Features

• Use the Game Boy Advance Link Cable to share your Pokedex and Hi-Score information with a friend
• Play on both the Ruby and Sapphire fields
• For 1 or more players
• Play pinball with your favorite Pokemon from Pokemon Ruby and Sapphire
• Shoot the Poke Ball to find, catch, and evolve Pokemon

Reviews (32)

Not fun
This game is really boring. Whats the whole point of playing pinball with pokemon. I mean, you would just hit a ball and the pokemon getting hurt. And then you would be like, "Why the heck did I buy this piece of junk?" So you wasted money. Also, the first pinball was better. It came with a rumble pack and this one doesn't
Kelly Park

It's pinball!!! With...Pokemon?
Yeah, I'll admit, I don't like Pokemon games, they try to be good rpg's but, I don't like the concept of leveling up, catching, and evolving every single monster in a game.This game takes out some of the rpg elements (keyword here: some) and placed it into a pinball like mini game that could have been used in the other game.So, is this game fun?Yes, it is.

Most people might be led away from this game because of the title (I know I was, until I tried my friend's) but it is a unique pinball game, it really isn't the generic pinball game, but it adds a different type of gameplay, similar to Pinball of the Dead.In this game, you have to catch pokemon, using the bumpers at the top of the screen. Then you hit it a few times and voila, you've caught a pokemon!!What's the point of this, you may ask.The point is, if you collect 3 pokemon, or evolve 1, then a mini-game will come up.These mini-games, are really fun, and hey some of them can be challenging and down-right fun.The only downfall to this game, is well there are only 2 boards based off the themes of the ruby and sapphire games, and i guess both boards have pokemon you can't catch on the other anyway, most of the monsters I saw were newer (Hey, I really only played the original Red and Blue games) and I was confused at what they were.

Pros:
* Great Pinball experience
* Cool Mini-Games
* You can buy stuff that affects the game
* Good Graphics
* You can save in the middle of a game

Cons:
* Only 2 boards to choose
* It has pokemon (this can be a pro if you like pokemon games)
* There are only 4 mini-games (not included the Catch 'em or evolution mode)
* The sound is okay, but just not that great
* You might be confused by what the heck you just caught (ex. Spoink, what kind of name is that?)

Features

• Impartial judge decrees specific rules during every battle
• Speed-based system that falls in between real-time and turn-based action
• Gorgeous character illustrations and 2D sprites harken back to Square's 16-bit glory days
• Players assume the role of young Marche in a world of strategic combat and conquest
• 3D-viewpoint battlefield offers clear view of playing characters

Reviews (171)

Well after two years...
One day I was bored, hadn't played my gameboy in a year, final fantasy, 2 years. Well, guess what I did? Played it for as much as I could. I've already beaten this game TWO times and it is STILL is extremely fun. This is still by far the best game I have played on GameBoy.

Graphics: 9/10
Extremely good for GameBoy, when you select a unit it has a beautifully drawn portrait, the graphics are to drool over.

Gameplay: 10/10
I love it. Some people may get bored of it, but it is so fun...egad...

Story: 9/10
WHOA, who ever knew that Nintendo would come out with a good story? Usually it's all crap (MARIO....) sheesh...It is orginal, yet with a big twist: A boy get's trapped in another world, and tries to get out of it. Yet your friend is wanting to stay, and your other friend, well, was basically the Prince of this whole world.

To put it in a more explanatory way.... YOU get trapped in that world, called Ivalice. Your friend, Mewt has a magic book that somehow sends you and him, and this chick Ritz with you. Ritz wants to stay...Meewt is ruler and stays....you...want to get out! You have to kill these Totema(as so it seems) to get out. I won't get furthur, because it's a good, and suspenseful story...One final word: It's NOT MARIO!!!

Moving on to the gameplay: Well it's "tactical" of course. You take turns moving units of your clan facing evil fiends, fierce clans, and powerfulTotema. No, you never face Mewt, you face his Mom thought (HA!) Actually she turns into an extremely powerful witch-spirit-totally-wack-powerful..thing. As I was saying you take turns, as well as the other team, and fight until you win the match, sadly, if one of your character units falls in battle it says he is KO'd (Come on just a bit of blood?)
Which is nice because you will have that unit the next battle.

There are 5 races: Humans, Bangaas, Viera, Nu Mou, and Moogles.

Humans- You know.... They do just about everything, just not exactly like those other races, many jobs, so fun to develop.

Bangaas- Masculine Lizard-Like Warriors based on brute strength.

Viera- Chicks that have bunny ears, good with stealth and elemental magics.

Nu Mou- Cross between sheep and cow (well they look like that) by the way none of these races looke silly, Just my explanations are wack. Nu Mou are based on healing magics and other magics.

Moogles- Bunnies. No, really. My favorite race. Based on stealth and silly, yet deadly, antics.


Well, this is an awesome game, nobody can deny it( fine..some...)
I have been amazed by this game for nearly two years....

A MSUT BUY FOR RPG FANS. Trust me. Final Fantasy Tactics is different than some FF games, but a giant hit for the GBA! Take my advice, buy it.

Fun, no complaints
This game is addicting.Like caffine addicting.Seriously, this game is fun.The story starts out rather childish with apperntly shallow charecters, but as it progress, say about, for me, twenty hours into the game, you see that it's actually closer to a story about escapeism.The battles are just sweet, though sometimes (Very begining) there appears to be too much talking.The discover new areas thing was fun too.Now off to face down the final boss who I hate because my most powerful charecter is a paladin, paladins only do holy damage, and it's immune to holy damage.

Features

• Use power-ups like Warp Whistle and Frog Suits
• Battle in the land, air and sea
• For 1-4 players with Game Link cable
• Help Mario and Luigi stop Bowser and his trouble-making kids
• Run, crush and stomp over your enemies as you conquer 8 different worlds

Reviews (149)

Excellent!
My niece got this game and some other games but i think she likes it the best. so do i. She is so shellfish that she doesn't let me play. so i told my mom to buy one for me.FUN. I HIGHLY RECOMMENDED IT.

I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVE MARIO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is a really good game and I strongly reccommend it for ANYBODY!!!!! I love all if the levels and they never get old!!!! This game is AWESOME!!!!

Features

• Return to Battle city and compete in a trading card tournament
• Compete in a battle for the ultra-powerful Egyptian God Cards
• All-new original saga featuring over 100 duelists
• 900 cards
• For 1 player

Reviews (148)

bad
this game is supposed to be about dueling,that is what yugioh is about.in this game you barely duel,because after you beat a person they go away untill you turn off your gba and then turn it back on,so you do not have alot of people to deul.But it does have good graphics.

Yu-Gi-Oh - The Sacred Cards GBA
This game is pretty much easy for me anyway because I could beat this game every day and win the entire game with in 3 HOURS with the help of 1 extra item and its called the GAME SHARK its a machine its not a game that allows you to beat any VIDEO Game Depending on the game system for example the Game Shark for GAME BOY ADAVNCE it will only work on GAMEBOY ADVANCE games and the SP system as well when you use the GAME SHARK on The Sacred Cards you don't need to use very low attack power and Defense power u could win any body with in 1-6 turns
bacause you get the following:

DECK CAPACIRTY : 9,999
DUELIST LEVEL : 9,999
MONEY/DOMINO : 999999 well something like that but its 9's.

And you can automatically use HIGH ATTACK POWER like DARK ELF with an attack strength of 2000 DEF 0800 very high. Well I will talk back A.S.A.P on another GAME REVIEW.

p.s the strongest SACRED CARDS DECK 00-40 cards :

x1 - Summoned Skull ATK 2500 DEF 1200
x1 - Dark Hole (Magic Card)
x1 - Raigeki ( Magic Card )
x1 - Swords Of Revealing Light ( Magic Card )
x1 - La Jinn The Mystical Genie Of The Lamp ATK 1800 DEF 1000
x3 - 7 Colored Fish ATK 1800 DEF 0800
x3 - Giant Red Seasnake ATK 1800 DEF 0800
x2 - The Bistro Butcher ATK 1800 DEF 1000
x3 - Gemini Elf ATK 1900 DEF 0900
x2 - Dark Elf ATK 2000 DEF 0800
x1 - Invisible Wire ( Trap Card )
x3 - Acid Trap Hole ( Trap Card )
x1 - Insect Queen ATK 2200 DEF 2400
x1 - Pot Of Greed ( Magic Card )
x3 - Flash Assailant ATK 2000 DEF 2000
x1 - Dark Zebra ATK 1800 DEF 0400
x3 - Boar Solider ATK 2000 DEF 0500
x1 - Vorse Raider ATK 1900 DEF 1200
x2 - Harpie's Brother ATK 1800 DEF 0600
x2 - Thunder Nyan Nyan ATK 1900 DEF 0800
x1 - Nuvia The Wiced ATK 2000 DEF 0800
x1 - OBELISK THE TORMENTOR ATK 4000 DEF 4000
x1 - SLIFER THE SKY DRAGON ATK X000 DEF X000
x1 - Blue-Eyes Ultiamate Dragon ATK 4500 DEF 3800

TOTAL NUMBER OF CARDS 40

DECK CAPACITY 8,646 out of 10,304

when you see ur DECK CAPACITY 0000 of 9999 you will have to DUEL many more people inorder to raise the number HIGHER.


OK DUEL MONSTER FANS BYE!

Features

• Fight the undead, save the city of San Miguel, and avenge the death of Django's father
• A real time clock inside the cartridge changes over time from daytime to nighttime
• Game contents change with the amount of sunlight the solar sensor receives
• Sunlight required to charge the solar gun, the only weapon in the game
• For 1 to 2 players

Reviews (20)

Boktai
Here is just a little tid-bit for you.
Django was really a old european movie. It was about a vampire slayer that normally would carry a coffin behind him. But the movie was so horribly gorey, i was banned in many parts of europe. I saw it it was kewl

umm, good idea but is it neccesary?
i bought this game used and i've turned it on maybe twice... i get to the first level. i didn't know much about this game. i took a chance on it thinking it might be a fun RPG adventure... i had no idea that i needed sun to play. well, i live in portland and theres not much sun this time of year... i guess if i want to play i'll have to wait a few months... but i'll probably give up before then... there are so many other games out there... why didn't they just make it LIGHT sensitive. If i'm outside i usually have better things to do than stare at a screen.

the graphics that i saw looked pretty and the sound seemed okay but like i said... i didn't get far... maybe my cartridge is broken? who knows...

Features

• 15 playable characters
• Use your power to transform to the next level and let loose massive attacks
• For 1 or 2 players
• Fighting game featuring popular anime characters
• Stunning cartoon-style graphics

Reviews (42)

WORST DBZ GAME EVER!!!
This is by far the worst DBZ game I have ever played! I own all the DBZ GBA games including the newer fighting game "Super Sonic Warriors".

I got Taiketsu without reading any reviews. I cant believe I was soooo naive to buy this game! I was so dissipointed by the small limit of moves to do, the corny looking graphics, and its really hard to do combo moves!

I was so upset that I wasted $25 on it that I pretended I liked so I felt like I got my moneys worth. Dont buy this game if you want to play a good DBZ GBA game then get Super Sonic Warriors which is a trillion times better!

Whoever designed this thing needs to be slapped.
I saw the advertisment for this game and figured I'd try it out. I spent 30 bucks on this thing and was hoping it would actually be worthwhile.....

Graphics: 8- The graphics are pretty good for 32-bit GBA. Energy blasts are the highlight of the Graphics department, when Goku unleashes a huge Spirit Bomb it looks pretty sweet. Yep. It's probably the best thing about the game, not that that's saying much...

Sound: 6- Most of the Sound is annoying, but two or three songs are pretty good. There are a couple power-chord driven rock beats on the game, and since I like hard rock, I liked that background music somewhat, but the rest I didnt care for.

Gameplay: 5- Ehh, who cares. The gameplay wasn't very good. You had about 3 different Specials maximum. It wasn't like Hyper Dimension where each character had dozens of moves. Each character has their signature move along with a really big one. Goku's signature move is Kamehameha, of course, and his ultimate move is Spirit Bomb, which includes a cut scene. The worst part about the gameplay is that (A) You can be extremely cheap by just pressing the Kick button and Forward continuously until the opponent dies, and (B) The limited number of moves you can perform.

In addition to those minor problems, the game isn't very long. There are about 8 characters to unlock, including Broly. That, and after each battle with the GBA you earn points which you can use to unlock Bios, pics from the show and other stuff that no one actually cares about.

I successfully completed the game within a couple hours. And did I mention the Difficulty Levels dont actually DO anything? Easy is just as difficult as Hard. In fact, sometimes Hard is easier than Easy. What happens on the Hard difficulty level is that sometimes the opponent will just stand there and let you beat them to death until when they're almost dead, and THEN they'll start fighting back. It was a VERY irritating aspect of the game.

Final Score: 6- It was okay, it kept my attention for a while......At least until I had mastered every facet of the game, which didnt take long. One of the main problems was how limiting the game was. You could only perform a couple Specials and the game was pretty short overall. I'd say it would be worth Renting, beating the crap out of it, then never playing it again.

Features

• Over 20 fighting moves
• Transform into a mouse, a tank and more
• For 1 player
• Crazy fighting/exploring game featuring Banjo-Kazooie
• Six worlds with over 60 different trials

Reviews (20)

A fun game
This game is fun and has good graphics I recomend it for people who think a lot of games are to hard. This game might be toeasy for hard core gamers but kids will enjoy it. Once you figure it out it's kind of easy but I think it's my favorite game for GBA so far. Get it if you like BK games.

nice addition to the banjo-kazooie series
Well I love the original two for the N64 and when I saw all these great reviews for the game when I first read them,I decided to buy it...

and boy was it worth it!

The graphics are beautiful,the music,voices,and sound effects are what you'd expect from a banjo-kazooie game(which are good)and the gameplay is wonderful! There's races you compete in,time trials and the works,just like in the other two for the 64. I highly recomend this game for you to add to your collection,and if you loved the other two banjo-kazooie games,you're more than likely going to love this one.

Features

• Digimon fighting action game based on the hit series
• Collect Spirit Balls and digivolve to Beast Form
• Collect Ancient Spirits to digivolve to Ancient Form
• Unlockable mini-game
• For 1 or 2 players using link cable

Reviews (7)

THE BEST GAME!
I thought this was the best digimon game ever! The graphics are amazing...The pictures may not look like it but when you playing the game in your hands! Its totally DIFFERENT!...I can't wait till Digimon World 4 comes out for gamecube...!!1

I like the front cover
I like the front cover, and it looks pretty cool

Features

• Side-scrolling action platformer game featuring Mega Man's friend, Zero
• New weapon customization system lets you adjust game level difficulty
• A new improved, user-friendly Cyber-Elf collection system
• New-in game special effects, tutorial,mission select and temporary save features added
• For 1-2 players over link cable

Reviews (17)

A stunningly well done game.
The Megaman Zero series is Capcom's attempt to revive the beloved Megaman X series. However, instead of X you get to play as Zero. But what is the game really like? Well, that's easy. It's unbelievably good, and much better than Mega Man Zero. All the tough, retarded stuff in Zero 1 is reworked, from the crappily done Cyber Elf system to the linear, one boss at a time and never get to try again level select system. Now you select a boss from among the four "current bosses" (don't worry, there's only two sets) and play the level over and over until you beat him. Although you can't return to the stage select screen, it's much better than in Zero 1 where if you got game over on a level, you could never play it again and were basically screwed. The Cyber Elves are now fed and downloaded by talking to Ciel, and they are also much easier to level up as well, in terms of Energy Crystals.

The game is much easier than its predecessor, a good thing since I personally found Zero 1 to be frustratingly cheap at times. Although people who mastered Zero 1 will probably breeze through it in a couple hours, newcomers to the series will be amply challenged yet given a good chance to succeed once they have figured out the order in chich to defeat the first four bosses (trust me, there is one. You COULD beat the bosses in whichever order you please, but the game will be quite a bit more difficult). Individual enemies are simple to defeat; you can shoot them a few times or slice 'em in half with your
Z-saber. However, both the bosses and the minibosses require clever combo attacks to beat, as well as a good understanding of their attack patterns. Perhaps the only time the difficulty is messed up is the last boss, who is one of the easiest in the game.

And maybe because the difficulty is so well balanced, this is an easy game to enjoy. RPG gamers will like the plot twists and move varieties while action lovers will derive pure joy out of such moments as pulling an enemy right next to you with the Grappling hook only to cut them in two with the Z-saber. It's also great when you feel that rush of satisfaction after killing a particularly hard boss and watching the two halves of him drift apart from the effects of your Z-saber.

Visually and in terms of sound the game shines. I've probably mentioned about three times already that when you slice and enemy with your sword it actually slices him into two parts, and for a brief moment you can see the circuitry inside him before the two parts clatter to the floor and explode. Everything else also animates extremely smoothly, and the backgrounds are vibrant and well drawn. The sound effects are about average, but the music is really good. The music always fits the mood of the scene, and the background music in the levels themselves pumps you up and almost improves your reflexes (or maybe it's just the sweat running down your back after playing for two hours and trying to get an A rank in every level). I cannot remember a time when the graphics or sound effects didn't satisfy me.

Overall, this is a gem of a game that should appeal to a wide variety of different gamers. Unless you despise having fun, you'll probably like this game. And by the way, the ultimate bad guy turns out to be one of the last people you'd expect, mainly because once you beat him, if you think about it, it's really obvious why that person is bad enough to be the last boss. That obviousness will proabably having you scratching your head up until the last minute. This game is some tight stuff; enjoy.

A Mega Man game has never been better.
Mega Man Zero 2 is one of the better GBA games to come in a while.It is also one of those rare moments where the sequel more than surpasses the original.In fact, Mega Man Zero 2 surpasses its predecessor in almost every way possible.

The game takes place one year after the first Mega Man Zero.The game begins with Zero wandering through the desert looking for the resistance base when he is suddenly ambushed by the enemy.He lives long enough to get to the resistance base where his weapons are fixed and he's ready to battle the threat of Neo Arcadia once more.

The game has a story similar to the Mega Man X series and the previous Mega Man Zero game.Neo Arcadia, a faction built by humans, wants to "retire" all the reploids (by retire they mean destroy) since they see the robots as a future threat.With peace nearly in reach, Elpizom the new resistance leader seems set on destroying Neo Arcadia. But Elpizo and Zero, you'll quickly learn have different views on what a Utopia should be.

The gameplay isn't much different from Mega Man Zero.Zero can do all the same abilities he did in the last one.He can dash, jump and use any of four weapons of his choice.Zero's four weapons consists of his Z-Buster, Z-Saber, Chain Rod and Shield Boomerang.Each has its own properties, for example the Z-Buster allows Zero to attack long range but the cost is he doesn't do much damage.The Z-Saber allows him to deal massive damage but he needs to be right in the enemies face.The Chain Rod allows Zero to hit enemies from a distance with medium damage.The Chain Rod also allows him to swing from ledges.The Shield Boomerang is a shield that deflects shots.Each wapon can also be charged up to do double the damage.

Each mission plays out similar, but they're not straightforward to defeating the boss.Some missions require you to rescue certain comrades, destroy certain objects and many other side objectives.Each mission has a boss as well.

Mega Man Zero 2 takes a small step above the first one with its Ranking System.After each mission you're graded on a scale that ranges from S to F. S being the highest.But there's more to it than just having a ranking and a nickname.If Zero should be at an A or S rank bosses will use a special attack that Zero can acquire called an "EX" skill. There are ten of these skills in all but new comers shouldn't attempt this until a few runs through the game.

Zero can also take on different "Forms".Each form gives him different properties.One could give him lots of defense and speed and limit his power.One could give him more power but limit other properties.Each form Zero takes changes his color.

The Cyber-Elf system is back and it remains unchanged.You find Cyber Elves in every level by defeating enemies, destroying containers or defeating the mini boss in a level.Cyber Elves are divided into three categories, Nurse (health), Animal (Enhance Abilities) and Hacker (Change level).Zero can also feed his elves and make them stronger.Some elves have permanent effects but Capcom makes sure that if you want all the EX skills and everything Mega Man Zero 2 has to offer then you must master going through the game without using the more powerful ones.Using the more powerful elves drops your ranking.

Visually, Mega Man Zero 2 looks great!Zero looks about the same as he did in the first one but backgrounds and levels are much more vividly detailed than before.

The game also sounds incredible!No Mega Man game has ever sounded this good.Remixing old tracks from the last installment and adding in several new tracks.

Its as if Capcom knew exactly what was wrong with the first one.This game is also much much longer than the first one and offers lots more to do.The game has more stages and they're much longer.

This game is also a CHALLENGE!We all know that once you got the hang of Mega Man Zero (or if you were a Mega Man X veteran) then Mega Man Zero was too easy.But when you first pop this in, even Mega Man veterans will find this new one to be a challenge!The challenge can be a little frustrating at times, especially when trying to maintain your A or S ranking but a good challenge always presents a good game.

Capcom went all out to make this better than the previous one by changing everything that was bad about the first one and keeping all that was good and the result is a well defined sequel that no Mega Man fan should miss!

The Good
+New improved gameplay
+So much more stuff to do
+Longer than the first one
+More challenging than the first one
+Music is better than the first one
+More abilities than in the first one
+Just all out BETTER than the first one

The Bad
-The game may be too challenging for those new to the Mega Man world

Delicious!More Please!
Mega Man Zero 2 sticks mostly to the formula the original had but improves on it in subtle ways.The spear has been replaced by a grappling hook that functions similarly but allows you to hook and swing to places you couldn't reach before.In addition to powering up your weapons over time and the elemental chips, you can now obtain what are known as EX skills and Forms.EX skills are special abilities stolen from the boss characters throughout the game, though you'll only steal an ability if your rating is an A or better.This means that you'll likely not capture many of the EX skills the first time through the game, though they really aren't needed much to finish it and are more a reward to players willing to work hard for the A rating.The Forms on the other hand, are highly useful and are unlocked by performing certain feats within a level, such as killing 20 enemies with a jumping slash, or collecting 20 life capsules.These additions allow you to customize Zero's fighting style in numerous ways and add a lot of replayability to the game.

The cyber-elf system is much better this time around.While it hasn't changed dramatically, the amount of energy crystals you need to feed some of the elves has been thankfully reduced and a few new, very useful elves have been added to the list, such as an elf that boosts your rating to A in case your performance slips up a bit.

The game is just about as hard as the original (perhaps harder) though it's not as hard as it seems.The trick, like in most mega man games, is figuring out your opponents patterns and reacting quickly.Many of the boss characters are weak to attacks from one of the elemental chips too, so dodging and using charged attacks makes short work of most of the bosses.Once you're used to the controls and have a feel for the enemies, the game can get rather easy.

Features

• Assume control of a diverse and powerful army of soldiers loyal to your cause
• Persuade powerful enemy heroes to leave their evil armies and join your growing cause
• For 1-4 players over link cable
• Marshall your forces and draw your steel -- the legendary Fire Emblem roleplaying games have arrived on the GBA
• Defend against usurpers and assassins as you aid young lords on their quest against evil

Reviews (118)

Best GBA RPG Ever!
For those of you who were disappointed over Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls, this game will let you have peace in your heart.Although it is not made by SquareEnix, it still shares some of the elements of FF:Tactics Advance.While the story is as far out as the FF series, it still retains a lot of the plot twists and suspense that the other games have.

For of you who haven't had the chance to play any of these games allow me to introduce it to you.Intelligent Systems, the people behind Advanced Wars and Paper Mario, have released an RPG based off the Japanese series Fire Emblem after Super Smash Bros. Melee introduced Marth & Roy and the people begged for it to be released (including me).This game is not like SSBM in any regards, its totally different.You play on a grid where you move your units around and attack your opponents.

I am a big fan of grid based combat, so I went and bought this game as soon as I could.It has so many great elements to make a game good.The thing that might shock other people, as it did me, as that as soon as one of the characters dies, they're gone for good, unless of course you want to restart the level.This adds a huge amount of stratergy to the game.Some of the characters that are weak would normally make me care less if they died, but in this game, they give you their background, and each has their own dying phrase.The other thing is, your ending will be changed a little if any character dies.

The sound is spectacular, some of the best orchastrated music I've heard on a handheld.Conversations can drag on a little sometimes, but that can be ignored by the music and the excellent storyline.

It starts out as your basic fairy tale about a girl finding out she's a princess and so on.But then later the game takes on a much darker tone, which I don't want to spoil for those who haven't played the game.Oh, and the other nice feature is the ability for your weapons to have 'health.'Its similar to that of Dark Cloud's system, but different.If you use a weapon too much, it'll break.THe other neat feature is the extra chapters that can be obtained in various ways.

So overall, the game is pretty awesome.I suggest that to everyone who has a gba, to pick this one up even if they hate these games.

PROS
- Excellent Storyline
- Great stratergy elements
- The Battle System works extremely well
- The music is some of the best on a handheld

CONS
- Dialogue can drag on sometimes, but it isn't too bad.
- The Tutorial is extremely annoying, but if you skip it, you miss part of the storyline.
- Losing a character and starting the level all over can be quite annoying when you get to longer levels.

Yawn. Been done and done heaps better.
Remember Shining Force I and II? Remember? Those turn based top-down view rpgs on the Sega Mega Drive with cool characters, heaps of cool magic and detailed combat animations?

Well those were classic sega games that came out a full DECADE ago. Compared to those strategy rpgs of yore, Fire Emblem (this the 7th in the series) makes NO PROGRESS WHATSOEVER.

It has lacklustre character designs, an overly wordy plot, a simplistic and boring combat system, a lack of difficulty and an annoying "support" feature which is somehow the developers attempt at adding replay value to this game.

Overall, to the utter newbie whose only prior experience with these kind of games was with Advance Wars(which is arguably a better game than this one), Fire Emblem might seem like a solid choice. I agree, it IS a solid choice. It is also, however, a throwback of a game. A disappointing retread of gameplay that has been done bigger and better(on lower end systems I might add).

How to begin? I will make a short comparison between this game and Shining Force II, which many of you have already played. Let me remind you that:

*SFII had more exciting animations. In Fire Emblem, most of the art went to the character portraits. When it comes to the top-down graphics in battle, as well as the battle animations themselves, this game looks extremely poor for a GBA game.

*SFII had more varied character designs.FE's characters might look "pretty", but are pretty much all same-ish anime fare, color-coded hair and all.

*SFII had HEAPS more: weapons, armours, spells, items. It was much more varied. Compared to this, all FE has going for it is a nice little "weapon triangle" system and your token herbs and potions. Not very exciting. In SFII you could cast spells like gigantic lightning storms which affect entire areas. In FE the magic works just like a weapon. You attack one square at a time. BO-Ring.

*SFII had BETWEEN-COMBAT exploration. In FE, it's pretty much battle after battle. Consequently the plot is FORCED to be told in huge CHUNKS pre and post-battle. Not very immersive.

*SFII was fun and worth replaying. Just go try it. In FE however, any semblance of replayability is in the form of placing different units next to each other and wait turn after turn in hope of getting new support combos. Wheee.

It seems abit ridiculous for me to compare this hand-held game with a console game, but bear in mind that the console game in question came out more than 10 years before this. The game boy advance is both graphically and performance wise better than the Mega Drive in every respect. Why can't Intelligent Sys. make a game that fully utilises its potential?

Reviews (2)

BORING!
Being a Disney fan I thought this game would be cute.I was wrong. If I wanted to jump around a game board with no reward I would play an actual board game.You are lucky to win one mini game every 15 turns.You also have to be linked to another gameboy to even get the mini games.This game needs to advertise that you need 2 gameboys and 2 players or more to have the least bit of fun.Otherwise you are pointlessly jumping around a game board.I can't believe its a $30 game.I have way more fun with my $10 Ninja Turtle game.

Not what it appears to be
Beware the false advertising on this game's box!I bought it because it looked like a portable, Disney version of Mario Party.Based on the box, it LOOKS like you play on a game board with a few other players, and then frequently stop to play minigames.That would be great, wouldn't it?Unfortunately, that's not what this game is.

There is a game board, and you do play against a few other computer players.But get this--there are NO MINIGAMES in that game mode.It is one of the worst, most boring games I have ever played, no exaggeration.Instead of playing minigames, in the board game mode, you are trying to reach the next "attraction," which is a very bare-bones, low-quality side-scrolling platforming game level!And, in the cruddy bare-bones platforming levels, you're not competing against any of the other characters--you are throwing bombs (which somehow float behind you--that's how you carry them) at a handful of pathetic enemies and trying to collect a few stars.These poor excuses for levels, or minigames, or whatever they are intended to be are also ridiculously short.AND, instead of playing one of these levels every turn, you will be lucky if you get to play ONE during a whole game.If you can get to the "attraction" before the computer, within the ridiculously short period of time that you have to get there, you can play the level.What happens more often is that you move around pointlessly on the game board for the whole game, while the computer does way better than you (and has all the fun).Isn't this game supposed to be for kids?I guess the developer thinks that kids like to lose.

The only way to play minigames in this game is to link to another Gameboy and play against a live person head-to-head.But then, there are very few minigames available, and to GET them, you have to beat the normal mode of the game (with the stupid game board and the "attractions") over and over.It just isn't worth the time.

Features

• The first and only way to experience complete Quidditch matches
• Play as any one of four Hogwarts Houses
• Play all the Quidditch positions and execute all the high-flying moves
• Play as characters from the books, including Harry Potter, Draco Malfoy, and more
• For 1 player

Reviews (9)

Good Choice for Harry Potter fan.
I was really excited when I got this game. I love the books and don't mind playing games either. I'm not a game freak who plays constantly, just on trips and stuff. This game is really fun, it catches the Quidditch spirit in everyone. In this game you can be any of the seven players. There isn't much difference between the keeper and chasers they all just fly around and you can't tell them apart. This game is really nice and a good choice for any Harry Potter fan who has dreamed of being out there playing with the quaffle or chasing down the snitch. This game is really easy to catch on to. At low levels it is really easy. You can dominate even if you've only played a little bit. However, the firebolt level keeps even the master in check. If I were you, I would get this game.

Not a bad game, but they could have done better
i think that this is by far the best of the potter games, altho i haven't tried out the new prisoner of azkaban game. i do have to say that i love the books, and i am a very causual gamer. I play this game loads, and i really do enjoy it. in contradiction with one of the reviews i just read, i find it terribly easy to score over 150 pts in a game before the snitch chase, and the world cup games get harder as you go on. overall i think it's brilliant.

What are you all talking about?
I've been reading reviews for this game, and I had thought I had a guarenteed great game in my hand after i bought it. I guess I thought wrong. I am about 14 years old and have read the potter books and like them alot. THis game is very disapointing. SOme of you might be familiar with the scoring system in quidditch: 10 pts. for each time the quaffle (main playing ball) goes through one of the goal-like hoops, and 150 pts. for when the seeker catches that darn golden snitch. Now, I say they either change the rules of quidditch, or make a sequal to the game. I dont think they can go back and change all those books. To me, all this game is is flying around tossing the quaffle back and forth, until the time comes to try and catch the snitch before the other team does. The game works it out so that when there are enough steals, special moves and passes during a game, it automatically goes right to the catching of the snitch. I feel the quaffle part of this game is completly pointless because the way the game makes it, whoever catches the snitch wins. It almost never get to you scoring 150 points with the quaffle before the hunt for the snitch is on, so why even have the quaffle play in it. Basically, this game just comes down to the 1 minute hunt for the snitch at the end.