Spectral Force simplified, Neverland moves to the NDS

Sting’s announcement is exciting, but it’s eclipsing news about Neverland’s Nintendo migration. Idea Factory formally announced Spectral Force Genesis with a May release window. Idea Factory has been exploring options to expand the Neverland brand outside of the PlayStation 2 with a PSP installment and an Xbox 360 sequel that Atlus will release in North America later this year.

While the other Spectral games were core strategy RPGs, Spectral Force Genesis’ battles are in real time. The touch screen has a diagram of the battlefield and troops are controlled by drawing paths. The feel of combat reminds more of American Football than a fantasy game, but the variation makes Spectral Force Genesis notable. Considering the popularity of the Nintendo DS and niche Neverland audience, Spectral Force Genesis may very well be an introduction to the Neverland universe for some gamers. To ease the transition they have a database with a history of the Spectral series, which doubles as a draw for fans of the Neverland franchise. Spectral Force Genesis also has some amount of voice acting as indicated by actor credentials, but it’s unclear how much voice acting there will be. Fully dubbed dialogue is doubtful, but there will probably be more voice acting than shouting names of special attacks.