I’ve spent an ample amount of time playing monster collecting games in my gaming history. First was Digimon, then Pokemon, even a little Metal Walker mixed in. Then came along a game made in part by Disney, a game called Spectrobes. I talked about wanting this game a while back, and I got it; read on to find out if it was worth the $30. 

Now, normally, I don’t like 3D games on the DS as they’re hard to control. However, like FFIII, Spectrobes handles just fine, and the fact that it’s 3D doesn’t detract from the gameplay at all. The graphics are nice, and there are a few really beautiful (although grainy) cinemas, many more than FFIII. However, a few times throughout the game, you’ll see a closeup of the characters, and they’re not that great, so we’ll stick to looking at them from afar. The audio is nice, there’s no voice acting (obviously), and the soundtrack is memorable enough to stick in your mind for a few seconds after Power is pressed.

Gameplay is very different to other monster games. For one, you don’t collect the monsters in battle, you dig them up. That’s right, they’re fossils, and you dig them up to be able to use them. Also stuck in the ground are minerals that improve your Spectrobes stats. Second, the different evolutions have different purposes. Child spectrobes are used for searching for fossils and minerals, and adult and evolved are used in battle. Third, the enemies you fight are not spectrobes, but instead a whole different species. This lends to the enemies looking evil and the Spectrobes looking nice, and it avoids the stupid rehasing present in most monster games.

The game took me a total of 22 hours to complete, and it was easy. Spectrobes is the only RPG I have ever played in which my main characters were at the max level for the final areas. Due to this fact, the last boss took only a few hits to kill. However, since this game is mostly aimed towards children, it should be perfect. Replay value is low for me, but might be high for others, and you can continue playing after the credits roll, so you can get more spectrobes, etc.

All in all the game was a great play, and one that any kid would love. If you’re a little older, you might want to stick to what you know. Then again, what are you doing playing a monster collecting game in the first place? Parents, get this game for your kids now, Iku Ze! (Sorry, I just had to).