FireRed hack: [NEW RELEASE] Spectrobes GBA ~ Sci-Fi Space Pokemon ~ Something a little different :)

[Asith]

Follow: https://discord.gg/3HTuNcDjMB
Follow: https://twitter.com/AsithDevs
Download: https://as1th.github.io/SpectrobesGBA-RomPatcher

What the heck is Spectrobes?

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Spectrobes was a sci-fi monster-battling RPG published by Disney Interactive Studios. Released on the Nintendo DS, the game was praised for successfully combining the monster-collecting genre with its sci-fi tropes, including space travel, planet exploration, and an extraterrestrial foe, while maintaining the JRPG base that supports monster catching. Its primary features included excavating and unearthing fossils of extinct creatures and reawakening them to fight alongside you. These entertaining tropes, combined with unique creature designs, gave Spectrobes its own stage to stand on. The game was considered a commercial success and spawned two sequels, before quietly being dropped by Disney and forgotten about over the years.​

What the heck is this rom hack?​

This project aims to recreate the original Spectrobes game, but within Pokemon FireRed. To most of you, this can just be considered a fakemon or un-pokemon rom hack - but not one which follows the standard tropes of Pokemon. While based on FireRed, the uniqueness of Spectrobes means that this project is an entirely new experience than that of mainline Pokemon games. Even if you haven't heard of Spectrobes, if you're a little tired of the Pokemon story formula and are looking for a fresh monster-collecting rom hack, this one aims to please you too! And to the few of you who are already fans of Spectrobes, you can consider this a nostalgia-loving GBA demake of the first game :)​

Features

What the heck is the story (brief intro, no spoilers)

Spoiler:

Rallen and Jeena, Planetary Patrol officers, are sent to investigate a crashed escape-capsule and inside it find an aged survivor of a now-destroyed star system. He explains that his civilization was destroyed by amoebic-like creatures called Krawl who devour planetary systems throughout the universe. He then explains that the only way to fight them is to reawaken their natural enemies - the Spectrobes. Rallen and Jeena, hoping to protect their own star system from this fate, set out to gather as many Spectrobes as they can and find the source of the Krawl swarm.​

What the heck you'll be doing

Spoiler:

The primary gameplay feature of both the original game and this Rom Hack involves you progressing through the linear story and using your spaceship to travel from planet to planet. Every planet has different environments, with different Spectrobe fossils to awaken and different Krawl to fight. Train up your team of Spectrobes and follow the central plot in a very story-driven game, all while learning as much as you can about these creatures and exploring all the different biomes in the Nanairo star system.​

What the heck kinda monsters you'll be collecting

Spoiler:

I was going to include images of all Spectrobes currently in the game here but apparently pokecommunity has a limit of 100 images per post, a limit I have already hit.


Current obtainable Spectrobe count: 57 - This image list is incomplete due to the pokecommunity limit per post!

Vilar More Information	Vilamasta More Information	Vilanox More Information
Segu More Information	Segulos More Information	Segulara More Information
Zoza More Information	Zozane More Information	Zozanero More Information
Spiko More Information	Spikan More Information	Spikanor More Information
Shakin More Information	Shakor More Information	Shakoblad More Information
Komainu More Information	Komanoto More Information	Komadoros More Information
Nagu More Information	Naguryu More Information	Naguzoro More Information
Samukabu More Information	Samurite More Information	Samugeki More Information
Bartor More Information	Bartolor More Information	Bartolosa More Information
Aoi More Information	Aoba More Information	Aobasar More Information
Shimainu More Information	Shimanoto More Information	Shimadoros More Information
Dongor More Information	Dongora More Information	Dongiga More Information
Kubaku More Information	Kuganon More Information	Kugaster More Information
Danawa More Information	Danapix More Information	Danaphant More Information
Grilda More Information	Grilden More Information	Grildragos More Information
Hapacha More Information	Hapazoa More Information	Hapaxion More Information
Anubi More Information	Anubos More Information	Anuberos More Information

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What the heck you'll be listening to

Spoiler:

The music of the original Spectrobes game was loved and often praised as one of its best parts. It's also just a nostalgia trip for me, so I'll be doing my best to port over every single music track into GBA formats and fit them in this Rom Hack. For Spectrobes fans, this should hopefully tickle your nostalgia as well, and for everyone else, you can enjoy a Rom Hack with completely new music instead of the regular Pokemon tracks :)


I'll probably upload the soundtrack here for people to listen to later.​

What the heck kinda core mechanics exist

Spoiler:

Everything is this section is subject to change.

This is where we get to unknown territory. There's a lot of variability that comes with porting a real-time DS action game into a turn-based GBA game, so please leave feedback as to what gives the most fun experience.

Battle System

Moves and Types

The current plan is to make the battles more interesting/reminiscent of Spec1 by giving every Spectrobe (and Krawl) species completely unique moves. These "signature moves" will allow every Spectrobe to be useful. A number of basic moves will also be shared between species. The only things the player will currently have to pay attention to with moves is Effect, Power, Accuracy, PP, Targets, and Type, with few moves giving stat boosts and even fewer giving status effects until later in the game. This is to remove some "pokemon-ness" from the system. That doesn't mean that every Spectrobe will be stuck as generic damage-dealers, but does mean that other fight styles will be a little rarer than in Pokemon, and limited by species, hopefully ending up keeping a similar mix to that of Spec1.

The types, Corona, Aurora, and Flash, will be unchanged from Spec1.

STAB has been removed as it has no place in a game where monsters learn moves of one of two types.

Additionally, the physical/special split has been implemented to give more range as well.


I believe these changes will keep to the spirit of the original Spectrobes but still work in a turn-based strategy environment. That being said, I am completely open to changing these things entirely if it is unfun or too easy, or anything really. So please leave feedback!


Synergy

Included as a nod to the "Beyond the Portals" mechanic where certain Spectrobe species have a unique combination attack and as a replacement to Pokemon abilities. This mechanic will be expanded upon in comparison to BtP, with many more species combinations planned to be included in future. Simply, compatible Synergy Combos receive a 50% offensive boost in double battles.

Vilamasta + Bartolor --> Armored Bulk

Komanoto + Shimanoto --> Guardian Dogs

Naguryu + Grilden --> Draconic (Grilden not obtainable in this version)

Field

A few things to note outside of battle:

You always need a minimum of 2 Adult Spectrobes in your Prizmod, as opposed to 1 Pokemon. This is a nod to Spec1, and is also because double battles will become the most common form of battle as the game progresses. Still, you won't white out unless all your Spectrobes are defeated (but you may be prevented from progressing).

Fossil locations and Vortexes will respawn when you leave an area and return. Minerals and Cubes will not respawn like this (but old Mineral locations may respawn as you progress through the story).

Child Spectrobes can't be sent out in battle. The game will ignore any Child forms in your party. You can't use them as fodder to heal your Adults and you can't switch-train them until you evolve them. But there's still a reason to bring some Child forms with you:

The purpose of having Child forms right now is to hunt for Rare Deposits. These are found in precarious locations, and Child Spectrobes with unique attributes (such as being able to fly, having a hard outer shell, etc) will be needed to get the goodies inside. They will contain a lot of minerals, but also a Secret Spectrobe fossil - a fossil of a Spectrobe from Beyond the Portals, not Spec1 - that can't be found anywhere else, so any collector should look out for them.

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Screenshots

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Current patch notes

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Spoiler:

Demo V0.4.1 Released 9/3/25 (~ 7+ hours of gameplay)

[B]---Current feature List---[/B]
Story taken directly from the original Spectrobes game, up to the Kollin Invasion.
57 obtainable Spectrobes (all Spectrobes from the original game will be added in future updates, as well as some from the sequel).
6 Synergy Combos.
25 Krawl Species to fight.
Signature movesets for all Spectrobes - completely original moves, not pokemon moves!
First four planets, Daichi, Kollin, Genshi, and Nessa, complete and explorable.
Excavation Minigame added!
Custom Colours and Chroma minerals function just as they did in the original game (+4 unique colours per Spectrobe!)
6 Secret Spectrobe Fossils in Rare Deposits.
Child Spectrobes cannot be used in battle, and are limited to searching for rare deposits.
Original Custom items and menus (jetpacks and space travel!)
Cutscenes with mugshots and custom textbox switching.
Better instruments for porting over music originally intended for the DS.
Expanded bag space.

Community / Team (?)

So far, this has been a passion project developed by me and only me. However, if anyone shares that passion and wants to offer help, then I'd love to have you. Clearly the main area I'm lacking in is graphics, so anyone with a hint of skill in pixel art or map making will be welcomed with open arms :) Help in other areas would be fine too, especially if you have history with either Rom Hacking or Spectrobes :)

If you're excited enough follow the development of this project or want to let me know what you'd like added to the game, then please join the Discord Server or my Twitter! They will be the main hubs for the project from now on :)

Enjoy playing my demo for now :D I hope it succeeds in either giving old Spectrobes fans a shot of nostalgia, or peaks the interest of monster-collectors entering the sci-fi realm with a new story!

Downloads

• V0.4.1
  Most recent release as of 9/3/25
  Download - Link - To be patched onto a FireRed v1.0 ROM
  Or Patch Online Automatically - ONLINE PATCHER
  Length - Story up to Kollin Invasion. Probably around 7+ hours of gameplay. Roughly 40% of the full game

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[NotDWaddler]

EXCUSE ME

WHY DOES THIS LOOK SICK

 

[Asith]

EXCUSE ME

WHY DOES THIS LOOK SICK

HEHEHE
Glad you think so! :D
You already a Spectrobes fan?

 

[Anthroyd]

The first comment in this thread pretty much sums it up. Unique and super impressive. I really like the fakemon art. Awesome stuff!

 

[L'Avocarpe]

Nice work man, I loved Spectrobes back in the days but I haven't played it ever since. I'll definitely keep an eye on this.

 

[Asith]

The first comment in this thread pretty much sums it up. Unique and super impressive. I really like the fakemon art. Awesome stuff!

Thanks a lot :))

Nice work man, I loved Spectrobes back in the days but I haven't played it ever since. I'll definitely keep an eye on this.

It was definitely an old nostalgic gem for me too :)
Those games still hold up for me as a fan, and hopefully this hack gives the same energy to people who are more pokemon-accustomed

 

[Izack mooij]

Game is brilliant just finshed demo available got lvl 17 near 18 all rest 15 new fresh game for 2021 hope to see more from you in future after this game done good work.

 

[Asith]

Game is brilliant just finshed demo available got lvl 17 near 18 all rest 15 new fresh game for 2021 hope to see more from you in future after this game done good work.

Thanks for the level data! They were roughly where I expected the player to be, but maybe a little higher ;)

Thanks for the playing the whole demo :D
I'll probably set up a discord since people seem to be mildly interested

 

[Inner Rhymes]

This is actually really creative. I am curious to see how this progresses over time. Good luck my dude!
P.S: Really clean character mugshots you've got going there!

 

[Asith]

This is actually really creative. I am curious to see how this progresses over time. Good luck my dude!
P.S: Really clean character mugshots you've got going there!

Thanks! Great to see some people who aren't Spectrobes fans trying out the hack!

Updates: Currently working on minor bug fixes.

 

[Asith]

Alright, minor bug fixes are done and this demo is complete, assuming no one else reports any bugs. Download has been updated (save files will always be compatible). I'm gonna start working on the next content update soon.
Speaking of reporting bugs, I've also set up a Discord Server. Please join it if you want to follow the project!

 

[Linkinglinkingking]

I was a fan of Spectrobes too and didn't know why it just faded into obscurity, and this looks amazing :D

 

[Asith]

I was a fan of Spectrobes too and didn't know why it just faded into obscurity, and this looks amazing :D

Spectrobes deserved better!
And thanks, that feeling is exactly what makes me want to develop this hack :D

 

[Asith]

Links have been updated to V0.22, a bug hotfix. Users on the Discord reported the game crashing when Naguryu's move Nagunokk was in battle. This only affected ancient emulators like VBA, but it's been fixed nonetheless.

 

[IceGummi]

It's so nice to see some unique tilesets instead of more of the "HGSS graphics forced into GBA hardware" stuff.

 

[Asith]

It's so nice to see some unique tilesets instead of more of the "HGSS graphics forced into GBA hardware" stuff.

Thanks haha. The "unique" tilesets here are probably more from a lack of pixel art skill on my part but I'll take the compliment regardless :p

 

[Asith]

Spoiler:

Spoiler:

Haven't been updating this topic much, but here are the child and adult form Spectrobes planned for the next content update!
As usual, the best place to follow for development updates is the discord.

 

[Illyasviel]

YES
SPECTROBES
YES
THANK YOU

 

[Asith]

YES
SPECTROBES
YES
THANK YOU

Relatable ;)

Hope you enjoy the demo!

 

[.hack]

This looks incredible!
I saw the title and wasn't expecting to see much but maybe the concept but what you have already looks so polished and clean! Can't wait to try it out myself! Awesome work!
Loved playing the first spectrobes on my old DS lite!