We've warmed up quickly to Spectral Force
Another Japanese SRPG is making its way to the DS, known as Spectral Force: Genesis. If you haven't heard of the Spectral Force series, it's probably because the games usually don't get released outside of Japan.
With the exception of Innocent Rage, an Xbox 360 game that's being brought to North America by Atlus, most Spectral Force titles don't get localized. There is hope for Genesis, though; since it's coming out for the Nintendo DS, aka "the system that a lot of people own with a lot of niche titles," it's not impossible. We're pulling for it, at least. Yes, we say that about almost every game released in Japan, but we really mean it! If you read this far, you're probably wondering right about now why we're so intrigued by this Idea Factory game.
Aside from our love for tactical RPGs, Genesis seems to have some neat features. For one, the game isn't all about the battles. While it does have a Risk-like feel to it (pick one country, dominate the rest), your strategy relies on diplomacy, too. Also, the game involves more than attacking, as you have to make sure your home kingdom is amply protected in case others try to invade it.
As pointed out by Siliconera's Spencer Yip, the battles are in real time. The player draws paths in the battlefield to get his or her troops to attack. Yip compares this use of the touchscreen to "American football," which could be interpreted as a good or bad thing. As big football fans, though, we're excited. There will also be some voice acting in the game, although, it will likely be a minimal amount. Spectral Force games tend to be very story-driven, too, meaning that we can probably expect something epic.
If none of this interests you at all, we must be even bigger nerds than we thought -- which, now that we think about it, is probably the case. But, if you are hyped for this game, you can check out some screens and character art below.
[Images via Famitsu]
