Unsung Marvels #4: Spectrobes Origins

 A Disney's children game is what we have here.

 Back when the DS first launched, Disney wanted to try their hand at a Pokemon-style franchise not based on any of their IPs, thus Spectrobes was born. Spectrobes is set in the future, and you play as a very anime-style hero named Rallen whose catchphrase is "Iku-ze", which means "Let's go" in Japanese. Seriously. Rallen could command up to two spectrobes at the same time, and he'd better, as his attacks were incredibly weak. In order to get more Spectrobes, Rallen had to find fossils, with a clever touch-based dig mechanic, then clean up the fossils, once again touch-based, and then he could revive them. These mini games were actually kinda fun, although by the end of the game they got a bit repetitive. Spectrobes could also be evolved by feeding them minerals, which also raised their stats.
 All in all, I didn't like the game, but it seems children did, as it got a sequel: Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals. The fighting was completely overhauled, and now you played as any of your two spectrobes, Rallen sitting out of the fighting. While it was a better game than it's first iteration, I still didn't like it much. And somehow, it got another sequel. On the Wii.

 And once again, the fighting was completely overhauled. Rallen once again takes part in the fighting, or you can play as Jeena, his sidekick since the first game. Both characters play the same, and can equip the same weapons, so it's just a matter of preference if you want to play as the boy or the girl. And yes, weapons, there are many types, from Swords and Blasters to Gauntlets, and each weapon of every type looks different! While you can carry about 5 Spectrobes, if I remember correctly, with you, only one is on the battlefield, but you can swap it whenever you want. And you will want to, as enemies and Spectrobes have different elements, some being stronger or weakers to others. Oh! And it can be played with a second player, him taking control of your Spectrobe.
 The story is pretty basic as simple, the main focus are children after all, and it has you going from world to world as you take down different bosses. This is one of the few games I haven't completed, as after finishing the game you are to battle harder versions of the bosses, and since healing items are random drops, getting ready to fight another of these challenging beasts would involve grinding. A lot of grinding.

 Fossil-related minigames return, and they are as fun and engaging as they used to be, now taking advantage of the Wiimote. Most of the popular Spectrobes return, alongside a couple of new ones. Their designs are alright, and have an style of their own, it's easy to tell them apart from Pokemon and Digimon(At least at the time they were released, before Pokemon hit the 600th creature....), and their third evolutions are usually on the badass side.
 Spectrobes: Origins was a nice little game that never got the credit it deserved. The fact that it was a Disney game, and it was another Pokemon clone probably didn't help. The fact that the two previous games weren't too good(Although they were a financial success for Disney) didn't help either. Regardless, Spectrobes: Origins completely eclipses previous outings from the franchise, and delivers a neat little package to whoever gave it a chance.