In the end, Spectral Force 3 is more disappointing than bad. As gaming continues to evolve, it's a real letdown to continue to play RPGs and SRPGs that look and play the same as they did back in the early '90s. Spectral Force 3 isn't the only title in the genre guilty of this gaming sin, but it is the latest.
PX360 writes: "If turn-based strategy RPG sounds like the kind of thing that you could play for hours and hours without getting bored, Spectral Force 3 has quite the challenge for you. The game tells the story of a band of mercenaries in the midst of a war between a handful of nations and an underworld army. Though the game opens with an anime-style cut scene, visually reminiscent of eighties favorite Voltron, it quickly drops it in favor of bland text-based clips. The fighters-for-hire aspect of your team plays into the lengthy mission list, but the story bits come so infrequently you are likely to forget all about it. The mid-mission screens occasionally show a map graphic and subsequent battles happening, but they do a poor job of explaining how it affects your squad or the story.
The game sticks to the age-old turn-based-strategy mechanics, adding nothing new to the genre standards. The awkward in-battle menu system makes for some confusion until you get used to just how many button presses it really requires to 'end' the turn of each character, with your healer requiring an additional one. Still, the inability to equip items or change equipment during battle is the most frustrating aspect of gameplay; followed closely by your healer's inability to heal himself. It is not all bad news, as the on-screen display showing your chances of landing a hit on the opponent is definitely a useful tool and the gameplay itself works well."
So the heart is there, but the execution is more than just disappointing. The gameplay on paper is very interesting, but in practice, it's unbalanced and tiresome. The art style and voice acting leave a little bit more to be desired and visually, it hovers between what would be expected out of a high end PSX title or a low-end PS2 game in high resolution. It's underwhelming across the board with generic written all over it, leaving Spectral Force 3 at the end of the day to indeed be a specter in the vast sea of current S-RPGs.
For every good gameplay aspect presented in Spectral Force 3, there's something equally bad to provide a counter balance. Of course, not all of the terrible aspects of this game are bad; the aforementioned voice acting, for example, is too much fun. The graphics are simply bland, neither adding to the excitement and fun nor detracting from it in any meaningful way. On and on it goes with Spectral Force 3: no one aspect rising above the mediocrity of the game to provide a defining gameplay experience but never being terrible enough to completely bore or turn a player off.
Bottom Line: An adequate gaming experience at 20 or maybe even 30 dollars; 60 dollars may be a bit expensive for this much mediocrity. Not one single aspect stands out and defines the game.
Recommendation: Fans of strategy RPGs will find nothing new here, but it's definitely a niche title and not one to write off completely. Rent it or pick it up cheap.
Thats not very nice at all lol. Is this an xbox arcade game?
i wonder why this game wasnt promoted? hmm