) would not have existed had the load times been
faster. It’s one thing to have to "tough out" a really crappy game. But to
have to tough out a great one simply because the technology is messed up is a
serious disappointment.
NIS America
tried to fix these loading issues, all of which stemmed from the Japanese
version. Though some were alleviated (reportedly – I have not played the
Japanese version), the game still moves at a sluggish and often aggravating
pace.
Spectral
Souls is a great strategy/RPG that’s been taken down a few notches (and then
some) by unavoidable load times. Strategy fans with a lot of patience – I
repeat, a lot of patience – will be engrossed for hours. Most, however, should
stick to games that move at a normal pace. Here’s hoping the PSP port of
Disgaea is able to evade these disc access problems.
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Gameplay: 6.7
It always amazes
me when a game nails the gameplay aspect but totally misses the mark on
general functionality. I wish the load times could be forgiven, because
underneath is a game that a lot of players would have enjoyed.
Graphics: 7.0
Crisp, clean, and
free of pixelation. The sprite-based characters aren’t standout but look good,
and will appeal to the anime-loving crowd. Spells are not overly complex but
still manage to assemble some impressive effects from time to time.
Sound: 8.0
Solid sounds with
a lot of soul. Sound effects are kept a minimum (no complaints there), while
music is an entertaining mix of orchestral tracks that stretch beyond the
bounds of the typical RPG.
Difficulty: Easy/Medium
A deep but
forgiving strategy/RPG with gameplay concepts anyone can grasp.
Concept: 7.0
The Hold and
Charge functions aren’t necessarily new, nor are the rewards reaped by using
them. But they’ve made for an exciting battle system that’s only brought down
by the loading limitations the game was unable to overcome.
Overall: 6.9
It’s like the
song says, “Load times killed the video star.” In this case a well-planned,
well-executed RPG caught in a cluster of technical idiosyncrasies.
