Game Vortex writes: "At best, Spectral Force 3's presentation is utilitarian. Both the visuals and audio aspects do what they need to do, but nothing about either stands out. Everything is incredibly bland and there's a distinct lack of personality, which is something Strategy RPGs sort of need if they want to grab the attention of a wider player base. As flawed as Operation Darkness was, it at least had enough personality that kept you playing just to see what would happen next. Spectral Force 3 doesn't benefit from the same safety net, and is a weaker game because of it.
Character models are slightly better than some XBLA titles and the sound is composed of generic sounds, most of which don't even fit what is happening on the screen. There's no reason for a sword strike to sound like a bat hitting a tree."
PX360 writes: "If turn-based strategy RPG sounds like the kind of thing that you could play for hours and hours without getting bored, Spectral Force 3 has quite the challenge for you. The game tells the story of a band of mercenaries in the midst of a war between a handful of nations and an underworld army. Though the game opens with an anime-style cut scene, visually reminiscent of eighties favorite Voltron, it quickly drops it in favor of bland text-based clips. The fighters-for-hire aspect of your team plays into the lengthy mission list, but the story bits come so infrequently you are likely to forget all about it. The mid-mission screens occasionally show a map graphic and subsequent battles happening, but they do a poor job of explaining how it affects your squad or the story.
The game sticks to the age-old turn-based-strategy mechanics, adding nothing new to the genre standards. The awkward in-battle menu system makes for some confusion until you get used to just how many button presses it really requires to 'end' the turn of each character, with your healer requiring an additional one. Still, the inability to equip items or change equipment during battle is the most frustrating aspect of gameplay; followed closely by your healer's inability to heal himself. It is not all bad news, as the on-screen display showing your chances of landing a hit on the opponent is definitely a useful tool and the gameplay itself works well."
So the heart is there, but the execution is more than just disappointing. The gameplay on paper is very interesting, but in practice, it's unbalanced and tiresome. The art style and voice acting leave a little bit more to be desired and visually, it hovers between what would be expected out of a high end PSX title or a low-end PS2 game in high resolution. It's underwhelming across the board with generic written all over it, leaving Spectral Force 3 at the end of the day to indeed be a specter in the vast sea of current S-RPGs.
In the end, Spectral Force 3 is more disappointing than bad. As gaming continues to evolve, it's a real letdown to continue to play RPGs and SRPGs that look and play the same as they did back in the early '90s. Spectral Force 3 isn't the only title in the genre guilty of this gaming sin, but it is the latest.
