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Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals Review for Nintendo DS

Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals Review for Nintendo DS

The Spectrobes Are Back

When the original Spectrobes came along, I was worried that it would be little more than a Pokémon clone. My fears were largely unfounded, but the game suffered from enough problems to be a disappointment for me regardless. Spectrobes returns with a sequel on the DS, and it doesn’t really do anything to shake things up; it feels very similar to the original, and if you liked the first Spectrobes, then Beyond the Portals is worth looking into. If you didn’t enjoy the original game, or just never got the chance to play it, purchasing Beyond the Portals is probably not worth it.

Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals screenshot

The game’s story picks up sometime after that of the original’s, with the Krawl attacking the main Spectrobe lab (the excavate-able monsters are the only entities capable of defeating the Krawl). It’s essentially just a lame reason for you to go hunting for more Spectrobes, but I did feel that the story was marginally better than last time. The writing still feels a bit stiff, but there’s more of a purpose to the storyline this time around. You’re searching for Spectrobes and facing off against High Krawl, rather than just wandering aimlessly around digging up Spectrobes and fighting a lot of seemingly-purposeless battles.

Beyond the Portals, much like the original Spectrobes, features two main components: excavating fossils and using them to “create” Spectrobes, and battling the Krawl with the Spectrobes that you’ve created. Digging up fossils requires you to use a variety of tools on the touch screen to carefully dig out whatever it is that you’re looking for (in addition to Spectrobes, you can find other materials that will help you out on your adventure). In an attempt to keep this constant process from getting stale, each planet has a different environment that affects how you dig. For example, in the desert you need to blow away sand as you excavate. It feels a bit gimmicky and despite this attempt, the excavation process can become pretty monotonous as you get further and further into the game.

Hand in hand with the excavation task is the process of raising your Spectrobes once you’ve found them. They start out as Children, but as you work with them, they’ll change into Adults and eventually will reach the Evolved form. Using Spectrobes in battle can level them up, but you can also use the incubator (while feeding them certain items as well) to level them up while you’re out battling. It’s a nice touch, but with 185 Spectrobes in the game, you’re in for a very tedious experience if you’re serious about collecting and leveling-up all the Spectrobes.

Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals screenshot

The other main component of Beyond the Portals is the battling. As you explore the variety of different planets, you’ll inevitably come into a lot of contact with the Krawl. There are two main battle types. Krawl Dust can be defeated by Rallen (one of two main characters) himself, in reward for experience and level-ups. These battles are pretty annoying, actually; oftentimes they’ll be blocking the way to the Vortex battles, which really matter, and just serve to slow down the game. Additionally, because Rallen himself isn’t used in battle during the Vortex fights, the level-up system doesn’t make a whole lot of sense.

The Spectrobe battles are significantly better, and I was quite happy with the improvement over the battle system of the original. Rather than pressing L and R and flailing around attempting to hit the Krawl, you’ll directly control one Spectrobe at a time, while your partner fights automatically. Switching off between the two mid-battle is easy, and executing a variety of different attacks with each of your monsters is also fairly intuitive.

Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals screenshot

While the battle system in Beyond the Portals is better than before, I still find that it’s lacking in some depth. Each Spectrobe has a very limited number of moves, and the fact that you can only bring two into battle significantly cuts down the number of strategic set-ups you can use. Naturally, there are some Spectrobe duos that work well together. But a game like Pokémon succeeds because despite having four moves per pocket monster, the ability to carry six at a time really lends itself to a serious strategy brainstorm. Such is not the case with Spectrobes; battles themselves are interesting at first, but as you progress, I think you’ll find the lack of some overarching strategy is definitely disappointing.

Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals screenshot

The visuals are marginally better than those of the first Spectrobes game, and the variety in different environments you’ll explore gives the development team space to show off some more impressive visuals. Along with these nice-looking graphics, however, comes an inconsistent camera. While the camera does offer a nicer view for the action, it will sometimes get stuck behind objects and it’s easy to get disoriented. Additionally, the game’s lock-on system is very inconsistent and causes more problems than it solves.

Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals isn’t a great game, but it’s not a bad game either. If you played and loved the original Spectrobes, you’ll most likely be happy with this sequel. If you passed on the original, there’s not much reason to get into the series now. It’s a decent monster-battling system, but, frankly, RPGs like Pokémon feel so much deeper and more rewarding. Beyond the Portals doesn’t really stand out in any one area; it does some things well, but it also misses the mark on some other aspects. Essentially, it comes down to your appreciation for the first game: if you’ve dubbed yourself a fan of the Spectrobes series, than checking out Beyond the Portals is probably worth it.

RATING OUT OF 5 RATING DESCRIPTION 3.5 Graphics
The visuals have received a mildly significant update, but camera problems are also to be found. 3.7 Control
Battling is made easier, and excavating is simple with a variety of touch-based tools. 3.0 Music / Sound FX / Voice Acting
The music is completely forgettable, and sound effects in battle can become grating. 3.4

Play Value
Beyond the Portals isn’t a particularly long game and there’s little reason to replay it; local and online multiplayer extend the life of this title if you really love the battle system.

3.5 Overall Rating – Good
Not an average. See Rating legend above for a final score breakdown.

Game Features:

  • New, revamped three-dimensional perspective.
  • A new map system to assist with exploration.
  • New excavation and battle features.
  • Online battle system utilizing the Nintendo Wi-Fi Connection.

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