Spectral Souls

"Your patience will be rewarded"

If you've heard anything about Spectral Souls you already know its one glaring flaw, the load times are ridiculous. Theres just no beating around the bush about it, Spectral Souls will test your patience, with long load times not just between scenes but also during dialogue or even during menu selections. Could this have been fixed, I don't know, but its something you have to be willing to deal with if your going to enjoy this game. If you can't find the patience to wait through load times (and lots of them), this game is just going to be frustrating.

BUT if you can look past the load times, if you can find the patience, you'll find why the game was released in spite of those load times. Theres one heck of a solid SRPG waiting patiently to be played, with everything that makes most SRPGs addictive and alot of new interesting tricks up its sleeve as well.

Graphics: 8/10
Standard stuff, if you like old school 2d anime style graphics this game is right up your alley. I've seen better 2d graphics, and there are times when things are poorly placed (often times the top of the character portraits are cut off during dialogue because they are placed too high up on the screen) but overal I liked the graphics and the artists drawing style.

Sound: 10/10
Normally I always prefer my music with vocals, I don't know why I just do. As such when a game has vocal-less music that really stands out to me I've got to give it its props. Spectral Souls is such a game. I really enjoyed the musical scores. They set the mood very well.

Gameplay: 10/10
This is the meat of the game. This score ignores load times obviously but if you look beyond the load times this is one deep SRPG. If you don't like SRPGs I don't think this will change your mind on them, but if you do like them prepare yourself for some fun times. Typical SRPG goodness is combined with some cool new concepts such as HOLD and Charge which allow for unlocking various secret techniques. I won't go into too much detail about how they work, just mention that they add a level of depth and mystery that many SRPGs lack. The ability to control 3 seperate armies should also be mentioned as this helps to change the game play. When one armies style is getting boring just switch to another and try out their style for a while. I will say though that I was a little confused in the early going regarding some gameplay elements, but if you have patience the game does explain most of it eventually, and the rest you'll just naturally pick up.

Story: 9/10
The stories a little confusing, particularly in the early going. As far as I can tell this is a continuation of an on going neverland series which until this game had not been released state side. As such in the beginning you have a whole heck of alot of information thrown at you to bring you up to speed that can leave you dazed and confused. If you have patience with it though, it is pretty solid. The characters themselves are all fairly interesting as well (and theirs no lack of them). And the fact you get to see all armies stories from their perspective truly helps to develop them over the course of the game in a way that most games simply are incapable of doing.

So to sum up, if your an impatient person and want a chance to "level up" your patience, this would be a great training tool. Its defiantly a game worth being patient for. If you truly can't find the patience to put up with load times, stay away, stay far away, the load times ARE that bad. But I highly suggest working on your patience and giving this game a chance when your ready, its a diamond hidden behind load times that'd be a shame to miss.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 06/29/07