Amazon.com Product Description

The Game Boy platform (which includes the original unit, the Game Boy Pocket, and the Game Boy Color) came to market when most video game consoles had a life expectancy of just a few years. More than a decade later, the system is still going strong. How did the Game Boy successfully compete--and in some cases bury--an onslaught of faster, more powerful handheld and home console systems? Let us count the ways: affordability, a huge library of games that consistently made the most of the hardware's limitations, smart power management that extended battery life, and uncluttered controls. But perhaps it was the system's ultraportable design that allowed devotees to play video games around their schedule, making it the must-have system for kids and adults alike.

Now the Game Boy Advance (or GBA as people are already calling it) comes to us with power that would have been unthinkable back in the day. The portable's 32-bit RISC CPU runs circles around the former's 8-bit workhorse, allowing it to process program instructions much faster. What that means to everyday gamers is more intricate visuals, more simultaneous movement on the screen, and better sound. In fact, the often-annoying beeps and boops of old-school Game Boy titles are being replaced with digitized stereo sound. The extra processing muscle also means you can even network up to four Game Boy Advance units together, via the communication cable, for multiplayer fun off of one shared cartridge. Only two Game Boy Color units could link together, and each unit had to have its own copy of the game.

What's not being replaced, however, is the wide selection of Game Boy games. Because the Game Boy Advance system is backward-compatible, it will play its own line of colorful games--including such launch titles as Super Mario Advance, F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, Army Men Advance, High Heat Major League Baseball 2002, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2--as well as all of the monochrome and color games that have already been released for the previous Game Boy systems (nearly 500 in total). Players can view the older games in their smaller, originally square dimensions, or, with the touch of the shoulder button, expand the game to fit the GBA's larger screen. We tried enlarging the screen on a Game Boy Color edition of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and found that Mr. Hawk was much easier to see.

When you first pick up the system, you'll be amazed at how lightweight it is. At fewer than 5 ounces and a little larger than a deck of playing cards, the system easily fits into a shirt pocket without any sag. The GBA's wider shape fits better into a wider range of hands. The former design too often pushed the left and right thumb knuckles together during gameplay. The new layout should be comfortable for all ages, and the center screen orientation makes it easy to see.

Game Boy Color owners will find the GBA's larger screen somewhat darker than they're used to, but that's because the screen is outfitted with antiglare technology. Like the old Game Boy Color, the color LCD is not backlit, so you need pretty good light to play by. Unlike that system, though, you won't be craning your neck and tilting the unit to see around the hot-spot reflection of the light bulb in your screen.

But you'll also notice the graphics. Sporting what's basically a redesigned SNES technology, you'll see things on the GBA that the big consoles do, such as scaling (making objects larger or smaller) and rotation effects--technological advances that will affect the look of everything from crossing a finish line to throwing a touchdown pass to crawling through a dungeon.

Some might argue that Nintendo could have tried to put even more power into this Game Boy Advance. After all, the 32-bit video game had its heyday more than five years ago. Perhaps, but after handling this new handheld, we're inclined to think that Nintendo wisely struck a balance between size, price, and power consumption. And considering how well the old 8-bit system weathered the decade's technological storms, we think the Game Boy Advance is here to stay, and we're glad. --Porter B. Hall

Unit Specifications

• CPU: 32-bit RISC CPU with embedded memory
• Screen: 2.9-inch reflective TFT color LCD
• Display Size: 1.6 by 2.4 inches (40.8 by 61.2 mm)
• Resolution: 38,000 pixels in a wide-screen aspect ratio (10,000 per square inch)
• Colors: 512 simultaneous colors from a palette of 32,768
• Size: 3.2 by 5.6 by 1 inch (82 by 144.5 by 24.5 mm)
• Weight: Approximately 5 ounces (140 grams)
• Power Supply: 2 AA alkaline batteries
• Battery Life: Approximately 15 hours continuous play

Features

• Platform: Game Boy Advance
• Includes Pokémon Crystal for GBA & GBC

Reviews (367)

Very Good
I used to own a game boy color, but i updated to a gba, for the better sound and graphics. I found that the ONLY downside is that it has no backlight. I am going to buy a gba light and sheild asap to fix that, and i will reveiw it too. I am just starting to collect games, as i only have one, but i am hoping it will be a long time before i get bored and get a gba sp. the price is good, but if you really want a good experience, and you have the money, get a Nintendo DS. My brother has one, and he enjoys it. The downside to a DS is they only have 3 or 4 good games out.

Good...........but outdated sad but true
The game boy advance is definetly better than a game boy color.Bigger screen, smaller game consoles, and better grafics.Why only 3 stars.Well, this system just can't compare to the new psp or nintendo ds.If you want a cheap gaming console, this might be the way to go. It is inexpensive and has lots of games.If you however don't mind spending a little (or a lot) more money than you should propably go with the psp if you are older or the nintendo ds if you are like under 12. Like I said this was worth it like 3 or 4 years ago but just like the game boy color before it, this system is getting old.

hello
this game boy sucks it close and it has horible graphics.you should get the nintendo ds

Great System after 3 years
I am here to say that I am not too big on the whole SP idea. I bought a Platinum SP about 2 years ago when they first hit shelves and I can't honestly say it was the greatest purchase I made. If you ever have time to kill, go on Ebay and compare what you can get a Regular Model for to what you pay for a SP. There is no comparison, for lack of a better word I'd have to say looking back on it that the SP was overhyped and priced. The controls give a sick feeling of clausterphobia and the light is something useful only to those that take long trips day-in and day-out. I recently was able to purchase a 3rd GBA system on ebay for the jaw-dropping price of $35.00, and the real shocker was that the system was BRAND NEW. The original GBA model had the SP beat in so many ways it is hard to look back on it and think what a mistake I made for ever buying the SP. This system is the complete deal, I wouldn't pay the listing price of $70.00 for it, but if you find a bargain like I did, go for it. The graphics are crisp and it too is small enough to just slip in a pocket, I wouldn't recomend storing it in a pocket because of the scratches it may cause. The light is the only thing that the SP has over the standard system. I personally believe that the GBA regular has better battery life than an SP. I am playing Zelda Minish Cap on a system that came out 3 yrs ago and is still running strong. Over the past years I've played it, I've played some of the best games on any console such as Metroid Zero Mission and Fusion, not to mention the Castlevania series which in my opinion ranks as one the best series for any system to date. With games like these becoming harder to find, it sure would be nice to find more regular GBA's on a store shelf...

Steller Handheld with steller line ups
Put it simply...this is a great edition to the nintendo franchise.Advance has a great line up of games like
Metroid Zero Mission
Advance Wars
The Mario Games and Zelda games.Awesome must have handheld for this year, and if you don't already have it get SP then!

4.9 out of 5...A great hand held to own.. ... Read more

Product Description

While planning the perfect vacation on Dinosaur Island, things go awry for Mario and Luigi when they learn that Princess Peach has been kidnapped again by the ever-diabolical Bowser. Being chivalrous plumbers, Mario and Luigi set out on a massive adventure to rescue their long-time friend. To reach their goal, they'll have to crush Bowser's evil Koopalings and solve some of the most challenging puzzles they've ever faced. ... Read more

Features

• Platform: Game Boy Advance
• ESRB Rating: Everyone
• Genre: Action/Adventure

Reviews (251)

Polishing a classic
There's pretty much a debate on the best Super Mario game: Super Mario 3, Super Mario World or Yoshi's Island(but you control Yoshi instead). Some might say Mario 64 but the lack of gameplay moves doesn't hold a candle to the many gameplay mechanics each one of the 3 provide. So we delve into one of them: Super Mario World.

Story: What little story there is. As usual, Princess Peach gets kidnapped(I swear that b**** needs bodyguards or take up karate or something). So it's up to Mario to save the day as he traverses worlds in caves, the chocolate level, underwater and in the air.

Graphics: This is Super Nintendo graphics so granted these aren't stunning anymore. But it does have a nice vibrancy to it and the variety of the levels adds some nice changes to the scenery without being too repetitive.

Sound/Music: I often call Nintendo good support music. Besides the Mario theme, nothing is really hummable yet it doesn't feel out of place. They added some voices for Mario and Luigi which as usual get annoying.

Gameplay: I remember playing this on the SNES and I was so happy I cleared all 96 stages, got the Star Road finished, the secret areas and everything. Now I have to do it again, ugh. All the levels are here with some minor tweaks.

It was this one I believe they introduced one of Mario's famous sidekicks: Yoshi, the green dinosaur who likes to eat anything and s**t it out and makes eggs that he can fling at people(only in Yoshi's Island and maybe some others). He also turned into a different colored Yoshi depending on what he ate. So red turtles gave him abilities to shoot fireballs while one enabled him to fly and another gave a slight earthquake quality when he bounced.

Mario 3 wins in turns of transforming Mario. In 3, he had the tanooki suit(that raccoon), the frog suit, that shoe, not to mention the fire flower and the leaf, capable of making him fly. With this one he gets the fire flower and the feather, giving him a yellow Superman cape where he can fly. It's different than the leaf cause that just made him soar straight up while here you can fly across. He can glide down by just holding the button while in 3 you had to repeatedly hit it.

The Mario Advance ports are great for us old school gamers who remembers playing Chrono Trigger, Uniracers and Final Fantasy III(officially VI but that's another story). Don't forget about Mario 3 and Yoshi's Island too.

This is an old classic, but it cannot overshadow Mario Bro 3
The game is good and then some. There is so much to do, you may never do it all.
The story is that Peach is not in the witness protection program and gets kidnapped once again. You and Luigi must save her.
On the map you can alternate between Luigi and Mario just by a press of a button. All in all, it does not matter. The game is no harder or easier. Luigi has a better jump but is slower than Mario.
In the levels your goal is to get to the end without dying. The twist in this game is that any red dot on the map means there is more than one exit. And many of them are hard to find. Upon finding them, you are able to gain access to a different path on the map.
This is a must. You will see dotted lines everywhere in a certain color. What you must do is find a certain special exit and you get to go to a block palace. They will fill in the lines with blocks that match the colors. Now these blocks give you access to new places and sometimes save your life.
Running around in the levels, you get four different powerups and they vary from mushroom to stars. If you had Mario before, you know what they do. The new addition is Yoshi. He can add an extra hit to your life and eat enemies and more! Plus, by special exits, you can go to star world. Beating a level there the right way will give you access to a new yoshi. Some will turn enemies eaten into fire while others can fly when they have any enemy in their mouth. They appear at random
The bosses can be brutal. Each boss either has three or four hits. You must find the special way to beat them. This will be easy, but causes you to keep readjusting throughout the game.
You may never do everything.
You need help to do everything. So buy a strategy guide.

Best Game EVER!!!!!!!!!!!!
For a gamer like me, that is, someone who likes basic yet chalenging games, this is a must.Its fun never wears away, because there's always something new to do.Play either as Mario, who is fast but a bad jumper, or Luigi who jumps far and high.I love this game!!!!!!!!

My all time favorite Mario game.
This game is the greatest Mario game I have ever played. All the Mario's seem to have gone down hill to me since this 4th installment. But now that this classic SNES game has been revived and upgraded to the GBA, its back, and even better then ever!

There is a few differences between this and the SNES version, but they just make this version better!!! Theres a few new halfway markers, theres 5 Yoshi coins to collect on each stage, and when your found them all you get princess coins... but everything is still there and just as much fun as ever. I only wish I could program some add ons into it somehow.

Super Mario, Super Good
Super Mario world is the best gameboy game I have ever played!
The levels are hard, but no so hard that you stay on one level for a month. Some of the levels, are a bit frustrating though. Some examples would be the "big green goop balls",The boos, and the big boo who are in some ghost houses. They are impossible to defeat and you cannot touch them without losing your special ability or life! Also,there are some enemys not mentioned on the "Denizens of Dinosoar Land" paper, like the "skeleton birds". I think the music for this game is good, but others might say it's cheesy. It's fun to ride "Mr. Dinosoar"a.k.a Yoshi, but the controls are hard to learn for him, and regular Mario/Luigi. It might be easier for some people, because I am a person who likes to not read instruction booklets. Some of the graphics are funny, like when you do a run jump your belly comes forward, and if you collect a certain item you inflate like a balloon, and when Luigi jumps, h wiggles his feet! You can "cheat" on certain levels by using a cape to fly across the sky of the level, avoiding most enemies. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The Game Boy platform (which includes the original unit, the Game Boy Pocket, and the Game Boy Color) came to market when most video game consoles had a life expectancy of just a few years. More than a decade later, the system is still going strong. How did the Game Boy successfully compete--and in some cases bury--an onslaught of faster, more powerful handheld and home console systems? Let us count the ways: affordability, a huge library of games that consistently made the most of the hardware's limitations, smart power management that extended battery life, and uncluttered controls. But perhaps it was the system's ultraportable design that allowed devotees to play video games around their schedule, making it the must-have system for kids and adults alike.

Now the Game Boy Advance (or GBA as people are already calling it) comes to us with power that would have been unthinkable back in the day. The portable's 32-bit RISC CPU runs circles around the former's 8-bit workhorse, allowing it to process program instructions much faster. What that means to everyday gamers is more intricate visuals, more simultaneous movement on the screen, and better sound. In fact, the often-annoying beeps and boops of old-school Game Boy titles are being replaced with digitized stereo sound. The extra processing muscle also means you can even network up to four Game Boy Advance units together, via the communication cable, for multiplayer fun off of one shared cartridge. Only two Game Boy Color units could link together, and each unit had to have its own copy of the game.

What's not being replaced, however, is the wide selection of Game Boy games. Because the Game Boy Advance system is backward-compatible, it will play its own line of colorful games--including such launch titles as Super Mario Advance, F-Zero: Maximum Velocity, Army Men Advance, High Heat Major League Baseball 2002, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater, and Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2--as well as all of the monochrome and color games that have already been released for the previous Game Boy systems (nearly 500 in total). Players can view the older games in their smaller, originally square dimensions, or, with the touch of the shoulder button, expand the game to fit the GBA's larger screen. We tried enlarging the screen on a Game Boy Color edition of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and found that Mr. Hawk was much easier to see.

When you first pick up the system, you'll be amazed at how lightweight it is. At fewer than 5 ounces and a little larger than a deck of playing cards, the system easily fits into a shirt pocket without any sag. The GBA's wider shape fits better into a wider range of hands. The former design too often pushed the left and right thumb knuckles together during gameplay. The new layout should be comfortable for all ages, and the center screen orientation makes it easy to see.

Game Boy Color owners will find the GBA's larger screen somewhat darker than they're used to, but that's because the screen is outfitted with antiglare technology. Like the old Game Boy Color, the color LCD is not backlit, so you need pretty good light to play by. Unlike that system, though, you won't be craning your neck and tilting the unit to see around the hot-spot reflection of the light bulb in your screen.

But you'll also notice the graphics. Sporting what's basically a redesigned SNES technology, you'll see things on the GBA that the big consoles do, such as scaling (making objects larger or smaller) and rotation effects--technological advances that will affect the look of everything from crossing a finish line to throwing a touchdown pass to crawling through a dungeon.

Some might argue that Nintendo could have tried to put even more power into this Game Boy Advance. After all, the 32-bit video game had its heyday more than five years ago. Perhaps, but after handling this new handheld, we're inclined to think that Nintendo wisely struck a balance between size, price, and power consumption. And considering how well the old 8-bit system weathered the decade's technological storms, we think the Game Boy Advance is here to stay, and we're glad. --Porter B. Hall

Unit Specifications

• CPU: 32-bit RISC CPU with embedded memory
• Screen: 2.9-inch reflective TFT color LCD
• Display Size: 1.6 by 2.4 inches (40.8 by 61.2 mm)
• Resolution: 38,000 pixels in a wide-screen aspect ratio (10,000 per square inch)
• Colors: 512 simultaneous colors from a palette of 32,768
• Size: 3.2 by 5.6 by 1 inch (82 by 144.5 by 24.5 mm)
• Weight: Approximately 5 ounces (140 grams)
• Power Supply: 2 AA alkaline batteries
• Battery Life: Approximately 15 hours continuous play

Features

• Platform: Game Boy Advance
• Includes Pokémon Crystal for GBA & GBC

Reviews (367)

Very Good
I used to own a game boy color, but i updated to a gba, for the better sound and graphics. I found that the ONLY downside is that it has no backlight. I am going to buy a gba light and sheild asap to fix that, and i will reveiw it too. I am just starting to collect games, as i only have one, but i am hoping it will be a long time before i get bored and get a gba sp. the price is good, but if you really want a good experience, and you have the money, get a Nintendo DS. My brother has one, and he enjoys it. The downside to a DS is they only have 3 or 4 good games out.

Good...........but outdated sad but true
The game boy advance is definetly better than a game boy color.Bigger screen, smaller game consoles, and better grafics.Why only 3 stars.Well, this system just can't compare to the new psp or nintendo ds.If you want a cheap gaming console, this might be the way to go. It is inexpensive and has lots of games.If you however don't mind spending a little (or a lot) more money than you should propably go with the psp if you are older or the nintendo ds if you are like under 12. Like I said this was worth it like 3 or 4 years ago but just like the game boy color before it, this system is getting old.

hello
this game boy sucks it close and it has horible graphics.you should get the nintendo ds

Great System after 3 years
I am here to say that I am not too big on the whole SP idea. I bought a Platinum SP about 2 years ago when they first hit shelves and I can't honestly say it was the greatest purchase I made. If you ever have time to kill, go on Ebay and compare what you can get a Regular Model for to what you pay for a SP. There is no comparison, for lack of a better word I'd have to say looking back on it that the SP was overhyped and priced. The controls give a sick feeling of clausterphobia and the light is something useful only to those that take long trips day-in and day-out. I recently was able to purchase a 3rd GBA system on ebay for the jaw-dropping price of $35.00, and the real shocker was that the system was BRAND NEW. The original GBA model had the SP beat in so many ways it is hard to look back on it and think what a mistake I made for ever buying the SP. This system is the complete deal, I wouldn't pay the listing price of $70.00 for it, but if you find a bargain like I did, go for it. The graphics are crisp and it too is small enough to just slip in a pocket, I wouldn't recomend storing it in a pocket because of the scratches it may cause. The light is the only thing that the SP has over the standard system. I personally believe that the GBA regular has better battery life than an SP. I am playing Zelda Minish Cap on a system that came out 3 yrs ago and is still running strong. Over the past years I've played it, I've played some of the best games on any console such as Metroid Zero Mission and Fusion, not to mention the Castlevania series which in my opinion ranks as one the best series for any system to date. With games like these becoming harder to find, it sure would be nice to find more regular GBA's on a store shelf...

Steller Handheld with steller line ups
Put it simply...this is a great edition to the nintendo franchise.Advance has a great line up of games like
Metroid Zero Mission
Advance Wars
The Mario Games and Zelda games.Awesome must have handheld for this year, and if you don't already have it get SP then!

4.9 out of 5...A great hand held to own.. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Chessmaster is a good introduction to the rules of chess, as wellas a useful tool for experienced players looking to improve their games. Asplayers continue, they'll learn more advanced strategies and tactics while theirskill levels increase. The game also features a tutorial mode to acclimate newchess players to the basics of the game; 150 famous recorded games; sixopponents; 10 chess sets; scalable gameplay for chess players of all skilllevels; and a two-player mode via the Game Boy Advance link cable. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Great for what it is.
Cons: the menus could be a bit more intuitive, and it does play at a high level for someone who isn't a pretty serious chess player (even the weakest players on the weakest setting).

Pros: challenging to good players and people trying to improve their game.I'm not beating it very often, but I am getting rid of bad playing habits.Once you get used to the menus, there really is a lot to this program:different AI opponents with various playing styles, tutorial stuff, and a few hundred classic games to review along with some chess history, and it saves your game if you need to put it down.

I also like playing chess on my GBA and can get in a couple of games a day just by carrying it in my pocket and taking it out when I'm not doing anything (waiting in line).Also nice to have a chess computer that I know isn't going to break.

Good little chess game
I like this game but there is room for improvement. First, the AI is really tough--even the lowest level opponents are probably too tough for the casual gamer. Second, the chess tutor section is pretty poorly done, in my opinion. Good points about the game include the graphics and the play control. It also lets you redo all the moves of a game, which is good for learning.

It needs a manual or game guide
Fun but hard to figure out how to get to earn chess sets. It needs an instruction manual

The GBA chess game for serious enthusiasts.
Chessmaster for the GBA is a better choice for real enthusiasts
than Virtual Kasparov.It was released several months later, and its obvious than Kasparov and its obvious that this game fixed some of the shortcomings.

Some very important features this game includes:
A true save feature instead of Kasparov's antiquated password system.
Ability to undo moves.Helpful for when you want to experiment strategies or simply make a silly mistake.
150 classic matches from real masters.its takes a few seconds to load, but gives a fantastic lesson in strategy as a game actually unfolds.
Ability to choose different pieces.A bunch of them are useless (like dog theme pieces) but several are excellent to play with and give nice options.
Tutorials on moves, strategies and notation.I find the notation tutorial to be especailly helpful for players who want to learn more detailed strategies from books and other sources.Great job including this!

I do agree with some of the other comments ofr this game..the difficulty is a bit high for novice players or children who aren't the next Bobby Fischer, but for enthusiasts who want a chess challenge at thier fingertips this is great.There isalso a comment that selecting pieces takes several clicks to register.I never encountered this problem, the game plays just fine.

A strong Chess program for the GBA
I have both Virtual Kasparov (VK) and ChessMaster (CM).I wish I could combine the best features of both.

First off, CM plays at a much higher level.Whereas most of the VK personalities make occasional blunders, very few of those in CM do.This means that you really have to earn your wins against CM.Youngsters and novices (below say 1300 ELO) are likely to get walloped by most of the CM characters.
Also on the plus side:CM reports the moves in standard algebraic notation (VK does not) and allows infinite undo and redo.CM also contains a large library of famous games for review.
On the minus side, as the previous reviewer comments, I find I frequently have to press the arrow keys several times before CM acknowledges my move (and then frequently shoots past the piece I'm trying to pick up).This is quite annoying.
Also, CM does not automatically record the board position (VK does, which is useful when your batteries suddenly run out).CM also expects only a single user (VK records board positions and preferences for up to three different users).
Choose CM if you're a strong chessplayer or are looking for a real challenge.Choose VK for youngsters or novices. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Game & Watch portable games were before the time of Game Boy, but are available again in both classic and updated versions in this Game & Watch Gallery 4 anthology for Game Boy Advance and previous installments for Game Boy Color. This anthology contains remakes of Donkey Kong 3, Mario Cement Factory, Rainshower, Boxing, and Fire Attack. Players can choose to play the games in an emulation of the original monochrome LCD display or in updated color versions designed for the GBA. ... Read more

Reviews (21)

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO MARIO!!!!!!
WOW!! This is a good game and has a looooooot of games!!!! I like this game!!!

good game
I don't own this game,but i have played it before and I'd say a 4 out of 5 stars,sure you start out as easy but as you advance,u unlock more games new and old and harder settings such as meduim,hard and if you think you can handle it,super hard...yes there are four settings instead of one.

I personally love the little sounds and music this game has to offer,and a game gets harder as you progress.

If you think this game is for kiddies...then I'd have to say your wrong ;)

Ripofffor the old folks who played it and are now rich
This is just a money ripper aimed at kids from the 80's who have played these.Some of them are now rich, feel nostalgic about their childhood, and must get this game.The ones don't have much money still buy it by only eating once a day for about a week.

I liked it.........For a while
I will admit that I enjoyed this game for around a week or so. The gameplay was repititous, and took alot more time than I would take to finish the levels. I still play it on and off, although I paid $40 for the dang thing(wish I would have checked amazon.com before making that splurge)

Just got this game !!!
I really loved the Game and Watch of the yesteryears.So it was exciting that they have this for the Gameboy.But the only thing is that I don't know how to save the high scores or get the stars to unlock the other games.The instruction of the game tells me that all I have to do is to press start during the game and to turn off the unit.Nothing happens.
I don't know if I bought a defective game or something.
Please help. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Based on the popular Ogre Battle games, Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis marks the first installment of the series on a portable platform. As Alphonse, a knight of Galicia, you're sent to investigate the intentions of the suspect governing body of the Holy Lodis Empire and solve the mystery of Ovis. Players will encounter many battles to test their wit and strength, and their experiences will determine the true nature of their characters, as well as game's possible endings. The game offers more than 40 hours of gameplay, as well as a head-to-head battle mode via the separately sold Game Boy Advance link cable. ... Read more

Reviews (73)

Tactics Ogre the knight of Lodis
This is the best GBA game ever! Better than Final Fantasy Tactics advance! This game is worth every penny! Tons of Gameplay!

Puts your GBA to a good use
I dont know if this is really the kind of game for everyone. I am very personal with my games and with every great game I play I find myself deeply attached to certain aspects that could even be overlooked by a casual gamer. Chances are if you play this game you will miss out on parts of the experience i had with it. I enjoyed this game because of the great characters, thoughtful dialog, sweet music, and the atmosphere. Each little person you meet seems to have a heart.There are people that make you glad, people you feel sorry for, and people you will get angry at. I felt bad about certain enemies you're forced to kill. Alphonse, the main character, is an admirable guy and I love the girl who rescues him from the sea, Eleanor. Her theme song is one of the best in the game. There are people that make you glad, people you feel sorry for, and people you will get angry at. I felt bad about certain enemies you're forced to kill. And although he's kind of evil, the final boss is awesome. I felt respect for just about every character. The music is sometimes a little simple, but it always matches the scene is which it is place. And its not all giddy and giggly like some games music that gets on my nerves, like harvest moon. Some of the better tunes are the opening movie, eleanor's theme, cybil's theme, the final boss, and the credits. The battles are long man. Train your party members and level them up in random battles whenever you have nothing better to do, then when youve got more time enjoy the key parts of the story. There are all sorts of details in this game, in the menus and in the graphics as well. I love details. Poke around with the help feature and find out things that make the world feel more complete. This review really rambles i guess i just wanted to honor the game rather than convince people to buy it... but if you like some of these other games I've enjoyed maybe you'll like Tactics Ogre: Both Golden Suns, Dragon Warrior 1 thru 3, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. This is an excellent Game Boy title that doesnt feel quite like the other games you play on this system. I loved it!

This game rocks!!!!
This game rules!! There are new classes and what used to be male only classes are now female also and vice-versa.New missions new people new wepons what more could you ask for?If you like The ogre battle series buy it!!!!

Enjoy a challenge??......Here it is.
Tactics ogre for the game boy advanced is the fourth game down a long and great line of stragedy games, involved key game play elements from FFT (final fantasy tactics) and Ogre Battle( N64 & super NES). The great thing about this game is that is has the best mixure between the two. The fighing style for this game follows the same techniqe as FFT, but with a twist. Now when it's your turn to battle you can choose who moves at any time!! You can move you heavy steel weiding Knight first thing, or have your powerful wizard clear the way with his spells, choosing who moves and when is one of the key's to what make this a great game.

Graphics- The graphics are good for the Game boy advance, better than most 32 bit games out there. The toon style characters follow those from the playstation version of Tactics Ogre.

Sound- The dramatic sounds this little game puts out are good at creating the mood for whatver is happening, fighting sounds are also a plus.

Gameplay- The gameplay makes this game what it is...Wonderful!! You follow the life and times of one charcter, and make an impact to other unique characters lives. The ability to make choices adds to the fun factor. If you start over, you can never play this game exactly the same twice.

Highlights- Three battery save slots are available, plus a suspend option for those really long battles. Fun exicited and challenging.

Cons (Had to think of some)- This game is for ones seeking to use stragedy and their mind, not just simple games play. This is not for you if you just want to have some simple fun. It's too easy these days to get a quick walkthrough which takes away from the game play, and anticipation (use skill not cheats).

Overall- You MUST buy this game if have any RPG or stragedy blood in your viens!!

tactics ogre
this is the best strategy game for gba.it even competes with golden sun.

it has a pretty so so storyline (you are this guy who starts in the ranks of these special troops, and you break up to find this item and you basically run around a map killing enemies).it is fun, because not only can you persuade people to join your party, but you can hire people in towns.

*pros*

fighting

moves

persuasion/hiring

quest mode

*cons*

graphics (they are ok, not anything special)

storyline

no-save period during enemy's turn

no-save period during long conversations that can take up to ten minutes if you bother to actually read what all the idiots are saying

allinall i think this is a great game, but if you sense a conversation, start htting (A) at like ten times a second.most of the conversations are irrelevant.

buy this game if you like strategy games, but if you like rpgs go golden sun:P ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

Larger in scope than itspredecessor and better in almostevery way, Breath of Fire II is a perfect port of the original SNES game,and will leave role-playing fans begging for more.

The game starts out, dreamlike, in a small border village 500 years after theevents of the first game. You play a small boy named Ryu (ring a bell?) who islooking for his lost sister. After finding his sister and reuniting her withpops, Ryu wanders around a bit and returns home--and that's when things reallystart to get interesting. To go further than that would risk spoiling the story,but we can say that the plot is really topnotch this time around and has threealternate endings.

Graphically, the game is a huge jump from the original. The towns are larger,the character sprites are more detailed, and the field map is gorgeous. You seeweather effects such as rain and drifting clouds, wandering animals and jumpingfish, and plants blowing in the breeze. If you have any experience with the best16-bit RPGs for the SNES, like Final Fantasy VI orChrono Trigger, you getthe idea.

The characters are completely new in the series, and have brand-new skills. Theonly exception is Ryu (who isn't the original Ryu, but basically has the sameskills). Like the original Breath of Fire, certain areas of the game areonly accessible by using the skills of your party members. For example, one ofyour members can turn into a frog, and can ferry you across rivers and streams.

Among the changes to Breath of Fire II is that fishing and hunting havebigger roles; they're now minigames that require technique and reward with itemsthat can advance the story. An animated monster image shows up on the field menuto give you an idea how often you'll encounter the baddies--nice for avoidingall those random battles. There's also the new Guts stat, which will sometimesallow a character to fight even when he should be knocked out. The two coolestadditions are town creation (where you get to build and populate your own town),and the new fusion system, which allows your characters to "fuse" with shamansthat you encounter, thus joining and augmenting their powers. In a nutshell,this game improves upon the best parts of the original. --Bryan Karsh

Pros:

• Character fusion
• Fishing and hunting minigames
• Town creation
• Save anywhere
• Trade items via link cable
• Improved graphics, sound, and music

• Ryu doesn't actually make contact when he attacks

Reviews (31)

Ahh!Need Water!O_o
Breath of Fire 2 was originally released for the Super Nintendo.Somehow, I managed to miss it when I had that system, so buying it on the GBA seemed like a natural move considering I'd heard a little about it from other gamers who played it, as well as some online reviews.

...This was a poor game to start the system off with (yes, this was my first GBA game)...

I know this was a direct port of the SNES version, so I went into this knowing it would retain SNES quality.For the most part, graphics and sound are average here.Nothing super extravagant, but nothing too bland either (sound is a bit below-average, though).

Gameplay is what killed me throughout playing this.Comparing this to several other RPGs (anything from Dragon Warrior games, to Final Fantasy games and so on).I'm still not able to figure out where this one went wrong.Here are my guesses, though:

- Horribly high amount of random battle encounters (and they even have an icon that tells you how high your probability of lots of encounters are).
- Unbalanced gameplay.Combat is more of a chore in this game compared to any other old school RPG.
- Weak attacks.A huge majority of the characters are practically useless, and what's even worse is the shaman system employed partway through the game, which fixes some of these issues, is dispersed if your characters get too low on HP.Not to mention most of the spell casters good attacks are just magic, and even then Ryu (the main character) still does more damage than them.
- Over-reliance on certain attacks.Even though most RPGs tend to make you favor certain attacks, this one does it to the point of monotony.
- Poor exploration.Somehow, this world just wasn't all that enjoyable to journey across.In fact, somehow even the residents of the world aren't that interesting either.A shame, because it had lots of potential in my eyes because of the interesting diverse races (such as the winged people of Windia, and the dragon clan).

There are only two reasons I don't outright give this game the lowest score ever.For one thing, the story was quite interesting (even though the translation seemed to be mauled a bit).For another, it had a bit of humor in it, but nothing worth writing home about.

So, to sum this up, I cannot recommend this game to anyone.Whether you've been playing RPGs since before they were cool, or never heard of them, it would be best to skip this.There are lots of other much better RPGs on the GBA.

best rpg besides fire emblem
so i wanted a new rpg for my game boy and saw all of the reviews for breath of fire II. I instantly was begging to go to the local gaming store. At the begining it was bad you control this stupid midget guy and its in black and white. I thought i bought a bad game but i learned quickly dont get decieved by the begining after you come out of the forest its in color, well 1 problem solved. So you go along and eventually get caught up in a cave where a monster is that knocks you out for 10 years. yay im not a retard anymore. this game is awsome the battle sequences are cool and it is an excellent game.

storyline: 5/5

graphics: 5/5

controls: 5/5

gameplay: 5/5

even though ryu makes a slash in the air when he attacks and not the enemy, get over it other people dont. This is 1 of the best rpgs ever made, some other great rpgs are, final fantasy x, fire emblem, golden sun, harvest moon etc. really dont hesitate to buy. It will be 1 of the best buys youve ever made.

Randomness
A four and a half star game.Good graphics, interesting story line, awesome spells.The spells make the game.The only thing that bothers me is getting stuck in stupid and random places.I'm normally pretty good at video games but this one was over my head.The story line was pretty weird to. Who ever heard of killing evil fatty monsters? Messed up.The end bothered me to.I won't spoil it, but it basically says, Oh, you really didn't do what you thought you were going to do.Okay then.But I enjoyed it.

Keeps getting better
Arguably the best game in Capcom's RPG series, Breath of Fire II makes a seamless transition from the 16-bit Super NES to the small-screened Game Boy Advance. Although the game got smaller, it's still an engrossing adventure that no RPGer on the go should be without. BOFII is essentially an epic quest of self-discovery. As one of the fleeting kin of a group known as the Dragon Clan (so named for their ability to transform into gigantic fire-breathing things), you'll meet up with eight other diverse souls and embark on a quest to unlock the secrets of your past...and save the world in the process. The road is loaded with entertaining and challenging side quests that keep the game fresh and exciting-even when the narrative takes occasional trips to cliché-ville. Sibling rivalry, lost love, domineering parents-you name it, this game's got it all. The game's only flaw is the ease with which you can defeat bosses and reach the end of the game. Anyone who's ever played a turn-based combat system will immediately take to BOFII's antiquated slug-fests, but most of the time you'll just hit Auto-Battle. Despite an occasional tough opponent, you'll bulldoze over most monsters without breaking so much as a hand sweat. BOFII's plush sprite visuals are matched by an atmospheric music score that admirably gets the job done. Straightforward and simple controls solidly track your every move, too. In the realm of today's high-powered next-gen role-players, BOFII is an excellent time-killer-not to mention one of the better entries in the series.

GREAT DISAPPOINTMENT!!!
I bought this game a few years ago for the SNES after playing BOF1.I was looking for more of that wonderful gameplay in the first classsic game.I was terribly disappointed and I endorse the comments of the other reviewer from Valencia, CA USA.I quote them immediately below.

*******************
"The sequel to one of the best rpg games with the best story line is a total and complete flop. breath of fire 2 does not follow anything even remotly like a story and is not in any way realated to the first game.the game should have had some thing to do with defeating Tyr after she comes back at the end of Breath of Fire 1. the fighting is different and when i tried to select a enemy to fight out of 3 enemies, i ended up shooting myself. what is probably the worst part about fighting is when you meet a new enemy. you can't see how much health they have so it is frustarating not knowing how long until you kill them. the graphics are horrible and are worse than any game i have ever played. the hunting in this game is extremly disipointing and you spend the time waiting for a deer or boar to come out of the grass. if you are looking for a good RPG, play Breath of Fire 1 or Golden Sun"
*********************

Additionally, the storyline (what there is of it) is horrid.It is not even a true sequel, but seems to be an attempt by the company to simply capitalise on the success of the first without too much effort.In short people.Do NOT buy this game. ... Read more

Amazon.com Review

You don't have to be MacArthur to recognize that Advance Wars isone of the best strategy war games for any console. The game pits four fictionalcity-states in a battle for territory. Your job as commanding officer is todefeat the enemies in turn-based combat over land, air, and sea. AdvanceWars has a stiff learning curve, but its interactive tutorials can turn thegreenest GI into agreat leader of pixelated men. AW also offers manymultiplayer options, including the ability to play against a friend by passingthe GBA back and forth. To extend the possibilities, you can also create newbattlefields and trade them with others. Despite cutesy visuals, this is a verydeep game that is also accessible. For GBA generals looking to flex theirtactical muscles or anyone looking for a simply great GBA game, look no further.--Mark Brooks

Pros:

• Clear and informative graphics
• Ideal interface for the tiny GBA screen
• Lots of multiplayer and customization options.

• Misleadingly cute box art (this is not a game for tots!)

Reviews (230)

Best turn-based strategy I've ever played
You take on the role of a Commanding Officer (CO) in a cartoony world at perpetual war with itself. Easy to get into, and deceptively deep. Advance Wars is strategy at its best. What makes it so special? First, the graphics are great. The animations are instant gratification when a well-timed attack turns the tide of battle, help you visualize battle results in several ways so you know exactly how your units are doing. Second, the options for multiplayer are excellent. Because the game is turn based, 4 players can play together even on only one system. Grab a friend, and enjoy the anticipation of having the system handed back to you and seeing your opponent smirk as you stumble into their trap (playing on seperate systems can be done, but isn't nearly as fun).

The most important facet of this game is depth. Fog of War (where parts of the map your units can't see are blacked out) makes for intensity- you're always trying to calculate what forest or hilltop might contain enemy units waiting for you. The basics of troop movements give way to incredible strategy (delay the enemy tank by sacrifing your troops, or retreat and lure the tank into range of your artillery?). Each CO is completely unique (Max has stronger tanks, but weaker artillery. Sami has tougher troops, but weaker vehicles) and thier individual powers add an extra level of depth to the process.

Advance Wars is an amazing game for singleplayer action. Add in a full-featured map creator, a ton of unlockable COs, and the wealth of options, and this is one of the best multiplayer games on the GameBoy. A must-have.

War Chess
This game is basically chess, with more units, you can move all of your units per turn, and you can create units.It is challenging, but it is very fun.Not to mention its a gameboy game, so you can play it anywhere :)

Another Review To The Other 190 Out Of 229!!!!
Like the REAL people out there said: awesome, thrilling, attractive, exiciting, strategic, "A two thumbs up!", "A never put down until your through!!!", "THE BEST!".

Bum, dum, dum, bum (drum beating for background music). "The best high firepower strategy game yet!!". ADVANCE WARS. Now being bought...SO BUY IT!!!!!

PS: And what boy would not think Sami is sexy?!?

A Great Turn Based Strategy Game
Advanced Wars is everything you could ask for in a strategy game. If you're like me and you love turn based strategy then look no further, Advance Wars is definately up to par with the host of other tactical RPGs for GBA. While it's not an rpg by any means i can't see anyone who likes Final Fantasy Tactics not falling in love with this game. I love turn based strategy and Advance Wars is definately pretty high up on the list of must owns for the genre.

The lack of an RPG element (which has pretty much taken over turn based strategy games in recent years) is somewhat of a blessing. Don't get me wrong i enjoy building up characters but it's definatly a nice change of pace to be able to just jump in and start playing without worrying about much else.

It's also worth mentioning that Advance Wars is fairly difficult.The extensive tutorial while somewhat annoying in its length is probably necessary for the vast majority of gamers. There are quite a few battles where one mistake will easily put you out of commission.

Advance Wars definely deserves 5 Stars

Frickin' Addicting!
Man ... I just got totally sucked into this game.It's a lot of fun.Not an action game at all ... you have to use your head.I think if you liked Pikmin for the GC, you'll like this game.And, I'll go the other way on this one then too ... if you like this game ... make sure you get Pikmin on the GameCube. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

This is a special limited-edition, platinum-colored Game Boy Advance console.

When you first pick up the Game Boy Advance system, you'll be amazed at how little it weighs. At fewer than 5 ounces and a little larger than a deck of playing cards, the system easily fits into a shirt pocket without any sag. The GBA's wider shape fits better into a wider range of hands. The former design too often pushed the left and right thumb knuckles together during gameplay. The new layout is comfortable for all ages, and the center screen orientation makes it easy to see.

Game Boy Color owners will find the GBA's larger screen somewhat darker than they're used to, but that's because the screen is outfitted with antiglare technology. Like the old Game Boy Color, the color LCD is not backlit, so you need pretty good light to play by. Unlike that system, though, you won't be craning your neck and tilting the unit to see around the hot-spot reflection of the light bulb in your screen.

But you'll also notice the graphics. Sporting what's basically a redesigned SNES technology, you'll see things on the GBA that you see on big consoles, such as scaling (making objects larger or smaller) and rotation effects--technological advances that will affect the look of everything from crossing a finish line to throwing a touchdown pass to crawling through a dungeon. ... Read more

Reviews (47)

Gameboy Rules!
First of all,I want to make it clear that I'm not giving this 5 stars because it's platinum but because it's gameboy.I would have given it 5 stars if it was blue,too.The point is that I just love gameboy.I have a GBC too and I still love it as much as I love my GBA.If anyone was ever going to get a game console,I'd reccomend a GBA.

WOW
this was a realy cool hand held system especially if your playing Golden Sun 1 & 2

Game Boy Advance Review
This is the greatest handheld system over. The game are cool because they come all other consoles too. I mean like there making the PS2 hit Grand Theft Auto 3 for GBA, Super Monkey Ball Jr. from Gamecube,and ect. It has a 32-bit processor and GBC only has a 8-bit processor. There are some sick accessories now so you can turn it into a tv, digital camera, mp3 player, radio, and more. You have to get this. The top 10 games are * Super Monkey Ball jr. * Tony Hawk Pro Skater 4 * Golden Sun * Mega Man Battle Network 2 * Zelda:A link to the past * Crash Banticoot: The Huge Adventure * Crash Banticoot 2: N-Tranced * Shaun Palmer's Pro Snowboarder * Spider-Man : The Movie * Mat-Hoffman's Pro BMX You have to get this thing now. p.s. Game Boy Advance SP is coming March '03 so you might want to wait for that. I hope you really invest in a GBA and a light you won't be sorry.

GBA Limited Addition Platnium
I love the GBA, and am amazed at all the cool things that are available for the GBA. At times I wish the graphics were better like that of the the Playstation 2. But you know the deal, want in one hand and ____ in the other. Ha!
seriously the GBA is truly great and the Platnium is a really good looking color, not so generic like that of the see through kind.
Only problems are finding the best light and screen protectors.
I got some screen protectors that are adhesive when applied it had a ton of scratches on itright out of the package.
And the Flood light eats batteries like you wouldn't believe.
The GBA is great because you can carry it anywhere ya want camping, long car rides to the beach. This smal investment in pleasure turns into a television to see your favorite shows, and turns into a digital camera so you can send pics to all your friends via email. It can't ggety any cooler than that.
Games for the GBA seem like there really geared to kids, but some are cool for adults, hey there are plenty of people in their late twenties who are still a kid at heart, but I think they should make a few geared towards us grown ups.
I think they should also make the Simms a GBA game aswell as a very realistic pin ball game that actualy looks like the real kind you play at the pizza joint, that would be cool.

GBA TOP RATES
GBA IS THE MOST INTERESTING HAND HELD GAME OF ALL TIMES. IT HAS GREAT COLOR AND LOADS OF NEW AND EXCITING GAMES THAT YOU CAN PLAY ON IT INCLUDING OLD NINTENDO GAMES. IT ALSO HAS GREAT EXTRAS THAT YOU CAN ADD ON TO IT TO MAKE YOUR GAME PLAY EVEN BETTER, GET GBA BECAUSE IF YOU DONT YOUR'RE MISSING OUT ON TONS OF FUN. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

This anthology of classic Atari arcade games consists of Asteroids, Battlezone, Centipede, Missile Command, Super Breakout, and Tempest. With the press of a button, you can switch between vertical and horizontal screen orientations to suit your tastes. Each game is faithfully reproduced and is just as easy and fun to play as the original. The anthology also comes with an Atari trivia game.

Game Descriptions:

• Asteroids: A triangular spaceship blasts away at a crowded field of asteroids, breaking them into smaller, faster chunks with new, hazardous trajectories.
• Battlezone: Fire at enemy tanks and hoverships in a vector-drawn landscape from the viewpoint of a tank commander.
• Centipede: Keep the garden safe from spiders, centipedes, and other pests as they squirm around mushrooms and approach the bottom of the screen.
• Missile Command: Defend your city and its military bases by destroying ballistic missiles that rain down from above.
• Super Breakout: Break through a multicolored wall by batting a ball off a paddle to destroy it one brick at a time.
• Tempest: Stop all manner of aliens from breaching a 3-D cylinder by firing on them from the rim of your spacecraft.

Features

• Six authentic Atari arcade favorites.
• Single or multiplayer action.
• Exclusive Atari Trivia Challenge game.

Reviews (16)

Back to the Future!20 years ago!
Remember when video games were in the arcades, and you had a pocket full of quarters?When Chuck E. Cheese was your favorite restaurant, and Aladdin's Castle was a place to hang out not a locale in a Disney flick?If you do this game is for you! In it you will find faithful reproductions of Asteroids, Battlezone, Centipede, Missile Command, Super Breakout, and Tempest.No updates, no "arrangements", just straight up video games from the early 80s.

Most people have noticed the controls are an issue, and I agree they do hinder you sometimes.Missle Command and Centipede were designed for a track ball, and Super Breakout really needs a paddle.Using the directional pad takes some getting used to.I ended up playing this more on my GameBoy Player for the GameCube which made them a little easier.

But fans of these now primitive games/then innovative will be glad to see them again in any form.The games are simple and immediately playable and addictive.I am a fan of the retro games, and this package has some great ones.I love being able to play ASTEROIDS just as it was in the arcades - a bunch of white lines on a black screen with just a bass line going the whole time!Even the Atari 2600 improved on it with color!

You have to see this for what it is - the dawn of video games.Its nostalgia, a living museum where you can go back to a time when video games were mainly in arcades.You won't see dazzling graphics or complicated missions to complete.Mainly geometric shapes firing dots at each other.:-)But for some reason I love the games for being simple.Just shoot and stay alive as long as you can.And no tokens!

Disappointing
I was eagerly anticipating being able to play some of my favorite arcade games from the early 1980s.Unfortunately, the reality of playing them on a Gameboy is sorely disappointing.

The trackball-based games, Centipede and Missile Command, are the biggest letdowns.Using the Gameboy's directional control to emulate a trackball just doesn't work.Centipede works adequately at first, but the inability to make swift moves quickly becomes a handicap.Missile Command is just unplayable.In the arcade version I would typically get a five-figure score; on the Gameboy I'm lucky to make it past the first level.

Battlezone is okay, but the small screen makes targeting much too difficult.I never played Super Breakout in the arcades, but as with Missile Command, the awkward controls make it nearly impossible.Asteroids and Tempest are probably the most successful of the bunch, but that isn't saying much.

The Atari trivia game is just bizarre.Do people really know the names of Atari's designers?

Amazing Retro Reproductions
Both the look and sound have been captured perfectly in this Gameboy Advance version of Atari Ainniversary. Asteroids is perfect down to the look of the high scores. Same goes for the rest of the games---truly amazing considering how small the Gameboy screen is, but every detail is there. The only difference is in the control pad since all of the original games had different types of controls. But once you adapt and get used to the Gameboy controller, this is fun play for retro gamers.

Atari Avanced: by Jeff
Atari Advanced is a great game. It has six different classic arcade games so its hard to get bored of it because you have such a variety. The controls are very easy and simple so you can spend time playing not figuring out controls. The graphics arent good, but its really fun and thats all that matters. You can play exiting arcade games w/o having to pay a quarter every time!

Gaming Returns to Basics
If you compare against today's games, this might garner a 3-star. However, I really like some of the old games because they require more than many games today. This is a very good replica, so it garners a 5-star rating. My favorite is BattleZone (I spit on the recent arcade version of it). It requires good timing, precision and good use of resources (no, you cannot merely holding down on the fire button forever). These simple games beat 70% of the games on the market. ... Read more

Reviews (39)

Fun but falls flat on its face.
Sure the graphics are much more colorful than the last GBA Castlevania but the graphics and enemies look downright like cartoons in most parts.

Plus whats the deal with your main characters blue shadow?
I think that was a bit of a overkill.
And the magic system has been severely, and badly, toned down from the Castlevania: Circle of the Moon.

And the two identical castle system really lacks imagination and makes the game very very tedius near its end.
Exploring every area of the game TWICE does make the game longer but it definitely doesnt make it funner...

Depressingly Dissapointing
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance is Koji Igarashi's second take on the CV franchise (his first being the critically acclaimed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night for the Playstation). While many have dubbed this as "heir apparent to Symphony of the Night," I beg to differ.Even as SotN is one of my favorite games ever, and even as I am a Castlevania fan, Harmony of Dissonance (HoD) has come across as an incredibly disappointing gaming experience in many respects.

Please read: I love Symphony of the Night to death. I hate Harmony of Dissonance.

Displaying different play mechanics, level layout, atmosphere, and many other traits, it is quite radically different from SotN, and pretty much any other Castlevania.Is this good, or bad?We'll take a look and see.

Let's start out with the story and the beginning of the game.Juste Belmont, grandson of Simon, decides to follow his friend, Maxim, to the area where Maxim saw a castle appear out of nowhere, and where he believes their friend, Lydie, is being held captive.Could it truly be the legendary Castle Dracula?
The characters certainly have some personality, such as Juste's "newcomer" characteristics as a Vampire Hunter, but, overall, it's nothing special or deep.The dialogue in HoD is quite mundane and forgettable. Castlevania has never really been about story, but after SotN's excellent plot and nearly "biblically-quotable" dialogue that was pure gold, I'd hoped to see better from Igarashi than what is here.Sadly, the girl, Lydie, is just another pretty face with basically no personality, and who is basically seen in less than 1% of your game playing time.

I've heard a lot of people praise this game's graphics, and say they are incredible step up from CotM's.I will indeed say that the graphics are more varied than CotM's, in that CotM's look was basically was comprised of brick-walls/pillars background, one after another.Oddly enough, though, CotM evoked so much more atmosphere than HoD does.With its huge rooms, and majestic and shadowy architecture, it truly gave off a sense of your smallness and its magnificence, and was quite unlike anything I'd ever experienced before in a game.In short, CotM pretty much got it right in making me feel like I was in a castle of darkness, mystery, and evil.HoD, unfortunately, leaves behind all notion of atmosphere in its more varied locales (except in the Entrance and the Chapel), something that is crucial in a video game, especially in a series such as Castlevania. The Castle Treasury is the first biggest piece of evidence for this subject.Offering us a mainly drab, gray background with various bits of unexceptional detail, it is randomly interspersed with unique, yet still unsatisfying, backgrounds, like the crystal filled hallways, which pale in comparison to CV4's lovely treasury, and are pretty much boring in their own right.There is no real level of progression.Rooms feel so randomly connected and unrelated that one sometimes gets an unnecessary feeling of confusion or longing for some type of continuity or relation.The lack of transition rooms between areas makes this more potent.

Numerous examples of HoD's boring level design can be seen in the "Aqueduct of Dragons," HoD's "sewer area."Besides the areas' rooms being basically 2 rooms repeated over and over, the lack of pretty much any details that catch our eye is depressing.The exceptions to HoD's dominant drab areas are the Corridor in the Air/Sky Walkway (HoD's chapel), and the Cave of Skeletons.The Chapel is such a breath of fresh air.Lovely, curvy architecture fleshes out this area, and there are all sorts of neat details all over, such as the statues.The scrolling clouds effect from SotN is back, though in a less impressive version, yet it's still nice, if a little disappointing that they so blatantly ripped something off from SotN and didn't come up with something new.In the "Alternate Castle" Chapel (more on this later), as you get farther and farther up in the towers, lightning will flash, and shadowy faces will randomly appear in the windows.Inversely, it also breaks my heart that more of this care to detail and beauty couldn't be dispersed throughout more of the Castle.The Cave of Skeletons isn't really pleasing as it is interesting in some parts, in that there are nods to other Castlevanias in the various backgrounds, such as the skeletons of Slogra and Gaibon displayed on a wall in the lower parts of the level.Other than that, it's another one of the forgettable places in HoD.In HoD, to put it simply, the "real castle" is too colorful, and the "alternate castle" is just way too gray and uninteresting.Areas like the Luminous Cavern and the Room of Illusion in the Marble Corridor are meretricious and colorful to the point of neon-vulgarity.Some may like this; I found it to be rather repulsive.HoD gives up the feeling of being in a true castle to the idea that certain aspects have to grab your attention, no matter how unattractive it is in its display, and in so, loses that subtle, wonderful progression of your realization of the surrounding environment, which SotN and CotM so excellently displayed.

Level design...something very, very crucial in games.It can make or break a game.Sure, a game can have spectacular gameplay mechanics and other special features, but can be brought down significantly by shoddy level layout (Lament of Innocence, I'm looking at you).HoD has some parts that are just great and fun to traverse, like the Chapel area, but ends up failing miserably on almost all accounts with its extremely repetitious nature.80% of the time, the room you'll be in will be some straight corridor with nothing to do but pretty much run down it and kill the small number of enemies populating it.Without a doubt, the low point of HoD's level layout is its vertical rooms, which, unfortunately, make a lot of appearances, including the infamously bad "elevator rooms."A description of these rooms are as follows: a room, which basically consists of a vertical route with multiple levels which you reach by walking to the left to, jumping up, walking to the right, jumping, walking to the left, and so on to get to the top.These are just horrifically, mind-numbingly boring rooms, and really detract so much from the experience.You'd have to experience them to see what I am describing.The Clock Tower is chock full of these rooms, some of the biggest ones in the game, in fact, and, as such, is one of the most dull areas in HoD.Other things that come to mind are the "Skull Doors," doors that require a certain key in order to get past them, and which are placed in your way to, more or less, make backtracking to areas even more difficult and less convenient.They're not blocking anything interesting, like some helpful equipment or armor.They're merely there just to extend the game's playing time by making the player needlessly backtrack through areas the player does not want to go through again, since they block off entrances which would make transitioning from area to area much easier.I'm all for backtracking, as the previous "Castleroids" are full of it.But, HoD just has such a boring and strangely laid out Castle when compared to SotN and CotM that it's more of a chore than a pleasure.As a whole, Harmony of Dissonance feels very unfinished and unplanned in the execution of the castle's layout.It's impractical in its design.

HoD's alternate castle is not turned upside down like the one in SotN.It pretty much is the exact same thing, with slightly different enemies and color schemes.HoD's alternate castle has different items to collect in different places, and different bosses, and that's about it.This time, it's crucial to traverse through it in order to beat the game, whereas in SotN it's more of a joyful revelation.As HoD's castle was not interesting to me, finding out that I had another nearly identical castle to explore was more of an unpleasant surprise than a godsend.

Exploring the castle is closely tied in with gameplay, and how the game feels, so I'll move onto that, next.You'll instantly notice that Juste feels "airy" when compared to CotM's protagonist, Nathan.His jump is more "floaty," and right from the get-go, he already slightly runs.Each shoulder button on the Game Boy Advance is used for the new dash feature, which allows Juste to slide across the ground in a burst of speed, either to traverse through areas more quickly, or to dash back from an enemy's attack.However, I felt that the dash attribute really dumbed the game down to feel like you're ice-skating through the castle.That's not something you want to be reminded of when you want atmosphere.You will pretty much use the dash feature to go everywhere.Why walk when you can dash?It was just an unpleasant experience for me that felt overused.It was almost as if the developers wanted you to rush through all the areas in hopes that you wouldn't notice the startlingly unimpressive level design.Juste loses in terms of his whip-handling skills when compared to Nathan, as when you whip and jump, you cannot change your direction until you land.This, obviously, leads you to accidentally jump into the enemy more than you care for.A lot of the time I just felt like the character was controlling me, not him.Not a good thing.This game controls nothing like SotN, or CotM.Don't believe otherwise.

On to the designs of the main character and enemies.Again, Juste loses in terms of believability and fluidity when compared to Alucard and Nathan.His gait is quit humorous and graceless, comparable to someone doing a strange type of running workout.His falling animation is quite pathetic as well.Hair half turned up, as well as his coat, and his legs completely vertical, it's actually quite comedic to see in action.While he has more frames of animation than Nathan, his actions are much less believable, and look more outlandish.There is also the sense that parts of Juste are too large or goofy looking, such as his hands.Iga chose to put some type of blue glow around Juste, and give him an after-image, as well.I suppose this was to let the player see him easier, but this made me cringe; first of all, it's ripping off Alucard's trademark of essence trailing out behind him (though it is still a lot less graceful than Alucard's), and second of all, it just looks too bright and silly.It really just doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.I would've been able to see him just fine without it.

Some of the enemies are reused from SotN, though they're all a little less impressive looking, as the graphics are being displayed on a system with Super Nintendo capabilities, not Playstation.Generally, though, the legion of enemies this time is much less impressive than SotN's and CotM's.Perhaps this is due to most of them being comprised of variations of a single enemy, such as the Skeleton enemy, or the Living Armor.I was left feeling unimpressed.The enemies' A.I. is stupid and non-aggressive for the most part, and they usually won't attack until you wait a few seconds, and when they do attack you, they hurt very little.There are no "super enemies" in this game, like the Guardians from SotN, and the Dark Armor from CotM.The bosses are equally lame, usually not moving around much, always extremely easy, and having uninspired designs, such as the "Biggie" enemies, like the Giant Merman, or Peeping Big.Only three bosses caught my eye.It's evident that all the bosses in HoD were made merely to show off the G.B.A.'s capabilities, rather than to present a fun or challenging fight.

HoD is quite possibly the easiest game I've ever played.SotN was easy, too, but made up for it by being pretty much perfect in all other aspects.CotM was going the right direction with its difficulty, exploration and combat-wise.For HoD, the only slight difficulty one may encounter during the travel through the castle is finding all of Dracula's Relics, and probably the final Spell Book.As far as status effects go, "Poison" basically has no effect in HoD, whereas CotM's poison status was a beast."Curse" status makes Juste walk slower and unable to use his dash move.As I mentioned before, the enemies are all very easy to defeat and don't require much thinking, if any.Bosses are complete pushovers.A majority of them are big, and, sadly, that's all they have going for them.Most boil down to you whipping them in one spot, dashing back from one of their slow attacks, and then coming back to whip them mindlessly.The worst boss of all is probably Max Slimer, who never has gotten an attack in on me.All one has to do is crouch right next to it and whip it until it dies.It's all very dull, and there is never any sense of accomplishment when you defeat a boss.It's all made more annoying by the fact that some have a lot of HP, but don't present any challenge.Don't think that it's easy just based on the enemies; you can find so many potions and healing items in rooms and from dead enemies that you'll never really worry about your condition.As this game is like an RPG in the leveling up aspect, it's disappointing that it's pretty much impossible to get past the level 50s, considering basically every monster gives only 1 EXP once you reach the levels near the 50s. This gives the player very little incentive to fight monsters later on.First of all, any item that en enemy may drop can be merely bought from the merchant or found in the castle in easy to find spots.Also, enemies won't drop weapons like they did in SotN, as your only weapon in HoD is a whip, so that is another reason to not kill them.Suddenly, the enemies become mere speed bumps.

Remember how you had to work really hard or get really lucky to get the best equipment in SotN and in CotM?Remember killing the 100th Guardian and finally getting the God's Garb, or beating the Battle Arena and getting the Shining Armor, and feeling that great sense of accomplishment or excitement?Well, not here.Merely get to a certain area by doing a special jump, and voila, there is one of the most powerful armors in the game.I can't tell how much this gave the game an anti-climactic feeling, especially when I got the best armor basically handed to me.There are many whip types; some are characterized by Elemental attributes, but this still doesn't make a difference.I switched up my Fire attachment for a Lightning attachment during the Giant Merman fight, and noticed only about a 5 or 10 damage difference.It's all very negligible and useless.The only helpful whip is the one that breaks apart the occasional cracked barrier that is in your way.Why does HoD have so many pointless things?Another thing that detracts from HoD's experience is that you won't be getting any cool items to use, like SotN's Power of Sire, or the Monster Vials.You'll find none of those great trinkets here in HoD.This game just gives you healing items as things to use.

There is a merchant this time around; unfortunately, he has absolutely no value in this game.The only things he'll ever sell to you that are remotely interesting are the Spring Boots, which let you jump forever, but even this is useless.You're handed so many potions and good armor during the course of the game, the merchant is rendered obsolete, ultimately.

Feeling he needed to best the DSS Card System from Circle of the Moon, Iga has implemented his own gameplay gimmick, the Spell Book Fusion system.As you traverse through the Castle, you'll come upon books of different Elemental qualities, such as the Wind Book.By equipping these books with certain sub-weapons (such as the Cross, Holy Water, Dagger), you can trigger certain spells.For instance, if you combine the Ice Book with the Bible, you can trigger a series of shockwaves to spread out on either side of you, damaging all enemies on the ground, and in the air, if they're low enough.While the Spell Book system sounds good on paper, in actuality, the Magic spells are simply too powerful, and there is no real "penalty" for exploiting the system. You regain MP at a quick rate, and you use little to no Hearts when you cast spells in combination with your Sub-Item. Most bosses fall within a few spell casts. Once you find the Wind Book and Cross combo, any challenge the game ever had (which is basically none at all) is gone. The worst part is that normal Sub-Items become entirely useless. One of the cornerstones of the series has suddenly become obsolete.On top of this is the fact that none of the Spell Books are hard to find; basically, you'll walk into a room, and it will be sitting right there.This also ties into the fact that HoD is nearly rid of any kinds of secrets, except for three.SotN was full of breakable walls, ceilings, and floors all over, and CotM had an incredible amount of hidden rooms, some that were truly very difficult to discover.Why HoD loses this aspect of exploration, I have no idea.

The music...yes, indeed.HoD sports what is probably the most controversial soundtrack ever in the series.The developers of HoD claimed that in order to achieve the certain graphics they got in the game, the sound department had to take a hit, rendering HoD's soundtrack on the same sound quality level of Gameboy or NES music.Having played Aria of Sorrow as well, I can't understand how this works, as AoS's graphics are notably better than HoD, yet the sound quality in AoS is significantly better sounding, quality wise, than Harmony's.As a side note, let me say that I rather enjoy the Castlevania NES soundtracks.Though they're chock full of the "beeps" and "boops" of the glory days, Castlevania 1, 2, and 3 all manage to produce probably the best soundtracks for any games on the Nintendo Entertainment System.The sound wizards at Konami managed to pump out some seriously fitting tunes for the games.

Now comes HoD, more than a decade later.As I've mentioned before, the songs for the Entrance and Marble Corridor are both pretty good.HoD is a departure from the preceding recent Castlevanias, in that it has a very action oriented soundtrack.While SotN had a wide variety of music, it mostly was melancholy.The N64 games were atmospheric forays into the world of music for Castlevania, and CotM brought back a lot of the old tunes, and demonstrated a very majestic and "large" score.As I've also pointed out, the music begins to take a dip when one reaches the Castle Treasury.While it could be said that the early Castlevanias were action soundtracks, too, they beat out HoD in every aspect, as HoD fails in presenting fitting songs, and even some awfully composed ones.The bottom of the proverbial barrel in HoD's soundtrack is the Clock Tower theme, which is odd, considering most Castlevanias' Clock Tower themes are usually one of the highlights of the games' scores.Starting off interestingly for perhaps the first few seconds, it slowly morphs into a sea of depressing sounds.The climax is truly something that needs to be heard in order to comprehend its horror; ripe with squeals, whines, and, funny enough, dissonance, it's the main song that makes me turn off the sound of my GBA when it comes on.Castlevania shouldn't make one turn off the sound; rather, it should make one turn it up.The Luminous Cavern's song apparently is trying to go for a dark and mysterious feel, and starts out interestingly enough, but it ends up being extremely repetitive.In the Chapel, like some others, the melody starts off very originally and beautifully, sounding almost like a Gameboy quality SotN-grade song with its almost sad, ebbing notes.Sadly, it degenerates into a speedy mix of opposing beats and melodies about halfway in, which really is out of place for an area such as the Chapel.It just feels too fast-paced and un-focused.Those are a few examples, but overall, I wasn't that impressed with the score.It was too drab and out of place, and even depressing.Castlevania 4 perfected the "depressing" music of a Castlevania game, but still maintained an incredible amount of atmosphere and beauty in its soundtrack.Again, I'm not taking points off because of the sound quality (which doesn't help, either), but because the songs failed to evoke very much emotion with me and weren't memorable.It had too much of a fast and active feeling soundtrack for such an empty feeling castle.Experimental?Yes, very.Good?Depends on your tastes.

In trying to emulate SotN, HoD merely lets itself down by displaying itself as an inferior rip-off of an incredible game.It seems as though Iga thought he could throw in a bunch of stolen ideas from SotN and automatically make the game brilliant.However, these ideas weren't realized to their full potential, and, thus, create the feeling that the game is somehow incomplete, like a test version of a Castlevania game.Gone is the challenge; gone is the wide array of cool items; gone is the incredible music Castlevania is known for; gone is the genius level design; gone is the atmosphere; gone is that "Castlevania magic" that makes this series so endearing; gone are a lot of aspects, which ultimately make HoD a failure of a Castlevania game, and a very, very mediocre game on its own.

A great adventure at times obscured by myriad blemishes.
Harmony of Dissonance (HoD, for the contraction) begs to be compared with any and every Castlevania game that has appeared since the series began in 1986, but despite the large number of cameos and overall classic feel it is best to ultimately judge this title on its own merits, providing comparisons merely for reference. It accomplishes what it sets out to in providing a gameplay experience that has some incredibly strong points and a variety of goals, but tastes as though it has had some artifical extenders added into the mix.

The GBA's shoulder buttons allow you to dash left or right at nearly any time, setting an emphasis early in the game on making an attack quickly and dashing away. Tellingly, there aren't any poisoned waters you will be collecting a necklace to treat; while many upgrades will be familiar from Circle of the Moon (CotM, Konami's 2001 GBA Castlevania), Harmony of Dissonance adds some of these essential items as whip upgrades and effectively integrates them into the game. In place of CotM's DSS card system is a new Spell Fusion system which allows the player to use only the classic subweapons (a dash of holy water or a thrown axe in your enemy's face) or to pair a subweapon with a particular type of elemental magic to great effect. Inscrutable enemy tolerance/weakness come into play once again, but an Encyclopedia of fallen enemies will help you figure out what's helpful - though the trouble of changing your whip upgrade or Spell Fusion combo is usually greater than simply whipping away at the enemy would be. As a bit of a spoiler, at least one combination allows you to rotate your d-pad to get something extra out of the attack, and it's also possible to use one type of music by itself (though you must lose the subweapon first - can you figure that one out?)

The magic and item systems are responsible for the wealth of "bosses are easy" comments. Played in a traditional fashion without magic or using healing items during battle, Harmony of Dissonance is indeed challenging. Even with some use of the Spell Fusion system against bosses, they absorb many hits before you can finally vanquish them and their attacks often deplete a fourth of your life meter or more.

HoD also differs from Circle of the Moon in that characters are is much larger than in CotM, while areas are smaller in scale and don't feature the same panoramic vistas of that other title. HoD provides, pixel for pixel, more variety and actual content in all areas despite this.

At release, HoD was considered to be a significant step up from CotM in terms of graphics with many highly detailed backgrounds taking the place of CotM's usually repetitive ones (in addition both games have paralax scrolling in many areas). Visibility is now less of an issue with the introduction of the GBA SP and the GB Player, but at the time the "neon castle" approach was very appropriate (it reminds one of the original Rastan arcade game in a way), and fans were relieved for the reprieve against visits to the eye doctor and purchasing Afterburner kits. Harmony goes overboard with tons of large artwork pieces to be found that fill a good section of the screen and many large details filling in parts of the environment - it actually manages to compete with the third GBA Castlevania, Aria of Sorrow. Unfortunately, this game also contains some amazingly ugly and repetitive areas; a few of the game's tallest shafts are nothing but a series of floors to jump onto over and over, with a slow elevator in the middle. Harmony would have been served better to have some of these less interesting areas spruced up a bit; a few superfluous elements to the game should've been axed to make it happen. The save rooms in particular simply look pathetic, with a silly bouncing ball in the middle. The sprites for the three main characters also aren't anything to look at; your hero's running animation is comical. Overall, though, many of the trippy graphical ideas come off excellently.

HoD has taken a severe pounding for its music. Notably lower in quality than Circle of the Moon's neat music which at times sounded on par with the SNES; the reasoning here is that to provide the (usually) incredible graphics they had to fall back to PGM sound - basically back to programming sound for the Game Boy Color. Given this, the music sounds very good, with some incredibly strong tracks such as Successor of Fate (the Entrance theme), Offense and Defense (the next area BGM), and Chapel of Dissonance (the Sky Walkway area BGM) is rather nice as well. That said, some of it might be favorably described as a strange attempt to set the mood (the Luminous Caverns track)...or simply unpleasant to listen to and even depressing. This is a mixed bag, but Juste's Theme (the Entrance Theme again) has become a personal favorite from not only the game but the series.

There are some other minor quirks, and the game employs a trick to allow more of the same castle to be visited (along the lines of SotN). I felt that this idea was executed brilliantly overall; sometimes the changes are quite stunning and unexpected. On the down side, some interesting references to previous Castlevania games in the item list were botched for the English translation - Sypha (the female magician from Castlevania III) became Cipher, and a curious item that allows you to fling fireballs from your whip when at full health is no longer called Christoper's Soul. There's also a bit of (humorous!) unedited translation in the script that should keep you chuckling. The "true endgame" is very hard to find and figure out, but the pieces are all within your reach early on.

This is a great game - not great enough to make one a fan of bangles and room decoration, but it's a solid game overall with some incredible moments that few other games have.

good... but there are better...
Being a long time castlevania fan, I was really excited about this game. I however was somewhat disapointed with it. What the game gets right is great play controll, cool areas, some neat items and a neat gothic-vampire-esque story. But this game has almost no difficulty (except for collecting ALL of the relics... that is a chalenge)... To be honest, the only time I died was while playing the final boss, and even then, that death could have been easily avoided if I had used one of my 13 potions. The magic system in the game is ok, using spell books with weapons to create powerful magic, but these spell books are too easilly obtained (except for the last book, the summoning tome, which reqires a little bit of searching)and just a little too powerful. The bosses are also VERY uninspired and boaring compared to previous castlevania bosses. The game is a great time killer and is fun, but if you are looking for some gothic, vampire slaying action, You should probably look at Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, or Castlevania lament of Innocence.If you're a fan, then pick it up ..... but if not, you might want to consider another castlevania game.

Castlevania continues it's reign of quality
The Castlevania series are my favorites, for sure, and this one's another gem for the collection.This one's about Juste Belmont, blood descendant of Simon Belmont,a master vampire hunter who has slayed the Count on multiple occassions. The plot is different than just slaying Drac though. Juste's friend Lydie has disappeared within the walls of Castlevania,and Justeand
his childhood friend MaximKischne setout tofind her, yeteverything endsup goingawry somehow...Just to boot, Maxim's body is invaded byDracula's spirit...BUT...Thereal aim of this game is to find all of Dracula's Remains(Fang, Tooth, Nail, Ring, Eye, Heart) though most players will not realize this without help froma strategy guide of sorts...

As for the actual review, there are a variety of things right and wrong with this game. To boot, we have superb graphics, boasting some of the most vivid, easy-on-the-eyes background scenery on the Game Boy Advance, but the blue aura surrounding Juste makes him seem somewhat out ofplace. Not to mention when he walks and jumps, he seems like he'smagnetically attracted to the ground-but that's a completely seperate problem!

The castle is huge. There's so much to explore, and I'm glad they brought back the teleporter system, which predecessor Circle of the Moon sloppily butchered.There are two castles, one being a harder version of the other (a Symphony of the Night element.) with greater puzzlesandchallenges. Everything's easy to adjust to, andit never seems like you have to guess where you'regoing, which is another thing Circle of theMoon didwrong. Alsobrought back is the currency system with the Merchant's Shop though the items are a little cheap...which can add or take away challenge depending on what the player wants...even though the game is challenging without being strenuous as it is.

The music is well orchestrated, but the sound quality is a throwback to the days of NES. A select few compositions are simply superb, while the rest are mediocre. Listen closely for the one in the Sky Walkway, which is haunting. Moving on...

The bosses are redundant and oftenpointless (Gettinga jewel that inreases MP restoration rate for getting rid of one of the game's harder bosses for example...and MP is not important) but some areuniqueand well-thought of (the Devil, for example.)Death (Grim Reaper) also makes a lovely appearance (or four) One thing they stole from Symphony, however, that they shouldn't have is the cheesy dialouge. Yes, it's back. Misplaced curse words and utterly stupid scriptwriting at some points add a flavor of kiddy gameplay to the game- not that the game is, however, a kiddy game. My biggest qualm, however, is that thegame is simply a pain (...) few points, if that tells you anything. Some enemies have no pattern to them, hence, they're so unpredictable that it makes the game frustrating.But you'll adjust over time, and thegood faroutweighs the bad. The best of the three Castlevania GBA games, by far, if simply for the replay value (very, very high...) and the overall quality. It would have made asuccessful Playstation game. The 2nd best in the series, in my opinion, even with the negative points.

BOTTOM LINE: Harmony of Fun
GRADE: A ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Based on the popular PlayStation2 title, Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars is a 2-D, turn-based strategy game in which players take control of an army of trucks, tanks, fighters, and giant anime-styled robots, called LEVs, to fight for liberation as part of the Mars underground resistance. Players must carefully select their actions, move around large battlefields, and think tactically when engaging enemy units. Battle experience will make you more powerful, and you will be able to optimize and upgrade your units. ... Read more

Reviews (20)

One of the Best GBA Games
ZOE: The Fist of Mars is easily one of the best Game Boy games ever made. The story is intriguing as are the characters. The graphics are very good during Battle Sequences and cut scenes. For any fan of anime series with giant robots, some romantic elements and plot twists, this is one game you have to buy. Even if you're not a big fan of anime, this game is still worth your money. Outside of the battle sequences, primarily in the map, the graphics aren't very good. The landscapes are not well made. Most of the scenarios are also simple, destroy all enemies maps. There is also a hands-on element called the IAS which allows you to go inside the cockpit of your vehicle to either dodge or hit an enemy vehicle. While this can become tedious and prolongs the fight, you can turn this off along with battle animations, which brings me to the next point in this game. The battle sequences are amazing and are some of the best elements in this game. The scene shows a highly detailed animation of your vehicle performing its attack. The game runs HEAVILY on story and plot, and players who don't like to read and want to get right down onto the battlefield should NOT buy this game. To enjoy it the most, you must have PATIENCE and read through all the scenes.

I think this is a very enjoyable game
addmittedly, once you can aim well it is a little easy but it is still really, really fun.get it if you don't have anything else to get. : )

For Anime/Mech fans.
This game is classified as strategy, yet the game takes no strategy to win. The game is VERY easy even for people who have never played strategy games before. The enemies are very easy to beat and the missions usually consist of "Eliminate the Enemy" objectives. In addition, the IAS system (which is basically a targeting minigame) basically lets you choose whether or not you want to be hit or hit the enemy. If you use the IAS all the way through the game you can beat the game without ever getting hit once. The only problem is that the IAS becomes tedious and annoying, so you'll turn it off midway, and the game will still be a piece of cake.

So why did this game win a place in my hcollection? Because it's absolutley beautiful. The battle animations are wonderful and very pleasing to the eye. The mech designs are very cool, and you grow to care for each one, like a collector's item. The battlefields are well detailed as well. The CG pics are far and few inbetween, but put the cherry on the sundae. And to top it with sprinkles, Konami added an amazing musical score to the game, making you feel each part of the game through the music. When a hyper-insane mad-scientist is burning down a city, the music depicts the atrocity and horror through the music, making you all the more eager to stop him.

But the main draw is the story. The game is played through a mission-by-mission basis, but seems more like episodes to an amine series. The game starts out with lots of mysteries and finishes off with 2 different endings, making the game even more replayable. The dialouge inbetween missions help you relate to and get to know the characters and you actually care for what happens to them next. Not many plot-twists, but the story remains constantand well contructed till the end. Very little cheesiness here. My favorite part of the dialouge are the character portraits that come up when a each charater is talking. Each character has 3-8 pics for different emotions, and they are beautifully drawn. The story itself is very well translated and flows smoothly.

So click "Add to cart", and get yourself some headfones too, because this is a theatrical experience for any anime fan, but too easy for a strategy buff.

Depends on the player
After reading all the reviews, and playing the game five or six times, I have come to a conclusion.

You must enjoy anime and /or manga as well as plot to enjoy this game.

I read about ZOE in a magazine, and it stood out. I decided to pick it up a few weeks later, and I played through the entire game in a matter of weeks.
This videogame has extroadinarily long cut scenes, followed by midlength battle sequences. If you like story, great, if you like alot of shooting, not so great.

Don't pay attention to the E status on there, this has quite a few swears, and some adult situations, though you must understand that all of it is written.

I must urge those who say this game has no replay value to try it again. I have played three times so far, and I have gotten two different endings, though I am sure there are more.

If you want a videogame from Nintendo that encompasses all the aspects of life that people like to glaze over, death,..., and sorrow, then get it. I did, and found one of the only games by Nintendo of it's kind.

As I said, it's all about what you want. It all depends on you.

Greatest game for the GBA ever
This is my favorite GBA game of all time. It's great but a little short (I beat it in a few hours). Other than that I think it's the best game for the GBA.Thanks for reading my review. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Building on the superb 2-D graphics, fluid animation, and vibrant backdrops of its predecessor, Street Fighter Alpha 3 promises to take the handheld beat-'em-up series to new heights. Along with the array of classic special moves, combos, blocks, and counters, this installment boasts more than 30 playable characters (including mainstays Chun-Li and Guile), 12 fighting modes, three new fighters, three fighting styles for each player, and a head-to-head game mode via the Game Boy Advance link cable (two copies of the game are required). ... Read more

Features

• The definitive Street Fighter classic, now on the Game Boy Advanced System
• Over 30 characters to choose from
• Choose from 3 different fighting isms for every character to perfect your fighting style
• Play head-to-head with a friend using the Link cable

Reviews (20)

Great Game on the go!!!!!!!!!
This is a very close port of the original SFA3 arcade game. The game really shows off the power of the GBA pretty well. The fighters move smoothly and all the little subtle animations are there too. Overall I was blown away at how good this looked on the GBA. The controls are a little hard to pull off but you do get used to it, I just forget about doing certain moves that are too hard and stick to the easy ones. Overall I would recomend this game if your a HARDCORE fighting game fan and need your fighting fix on the go!!!

Good translation ruined by controls
I'll keep this brief: If you want Street Fighter on the GBA, buySuper Street Fighter 2 Turbo Revival.That game handles the fact that the GBA only has 4 buttons by letting you assign punches and kicks to brief-vs-long button presses.It's not ideal, but it works.Alpha 3 doesn't even give you this option, instead it forces you to assign them to combinations of the triggers and the A&B buttons.Try throwing a fireball with L+B. It just doesn't work.I partially blame Nintendo for refusing to give a portable more than 2 face buttons, but I mainly blame Capcom for not giving you the brief-vs-long button assignment options.

near perfect
the games translates very well from console to handheld. all moves come over intact and graphics aren't too noticably scaled down. the only think i've noticed is that it is hared at times to do a combo correctly when the directional pad is smaller. that isn't a problem with the game though, just the gameboy. you may find it easier to use an older gameboy instead of an sp though.

Street Fighter In The Palm Of Your Hands
Street Fighter Alpha 3 is one of the best in the series but this port lacks its full potential because of its difficult controls. If only the game boy advance had 6 buttons instead of 4 this would be true to the arcade. It may take awhile before I can get use to these controls but so far its a great game.

Awesome game!!!!
I?ve been a SF fan for a long time.After purchasing my GBA earlier this year, I discovered that SF alpha for GB color does not play too well on the GBA.Well in response to the GBA?s screen glitch I purchased this version of the popular Capcom title, and I chose a winner!This game has more pack and punch than any SF game I have ever played!It just simply rocks!Some recommendations as to the choice of fighters that are poweful are:Choose Fei-Long, he?s a Bruce Lee imitator and almost fights like him.He?s my favorite character in this version, and typically pounds most of his opponents!Guy was extremely powerful in the GB color version, but in this version he cannot drop throw as easily like he could before.Purchase this game and have fun! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

The year is 1943. You are William "B.J." Blazkowicz, the Allies' bad boy of espionage. Your mission is to infiltrate the Nazi fortress and find the plans for Operation Eisenfaust, the Nazi's blueprint for building the perfect army. Captured in the attempt, you're taken to a Nazi prison where you await execution. However, you know where the plans are kept, and the Allies face a great defeat if you don't escape and risk the horrors of the prison known as Wolfenstein. Playing as an escaped prisoner in a Nazi war prison, you will move smoothly through a 3-D world full of guards, snarling canines, and rooms packed with Nazi treasure. With 60 action-packed levels full of secret passages and hidden rooms, Wolfenstein 3D for Game Boy Advance will appeal to audiences from the novice to the experienced.

Note: This is a rare M-rated GBA game, and is not appropriate for those under 17. ... Read more

Reviews (33)

Great classic!

I just bought this for the GBA, and for some reason, I prefer this over the chopped up version on my SNES. Granted, it is old, but who cares? This game is still addicting. The only flaw is the lack of music, but I can live without that. Overall, though, I highly recommend it.

It's true,Wolfenstein 3D is even out-dated on the GameBoy.
The worst FPS available for the GBA is Wolfenstein 3D.It's not the worst by much, Medal of Honor; Underground is pretty darn close.Wolfenstein 3D was the fifth FPS for the GBA but the first FPS ever to be released for any system.Bringing this title back from the dead probably wasn't such a good idea with games like Ecks Vs. Sever competeing with it.Doom and Duke Nukem were old games coming back to life on the GBA but those turned out so darn good.Those games featured beautiful graphics.Wolfenstein 3D's are just plain outdated and ugly, however not as ugly as Medal of Honor: Underground's.The game features the original 60 levels and 4 weapons.Only 4?Yes, I know, there were only 4 in the original but that is to little.This game is even outdated on the Game Boy.The game is still fun but there are a lot of better choices in the FPS genre for GBA.Trust me.

Great combat game
I have found the game to be quite challenging and involved. It appears to have a random action generator as I find the number and types of opponents varies, along with the damage you incur during the game, so if you don't succeed, try again as many times as it takes, eventually you get the hang of it. I think a game guide would be a very useful accessory for this game but I have been unable to locate one, at least so far. A game guide would be particularly good for the higher level on the last couple of missions. Frequent saves are a must with this game. Overall a great game that will keep you involved for hours. Probably not one you want to give the younger members of the family.

Doesn't stack up against Doom II or Duke Nukem
This is a 3D shooter classic, which many old Wolfenstein 3D fans may cherish. However, after playing Duke Nukem Advance and Doom II Advance, this game doesn't quite stack up. It is not a bad product at all, but it's just not as fun. The best games for GBA that I've found so far are the Mario Bros series, the Metroid series, Doom (I and II), Duke Nukem, Super Street Fighter II, Max Payne, and Tekken Advance. I don't want to buy every game for the GBA, and I suggest you don't either. I carefully read reviews and attempt to purchase only the best. Wolfenstein 3D is a good game, but not like the others mentioned; in my opinion it is not a must-have.

SEIG HELL!
The 1st(and one of the best)first-person shooters on GBA It is good, but not terrific.For those of you who think that graphics make the game, you will be very disapponted in Wolfenstein 3d.Flat bitmap characters and dated sound effects give this game a ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Spider-Man: The Movie takes players on a web-swinging adventure through more than 10 levels of obstacles, henchmen, and supervillains. Players scale buildings, swing over gaps, and fight baddies such as the Shocker, the Scorpion, and Spidey's archnemesis the Green Goblin with kung-fu moves and web blasts. ... Read more

Reviews (31)

Parents- Please Read
This review is not to critique the game and say if it's fun to play or not.I'm writing as a parent of a just-turned-6 year old boy who was loaned this game.While it is rated "E", and you may think it's safe for your kids like "Finding Nemo" or "Cat in the Hat" which are also rated "E".This game is VASTLY different.If you love your child and don't want him or her to see images of Spider-Man being ambushed by 5 gangsters with machine guns in the opening minutes of the game, then I'd suggest you pass on this one.
My son cried his eyes out for 5 minutes when I told him he couldn't play it anymore, but then happily went on to other activities.It was hard to tell him no, but I'm so glad I did the right thing.

Pack spidy up for the academy arwards.
Spider man is fun for me tell you get to let's say the 4th level.But It is a good game.The most challengeing level is the 2nd one.Here you can try to get out a collapsing building.Just remember to watch out for the bad guys.The sound is awsome.Unlike Pacman collection you can save your score and save the game.The color is nice exept in a dimm room It's hard to see without a GBA worm light [And I can see frogger in the same room].You need a plan to get into level 5 [which I haven't figured out yet] because you need stratgy to get to level 5 and keep your helth up. Kids under 6 probaly need to wait a year or two. In this game you can live the movie and have a ball.

Cool
I got this game for my birthday and I love it. Action, Villains, dying, absolutely no getting past Kraven The Hunter, But still. I like this game a lot, but I like the movie Better. Although it's rated E, it has more violence than Samurai Jack, rated T. I'm sorry that I couldn't make this longer, but like I said, I'm only up to Kraven The Hunter. But still, it's fun. Well, that's it. I hope this review has helped you and encourages you to get this GBA game cartridge.

Spiderman Game Boy Advance
This game was so cool, and it has variety of enemies so you won't get bored with this game. And this game sure will make you addicted (in a good way of course.) Anyway, what I'm trying to say was that this came was really COOL.........

4th Spidey Adventure is a must own
Starting back with the first Spiderman adventure for Gameboy color I have played all of Nintendo's spiderman games. All of them have been great and this is no exception.What I liked best was the brand new style they gave Spidey. It sets it apart from it's predocessors. And apart from a few lackluster bose battles (which are all original) there is great gameplay to be found. The makers don't delve too much into the big plot points of the movie but the story comes along nicley. Add that to tuns of secretrs to unlock and you have a unbeatable combination. Can't wait till Spideys next adventure. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

This handheld version of The Two Towers will allow players to take control of five characters: Aragorn, Legolas, Frodo, Eowyn, and Gandalf the Wizard. Over 30 levels per character will challenge each member of the Fellowship, bringing the grand total to over 150 levels in the entire game. Linked two-player actionis possible via the GBA link cable. ... Read more

Features

• Platform: Game Boy Advance
• ESRB Rating: Teen
• Genre: Action/Adventure

Reviews (90)

kick asssssssssss
this game rocks; i liked the ps2 version alot and i liked this almost; as much its really addicting; it kicks ass even if youre not a lotr fan; buy this game!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Patience
This game is okay. If you are a fan of Lord of the Rings and/or Action-RPG games then you might like it. Otherwise skip this game. The features, such as 5 characters and 100 levels sounds cool, but the game gets monotonous and very boring if played more than 15 minutes.


I sold this game. Yeah! I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!I sold this game. Yeah!



Sorry...couldn't help myself... Get Shining Soul II instead. It's much better!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good, but the character selsction sucks
This is a fun game, but why Eowyn? Why not Sam, or Gimli. This game would be awsome if the character selection was more like the ps2 version.

skull smashing
well I dont like that you can only swing your blade one time instead of combos.But this is a fun game to play even if you dont like LOTR you will enjoy it.You can also play as Gandalf,
Aragon,Legolas,Frodo,and Edowyn.Creatures pop up out of nowhere
and it gets you excited.You can pick up items such as super
swords or strong bows and equip them with your person.
You go up levels in the game by how many you kill and you
collect gems and use them to buy upgrade points.

Good game with a decent difficulty
This is a classic. As a devout LOTR fan, I was looking at LOTR stuff when I saw 'The Return of the King for GBA!'. I bought it after carefully reading reviews for FOTR, TT, and ROTK. Seeing that FOTR was not very popular and ROTK was declared "too hard" by many, I settled for TT. I'm glad I did.

TT is a solid game that runs pretty much along the story line (no Merry or Pippin!?). It is entertaining for those long car rides and if neither too difficult nor too easy. There are five different characters to choose from that employ a variety of strategies and tactics. You can be Legolas for the sniping attack, Aragorn for the hand-to-hand melee, Eowyn or Frodo for hit-and-run, and Gandalf, who can do just about everything.

I really enjoy this game and think it was worth every penny. It will keep the gamer occupied for quite a while and isn't too frustrating when you have to start over. ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Doom for the Game Boy Advance retains the immersive 3-D experience and onslaught of horrific demons that made the PC version a classic. It pits you against cyberorganic creatures and nightmarish fiends as you blast your way through 24 levels. Armed with eight weapons, you must navigate treacherous architecture, avoid traps, and use power-ups in a battle of skill and firepower. The game features multiplayer support through the Game Boy Advance Game Link cable. Two to four players can test their mettle through all of the single-player levels and an additional eight dedicated multiplayer levels. Or two players can team up to blast their way through single-player levels in cooperative mode. ... Read more

Reviews (55)

Not exactly the same as.....
....running Doom on a 486DX 80Mhz 4Mb RAM 14" like I used to when I was only 22 and together with three other chaps "re-allocated" time from our engineering classes to blast each other either with pistols or rocket launchers.

Who doesn't remember endless nights in front of your PC fighting fire-launching monsters, grunts and bosses, checking your map trying to find the secret passages, desperately looking for medi-kits and ammo....ahhhh...those were great days!!

I won't lie to you, it's not the same on a GBA screen (some scenarios are way too dark) but nevertheless this has brought-up so many great memories that only listening to the score is great fun.

Long live to FPS's.

Enjoy.

DOOM
My personal favorite game on the gba. its the original at its best, most of the levels, creatures and weapons are still hear in its choppy looking blurry glory. while the graphics may suc by todays standards its the gameplay that counts. The game dosen't stutter or slow down a bit. Blasting demons has never been so much fun. and once you beat it you can do it again and agian. If you liked doom then, you will love it now.

Handheld DOOM
It's DOOM only handheld so you can take it anywhere, graphics rock, sound is awesome and mulitplayer kicks ass, awesome GBA game!

DOOM!!!On a handheld!??!DOOM!!!
Doom is the seventh best FPS for the GBA and the second released for the system.Doom was first released for the PC back in 1993.The game was awesome.Eight years later the game is now portable.And yes, it is still awesome.Everything from the original is here except for some minor elements that don't detract from anything.Doom is back, back with a vengeance!

Great FPS Action
Think back to the early days of your computer. No Windows 95, just what most of us call today as command prompt. Back then, Command prompt was called MS-DOS, or DOS for short. When it first started you could purchase games for it like Duke Nukem 3D or DOOM. Well, that old old FPS that we all loved so much has shrunk. Now, instead of using DOS, you use GBA.

Much comperable to the old DOS version, DOOM has hit the GBA. Yes, the game still looks like the old C++ version, but that is now the lastest in handheld FPS's. With all the game still here, minus a few bosses, you have an excellent game to purchase.

Lest do some comparrisons

Then-
Your computer played MIDIs
Now-
Your GBA plays MIDIs

This makes for music that is the exact same as that of the original DOS version

Then-
You used basic controls for DOOM like your arrow keys
Now-
You use the directional pad on your GBA

This meand the controls are very used to if you used to play any old DOS FPSs.

I love this old game and I love the way it plays on the GBA, so go pick a copy of it up! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

This is not your father's Space Invaders. These 3-D alien troops now come with enhanced firepower, special effects, and even a two-player mode (Game Link cable required). The game offers 100 levels of basic dodge-and-shoot gameplay, which now takes place in interstellar locales. Your new arsenal includes an infrared laser beam, flamethrowers, and a neutron blast, plus bonus power-ups and special weapons unique to each world. And if you're inclined to think that the original was the best game ever, that version is included here, too. ... Read more

Reviews (6)

Not What I Expcected
This is not the origanal Space Invaders I remember from the arcade.It's more like a 3D Galaxian.It was hard for me to get over the differences.That said, my daughter really liked it with the exeption of "all the reading bits you have to 'A' through to get to the game part".It is a bit much to click through every time....
If you haven't grown up with the origanal, you won't notice the difference and will most likely enjoy the game.It is a good challenge if you like shooting games.

Space Invaders
Space Invaders rocks!!! The cool 3-D graphics are so cool! I have it for Game Boy Advance SP. I got all the way through the game and won!!! It is a great game to play!

It is ok
The graphics are good and the game is fun but the game gets a little boring. It's a good game but like I said, it's ok

Just Plain Fun
Sure the graphics aren't stunning but for some unexplicable reason this game is just plain fun, I haven't yet treid out multiplayer but I know that the regular game is really fun!

Amazing and has a BIG come back
Wow!I always disliked the origonal version of space invaders....but the new version kicks ...!The graphcis just blew me alway, there are many, and I mean many levels, and diffenet types of enemies cappable of different things!There are even bosses!I is great with the new power-ups you can get or get a special type of weapon every time you kill 4 of the same aliens in a row!This game will stay in my heart and my gameboy!(also inclues the origonal version and can ply 2 player ^_^ ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Alien scientists have plotted to take over the Earth, and it's DukeNukem's job to prevent them from executing their evil plans. Duke is using hisfull arsenal of weapons and is teleporting to various locations around the worldto stop the alien menaces. Environments include the Temple of Amun in Egypt,complete with hieroglyphs on the walls, columns, and sliding stone brick doors. ... Read more

Reviews (13)

WOW
Incredible graphics, gameplay and sound. Its great. you explore massive levels littered with many enemys, and shoot anything that moves. there are timed excapes and its relatively close to the pc version(game play wise). everything is interactable, if you shoot the toilet it breaks and spurts water, if you shoot the candy machine it explodes. All of his catch phrases are here, such as dam im good, hail to the king, bitchin, and kick ass. to be honest they curse alot in this game. when ever you dont have the key to open a locked door he says somthing like dammit or son of a bitch. its a great fps, one of the best.

It is fun, but the PC version of Duke Nukem 3d is better!
The two reasons why I suggest the PC version version is:

1. You can download .map files on the internet, which means, MORE LEVELS!!
2. The PC version is original, not ported.

So if you plan to get this game for GBA, think again.

Come Get Some. . . On The GBA!!!
Hands down the best FPS available for the GBA. It was the 6th FPS released for the system. Duke Nukem Advance brings all the attitude and fire power to the small screen in a richly detailed FPS. The game feautures 4 exotic locations taking you to Area 51, the Temple of Amun in Egypt, the streets of Sydney, Austrailia, and an alien ship orbiting earth. The game feauters 10 fun weapons from your mighty boot to a shrink ray. All of the classic enemies from the original Duke Nukem 3D are intact with a few welcome editions. This is not only the best FPS for Game Boy but, in my expert opinion, the best game for Game Boy! This is definitely top-notch stuff!

Duke Nukem is, indeed, back..and with a vengeance....
Admittedly, I first bought a Gameboy Advance just to play FPS games on it(namely Doom) and, over the course of owning the system, I've collected quite a few FPS for it. Some absolutely awesome and some not worth mentioning. Yet, out of them all- I have to stand in agreement with the other reviewers here that say Duke Nukem Advance has to be the best FPS game on the GBA..period. Not that Doom, Wolfenstein 3-D or Ecks vs Sever weren't that good- they were for the time that they were released for the system...and I tip my hat to their developers on the tremendous jobs they did with them. But...Duke Nukem Advance pushed the envelope on innovation in the game. You're able to do things in DNA that you just can't do anywhere else. And, for that..it holds that crown as the best FPS on the handheld..at least, for now...anyways. The graphics are crisp and the control is smooth just like a FPS should be. If there were any gripes, it'd be trying to see your enemies in the distance. Yet, that is to be expected on a handheld. I must say I'm impressed with the job that was done on the game. It's definitely one worth adding to your collection.
As Duke says.."Hail to the King, Baby!"....

Sweet game.
If u liked duke 3d for cmoputer get this bottom line.By far best GBA shooter out. ... Read more