Spyro: Season of Ice
Average Customer Review:
Video Game (23 November, 2001)
list price: $39.99
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Features

• Over 30 levels including: Autumn Falls, Honey Marsh, Space Age Speedway and more more.
• Revolutionary gameplay with 3 different engine technologies.
• Cool Minigames like Hockey and Thief Chases.
• Speedway Races and Speedway Time Trial modes.

Reviews (97)

This game is awful! Absolutly, positively DON'T buy it.
I own the first three Spyro games and when this one came out I coudn't wait to get it. However, I made a serios mistake. Spyro can't move very well, and you die the second you come near water, which I think is terrible seeing as this game is supposed to take place AFTER he learned to swim. This game has bad graphics, annoying speedways and Sparx levels, and can't show elevation. As a general rule, everything looks completly flat so when you go to make a glide, you find out the place you're gliding to is too high. Furthermore, enemies with missles and fireworks take about two seconds aiming at you then they just blow you up. In conclusion NEVER, EVER buy this game!

Annoying!
I have all the Spyro games for PS1 & PS2, and I LOVE them, so when I got my GBA I bought Season Of Ice right away....and was very annoyed.At first I thought it would be cool, because there are fairies and mermaids, but the controls are much more difficult on the GBA than the Playstations.I have trouble getting Spyro to go the direction I want him to, especially on diagonals.I think it's because you're using directional buttons instead of a joystick.I don't think it can be the fault of the button on my individual GBA, because I bought it brand new and this is one of the first games I've played on it.Anyway, I have trouble crossing bridges and just moving around in general; it makes it incredibly obnoxious, because every time you fall in water you die.I say, if you have a Game Cube and a Game Boy Player (so you can use a joystick) this could be a great game, but if you just have a GBA, don't bother, it's more frustrating than it's worth.

A frustrating let-down
OK, first of all, I have the 3 original Spyro games for Playstation, and I love them, so when I got my GBA, I immediately bought this Spyro game and the second one, Season of Fire. I haven't played the second one yet, but I'm almost afraid to, because this one was so disappointing. The graphics are great, I'll give you that, but that's about where it ends. The gameplay is horrible, like others have said. The controls seem to be opposite of what I would expect, and charging always makes my arm ache from trying to control him in tight turns. Also, the fact that you die if you put your toe in a puddle is really annoying, especially since the storyline shows that it's supposed to be after Spyro learned to swim. The most frustrating level so far for me is the hummingbird port, where you have to glide to different platforms, most of which you can't see without moving the camera to search for them, and all of them are impossible to tell which are above and which are below you. I've found that a basic rule is that if it looks higher, it's below you, and if it looks lower, then it's above you. I gave up on that level when I couldn't find any more sections to go to, and just kept going in circles. I do like the speedways, and also Sparx's worlds, but that's not quite enough to off-set the frustration from the other levels. It probably wouldn't seem so bad if I hadn't already gotten so good at the playstation versions, so if you are just looking for something to pass the time on the road or something, go ahead and buy it. But if you are looking for a Gameboy version of the original Spyro games, don't bother. Though, I'll try Season of Fire, and maybe Spyro Orange, which my stepmom owns, before giving up on GBA Spyro.
As a side-note, when are we going to get to play Bentley the Yeti? He was my favorite. I'd buy the game if he were in it. ... Read more

Asin: B00005NCCA
Sales Rank: 1978
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Gameboy)    3. GBA    4. Action    5. Adventure    6. Strategy (Strategic)   

Super Mario World
Average Customer Review:
Video Game (14 February, 2002)
list price: $34.99
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Editorial Review

Super Mario World for the Super Nintendo sits at or near the topof most "best video games" lists for a reason. At the time of its release, itwas a dramatic evolution of the side-scrolling Mario series of action-adventuregames, incorporating every gameplay element that worked in the older titleswhile adding a seemingly endless supply of new tricks. This new feature-completeversion of Super Mario World for the Game Boy Advance proves just howtimeless designer Shigeru Miyamoto's 1991 classic really is.

In true Miyamoto fashion, the game starts with simple running and jumping andgradually gets more complex. Soon, you're swimming, flying, tossing fireballs,and riding one of several Yoshis--cute little dinosaurs--that appear throughoutthe game. The overall level design has yet to be exceeded in a 2-D platformer,with each colorful level packed with enough secrets to keep players busy forweeks. A lot of precision jumping is required, but the controls are so tightthat directing Mario (or even Luigi, who wasn't playable in the original)becomes as natural as breathing within a few minutes of playing.

As if packing the entire original game onto the tiny cartridge wasn't enough,Nintendo also put two multiplayer versions of the original Mario Brothersin there, which are playable solo or with up to three other people usingGame Link cables to connect all your Game Boy Advance systems. Both variants are a blast, but thesingle-player adventure is what kept us coming back for more. If you missed it10 years ago when Super Mario World appeared on the Super Nintendo, don'tmake the same mistake twice. --T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• The game is very replayable thanks to multiple level exits
• Surgically precise controls
• Outstanding level designs that never get old

Cons:

• Speech effects that were added for Mario and Luigi get old fast

... Read more

Features

• rld. When riding Yoshi, Mario or Luigi can make their dino pal slurpup enemies, regurgitate fireballs and carry special items.
• Like any Mario game, Super Mario World is crawling with secrets. In addition to hidden blocks and vines within the levels, many levels feature hidden exits which take a lot of exploration to discover. Finding these hidden exits is the only way to explore all 96 levels in the game.

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!!!!!!!! ... Read more

Asin: B00005UK88
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Gameboy)    3. GBA    4. Action    5. Adventure    6. Strategy (Strategic)   

Golden Sun
Average Customer Review:
Video Game (15 November, 2001)
list price: $29.99
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Editorial Review

Golden Sun is the first original role-playing game for the GameBoy Advance to appear in the U.S. And despite perhaps a too-familiar story line,Golden Sun's jaw-dropping graphics, deep magic system, and uniquemultiplayer arena mode truly show that the Game Boy Advance is capable of aserious RPG.

Game developer Camelot (which also made the legendary Shining Force series forthe Sega Genesis, and, more recently,Mario Golf andMario Tennis for theNintendo 64) designed Golden Sun from the ground up to take advantage ofthe GBA's horsepower, and it shows. Sharp, vivid landscapes, detailed towns anddungeons, and awesome weather effects--it looks like a Super Nintendo game withsome extra zing squeezed onto a handheld system. Fans of Secret of Manaor Chrono Trigger will appreciate the feel of this game.

But the game's greatest strength is its magic system. Your characters each havetheir own latent psychic abilities based on one of the four elements of alchemy(earth, water, wind, and fire). The characters will be called upon to use theirindividual forms of telepathy and telekinesis to solve various puzzles in thegame. Also, you can collect Djinn (elemental spirits) and link them to yourcharacters. Not only can these Djinn be summoned in battle, they can alsobolster or hinder your characters' latent psychic abilities, give them specialattacks, and even change your characters' class. This system is similar toFinal Fantasy VIII's guardian system, though far more intuitive and easyto master.

Golden Sun employs a basic turn-based battle system, but it has amazingspell and fighting techniques that really take advantage of the GBA'stechnology. The game achieves a nice balance between flashy attacks and thebrevity of these same attacks--a lesson the makers of other RPGs should learn.Battles are beautifully and quickly fought, and don't overtax the gamer.

The game also has an addictive arena mode in which players can fight monstersthey've already encountered in the game. Players can also link up with anotherGBA (this feature requires another Golden Sun cartridge) and fightagainst another party. While it's not true a multiplayer option, it adds a greatreplay value to the game.

Golden Sun's weakest point, however, is its standard-issue story. Inessence: boy wakes up amidst disaster, meets stalwart friends, and rises to thechallenge to save the day (all while living up to the image of his dear departedfather). The story is a little stale, but the mechanics of the game transcendthis flaw and bring the gamer into a state of handheld nirvana. --BryanKarsh

Pros:

• Vivid graphics
• Deep, intuitive magic system
• Addictive multiplayer arena mode

Cons:

• A plot straight out of "RPG Story Lines 101"

... Read more

Reviews (463)

Good...but too short
I know they're leaving room for a sequal, but I finished in about a week of real time, and I didn't play that much.Plus, since you're stuck in Lalivero after you beat the final battle, there's no replay value.Although it left me eagerly awaiting the second one, it also left me feeling a little cheated.However, overall, this is an awesome game.The storyline didn't bother me, because the number of sideplots the ever-altruistic Isaac and crew feel the need to indulge in kept things varied and fun.Overall, I highly recommend this game, but if you're getting it, buy Lost Age at the same time, or you'll be really mad when you finish.Me?I'm promising myself Lost Age as a reward after I finish Finals Week, and I'm counting the days.

Amazing game
This game is one of the best games I have ever played.

Music 4.5/5 pretty good music

Graphcs 5/5 amazing graphics the summons are awsome

GamePlay 5/5 very fun game

Overall 4.7/5

Overall

Any RPG loving GBA owner should buy this.
Created by a little know developer called Camelot (they made some Mario Golf and Mario Tennis games, as well as Shining Force before they joined Nintendo), Golden Sun is one of the GBA's more exceptional games.

Golden Sun has one major achievement it had for the GBA.It pushed the limits of the system in terms of graphics.While the visuals for wandering around seem rather easy for the system to create, the battles are a spectacular achievement.Even though the characters and enemies are shown as animated sprites.The sprites themselves are not much to write home about, but regardless they are quite convincing and suit the battle setup more than you might expect.The battle screen is sort of a "quasi-3D" setup.The background and sprites are 2D, but they are executed in such a manner that they look 3D.Not only that, battle effects, such as spells and simple attacks, add wonderfully to the setup.The only real problem I can see is that some spell effects slow down the framerates (how fast or smoothly it runs) noticably, but it's all handled so well that it doesn't even seem like a glitch, and out of sheer irony it adds to the effect of some of the spells.

The sound is a mixed bag.The music score part is excellent.Everything from the main menu music, to town themes, and the grand world map music is great both technically and melodically.If any songs do get on your nerves, they either won't last long or are done in such a way that you can tune them out while playing.Sound effects, however, are very standard.A lot of them are recycled so much that it's practically mind numbing.However, none of it seems completely out of place, and there isn't much that will hurt your ears, so that's something to be happy for.

The gameplay itself only has one real flaw in my opinion.The battles are too easy.With the exception of most of the boss battles, regular battles tend to be so easy that the thought of using the run option will never occur to you (they also go so quick that there's not really a time issue involved either).There's also an issue where, if you set all of your characters to attack one enemy and that enemy is destroyed, the characters that attack him later have their attack wasted.This really isn't too much of an issue, though, and Camelot was smart enough to make the character automatically defend if that should happen (which means damage to that character would be halved... though I think that only refers to physical damage).

The story has gotten a lot of bad press in my opinion.However, it should be noted that if you play this game, the story alone may persuade you to buy the next game, GS: The Lost Age (which is already out).While that's not particularly a bad thing, as the combination of the two stories is really awesome, just be aware of the extra expense that may cost for your wallet.Also, it should be noted that this game is a bit on the short side (roughly 20-25 hours), but that's still not much of an issue in my view (just so you know, the second game in the series is roughly 40-45 hours long, so that one is lengthier).

All in all, the game is quite fun.However, there are a few quirks that I mentioned above that may get on some people's nerves, so just know what you're getting into. ... Read more

Asin: B00005OARM
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Gameboy)    3. GBA    4. Role Playing Games (Game, RPG, RPGs, CRPG, CRPGs)    5. Strategy (Strategic)   

Super Mario Advance
Average Customer Review:
Video Game (14 June, 2001)

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Editorial Review

The world's favorite plumber makes his first appearance (alongwith playable characters Luigi, Peach, and Toad) on the Game BoyAdvance, and, for the most part, Mario's arrival is welcome indeed.

Super Mario Advance is primarily a slightly tweaked port ofSuper Mario Bros. 2, the (still) very popular side scroller fromthe days of the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). So expect plenty of running,jumping, and hurling of items at many a foe.

The game's graphics and sound have been a given a nice overhaul fromthe original game, and are clear and bright enough to please old-schooland new fans alike. While Nintendo did a good job shrinking the visualsdown to handheld size, the tiny GBA screen can get very busy at times,making accidental death due to sometimes less-than-precise controlsfrustratingly frequent--at least in the beginning. Most gamers shouldovercome such mishaps with a little patience.

Also included is the still fun, if forgettable, original MarioBros. game from many eons ago. Up to four players can engage in acoin-collecting battle mode or the classic mode. Super MarioAdvance isn't the game to show off the power of the GBA, but it isa long, fun title that will satisfy today's gamers with a taste fromthe best of Mario's past. --Mark Brooks

Pros:

• One of the best NES games is faithfully ported
• Upgraded sound and graphics
• Gameplay is easy to get into

Cons:

• Somewhat loose controls
• Neither fresh nor original for those who've played the NES version

... Read more

Features

• Side-scrolling adventure.
• Play as Mario, Luigi, Peach, or Toad.
• Collect items with which you can pummel your enemies.
• Switch characters between levels.
• Head-to-head play on up to 4 units via the separately sold communication cable.

Reviews (252)

preeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetty cool.
It's a pretty good game but I liked Super Mario Advance 2 and 3 the best but this one was pretty cool.

ONE OF THE BEST GAMES THAT EVER EXSISTED ! ! ! !
I love this game. I personaly think this is one of the best games of all nintendo platforms. I can't get tired of this game no matter what. You should buy this one aling with SUPER MARIO WORLD, the sequel to this game from the SNES platform. I suggest you buy this one immediatly. I really do. Go buy this one. Donkey Kong Country 2 is another great choice of a great SNES video game. BUY IT NOW !

The Second Mario Dream
I often have been enjoying a lot of classic video games from the 80's that have really been resurfacing over the past few years. It really is wonderful to see older games feel fresh and newly exciting again. That truly has been the case for one lucky plumber, Mario. Nintendo really has done a remarkable job of reintroducing Mario games to the Game Boy Advance audience. It has done very much wonders for a lot of people, who are now enjoying the feeling of the most groundbreaking entertainment that has ever brought games to the home. Nintendo did it originally with Super Mario Brothers, and their sequel was opposite any of the classic Mario stories that had ever been told.

Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Brothers 2, is a restored version to the classic video game from the late 80's. The game features your option of one of four characters to control, Mario or Luigi, Toad or Princess Toadstool. The game is located through seven dream world stages and 20 different levels. The gameplay focuses in on a nightmare Mario has as he and his pals stop Wart and his henchmen including Birdo, Mouser, Fryguy and many shyguys from ruining the dream world Mario is stuck in. The game doesn't feature the traditional Super Mario gameplay, where instead you dig deep to pick up items to hurl at your opponents.

Yet, with all the goodsides, there really are a few downsides to this game. The graphics do seem a little bit out of tune, unlike their original NES gameplay, or even the remastered gameplay from the 1993 Super Mario All-Stars compilation for the Super Nintendo. Another problem is the controls. They sometimes can make it very difficult for you to hurl bombs and vegetables when need ed at your foes. Sadly, that does bring unfortunate problems in gameplay at times.

All in all, Super Mario Advance: Super Mario 2 is a great exciting twist to the original Super Mario Brothers saga. For anybody who hasn't tried this Mario game, it really just is worth it for the Game Boy Advance. It really is a surprise that just is a delight.

Graphics: C+

Sound: C+

Control: B-

Gameplay: B+

Overall: B- ... Read more

Asin: B00005B8FZ
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Gameboy)    3. GBA    4. Action    5. Adventure    6. Classic    7. Retro Arcade   

Mario Kart Advance
Average Customer Review:
Video Game (30 August, 2001)
list price: $34.99 -- our price: $29.88
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

Nintendo's winning streak of rehashing and enhancing classic SuperNintendo games for the tiny GBA screen continues with this surprisinglyaddictive arcade racer. For those new to the Mario Kart game series, Nintendomascots (Mario, Donkey Kong, Luigi, etc.) race go-carts along fantastic tracksthat feature various offensive and defensive power-ups (banana peels andmushroom boosts, to name two). Accumulate enough points and you'll win circuittrophies.

Each mascot has a ride that handles and accelerates differently, yetthe controls for each racer feel very tight and precise. The highly detailed,cartoony locales of Mario Kart Super Circuit show visuals that are bothvery sharp and fluidly animated. Though not nearly as fast, Mario Kart SuperCircuit looks better and can be more intense than the vaunted F-Zerolaunch title.

If you perform well enough and collect enough coins in atournament, you can unlock a plethora of bonus tracks--some of which are fromolder console Mario Kart titles. The fun multiplayer options includehead-to-head racing and a balloon battle mode, in which you blast other racerswith power-ups in a huge arena until there's only one driver left. --MarkBrooks

Pros:

• Bright graphics that are both fast and fluid
• Multiplayer battle mode is loads of fun
• Many, many tracks!

Cons:

• May be too cute for some

... Read more

Features

• 20 all-new tracks.
• Fast-paced driving action.
• Pick from many characters out of the Nintendo World.
• Up to 4 players can race with the Link Cable.

Reviews (257)

Think before you spend your money!!
I really enjoyed this but its just 2 LITTLE KIDDISH! I really recommend this for kids under 7 who have great balance but not if you actually want to kill your opponets I mean all you can do to really hurt them is to shoot them with shells. But if you get this I totally recommend to use Yoshi or Toad.

...
So you like Mario? You like the Mario Kart games? You wish you could play Mario Kart while on the road? Here is your wish: Mario Kart Advance. What a great game this one is, with new levels, sharp graphics and sound, the same characters, and massive fun. Though it is more similar to the SNES version of Mario Kart, you can not complain about this game in any way. It is hard or easy depending on the speed you play it at, and this game is just a rush...

There is one flaw with this game though that stood out to me. Whoever the first 4 players to win the first round of the series of races, are the same 4 players that will be in the top 4 the rest of the series, UNLESS you play on 150 cc , or possibly 100 cc. That aside, this is a great game, nonetheless.

"Mario Kart" for the Game Boy Advance
The game is very simple.You choose which mode you want to play, with your options being one-player, multi-player, and something called a "Ghost Exchange" that I've never tried but would guess is similar to the "Pok'emon Crystal Version" thing where you can press yours and your friend's Game Boys together and each get a gift from each other.In one-player mode, you can choose from the mode where you race the computer, a mode where you race yourself to see how fast you can get your time, and a mode that I believe is the older set-up of "Mario Kart" (without the coins and points).Then you choose the level of diffuculty, and pick your character (Mario, Luigi, Peach, and you know the rest.)Afterwards, you battle it out on interesting, colorful tracks, trying to rank high and (except in the timed mode) win a trophy.Like I said, it's simple, but it's also very addicting, and the graphics are fantastic! ... Read more

Asin: B00005MDZY
Subjects:  1. Jet (Jets)    2. Sports (Sport)    3. Outdoors (Out Doors)    4. Racing    5. Flying    6. Video Games    7. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Gameboy)    8. GBA    9. Racing (Race, Races)    10. Flying (Fly)    11. Car (Cars)    12. Auto (Autos)    13. Plane (Planes)   

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Average Customer Review:
Video Game (08 June, 2001)
list price: $39.99
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

One of the best side-scrolling game franchises makes a successful debuton the Game Boy Advance in Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. This timearound you follow the adventures of Nathan Graves as he attempts to stop therecently resurrected Dracula. In the fine tradition of Castlevania vampirehunters, Graves carries a whip as his primary weapon, and will soon discover thetraditional secondary weapons of holy water, dagger, boomerang, time freeze, andmore. New to the series is the dual set-up system (DSS), which allows you to use20 cards (randomly found) for up to 80 power-ups.

The game plays like a side-scrolling classic without seeming too dated. Playerstraipse around a nonlinear dungeon, defeat monsters, and unlock new parts of thedungeon, often through the use of new abilities. It's similar to the excellentCastlevania: Symphony of the Night for the PlayStation, with the obviousaural limitations of a cartridge-based handheld system.

Unfortunately, the game's dark graphics are difficult to see on the Game BoyAdvance's fickle screen. Long sessions require consistent overhead lighting, sothis isn't the ideal game for travel. The animations are also lacking, makingcharacter movement appear jerky. Despite these graphics shortcomings, thisside-scrolling wonder makes a fine addition to your GBA library. --Raymond M.Padilla

Pros:

• Classic gameplay
• High replay value
• Great sound for a handheld game

Cons:

• Dark graphics are butchered by the GBA screen
• Mediocre animation

... Read more

Reviews (164)

Challenging and dark Castlevania game.
This game is just plain old fun. Its very challenging, unlike most other new Castlevania games, and really gets you into the adventure.

The special items you can obtain all make the game more interesting and the magic and card system just plain rocks.
You can change your whip into fire/ice whips, get magical swords and even summon a dozen monsters to help you.
The card system is what really makes this game shine.

Pick this game up if you really want a fun and exciting dark adventure, but be warned that this game requires a bit of skill to get through as it very tough.

The First GBA CV Game Remains, Arguably, Its Best
"Castlevania: Circle of the Moon" (CotM) was one of the first games to be released for the Game Boy Advance.Borrowing elements from the unexpected hit, "Symphony of the Night," K.C.E.K. (the Konami division responsible for the N64 Castlevania games) has created a familiar, yet still totally enjoyable, Castlevania game, and arguably the best of the 3 for the Gameboy Advance (the other two being "Harmony of Dissonance" and "Aria of Sorrow").

Story: Castlevania has a rich history when analyzed deeply beyond the games; though, the actual storylines in the games take a backseat to other elements.CotM sets up a plot in the beginning, has bits and pieces interspersed after major events in the game, and resolves it all in the end.The year is 1830.Rather than having Dracula resurrect naturally, a dark priestess named Carmilla resurrects him pre-maturely, and seeks the full-regeneration of the Dark Lord's powers by using the life essence of a captured vampire hunter, Morris Baldwin.His two disciples, Hugh Baldwin (the son of Morris) and Nathan Graves, are given the task of saving their master, and destroying the Count, too.You take the role of Nathan Graves, and will meet up with several characters in your adventure through the Castle.The storyline is nothing deep or engrossing, but, it's definitely far from horrible, and decently entertaining.
~ 7.0/10

Gameplay: Wonderful.It's kind of like SotN, but with a whip, though still not as silky-smooth.The controls allow you to change direction while whipping in mid-air, too.Nathan doesn't have any fancy moves like "Juste-dash" to get around faster, but you can double tap the d-pad to make him run once obtaining the specific item, and this is more than adequate.Nathan can spin his whip around when the attack button is held down to deflect projectiles and do quick damage.Also going along with SotN, you will obtain certain relics while progressing through the Castle, which help you explore new areas.Items include the "Tackle," which allows you to smash through stone blocks, and the "Roc's Feather," which lets you perform a Moon-Jump (this was introduced in SotN).CotM is also the innovator for the "Gameplay Gimmicks" in the recent Castlevania games, such as AoS's Tactical Soul system.CotM's is called the DSS, where certain enemies will drop cards (either Action or Attribute cards), twenty in all, and you can combine them to create different effects.For example, combining the Mars and Mandragora cards lets you use a huge sword that shoots out a cloud of poisonous roses for extra range, while also increasing your attack power.You can also create a small rotating set of flames around your body to ward off attacks, make your whip double its reach, and much, much more.All in all, I would say it's the smartest of any of the systems used in any Castlevania.Almost nothing is useless, and has its own advantages, unlike AoS's myriad of pointless souls, and "Lament of Innocence"'s and "Harmony of Dissonance"'s number of useless attacks.Like the other "Castleroids," you'll collect armor and accessories to equip on your character.Most of the equipment is quite useful, and almost all (except for one certain armor) are dropped by enemies to make collecting them harder and more rewarding.Healing items are rare, and there is no merchant this time around, forcing the player to rely on his/her wit and skill, rather than copious amount of potions and such, making the game a lot more challenging and, consequently, fun.
~ 9.25/10

Level Design: The best out of the three GBA titles.There is a huge emphasis on platforming in this game.Rather than making the main challenge be getting past enemies, like in games such as AoS and HoD, CotM also forces you to battle with your environment.To be sure, there are loads of tight spots, like the Machine Tower's layout, with its constantly moving platforms and electrically charged ceilings, and most noticably in the last area, the Observatory Tower (made even harder, considering the the abundance of super enemies).Most of the rooms are completely different in their layout, and this gives the game a fresh feeling throughout, since you are constantly presented with unexpected challenges.There is the occasional puzzle, such as the Underground Waterway's switches, or the box puzzles in the Underground Warehouse.It's very nice that the game makes you think beyond, "How do I kill this next enemy?", and I hope this amount of level interactivity is reproduced more often in future Castlevania games.
~ 9.5/10

Graphics: Though not as flashy and detail-filled as AoS, CotM exudes its own certain charm, reminiscent of Super Castlevania 4.Whereas HoD and AoS seemed to feel more contained and small, CotM is full of huge rooms and corridors, chock full of grand expanses of spooky skies, spires, and dark, towering pillars.While being pretty basic in terms of the "Ooh-Aah" factor, CotM has plenty of superb atmosphere that comes from its well-realized dark nature in its dark color composition and abundance of gothic architecture.Multi-scrolling in the backgrounds is minimal, and I wish the developers had spent more time on this to create more of a sense of dimension, but what is here I found to be particularly intriguing and more than adequate.Pack a GBA SP or DS, though, when you play this, as playing it on the GBA renders the graphics too dark to see.Nathan's sprite could have used more frames of animation, but his animation is decent and, for the most part, believable.I found the enemies in this game to be especially charming.You won't find multi-segmented beasts like HoD's Living Armors, or stunningly weird denizens like AoS's Stolas, but, rather, beasts that seem to be more realistic and organic, with its anthropomorphic creatures like the Were-jaguars and Fox Archers, or the humanoid bunches of armored knights.None of them will really blow you away graphically, but I found them all to be interesting and fun to see in action.They, too, though, could have stood to have more frames of animation.The special effects in CotM are nice, concerning the use of your DSS cards to create new attacks.There are all sorts of fun things, like the giant hammer, or flaming sword.Again, they all get the job done, but are nothing incredible.
~ 8.25/10

Sound: This is one of the high points of CotM.It's made all the more incredible by the fact that this was one of the first-gen games for the GBA.Quality-wise, it's on par with some of the highest quality soundtracks on the SNES; compositional-wise, it's on par with some of the highest quality soundtracks for video games, period.Rather than follow the trend of most Castlevanias and introduce totally new soundtracks, with perhaps one of two older tunes remixed, CotM opts for having a majority of its music be comprised of some of the greatest Castlevania tunes, masterfully redone, and interspersing it with a few new powerful melodies that will not soon be forgotten.The start-up screen's song is very well done, taken straight from the PC's Japan-only Dracula X.The ghostly vocals will send chills down your back.The first area's music, "Awake," is one of the most memorable and impressive songs to ever be in a Castlevania; I'd rank it among the likes of "Dracula's Castle" and "Vampire Killer."It's no wonder the music in this game is so great, as the composer of Castlevania 4, Sotaro Tojima, is the composer for this one, too.Repeat performances include "Clockwork Mansion," which has an oddly psychadelic feel to it, "The Sinking Old Sanctuary," which is more upbeat this time around, and "Aquarius," another incomparable classic of the CV series.Then, there are new ones, like, as mentioned, "Awake," along with the heart-pounding final battle theme, "Proof of Blood," and one of the greatest ending songs for a Castlevania, "Repose of Souls."As far as sound effects are concerned, they're pretty minimal.Enemies generally are totally silent, and most of the sounds you'll be hearing are the yells and grunts of Nathan as he performs certain moves.More attention should have paid in this department of the sound.However, this is overlooked quite easily, as CotM is one of the best musical experiences on the GBA, if not THE best.
~ Music: 9.5/10
~ Sound Effects: 6.5/10

Replay Value: I've played through this game three times so far.The average player will probably find enough in this game to at least come back for a second helping, eventually.There usually are rooms you might have missed your first time through that you'll find your second or third romp through.And there are additional modes, such as "Magician, Mode" (which will allow you to start the game with higher magic power, but have your other stats lowered), helping to make the experiences of playing through multiple times more varied.Sadly, there is no "Hard" mode, which would have been a truly wonderful addition.The game will probably take a person familiar with the map a little more than 6 hours to beat (while also getting 100% of the map); however, for a first-timer, it will most likely take them ten or more hours.
~ 8.75/10

Satisfaction Value: CotM is also an extremely satisfying game.It makes you feel truly good about accomplishing certain things in it, such as beating a particularly tricky boss, or finding an item in a hidden spot.Like the "Metroid" series, CotM's satisfaction comes from the journey itself and the discoveries along the way, not the conclusion of everything...and what an engrossing and memorable journey it is.
~ 9.5/10

"Circle of the Moon" is a fitting end to K.C.E.K.'s Castlevania games, and remains one of the highest points of the series.Displaying near perfect controls, difficulty progression, atmosphere, sound, and more, it's one of the best games you can get for any hand-held system, and easily holds its own in this year, and will continue to do so.Konami's people are geniuses when it comes to creating instantly classic games.

~ Total (not an average): 9.5/10

hard but gets better
I reccomend this game to good thinkers and people who likestrategy games and long action-fantasy games. I first had trouble with this game but then it became easier to play though some bosses are hard.(use Holy Water when facing the IRON GOLEM)I liked the story, and its better to use a GameBoyAdvanceSPor a regular GameBoyAdvance with a light to catch the good graphics.Its very hard to get all the dss cards(unicorn and black dog are gotten in the battle arena).To defeat Draculas second formI reccomendURANUS WITH THUNDERBIRD DSS CARDS.Its a very good game, so buy it. ... Read more

Asin: B00005BJ9G
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Gameboy)    3. GBA    4. Action    5. Adventure   

Spyro: Season of Flame
Average Customer Review:
Video Game (27 September, 2002)
list price: $29.99
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Reviews (34)

Spyro Rules!!!
This game is very well made. Its graphics look 3-D and its sounds are awsome!!! Its game play is very rewarding. When you defeat Ripto you get a checker game and if you defeat Ripto and get all 100 fireflies and gems (you can get all of these before AND after you beat Ripto) you unlock a sparx level!! There are also three worlds to visit. Not only do you play as Spyro, you also play as Shelia (the kangaroo) and Agent 9 (the space monkey). There are many cheat codes for this game. But one is, at the title screen enter up, right, down, up, right, left, up, right, down, B. You should hear a noise confirming this code. It will give you all breath abilities. (Including the power-ups!!) Overall this is a 5-star game.

Really Good Game!
Hello all, I got this game a few weeks ago and I am still playing it. I've just reached the 60% done mark. This game is so fun and challenging that it's a must have! I am someone who loves to play games when I get the chance. I play some everyday. I have played Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban and beat it in less than a week. I also played Super Mario Land THE GOLD COINS and beat it in several hours. The game CABELA'S BIG GAME HUNTER was such a disapointment and I beat it in 2 days. But this game I just keep going back to and each time I get a little more done. The hocky part I just beat last night, phew that was hard! LOL. But anyways the games, features and graphics are awesome! This is such a cool game. It's so life like and full of vibrant colors. But the game itself is easy to follow, you can't get stuck for long. You have to clear the levels, simple as that....yet its hard to find everything so the challenge is there....Just a fun game...recommend it to kids as well my 10 and 13 y.o. play it and love it too. GREAT GAME A+

Superb!
I got the game 2 day's ago and, i already fineshed it.100%.But i restarted the game again and again.The spyro attack of the ryhnocs and season of ice aren't as good as this one.
Graphics,sound,music,gameplay and replay valus are great.

Pros:
Graphics 8.3/10
Sound8.7/10
Music7.9/10
Gameplay 9.1/10
Replay value 10/10
Autosave 100/10

Cons:
Not a really big game like spyro 3 for gba
The boss are toooooo easy.

Get the game if you like spyro. ... Read more

Asin: B00006F2ZO
Sales Rank: 2644
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Gameboy)    3. GBA    4. Action    5. Adventure   

Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance
Average Customer Review:
Video Game (20 September, 2002)

US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

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. ... Read more

Asin: B00006F2ZR
Sales Rank: 1940
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Gameboy)    3. GBA    4. Fighting (Fight, Fights)    5. Strategy (Strategic)   

Metroid Fusion
Average Customer Review:
Video Game (21 November, 2002)
list price: $34.99 -- our price: $19.88
(price subject to change: see help)
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Editorial Review

Metroid Fusion is a side-scrolling action game that's more in line with the series' NES origin than its GameCube contemporary, the first-person action game Metroid Prime. In this one, players take the bounty hunter Samus on an extermination mission through a research facility to kill X parasites--nasty creatures that absorb and assimilate the powers of their host. After she survived an X attack through the use of a vaccine made with X parasite DNA, she can now absorb the parasites to regain health and obtain special powers, like the morph ball, space jump, and wave beam. The problem is that the parasites are quickly making their way through the research lab's many dangerous projects and subsuming their abilities.

As a special bonus to GameCube owners, Metroid Prime and Metroid Fusion can each unlock special features in the other game via the Nintendo GameCube Game Boy Advance cable. For example, by completing Metroid Fusion, you can unlock the original NES version of Metroid in Metroid Prime. By completing Metroid Prime, you can unlock Samus's fusion suit for use in Metroid Prime. ... Read more

Features

• Collect classic weapons and find many new items and elements that will help you work your way through the celebrated game play in this eagerly anticipated title.
• Uncover new mysteries and a thrilling, dramatic story line that gradually unfolds during the course of the game.
• Bursting with action, Metroid Fusion is being developed by the same team that created the earlier games.
• Relive the same fantastic style of exploration that gradually unfolds and the same great play control that has defined Metroid games.

Reviews (147)

Falls a bit short compared to other Metroid games...
While this game is highly enjoyable, it falls somewhat short of 'perfection' when compared to most of the other Metroid games.

I wasnt too fond of Samus new 'look' and the fact that this game pretty much holds your hand and tells you what to do next and where to go next. It makes you lose the sense of free exploration that the Metroid games are much known for.

Still, this is an extremely solid and well made space adventure that should keep you occupied in its 3-5 hour mission.

metriod: could have been better
I LOVE THIS GAME I HAVE PLAYED IT HUNDREDS OF TIMES AND NEVER FOUND IT BORING NO I DID NOT ACCIDENTALLY HIT CAPS LOCK THIS IS A GREAT GAME o.k. you get the point well don't be confused by my title the only reason i say this is becausethe game can get connfusing and a little scary for young players ecpecially when you realize the b.s.l. is a metroid breeding enviroment but for slightly older players this is a great game

(If I could choose 1 billion stars for this, I would do it)
This is a continuing of my last review. The one that said I can't beat the spider thingy, uh huh, that's the one. Well I got farther this time! Way farther! After tou beat the spider guy you have to get past SA-X. Then you have to fight this plant guy which you get plasma beam from. Then you have to fight nightmare wich you get the gravity suit from. Then the sicurity robot is back except he's infected by X this time. Very easy!! Then you have to dodge all of the metroids and get to this place. Then you fight Ridley wich you get the screw attack from. Then you you have to kill Sa-x and fight Omega Metroid and I'm stuck near there. I recamend tis game highly. ... Read more

Asin: B00006M3R6
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Gameboy)    3. GBA    4. Action    5. Adventure   

Gauntlet Dark Legacy
Average Customer Review:
Video Game (21 November, 2002)
-- our price: $29.99
(price subject to change: see help)
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Reviews (9)

A victory for good game-play
At first glance, this game doesn't look like much.However, it delivers in spades when accepted for its intrinsic value.This game would've been right at home on the Super Nintendo or Sega Genesis.It's of a similar quality.

The scenario is pretty much the same as other versions of Gauntlet Dark Legacy.In fact, the manual gives us the story (in very small print, I might add; eye strain!).It's not much of a story.Just enough to give us a reason to be exploring, beating up monsters, and collecting treasure on a linear quest through five realms.The Mountain Kingdom, Castle Stronghold, Desert Lands, Ice Domain, and Dream World.Each realm has five levels that must be completed in sequence.Each completed level opens up the portal to the next one.Residing within the fifth level of each realm is a boss.

We get four characters to choose from here.There's the strong Warrior, the well-armored Valkyrie, the magical Wizard, and the speedy Archer.Your character can be one of four colors.Yellow, Blue, Red, or Green.A nice little cosmetic thing that affects their appearance.In this game, each character has one attack (much like in the original Gauntlet arcade game).He shoots a projectile at his enemies.The Warrior tosses an axe, Valkyrie tosses a sword, Wizard fires a magic missile, and Archer fires an arrow.In addition, you can always go melee if you feel like it.Just run up to the monsters and attack 'em at point blank.You can also collect magic potions and use them to unleash an area-affect of damaging magic.Regardless of what method you use to attack your foes, you gain experience for defeating them.When you gain enough, your character gains a level, and your four attributes improve (Strength, Armor, Speed, and Magic).

The view here is isometric overhead.To move straight through a corridor, you have to press the directional pad diagonally.Each of the five realms has a theme.Forest and volcanic areas, a large castle with dungeon, barracks, and armory, ancient ruins, a pyramid, a mining camp, a crystal mine, a twisted circus, a haunted house, and underground caverns, just to name a few.One of the final levels is based on the works of M.C. Escher.It has the never ending staircase and the "realm of impossibility" (where you ascend staircases or ramps, circle around on a straight walkway, and end up back where you started without having descended).Fun stuff.

Scattered about the levels are generators, which produce bad guys.They'll keep coming after you until you break through the throng and destroy the generator.The good variety of bad guys here includes scorpions, rats, snakes, orcs, trolls, magma demons, sorcerers, and other creatures.There are also archers who fire arrows at you, large golem monsters, and Death himself.He has two incarnations.Red Death drains health.Black Death drains experience.The only way to get rid of him is to use a magic potion or have an Anti-Death power-up.

Scattered about the regions you explore are various helpful things.Food restores health.Gold is...umm, gold is just accumulated in this game.There's no shop where you can spend it.Power-ups include triple shot, five-way shot, reflective shield, rapid fire, speed boost, invulnerability, gas mask (protects from poison fog), and the Anti-Death halo. The two items we need the most of are keys and magic potions.You can only hold nine of each at a time.Keys are used to open doors and treasure chests.Regular barrels can be shot, and they may contain a useful item.Treasure chests usually contain gold, food, or a useful item.

The level designs here are quite labyrinthine.They're also huge, offering us quite a bit of exploration.It can take up to a half hour to fully explore and clear out a single level.The levels are also spacious, offering us plenty of room to maneuver and dodge enemy fire.

The graphics here are a mixed bag.The characters are decent at best.They're not sharply drawn, nor are they sharply animated.By GBA standards, the animation is below par.The scenery is where things get good.Forest foliage, rock cliffs, bridges, castle walls, tundra, rivers, waterfalls, lava...Everything looks good.The egyptian levels have a good variety of nice-looking floors and walls.This is some good scenery.

The sound department is where this game falters badly.Repetitive music themes with tinny horns.There is some guitar music here.On the whole, the music is decent.Because the levels are large and your character tends to move rather slowly (even the fleet-footed Archer), you'll hear the same theme repeat over and over and over.There are very few sound effects here, and none are thrilling.It's amazing how bad sound can bring a game down.I got used to it.

This game is an example of game-play triumphing over visuals and sound.The game-play works, and the intricate level designs make it fun.On an odd note, there's no multi-player link capability.Rather strange.You can save your game between levels in one of three save slots.

I'm not going to lie to you and say that this game has eye-popping visuals, beautiful music tracks, great effects, or intricate story elements.What it does have is something that many great-looking and great-sounding games are lacking.Engaging game-play.I played through most of this game in one sitting.That's how engaging it is.It's solid fun.

Go buy a different game.
This game is not NEARLY as good as the other Gauntlet games. The levels are long and boring, the characters are Bad, there is no shop to buy things (therefore the collecting of gold is pointless), and the items activate the second you pick them up. I liked the other Gauntlet games much better than this one (especially the one for gamecube), but thats just my opinnion and if you want to waste your money and try to prove me wrong, then go ahead, but don't say I didn't warn you.

Nothing can compare
This game is...just it.The best version I've played this game on was Gamecube, and that was just b/c you could keep your items in storage to bring out in case you need them, otherwise they're all the same, and there's little new, cept maybe a few levels otherwise everything remains the same.Might be good for rent, but only version worth buying is on the Nintendo Gamecube. ... Read more

Asin: B00006ZCCT
Sales Rank: 1779
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Gameboy)    3. GBA    4. Action    5. Adventure   

Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance
Average Customer Review:
Video Game (21 November, 2002)
list price: $29.99
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Reviews (10)

A surprisingly responsive, accessible fighting game.
I was never a big fan of the Mortal Kombat series.Though I loved the characters and concept, the controls usually left much to be desired.But I found this game to be immediately appealing, and supplied the learning curve necessary for me to re-enter the Mortal Kombat franchise.

Many Gameboy Advance games I've played just don't allow you to slowly build up skill.The Revenge of Shinobi, for example, had me seething thanks to the lack of checkpoints, overlong levels and overly powerful enemies.And there was no Difficulty setting available for new players to gently ease into expertise.This game does, happily, and being a newbie to the game I needed this feature in order to slowly learn the moves and master the mechanics.

I wasn't optimistic about the prospect of fighting games on the four-buttom Gameboy Advance, but the Mortal Kombat series proves to be highly suitable for the platform.And the response is quite good; I was actually able to execute a lot more moves here than on my old SNES Mortal Kombat game.There is also a load of extras to unlock using "Koins" that you earn by playing various modes of the game.

If I have one gripe, it's that there aren't too many characters to choose from.Twelve is on the low side for a fighting game in 2003.A minor complaint, however, for what is generally a very good, playable package.

Such a nice change from MK-A
I loved Mortal Kombat on Arcade and Super Nintendo, I hated Mortal Kombat Advance, and I love Mortal Kombat Deadly Alliance on GBA.

This opus renewed my faith in the series. The difficulty is well adjusted, the graphics and sound are just as good as I would expect them to be on GBA, and the gameplay is great. This is such a welcome change after MK-A (which was so difficult that it was downright frustrating).

Don't let your past experience with MK-A deter you from buying this great game. Think of MK-D.A. as a redemption game from Midway.

It's a hell of a lot better than MK Advance
Over the yrs, handheld ports of MK games have ranged from absolutely abysmal to merely embarrassing(AHEM...MK Advance), so DA deserves special mention for even displaying a level of competence. The sound is great with good vioce samples and surprisingly potent smacking sounds, and the tight conrols retain an impressive amount of 12 characters maoves, stances, and fatalities. And just like it's console bretheren, there's tons of stuff to unlock, even if it's mostly character palete swaps. The most unfortunate thing about GBA DA is the decision to ape the console version's 3D gameplay when it really wasn't neccessary,the arenas are blocky Mode-7 messes that do impossible Escher things whenever the floor meets the background, and the characters have been pixelated to make the "scale". 10 for ambition, at any rate, great game Capcom, keep up the good work. ... Read more

Asin: B00007B9N4
Sales Rank: 6765
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Gameboy)    3. GBA    4. Fighting (Fight, Fights)    5. Strategy (Strategic)   

Lunar Legend
Average Customer Review:
Video Game (20 December, 2002)

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Editorial Review

Continuing the time-honored tradition of repackaging old console games, the Lunar RPG series has come to the GBA with Lunar Legend.

You play Alex, a young boy who hopes to one day be a Dragonmaster like his dearly departed hero Dyne. One day, a wizard named Nash comes into town, and needs an escort to a nearby shrine in the woods. You, your childhood friend Luna, and your flying cat-like pet Nall accompany Nash to the shrine, and your adventure begins.

Lunar Legend is an indirect port of a 10-year-old Sega CD game. The locations and characters are the same, but the dialog has been significantly shrunk to fit on the cartridge. This is a minus for true Lunar fans, since much of the story is lost. However, even with "Lunar Lite," you get a very satisfying game.

The game play is standard RPG fare: You walk around, randomly attack monsters, explore dungeons, and talk to villagers in various towns for quests and clues. The battle system, like most RPGs, is turn-based, and has some nice additions like the "Arts Gage" system, which allows special attacks after your character makes enough attacks during a battle. Lastly, you can collect cards throughout the game, and trade them with friends via link cable or sell them in various shops. Strangely, that's all you can do with them. It would have been nice if there was a mini card game of some kind.

The graphics in Lunar Legendare spectacular--on par with Golden Sun. The sound is top notch too, though the Luna's singing can get a little tiresome.

If you're looking for an easy RPG experience, or would like to relive part of the classic Lunar Series, give Lunar Legend a shot. You won't be disappointed. --Bryan Karsh

Pros:

• Amazing graphics
• Funny cat-like sidekick
• Trade game cards via link cable
• Great story
• Simple, yet fun battle system

Cons:

• A shadow of the original CD version of the game--may upset true fans of the series
• What use are collecting cards, if there is no mini card game?

... Read more

Reviews (38)

First RPG Game I Played-
Besides Poke'mon (which isn't a /rea/ rpg thing --) This was the first RPG I played. I had gotten it Christmas, when I was 9. It took me /3/ years to beat. I put it down after I couldn't beat the final boss. It's incredbly fun to play though, great grahics and awsome characters. (Go Nall!)

A decent RPG, especially for the RPG starved GBA
There isn't anything particularly amazing about Lunar ... the graphics are amazing, but the story is just alright, the battle system is pretty much standard fare. And yet despite all the medicority of all the individual parts Lunar still manages to be a fun playing experience.

The gameplay pretty much follows a linear path ... you talk to people in town, they direct you to the next dungeon, you fight a lot of random battles, you make it to a boss, you beat him, you go back to the town to get praise and directions to the next town in distress. Pretty standard fare. There aren't any side-quests, no real item custimization (other than the normal weapon and armor sellers), and you can't even customize your party (people come and go at various points in the story).

And yet, somehow Lunar manages to still be a solid game to play. While it won't leave you awed at its greatness (like FF Tactics Advance) it still won't leave you feeling cheated either. It's not the greatest RPG out there for the GBA, but it has some intangibles that do make it a quality play.

Lunar Legend truly is a Legend
If you want an RPG for your Gameboy Advance besides Golden Sun that can actually stand up to those found on the console then Lunar Legend is the RPG for you!While it isn't nearly as good as its release on the Playstation or even Sega CD it is worthwhile for a handheld.

The first thing about Lunar Legend that's cool is that for the GBA the graphics look great! The game doesn't lag much and it looks smoother than most GBA games do.It reminds of the look it had on the Playstation... only better suited for the GBA.

Lunar has a typical storyline that isn't too hard to follow but it has been reveered as a classic.What makes the story interesting is not the way it unfolds, but its characters.Without a doubt Lunar has characters that you may not like at first but over time you grow to love them.The characters are extremely well developed and you get time to know these characters.

The game features random battles and much like the console RPGs, have you going from place to place.The random battles are nice but this brings about a problem for Lunar.The game is relatively easy. Most battles won't take long but the random encounters become tedious because they don't take long and they're too easy.

In battle you can have your characters select commands such as to attack, use magic and the like.The battle system is fairly easy to learn but again the game is too easy.Even the bosses in the game are easy.For someone who played the Playstation or Sega CD version they may find the game to be dimmed down a bit too much.

The sound in Lunar isn't special really.It can be rather annoying actually.The spoken dialogue isn't too bad though and it really brings out the essence of the game.Unfortunately the story isn't dragged out by full motion anime cutscenes like before since the GBA isn't really capable of doing such a thing.The dialouge is also humorous and constructive and again shows why the story is so engrossing.

Lunar isn't really a long game though.It's rather short.In fact it can be completed in 15-18 hours.The game has extras such as an art gallery and collecing a 150 cards but nothing extreme is offered.

Overall, for the GBA this is a great RPG to play.It won't keep you busy for several hours or weeks on end but on a trip its nice to have along.

The Good
+Awesome Graphics
+Good storyline
+Loveable characters
+Easy to learn battle system

The Bad
-Can't say the same for the sound as the graphics
-Short game
-Too easy
-Not very many extras and such to keep you busy
-While the storyline is good it isn't original ... Read more

Asin: B00007B9MY
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Gameboy)    3. GBA    4. Action    5. Adventure    6. Role Playing Games (Game, RPG, RPGs, CRPG, CRPGs)   

The Lord of the Rings The Two Towers
Average Customer Review:
Video Game (15 November, 2002)
list price: $39.99 -- our price: $24.99
(price subject to change: see help)
US | Canada | United Kingdom | Germany | France

Editorial Review

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. ... Read more

Asin: B00006JLQ0
Subjects:  1. Video Games    2. Nintendo Game Boy Advance (Gameboy)    3. GBA    4. Action    5. Adventure