I'm really torn about Spectral Souls. On the one hand there's a great turn-based tactical role-playing game that offers a lot of unique features, but on the other you have a lot technical issues that mar its beautiful landscape. Ultimately these technical issues, mostly in the form of load times at every turn, bring the game to its knees. We're not really sure why this game is plagued with these load times, but one could assume it's related to the its PlayStation 2 roots..

We'll get to what's wrong with the game in a minute, but first some background about it: Spectral Souls tells the story of the continent of Neverland, a land caught up in a great war between good (represented mostly by humankind) and evil (made of up the Demon armies). Don't worry you won't have to choose a side, because in Spectral Souls you'll play several in a back and forth style of storytelling that offers a lot of depth. In Spectral Souls players will actually switch between three factions : the Royal Demon Kingdom, the Imperial Army, and the Rebel Army. Depending on what happens in the game with each of these groups, the story of the game will change and different avenues will open or close for the player, leading to multiple plot paths and endings. It's an interesting idea that opens up a lot of different options for players if they can get by the game's technical problems.

If you've played the thousands of tactical RPGs that have come before it, Spectral Souls offers a lot of familiar gameplay elements. As is usually the case, players enter into battle, select movement, attacks, and special attacks while tactically moving around the map as the enemy does the same. In addition to the usual suspects, Spectral Souls offers two unique attack modes: hold and charge. "Hold" lets characters combine certain attacks in whatever order they choose, giving them a special "combo" attack that inflicts significantly more damage. Charge, on the other hand, lets players select attacks to use when an enemy in range is being attacked by another in the party. This allows players to combine special attacks with other characters for some pretty amazing and powerful team attacks.

Beyond all the things you can do in this complex tactical RPG, there's another key element to Spectral Souls that really stands out. Throughout the game you'll be switching sides, giving you multiple perspectives on many of the same battles and storylines and being introduced to a huge cast of characters both playable and for story progression. You play as the humans and the demons and a third faction that wants to see the world return to peace (the rebels). Story altering events, called historical points that are part of the game's "timeline" are where players decide how to shape the story to their liking. The player has free reign to switch back and forth between all these different stories, though in the early going you'll have to play all the sides to open up opportunities to advance.

These features and the slick anime art style that Spectral Souls offers should be enough to make the game worth a purchase, but there's one last thing that takes this game from being mainstream: severe loading times at every turn. And we don't just mean it takes a long time for areas or scenes to load. Spectral Souls is in a constant state of loading. During battles, during story sequences, when you move on the battlefield, when you walk into a shop, when you use magic, when you attack, when someone is talking.. etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. These interruptions really break up the game's flow and add length to the game's pacing that it just doesn't need. It's a real shame because Spectral Souls could have been the first real and definitive tactical RPG on the system in a field that is virtually without any competition.

In the end, Spectral Souls proves to be a game only for the most hardcore RPG gamer with an endless supply of patience. The gameplay itself is pretty solid and the game's unique elements make for a lot of fun, but this technical issue can prove to be a deal breaker for many players. Perhaps IDEA Factory and NIS America should consider localizing this PlayStation 2 title and releasing it in North America, because the PSP port just doesn't get the job done.