Myviewing

User Score
8.3

Presentation - 8.0
Gameplay - 8.5
Value - 8.5

If you don’t like to keep track of Pokemon inspired franchises, then it’s 
understandable why you haven’t heard of any of the Spectrobes games on the DS.  
If you have played them though, we’ve all got our own opinion on the games but 
there’s always something that leaves us thinking that this series could aspire 
to be something more than what it is on the handhelds.  In an unforeseen move 
though, the franchise has gone console side for the Nintendo Wii.  So even if 
you weren’t a fan of the DS games, the big question is whether or not this is 
actually a title worth giving a chance?  Believe it or not, even those who 
didn’t care for the DS games will find something to like in the Wii iteration of 
the series, because it shows that the series is able to reach its full potential 
on the home consoles, as well as addressing the issues seen the DS games. 
 
In terms of storytelling, Origins doesn’t break any new ground, but it shows 
that steps are being made to make a particularly good story.  The word 
"Origins," is in the title, but this isn't a prequel to the series.  It's the 
third title in the series in terms of chronology and obviously release, but it 
does tell an "origins" story so to speak without moving too far into spoiler 
territory.  Starring protagonists Rallen and Jenna are out for their normal 
patrol, only to be sucked into a portal that causes them to be brought into 
another system known as the Kaio system and find that the inhabitants of this 
system are now in danger because of Krawl now reappearing to consume this edge 
of the Universe.  You'll learn about the NPP's commander, Grant, and what he did when he was younger. You also learn the 
origins of the villain, "Krux," and you'll learn more about the nature of the Spectrobes.  
At the end of the day, the plot is predictable and doesn't do much to set itself 
apart from others of its kind, but it's nothing unbearably bad that you'll bang 
your head over.  Some foreknowledge of the previous Spectrobes games is needed 
in order to understand some of what's going on, but it's all stuff you might be 
able to piece together on your own if you don't feel like playing the DS games. 
 
Graphically, Spectrobes Origins manages to be eye pleasing, but doesn't do 
anything that couldn’t be done on the Gamecube.  The CGI cut scenes are brilliant, something that 
really pleases the eyes when you get a chance to see them, but the in game 
graphics themselves of course aren't exactly the most advanced looking you'll 
see on the Wii.  When it comes to technical aspects, the animation is good, the frame rate doesn’t take too many 
dives and only happens every now and then when there are tons of Krawl on the 
screen, and there’s no clipping that occurs with the backgrounds and character 
models. 
 
In terms of sound, Spectrobes Origins manages to deliver the goods in order to 
keep the mute button from being pressed.  The music is nothing that will make 
you want to download the soundtrack, but it sets the feel for the situation be 
it for any of the basic planets or for any action based event.  Even if the 
voice acting isn’t going to win any awards, it does manage to stand above the 
rest in terms of most kid friendly games when it comes to getting the story 
across, particularly with Krux, Rallen and Kamtoga. 
 
Finally, what makes Spectrobes Origins better than its handheld kind is the way 
it plays.  Much like its DS predecessors, it's an action RPG where you fight as 
your character along with your Spectrobes. It’s your choice for Rallen or Jenna, 
but they don't really have any major differences in how they fight, it basically 
depends on whether or not you want to play as a male character or a female 
character.  Either way, you play as the human character while the computer 
controls the Spectrobe in battle.  The key differences in combat from the DS 
games comes from the fact that you can only let out one Spectrobe on the 
battlefield at a time, which was probably a good idea to keep the battle arena 
from getting too cluttered.  To compensate for this though, combination attacks 
have been replaced with Special Attacks which happen when after defeating enough 
enemies your Spectrobe is able to unleash a more powerful attack than its normal 
one.  You control your character with the analog stick and pressing the C button 
brings up the targeting screen to allow you to select a target for your 
Spectrobe to attack.  Pressing the A Button triggers an attack from Rallen or 
Jeena while thrusting the Wiimote will send your Spectrobe to attack the 
targeted enemy.  Pressing the B Button allows for attacking with the Special 
Attack, but you can only do this when you gain enough charge orbs from the 
enemies.  If you want to change Spectrobes in the middle of battle, you press 
the Z button and select with the D-Pad.  When the D-Pad isn't selecting 
Spectrobes you use it in order to change the camera angle, which is helpful in 
levels where you might end up getting crowded in the middle of a Krawl fight. 
 
Just like Beyond the Portals before it, your character is also capable of 
selecting from even more weapons than before, this time adding lances and axes 
to the mix.  I personally still find the sword to be the most versatile and 
effective, but if your fighting style is more suited towards any of the weapons 
you find, then they're there for you.  There's also shields to protect you from 
suffering more damage than you might like, giving players more of a defensive 
edge in the heat of battle. 
 
In order to progress through the game's story, you have to visit a planet and 
defeat the Krawl boss.  You can only do this when you solve a few puzzles and 
explore the surroundings.  When you explore a planet, a child Spectrobe will 
accompany you and can investigate the surroundings for minerals or fossils by 
wagging the Wii Remote to that area. These are easily found because of the 
sparkles that come up from the ground, which need to be brought back to the ship 
to be excavated. 
 
The excavation isn't that different, aside from the use of the Wii Remote to do 
the task by simply selecting a tool on the screen and then using it by 
activating with the A Button.  Even though the excavation system was more 
inventive on the DS, the new one addresses more complaints from the DS games on 
the Wii. Scratching the touchscreen and blowing into the microphone does make 
for some cool uses of the system's features, but it did manage to get quite old 
fairly fast.  Origins' excavation system does have the same effect, but you 
won't find yourself irritated at it for the most part.  When you finish 
excavating you get a grade depending on how well you did, which is affected by 
how much damage you have done to the fossil and how quickly you managed to clean 
it.  The higher the grade, the more your Spectrobe will benefit from better 
stats.  After that, you'll be able to awaken the fossil with a few Wii Remote 
and Nunchuck movements which will awaken the child Spectrobe. 
 
Child Spectrobes can only be used to scout the ground, but by feeding them 
minerals in the incubator, they will be able to evolve into adult forms when you 
finally decide to give them an evolve mineral, which is the minimum requirement 
for a Spectrobe to assist you in battles. Adult Spectrobes will keep leveling-up 
until you evolve them into Ultimate Spectrobes, which are the most powerful form 
they can attain. 
 
The Spectrobes and enemies all have an element assigned to them, being ice, 
plant, sky, fire and ground with each one having it's own strength and weakness 
against a certain element.  Fire being stronger than plant, ice is stronger than 
fire, and you'll probably be able to figure out the rest. This makes for a bit 
of strategy to take into consideration since this also applies to your weapons, 
and it can mean the difference between success and defeat. While you search the 
planets, you'll find elemental barriers than can only be removed with the help 
of a child spectrobe of the same element. 
 
It's a fairly simply built game that fans of the first two games will most 
likely eat up, and newcomers might like it as well if they can keep up with some 
elements of the story they missed.  The title does have more appeal for kids 
than adults, and it is meant to be something easy to play, but it is something 
that adults may find enjoyable as well especially if they're a fan of Pokemon.  
There are some issues that keep the series from excelling, but it stays as a fun 
game from beginning to end, with its nice dungeons, challenging boss battles, 
and about a hundred Spectrobes (including evolutions) to train.  There isn't 
much replay value once you beat the main story, but game itself takes at the 
very least 20 hours to beat, which makes for a pretty good justification for a 
full purchase.  If you've been a fan of the franchise for a while, you should 
definitely consider picking this title up as soon as you can, but if you haven't 
and it sounds like something you'll enjoy playing, you can buy this with comfort 
knowing that you'll be getting a good game out of your purchase.