Spectrobes (mobile game) | |
Developer Living Mobile
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Publisher Disney Mobile Studios[1]
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Platform | |
Release dates 2007
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Media |
Spectrobes was a single-player mobile game based on the Java (J2ME) platform. It was created by the vendor Living Mobile, which had already worked on several other Disney Java game titles, and published on the iTunes Store for iOS devices. As of October 8th, 2015, the game is no longer available for download.
Plot[]
At an unknown point of time in the Nanairo galaxy, Rallen recovers his stolen Prizmod from a band of "space pirates" but is shocked to find that only one Spectrobe is still inside - Komainu. Jeena then agrees to help him find his missing Spectrobes while stopping the pirates as it is revealed that they have "some sort of connection to the Krawl". As the game progresses, the duo learn the space pirates' plan to send Spectrobes through a portal, with no way of returning. Fearing for their safety, Rallen stages a final battle with the pirates and wins. Peace is restored to the galaxy.
Gameplay[]
The game combined the mechanics of tile-matching puzzle games with an adventure story. Moves are made by dragging rows and columns, eliminating empty squares; when three or more of the same minerals are matched linearly, they disappear. There are two main styles of playing:
Spectrobe (non-hostile)[]
Here, the objective is to fill up four meters at the bottom of the screen before time is up. The first three meters correspond to the type of mineral on the screen, and a fourth meter (the Spectrobe meter) fills up when the other three are full. The round ends when the fourth meter is filled, and a new Spectrobe will join the player's team. The game ends in failure if the time is up before the meters are filled, which is 2 minutes on average.
At the end of each round, the attributes of the Spectrobe the player used will increase permanently depending on his or her performance.
Krawl Battles (hostile)[]
Before starting the game, players get to choose which Spectrobe they want to use against an enemy Krawl. Type matching is a crucial part of the game; if the player uses a "matching" Spectrobe against a Krawl, damage taken is significantly reduced during gameplay. In the game, mineral matching will fill up different meters - red and yellow minerals fill up the "Strength" and "Light Energy" meters respectively, both of which unleash attacks when full, and green minerals replenish a Spectrobe's HP. The round ends when either party's green meter is completely depleted.
Modes[]
Choosing the "Start Game" option on the main screen will give 5 modes of play:
- Campaign: The main storyline can be played from beginning to end, which autosaves after every successful stage.
- Quick play: Starts a non-hostile game with random game settings (area size, minerals et ceters).
- Single match: Starts a hostile match, once again randomly set.
- Survival: The game pits the player against non-stop Krawl battles, and the game ends when the player's Spectrobe runs out of HP.
- Create a Level: Lets the player choose size of play area before starting.
Campaign Mode[]
Initially, Rallen has only a Komainu to work with, and will get new Spectrobes as the game progresses.
# | Type | Size | Planet | Time | Enemy | Intr. | New |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Feed | 7x7 | Kollin | 2:20 | NIL | Red, yellow, green, blue | Spikan |
2 | Battle | 7x7 | Daichi | NIL | Blova, green | NIL | NIL |
3 | Feed | 7x7 | Daichi 1 | 2:30 | NIL | Purple | Aoba† |
4 | Battle | 9x8 | Ziba | NIL | Swar, blue | NIL | NIL |
5 | Feed | 7x8/9x8 | Aoboshi/Akaboshi | 2:40 | NIL | Light green | Dongora |
6 | Battle | 10x8 | Nessa | NIL | orange | NIL | NIL |
7 | Feed | 11x7 | Daichi | 2:50 | NIL | Stone | Gejigage |
8 | Feed | 10x8 | Nessa | 2:50 | NIL | Orange | Grildragos |
9 | Battle | 11x8 | Genshi | NIL | Blova, orange | NIL | NIL |
10 | Feed | 7x7 | X | 3:00 | NIL | Earthquake | Vilamasta† |
11 | Battle | 10x8 | Himuro | NIL | Swar, blue | NIL | NIL |
12 | Feed | 8x8 | Himuro 1 | 3:10 | NIL | White | Maserobo† |
13 | Battle | 11x8 | Meido | NIL | green | NIL | NIL |
14 | Feed | 9x8 | Meido 1/2/3 | 3:20 | NIL | Light blue | Samurite† |
15 | Battle | 11x8 | Teleport | NIL | All 3 | NIL | NIL |
†Names are given based on sprites used. The names as printed are Aobasar, Vilanox, Mametosu (wrongly spelled) and Samugeki.
Items[]
Minerals[]
- Red - increases strength attribute
- Yellow - increases light energy attribute
- Green - increases HP attribute
- Blue - freezes Krawl
- Purple - increases strength (red) attribute and freezes timer / Krawl
- Light green - increases both light energy (yellow) and HP attribute (green)
- Orange - increases both strength (red) and light energy (yellow) attribute
- White - directly adds to the fourth pile to obtain new Spectrobes (only present in Feed games)
- Light blue - increases health (green) and freezes the timer / Krawl
- Black - stone (obstacle that can only be removed with an explosion powerup)
Powerups[]
Three powerups can be awarded for performing three clears in a single move. They are:
- Explosion - removes one element from the board
- Rainbow - turns any element into a rainbow (wildcard) mineral that can match any type
- Freeze - stops a Krawl from charging its attack gauge for 5 seconds
In addition, if the player makes 5 clears in a single move, two squares appear that do not give any boosts. They are:
- A picture of Zozane
- A picture of a dark mineral
Trivia[]
- During a battle with Krawl, type matches of the Spectrobe now follow the colour of their strength instead of their actual properties. For example, a Corona-type Komainu appears to have a green tinge to the screen (eg. it is strong against Aurora types).
Picture Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ https://www.pocketgamer.com/articles/003198/spectrobes-mobile/ Spectrobes Mobile Game Review (PocketGamer). Checked August 7, 2020.