Spectral Souls

"Amazing RPG for the bite-sized system, despite it's obvious flaws."

Imagine I were to give you a gift. It's wrapped in a beautiful package, perfectly wrapped and taped. I told you to open the gift. Now let's say you go to tear the tape off of the sides of the package, and I stop you. I wait for a moment, then let you continue. You rip off a little more, then I stop you once again. After allowing you to continue for a few more seconds, I make you come to an abrupt halt. Needless to say you'd be frustrated as I hinder you from getting to the nice present underneath the wrapping.

Spectral Souls is much like this. The PSP port (US, EU) of Spectral Souls brings us an amazing game with some... amazing flaws. In classic SRPG style, you'll be enjoying epic battles and a gripping storyline, yet glaring flaws will oppose you from fully enjoying this adventure. Every step of the way, the flaw shows up in the form of two words. "Disc access." But that's just a flaw which can sour an otherwise amazing game.

"In another time, another dimension, exists the world of Neverland."

Spectral Souls picks up on something a lot of gamers like nowadays. A full entrée of story with an appetizer of decisions. The story unfolds through the eyes of three different armies - the Reformed Simba Empire, the Imperial Neverland Army, and the Rozess Liberation Army. Throughout this title you'll move about on a world map and will be able to experience the adventure through different circumstances throughout each play through. After fulfilling certain events, you'll come across a Historical Moment, where your decisions will change the flow of history.

The story can change each time you play it as your armies live their individual marks upon the world. Expanding through three perspectives, the story is revealed through the color array of characters. Gripping war, enigmas wrapped in mysteries, liberators, traitors, and blue-handed babers. This is one of the first titles where I have, believe it or not, enjoyed the main characters. From Marx's youthful bravery and foolishness to Anderson's clam, collected manners, each army has it's standout characters, each person fully developed.

What's most unique about the story is that, after fulfilling conditions at certain locations with one army, you will not be able to access the conditions through the eyes of the opposing army. Why? Because the history has already taken place - of course, there is the occasional time paradox, but other than that, everything story wise in presentation to perspective, is very well done.

Expanding the fantasy atmosphere of this world are the sights and sounds.

It's rare I put down a game, sit back, and say to myself, "I liked every single sound track in that title." From the victories beat which guides the Reformed Simba Empire on the Worldmap, to the calculating stir of war following at the heels of the Imperial Neverland Army; from the battle engagements to the story segments and yes, even the game intro itself, all of the music in this game is nice. Very well done, well placed, well tuned.

Accompanying this atmosphere, however, are the not-so-impressive sounds of this world. There is little voice acting, only the usual "UMPH!"s in battle. The battle clashes and strikes of weapons and spells is moderate, to say the least. In town, however, some of the weirdest sound effects are experienced as you open/close a door, or leave the Worldmap. When you play this game, you'll have to tell me if I'm right or not - Is that the sound of an arrow being shot from a bow? I have no idea what went through the developers minds when they decided on that sound effect.

But making up for the sub-par sound effects are the beautiful graphics. And I'm not just stretching the truth, I'm only emphasizing on the reality. The graphics in this game are amazing. Giant castles, towering fortresses, flowing grasslands (okay, some locations may leave a little to be desired), and beautiful battlefields fill the visual world within Spectral Souls.

But after this, the game play is teetering on edge.

Why is the game play teetering on edge? By the two evil words I mentioned above, "disc acess." Every time a cut scene loads, "disc access". Every time a battle starts, "disc access". Entering a building in town? No problem! Psych! DISC ACCESS. All over the game, there's a ton of slow down which is quite aggravating. There's nothing like trying to engage in an epic battle just to have the disc load right before you can select your next attack.

Being a hardcore strategy gamer, I know that strategy RPG battles can take twenty minutes due to the complexity. But 30 minutes to an hour for one battle? No, I'm not referring to the complexity here. I'm referring to the load times. Remember the gift illustration? Every single time you make an attack, there's a hesitation. Every time you press a button to open a new menu in battle, a hesitation. Every time you switch characters during combat, you guessed it - a hesitation. It's enough to make you scream "Get on with it already!".

However, you need to think back to my previous illustration of the gift. What's underneath the wrapping paper? After I get done stopping you every three seconds, you'll eventually get to the present underneath. What is the present? The present is the game play. Each battle provides entertainment. It gives you an addiction. Multiple paths await you in battle. Should I have my soldiers take out the guards sneaking up on me from behind the trees, or should I lead my pike men to the charge and barrel past the gap and deal with problems that face me when I get to the other end of the map?

Should I let my magic soldier unleash his fury on a weakened soldier, or should I have him charge an attack on another soldier, then have a knight come by and deal a combo chain attack for extra damage? Should I heal the generals first, or should I heal the clerics? Should I ration my gained power, or should I unleash it on any opponent who dares stand in my way?

Just like the story, the battle system brings to you a complexity similar to Tactics Ogre and Final Fantasy Tactics. Decisions are thrown to your left and right, each battle field offering you different strategy to plow through your foes and fulfill the victory conditions. If this is the price I pay for load times, at least I'm glad I have an entertaining battle system.

So does the good outweigh the bad?

I'd say yes. The loading times are horrible, but the story pacing, character development and battle system make up for the flaws. Considering this is yet another great title from NIS (and the fact that there's not a lot of RPGs on the PSP), I suggest picking this game up right away - not only will it's story keep you busy, but it's replayability will have you hooked as you scramble to replay the game to discover the different paths. As long as you have patience and a need to have RPGs on your PSP, you need this game. For those of you who don't have patience, I have compiled a small list of things you can do to pass the time during the load times.

- Mow the Lawn
- Do the Dishes
- Take a Nap
- Watch a cut scene in Xenosaga

I jest, but despite the game's obvious flaws, there's obvious entertainment which presents Spectral Souls to you in a beautiful package. This game definitely deserves an 8 out of 10.

Positives:
+ Great Story
+ Excellent Battle System
+ Great Characters
+ Tons of replayability

Negatives:
- Oh, the LOADING times!
- Sub-par sound effects

The puzzling:
- My only guess is that the loading times are awful because of the fact that this is a port from a PS2 title (not available in the states), and that the coding was no compressed and configured for the PSP processor. What's your theory?

"Amazing RPG for the bite-sized system, despite it's obvious flaws."

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/02/06