Fossils are items that have appeared in every game in the Spectrobes series so far. They are the dormant forms of Spectrobes that have entered a state of deep slumber, and are usually found underground. They must be unearthed and awakened before they can return to their original forms.
Spectrobes[]
In the first game, fossils can be found in most areas in the game with the aid of a Child Spectrobe. A fossil's location is designated by a series of yellow-orange sparkles. When excavating, a separate screen is loaded and the player must uncover the fossil by drilling through layers of earth, ice, etc. and removing dirt or dust using a variety of tools, such as the Drill, Blower, or the powerful Giga Tool. Every fossil has a set amount of health that, if the fossil is scuffed or damaged during excavation, depletes. If the health is reduced to zero, the fossil will crumble and the excavation will fail. If a fossil is successfully unearthed (meaning at least 95% of it has been uncovered and it is intact), it will be obtained and the player will receive a grade, judging how well the fossil was excavated: how much of the fossil was unearthed, how much of its health remained, and how much time the excavation took. How high the Spectrobe's level is depends on the grade received on its excavation.
Initially, the player only has access to basic tools, the Drills, the Blower, and the Scanner, but over the course of the game, they can purchase other tools, like the Sonic Tool and the Blast Tool, to make excavation easier.
After being excavated, fossils must be awakened in order to become active Spectrobes. Fossils can be awakened in the Lab System in the Patrol Cruiser. Once inside the awakening machine, the player must use the DS's microphone to awaken the fossil; they are required to keep their voice level within a certain range for three seconds, and if they should meet this specification, the fossil will revive into a Child Form Spectrobe. Also, once the Rho Cube has been analyzed, the player can access an alternative method of awakening, color awakening. In this method, the attempt to awaken a fossil will always succeed, but the color of the awakened Spectrobe depends on the range of the voice used to awaken it.
Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals[]
The second game in the series utilizes a similar method of excavation to is its predecessor. As with the first game, the player must search for and unearth fossils in various places. The contents of the excavation screen are generally the same, as are the requirements for successfully excavating a fossil (albeit the minimum percentage for how much of the fossil is uncovered has been lowered to 90%). Also, certain locations in the game with special terrain involve excavating through ice, lava, and mud, which require the use of the Fire Drill, Water Drill, and Vacuum, respectively.
Certain spectrobes, such as Danawa, Mossari and Zyra, have enhanced fossil finding powers that greatly increase the probability of obtaining level 1 fossils, which are valuable because only spectrobes awakened at level 1, obtained through card input or transferred from the original game allow the player full control over the effects of Seeds, as those awakened at higher levels are created with random seeds already applied. It is currently unknown if these powers cause more fossils to appear or make rare fossils more common.
Like before, only the Drills, the Blower, and the Scanner are initially available, and again, the player is allowed to purchase additional tools for excavation. All of the tools, except for the Sonic Tool and Solvent Liquid, are eventually available for use, and some new tools, such as the Piton and the enhanced Blower S, have been added.
Awakening fossils is virtually the same procedure as it was in the original game; the player must keep their voice within a defined range to awaken a Spectrobe. Unlike before, however, Color Awakening is now incorporated into regular awakening, and the awakened Spectrobe's color is now solely determined by the pitch of the player's voice.
Spectrobes: Origins[]
The concept of fossil excavation changes sufficiently in series' third installment. While fossils can still be found scattered throughout most locations in the game, they are not excavated directly after they are found. The majority of fossils are encased in a large block of earth, called a Fossil Cube. Instead of needing to be dug out of the ground, these items need only to be collected when found. Excavation now takes place in Lab menu inside the Patrol Cruiser, where the player can choose any Fossil Cube in their possession to uncover. The excavation screen itself has also changed quite a bit; the display is now fully 3-D, and the Fossil Cube can be rotated freely. Unlike in previous games, the selection of tools at the player's disposal is set, and no additional tools can be bought. The accessible tools are: a drill, a hammer, a laser, five bombs, a blower, and a scanner. Again, every fossil has a set amount of health that can be depleted if the fossil is damaged, and cause a failed excavation if reduced to zero. Another difference from the other games, however, is that now every fossil must be 100% uncovered, eliminating the percentage factor in the player's score; the grade received and the level of the Spectrobe now depends entirely on the health remaining and time taken.
Along with regularly discovered fossils, there are some "special" fossils that are found at different points in the story. These fossils were believed to belong to the former Spectrobe Master before they became dormant, and when Rallen and Jeena touch them, they witness flashbacks of important moments in the Master's past. Once obtained, these fossils can be awakened like normal fossils.
The method by which Spectrobes are awakened has also been altered significantly. Because the Wii system lacks an internal microphone (and because the game is not compatible with the WiiSpeak accessory), the player must now use the Wii Remote and Nunchuk to awaken fossils. Upon opening the awakening screen, a melody will play, represented visually with blue and pink musical notes. The melody must be replicated correctly by swinging the the Remote and Nunchuk in the correct order (blue notes representing the Remote and pink notes the Nunchuk). If the melody is matched correctly, the fossil will awaken.
Color Awakening is not present in the Awakening process in Origins. Differently colored Spectrobes can now only be obtained via the Card Input System, through cheats, or by meeting certain requirements in the game.
Origins also introduced a new option when managing fossils: the ability to exchange spare fossils for items instead of simply discarding them. The rarity and quantity of the items obtainable (minerals and rice balls) depend on the grade of the excavation.
Fossil[]
In the first Spectrobes game, there was much conversation surrounding rarity of certain fossils. Many wanted to know how to find an Aoi, which is an uncommon fossil. To sum this part up, there are three rarities (tiers) of fossils
Common: Common fossils are easily found in contrast to Uncommon and Rare fossils. Examples: Spiko (game 1, Daichi) and Vilar (game 1, Daichi)
Uncommon: Uncommon fossils require a bit of searching to find, as their are much less common than the Common fossils. Each planet has 2-3 uncommon fossils. Examples: Segu (game 1, Daichi), Nokoko (Ziba's moons (both), game 2)
Rare: Rare fossils are relatively hard to find. To find one, I best reccomend having a 5+ range for searching. In the search for rares, you should try to look around rounded parts of areas (the small area adjacent to your ship on Daichi in game 1) and sometimes can be found alone, or among a large deposit of minerals (the Mineral-Heart on Kollin, game 2).
Trivia[]
- There are 22 different varieties of fossil in Spectrobes, and 62 in Spectrobes: Beyond the Portals.
- Pegatinum could technically be considered a Child Form Spectrobe because it reverts directly from a fossil.
Walkthrough[]
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