Spectrobes – NDS – Review

Role-playing
games come in all shapes in sizes. The tall (Final Fantasy). The small (Pokemon).
The large (EverQuest). The aspiring (FFXI). They range from turn-based to
real-time to MMO. They may involve strategic planning, on-the-fly thinking, or
off-the-wall antics. Role-playing games can differ so greatly that it has
begun to change the way players view the genre.

Spectrobes,
a new RPG for the Nintendo DS, dares to crash the genre once more by
introducing a new way to play. It is unique for a couple of reasons, the first
being that the game is played in real-time and it’s turn-based. Party
movement is unrestricted within the realm of the battlefield. The game
controls like any 3D game that uses a D-pad – stiff but usable. The turn-based
element comes from the attacks, which work on a timed system. This should
remind you of the classic Tales series, but don’t confuse the game for a
knock-off. Spectrobes is a DS title, and good DS developers never copy another
franchise.

Gotta Dig
‘Em All

In Pokemon
you explored every corner of the world to find new monsters. Before a
particular monster could be captured, it must be found and fought – but not
defeated – in the wild. There were several techniques needed to obtain the
monster: weaken its health, put it to sleep, inflict a status ailment (such as
burn), etc. Lastly, a Pokeball must be thrown to complete the process.

This style
(or some variation of it) has become the norm since Pokemon’s release. But not
for Spectrobes. In this game you capture monsters – called Spectrobes, of
course – by digging up rare fossils. You locate the fossils using a child
Spectrobe. Spectrobes are not able to fight until they reach adulthood. Before
they’ve matured, select one as your out-of-combat partner. While exploring,
touch the monster on screen. A small circle will appear, scanning the area for
fossils, minerals, and cubes. Cubes aren’t overly common, but minerals can be
found everywhere. They’re used to increase the stats of each monster: attack,
defense, etc.

Though it
might be tempting to tap the monster after every step, it is not necessary.
Items are typically found in corners and dead ends – areas that you may pass
by default or avoid because they don’t appear to have anything of value.
That’s far from the truth. There could be as many as five items hidden in any
of those dead ends.

Once an
item’s location has been discovered, touch that part of the screen to activate
the drilling process. Several layers of dirt and stone must be penetrated
before the item can be obtained. Tap the screen quickly to cut through the
bulk of the barrier. There are two kinds of drills and an air gun to blow off
excess dirt. After that, scratch the screen as fast as possible to clean the
item. When you reach 95% or higher, tap the "pick up" icon to finish.

Digging
sessions are timed. If you take more than a few seconds to clean a cube, it
could become damaged and lose all value. Items are random, but they reappear
every time you exit and re-enter a world. This gives you room to screw up, but
there is no guarantee that a specific fossil will resurface every time.

With
fossils, minerals, and cubes in your possession, it’s time to access the lab
system. That’s where the magic happens. From there you may turn fossils into
living, breathing Spectrobes, and drop minerals and cubes into a monster
incubator.

Awaken, the
feature used to bring monsters to life, involves two simple functions: throw
the fossil like a bowling ball, then talk into the DS’s microphone. The first
is done by sliding the stylus across the screen. A voice recognition meter
will be displayed next with the unusual goal of talking for three seconds at a
specific level. For example, if the talking limitations are given two
brackets, that means you must talk no louder or quieter than what’s indicated.
If there is only one bracket, you may talk as loud as you want but no quieter.
It doesn’t matter what you say as long as it falls within the shown
limitations. The game only recognizes that someone is talking, but not the
specific words that come out of your mouth. (That’s good news for the stars of
Rush Hour, Jackie Chan and Chris Tucker.)

Battle-ography

Spectrobes’s
most unique feature is by far its combat. Battles are conducted on a 3D
playing field that’s separate from the rest of the game. Random encounters are
not a part of the experience. Combat is engaged when you come in contact with
an enemy in the main world. When that happens, Rallen (the main character) is
joined by two of his monsters.

With one
monster on each side, the player controls Rallen. His monsters follow, but may
be halted if an enemy gets in their way. Each of the three party members has
the ability to attack, but you’re better off letting Rallen’s bodyguards do
the dirty work. Monster attacks are activated with the shoulder buttons; press
B to perform a weak Rallen strike.

Party
movement is in real-time, but only one of the party members may attack at one
time. This is where the game stops itself from becoming an action/RPG. Since
there is a refractory period after every attack, quick maneuvers are needed to
avoid enemies while you are vulnerable.

Review Scoring Details for Spectrobes

Gameplay: 6.9
Spectrobes is a
3D RPG that attempts to walk in several directions. It looks like Pokemon,
sounds like Tales of Phantasia, and has components of both. The unique battles
and excavation elements are different and should appeal to gamers who don’t
mind repeating the same few actions.

Graphics: 7.5
Three-dimensional
characters and game worlds stretched across both touch screens.

Sound: 8.0
Excellent
lighthearted music that’ll remind you of Ash Ketchum’s many adventures.
Catchy, immersive, and very well composed.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium
Not all battles
are won with ease. But as a game that’s targeted toward the Pokemon market
(which includes gamers as young as six and as old as 100), you have to expect
a bit of simplicity.

Concept: 8.0
The battle and
excavation concepts are very original. It’s the execution of those concepts
that could use some work.

Multiplayer: 5
Spectrobes has a
decent single-player campaign, but this is not a game that caters to
multiplayer competitions. It’s too slow and repetitive to make its wireless
options worth using.

Overall: 6.9
Turn-based meets
real-time. Spectrobes is a new kind of RPG, stressing the importance of
frequent battles and item discovery but neglects the open-ended content the
genre is known for delivering. Battles are clever and fun, but also a little
on the sluggish side. The excavation element is cool but, like all other
elements, has a downside. It’s a highly repetitive process that gets old
within the first hour. Fans of Lost in Blue and other touch screen-heavy games
may enjoy excavating items throughout the game. But it’s not a task that most
gamers will look forward to completing.