Game Boy Advance

A lot of people were wondering what Hideo meant when he explained his concept in one word. Everybody thought he meant the word "son" from the game Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty. Imagine everybody's surprise when he meant the word "sun." At the time, there were a lack of details, thus nobody could figure out how the game would work in conjunction with sunlight, nor did they understand how a character depends on solar energy. A few months later, I find myself sitting outside with a Game Boy Advance and the cartridge.

I have a secret I need to let you in on. I never really cared for the Castlevania series much... Before everyone jumps all over me--allow me to explain. The first incarnation of the series on the NES never really grabbed me... however, I fell in love with Castlevania 2: Belmont's Quest because of all the RPG elements in it. I never really found much to enjoy in the Castlevania world until the greatest 2D game of all time--and PlayStation classic--Castlevania Symphony of the Night was released. This game brought just the right mix of action, adventure, and RPG elements to the table and created a classic that numerous games have tried to imitate since it was released in 1997. The list of games that have attempted to copy the formula found in Symphony of the Night includes Castlevania Circle of the Moon, Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance, and now Castlevania Aria of Sorrow. Each of these three GBA titles has done a pretty good job of converting the "magical SotN" formula on to the tiny GBA screen. But each of them have had their faults. Circle of the Moon was entirely too dark to play unless you had an Afterburner mod installed in your GBA or purchased a GBA SP. Also, the game was one of the hardest titles in the series. Harmony of Dissonance was entirely too easy and lacked the "magical SotN" feel. It was much easier to see than Circle of the Moon. Now we finally have a new GBA incarnation in the series. Aria of Sorrow is the closest we have come to Symphony of the Night since it was released in 1997. By combining the right mix of challenge, action, and RPG features, we are looking at the best handheld Castlevania game ever created.

You've probably already heard something about this game. When a game involves parking cars, picking noses, and playing golf, people will tend to notice. Yeah, that could be a really thorough golf simulator, but the game also has you eating fruit, snowboarding, and playing Metroid. That's not even the wackiest stuff that you'll see. Wario Ware is very quirky, and it's a very strange concept for a game, but it's really original and highly addictive. If you don't know anything about the game yet, you're probably very confused. In Wario Ware, the player is challenged with over 200 mini-games (in Wario Ware, they are called microgames). The trick is that each microgame only lasts a few seconds, but you must play dozens of them in rapid succession. It's a strange concept, but it turned out to be a lot of fun.

Most of you probably remember the first Iridion released long ago as one of the original GBA launch titles. For many, Iridion was a lackluster release which seemed rushed and void of all substance, which of course isn't necessarily bad considering Iridion is nothing more than a fast paced, high energy shoot-em up reminiscent of earlier games such as R-type.

In the days of games that totally capture the movie going experience like The Getaway, every once in a while it is nice to retreat back to a game that reminds you of the earlier days of gaming. The Lost Vikings on the GBA is one such game that gives weary eyes a respite from the never ending clamor of bullets or destruction from the newest games out there.

If there is one Game Boy Advance game I have played longer than any other it would be Golden Sun. I spent hours upon hours in the world, gaining experience, obtaining new skills, uncovering every secret, and making sure I had the best equipment available for my party. When it was all said and done, I beat Golden Sun two days before The Lost Age came out. If there is one thing I hate about writing reviews, it is that I cannot devote as much time to a game as I normally would like to. With so many games that I personally cover and being Editor of CVGames, there just aren't enough hours in the day for me to play every game as long as a I want to. But fortunately I found time to make my way through Golden Sun so I could start the second chapter in the Series, The Lost Age. While I didn't have to wait long after beating the first to star the second, developer Camelot has done a remarkable job with the title.

It is official, Sonic the Hedgehog is a success on the Game Boy. After selling over 500,000 copies in the US, THQ's exclusive deal with Sega to develop and publish handheld and wireless versions of Sega titles. While several titles have been released, including a great Phantasy Star 1, 2, and 3 Collection, no title has been as popular as Sonic Advance. Playing and looking very similar to Sonic 2 on the Genesis, players made this a best-selling GBA title. However, instead of rehashing the same game once again, Sonic Advance 2 pushes the GBA hardware a little bit more.

When the original Crazy Taxi was released on the Dreamcast, it took the fun of the arcade game and brought it home. While it was a great title it lacked the depth that most console games have. Since the Dreamcast version was released, we have seen versions on practically every single console. Each successive version has done nothing to improve upon the original. But there hasn't been an attempt to bring the title to the portable market?Ķ until now.

Rayman returns to his 2D roots in Rayman 3 for the GBA. While the game doesn’t have the same story as Rayman 3: Hoodlum Havoc, this is the first time Rayman has appeared in 2D since the original Rayman title was released on either the GBA or PlayStation. Using story elements from both Rayman 2 and 3, fans of 2D titles will want to snatch this gem up.

One of the first things that you'll notice about Super Monkey Ball Jr. when you first turn it on is how much it feels like the GameCube original. I mean that in a good way (as opposed to feeling old or unoriginal). Realism did such a great job that, to an extent, the graphics, music, sound effects, menus, and even the controls feel a lot like the GameCube game. It's amazing what Realism has done with the help of Amusement Vision and Sega. They must be technical masters. Super Monkey Ball is a game that you wouldn't think would translate very well to the Game Boy Advance, but Realism did a great job.