Bonus Coins 9/10

Time to have a super fun time! Yes again another Game Boy Advance title is up for review. This time we have a run and gun shoot em up. Gunstar Super Heroes was made by Treasure a small company that did various seqeals to many big titles in the late 90‘s The studio is well known for making very good quality games that sadly fell through the cracks and are now regarded as gems when they are reviewed and discovered.Gunstar Super Heroes was released on October 25th 2005 in the US shores.

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​ Letting you blaze through 6 crazy levels each with its own mini chapters Gunstar Super Heroes is and i will say it again the perfect game to own on a hand held. ​ You play as Red and Blue agents of Earths special unit known as 3YE as you try to learn the secrets of the new mechanical moon that has taken orbit. The evil organization known as the Empire is planning to bring back the God Of Ruin from days past.As you progress in the levels you encounter mini bosses and end each level with a boss battle. You can switch between 3 weapons each with its own perk and usefulness against certain enemies.Each weapon also has a special attack you can use when you fill up your power meter great to use on end stage bosses. Controls are tight and very accurate besides being a run and gun plat-former you are also allowed to use melee attacks and kicks which makes game play even more enjoyable. the music is fast paced and with lots of kick. sucks the SP does not have an audio jack had to end up playing on my Advance.

Gunstar Super Heroes makes for a perfect game to learn and begin speed running as its such a short game and all the enemies fall in the same pattern every time it makes it quick to learn. Its insane that this game won so many E3 awards including best GBA game by IGN, Gamespot and 1UP when it was announced that it didn’t sell as amazingly as it did. I recommend this game because its that little game not that many people know about that provides big fun.

bonus coins 8.5/10

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Released in mid 2004 Shining Soul 2 was released late into the lifespan of the Game boy Advance. I feel a lot of the great games were missed out on due to the fact the Nintendo DS was just around the corner many Advance titles were shadowed out and missed. Heck i didn’t even know about Onimusha Tactics until i read the wiki page on all the games on the Onimusha franchise but i digress.

After completing the first Shining Soul game on the Game boy Advance i was left satisfied i was thinking of what could be improved on and then i realized there was one more game to play. Shining Soul 2 is the answers to all my wants and needs from the first.  First the musical score is has been bumped up several notches each stage and area has its own music and theme which brings out the environment and compiled with stronger visual effects and better sprites. Characters in the game now include more class types and more depth into armors and accessories along with skills to develop. On my particular run on the game i chose the Dark Wizard to try out the magic casting.

Shining Soul 2 also has an actual story and adds a lot of character interactions within the the castle of King Marcel. Side quests and the Colosseum add lots of replay value also with the ability to play with 4 players it brings something new to the table and took advantage of the Game boy Advance multi player option. The bosses still remain hard as nails but are a bit easier to predict and learn attack patterns than the first game which is great less death for me. You can tell that Grasshopper Manufacture really worked on this game because there is a lot of comedy and humor in the dialog something i miss from my Working Designs studio games. Shining Soul 2 really delivers on mixing all good elements to create a great game.

bonus coins 7/10

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Sega during the time of the great RPG resurgence on the Nintendo and the Super Nintendo decided it too needed a rpg category to offer to its consumer market and help sales. Sega developed the Shining series with great success on the Master System eventually obtaining a loyal fan base that helped Sega carry the name through various systems including the Sega Game Gear and Saturn. After Sega dropped out of developing systems and becoming the publisher the Shining series continued to make games on various other platforms including the play station 2, Game Boy Advance,  and mobile phones. 

I however will be talking about the Shining Soul games on the Game boy Advance. both made by Atlus and the second game made along side the crew of Grasshopper Manufacture. These games are overhead action RPGS with a rebooted story from the original Shining series on the Master System.

Game play is very simple you start the game choosing one of the 4 types including Warrior, Archer, Dragonute, or Wizard. You then start the game learning of an evil force known as the dark dragon has awakened and is growing a massive dark army to throw the world into an eternal state of chaos. Combat is very straight forward and is most of the time a button masher with uses of healing items in between combat. You gain levels and get points to develop different aspects of your character including strength, intelligence, dexterity and vitality. Gaining levels and stats opens up new armors and weapons selectable depending on the class type you chose. Boss battles are challenging and make this game very good. I pulled my hair out each times i died from the bosses but each time i did gaining attack patterns and weakness against certain moves. Level designs are very nice and each segment of the game is unique.Music in the game is also nice however just like Crystalis its very repetitive and gets boring about an hour in. enemy design is nice and there is a wide variety of monsters to defeat with a bit of color swapping for stronger versions near the end of the game.Game length is nice not too long and not short about 5-6 hours and you can beat the game in one long sitting.

If you are a fan of action RPGS and need something new i do recommend this for you. With a long pedigree of games for you to play the only one better than this is the absolutely amazing second game in this series Shining Soul 2. 

Bonus Coins 6.5/10

Crystalis Is a game originally released on the NES on April 13th 1990 (birth year game yes!) Produced by SNK originally the remake of the game was produced 10 years later with permission from SNK the game was made by Nintendo Software Technology and made for the Gameboy Color.

You take control of a young warrior that was sealed in a sleep capsule for one hundred years. Learning that the world was destroyed from nuclear war the world of advanced technology has now gone back to the dark ages. You are told the world is now under the control of Dragonia. He has found the use of old technology and magic to create a powerful army. From the beginning you are told you must get the 4 swords in order to create the powerful Crystalis. You receive the swords of wind, fire, water and lightning as you progress and each sword comes with 3 levels of charging you can unleash on enemies which makes for great variety. As you progress you gain various pieces of equipment to help advance the plot which is nice and things you don’t really see in RPGS anymore besides the Zelda series. The enemies in Crystalis are very easy to beat and also do not pose much of a challenge. For the Gameboy version what will get you killed is the fact that the Gameboy screen is very small and cuts out lots of the surroundings. Enemies are not reskins which I like and gives the player a little variety. There are quite a few towns to explore each with its own charm and townsfolk which is very nice and gives the game personality. The music in Crystalis is awful lets just get that out there. Its holds good for about one hour then you just turn the sound very low or off completely the repetition of the track is used far too often and town music is all the same. I really wish we could have gotten some A class composers because I think this would have made this game much more recognized and popularized.

Overall the game takes a few hours to complete and with a max level of 16 that you can reach the game does not make you grind for levels. The story is written out very nice and does have its sad moments but that helps the player in understanding the conflict and adds to the fact you are the last hope. You can get this game very cheaply online or even get the rom version and play though on your day off you will not be disappointed just make sure you play your own music. (honestly this impacted the score the most because this is a fantastic short game)  

Bonus Coins 7.5/10

It’s time to take on a classic on the Gameboy once again! (yes I love the Gameboy a little too much I know) Final fantasy adventure or also known in Japan by Seiken Densetsu and in the UK Mystic Quest. Launching on June 28 1991 in Japan this would be one of the bestselling games for square soft early on and also begin the tricking and deceit that final fantasy is known for in terms of name switching and localization. As the game is not a Final Fantasy title but in fact Adventure is the very first in the well-known Mana series. The game is directed by the father of the Mana series Koichi Ishii and the music composed by Kenji Ito both famous for creating the Mana games to follow after.

Fantasy Adventure follows the tale of a young warrior who sets out on a path to save the Mana tree from the hands of the evil Dark Lord. You meet a young girl who possesses the pendant that is able to control the flow of water that surrounds and protects the Mana tree. The dark Lord send out his right hand man Julius to kidnap her, powerless to stop him you embark on a quest for power. Along the way you encounter various characters to help you get weapons and give you leads on where the Julius is. The game works via a top down view similar to The Legend Of Zelda Links Awakening I enjoy this style of gameplay as it lets the player know everything in each room and makes navigating a bit easier than other games. You also learn magic and gain spells as you progress and learn to carry Nukes somehow. The game has a nice flow to it and is also not hard at all which makes for a great beginners game and does not take very long to beat. Inventory is easy to manage and I like when they have the player switch weapons throughout the game in order to solve puzzles or find hidden rooms. The player can choose what stats to increase every time they level up I found myself focusing on strength and magic. There are 4 categories you can develop that are strength, will, stamina and magic.Final Fantasy Adventure is a nice short game with about 5-6 hours’ worth of gameplay but they will be enjoyable as the game does not become a grind fest to keep a player busy the music also helps out greatly in keeping the face and the player focused.

Final Fantasy Adventure would go on to sell over 500,000 units and become a series all in its own, with creator  Koichi Ishii paving the way with future titles including the legendary Legend Of Mana and Secret Of Mana as the flagship of the series. The series also became the first to introduce the Moogle and Chocobo characters into the Final Fantasy universe. I like to play games that are good and preferably cheap to get. You can find this selling on good old EBay for around 10-20 dollars and boxed copies for around 50 which makes it a nice little deal. I recommend this game not only to the avid handheld player but to any Final Fantasy and anyone looking to get into the RPG genre.

Bonus Coins 10/10

Tell people more about this item. Give people the info they need to go ahead and take the action you want. To make thisPokémon red and blue started on what game freak would unleash on the world of gaming. Not only did they create a Japanese hit but in my opinion it brought over a flood of Japanese culture to American shores. With many other Japanese titles to make their way over to the US market. Including digimon and opening the door to the collectable card game market.

This review spans more of what the Pokémon franchise has accomplished from what I have seen. The game came to the US shores on September 30th 1998. I was in 7th grade at the time as a kid this looked like an interesting thing this was when the merging of Japanese culture was starting to make it big in the United States. With anime being shown on major networks. New foods making their crazy surge such as ramen shops and sushi bars. Little Tokyo in Los Angles at the time growing up seemed to be the closest I would get to Japan in my lifetime. There was a new show that had aired on kids’ WB with the title Pokémon. With a cool concept and awesome ending song. The anime was an instant hit with kids (myself included) A few weeks down the road and episodes later the commercial for the game had aired. I actually do not recall picking up the game as soon as it launched but at school the following month it was the hottest thing out there. I ended up getting my red version through various game trades because back then that’s what you did.

The objective of Pokémon is to take Red a young boy looking to become a Pokémon master. With a task from professor Oak to also collect all known 149 Pokémon. In the Game Red encounters his rival Blue. Red must collect and train Pokémon the monsters found in the game world. With various abilities and elemental properties the player must create a team of 6 and defeat the gym leaders to obtain badges to grant them entry to fight against the elite 4. The game brings to life such a rich world and you encounter various obstacles including team rocket the bad guys of the game. The game also allows for various fun activities to be done including fishing and playing in the casino to win polygon.

Such a simple concept yet would become a worldwide phenomenon. With many games that have come after and including the trading card series Pokémon is the second highest grossing video game franchise besides super Mario. This is the game of the month and a very special one to me as it made my love for handhelds and my Gameboy color last eternal.

Bonus Coins 9.5/10

 load up that Gameboy advance (or let’s be honest emulator) today we review Advance Wars!Intelligent systems developed this turn tactics game and published by Nintendo. Released in September 10, 2001 yes the day before the September 11 attacks on the world trade center here in the united states. Not only did this release date delay some sales due to the nature of the game but Nintendo of Japan did not even want to release the game anytime soon hence the big delay in the release in other regions including japan that finally saw the game in 2004 as a compilation with the second game.

You take up arms in the world of Advance Wars which is made up of four countries one your home country Orange Star, Blue Moon (not the booze you drunks) Green Earth and Yellow Comet.

You play in the beginning as Andy a young and bright mechanic who is very energetic and cleaver. Your mission is to battle against the other nations as a mysterious force known as Strum controls the politics from the side line to cause chaos and war among the four nations. As the game progresses players will be able to select from various commanding officers or CO for short. These are your main characters of the game and depending on the CO of your choosing you are granted use of their special powers for example Andy’s power lets you repair damaged units on the field. The use of CO adds lots of replay value to the game and lets players fine tune strategies for combat.The game gives great player assistance through the first few missions and really sets a player up to have a great experience. From learning how to capture bases to the creation of troops, tanks and airplanes you never feel left out of the loop.

Nintendo actually wanted to make sure the players in the western audience would not have a problem with picking up and playing from day one.  With tons of missions to burn through custom map maker and of course the ability to have up to 4 player multiplayer with only one cartridge (loved when Nintendo had this feature on GBA) Out of all the turn based tactics games the only one I can really see being on par would be the Fire Emblem series and my personal favorite Zone Of The Enders- The First Of Mars. Don’t miss out on such a great classic hit and enter the heat of combat!

Bonus Coins 8/10

Zone of the Enders The First Of Mars was a game produced by Sunrise Interactive and published by Konami. ZOE The First Of Mars takes place one year after the events of the first game but does not share any of the characters or plot. The game takes place as you are onboard the Bonaparte 3 you are introduced to two of the main characters. One being the silly and goofy Cage Midwell a 17 year old orphan. Joined by his silent and very mysterious looking Ares Enduwa. As the story progresses Cage finds a young girl named Myona who has apparently lost all memory and has no clue about her past. Then without warning the ship is attacked by an unknown orbital frame. As you escape the ship that gets destroyed Cage and Myona escape and crash land on mars where they meet an anti-terrorist group. The BIS or born in space group end up taking Cage and Myona where they soon become involved in a huge military and political drama.

This is a turn based strategy game like Final Fantasy Tactics. With a wide amount of units in your control you must plan and choose how to use your units to its best ability. ZOE is a very good game with a ton of dialog luckily you can forward, rewind and totally skip scenes something more games need to add. As you advance in the story more characters and mechs are introduced and the battles become much harder. This level of growing difficulty is very nice and makes you feel the progression of the gravity and situation and gets you ready for the next battle. The level up system works nice and gives the player the option to tweak some of the parameters like attack, defense, and speed. The battles take place on a grid and when you choose a unit to attack with it switches over to a  first person type cross hair that puts a target over the enemy mech there is also a critical hit spot on each enemy where you can target and do massive damage.

The only thing that I have a problem with is this hit system as all you really need to do to avoid getting hit is to move around in a circle until the attack timer runs out. The enemy bosses in the game are few and far between with all the good battles taking place near the end of the game it makes me wish they could have thrown more powerful enemy units at you early on. The story is what makes this a nice true gem on the Game Boy Advance along with amazing music and decent length for a handheld you can easily waste 25 hours to complete. The main menu also is nice with a terminology index for everything in the game so players who are forgetful or want to learn more about the lore of the game can read about. There is also a music player that lets you listen to all the music in the game another really nice feature I enjoy about old school games.

 I really am a fan of turn based strategy as it leaves the action all up the player, along with how great this game is it’s also very cheap and loose copies of this can be found for around $10 all day long online. Finding the box for the US market can be tricky though but it’s worth it as it has a nice design to it.  Zone Of The Enders The First Of Mars is a nice sleeper title on the Game Boy Advance which not many people have gotten to play so grab it before it becomes retro! That’s it for this game of the month check back next month for our holiday special!!

Bonus Coins 8/10

Today i dusted off my copy of Metroid 2 for the Gameboy took a stroll down to the park with a can of red bull and snacks i went away to obtain new knowledge now that i am older. Released in 1992 in North America. Now before i begin i will say there is huge difference when playing on the original Gameboy and the Gameboy color. The game comes alive with better color on the textures and samus herself on the Gameboy color where on the Gameboy the gray and black and white really makes the game feel quite stale. This is why another reason why i just love the Gameboy color.  

The game starts off by landing Samus on the planet SR388 on her mission to exterminate the dangerous life forms known as Metroid’s. Throughout the mission Samus is able to gain a variety of powers and abilities that will help the player navigate to the next areas. You can also find health and missile booster packs to aid you. You must destroy a certain amount of Metroid’s before the game will advance you along which i think is neat and keeps it simple. 

This entry in the series would establish the suit Samus would don for the newer games to come. As well as various attacks including the plasma beam and morph ball skills like the spider ball which adds the ability to stick and climb surfaces. The sounds is nice with very low tones and beats it goes give off the emptiness of space however it does get bland and wish there was more scores in the game. The graphics look great for the period and especially for a Gameboy game, the enemies are a tad too small and it did make smooth gameplay a bit hard at times with the already small screen wish they would have made them bigger. 

The length of the game is not too long not too short perfect for a casual gamer to pick up and go and beat within a few days. Overall the game itself is nice but left me wanting a bit more in terms of bosses or enemies. I still give it a great score however because even 20 years later this still plays great and still gives you a great experience. Do play the super Metroid on the super Nintendo if you are looking for the in my opinion the best Metroid in the series. Till next time gamers keep your games close and those batteries closer! 

Bonus Coins 7.5/10

Let’s do a throwback to some of my old collections. This week i brush off my copy of super Mario land 3! This is the first time Fans get to play as Nintendo’s new nemesis and mischievous Wario! 

With over 30 levels packed into a small cart Warioland offers a lot for the value especially since you can pick up this game cart on eBay for less than 10 dollars or go the digital route and get this in the Nintendo eshop. 

The game takes place after the events of Mario land 2, wario is on the march to find as much money as he possibly can to get a castle to call his own! Wario will do anything and go over or through anyone to get to this goal, this is what makes warioland so much fun. The game mechanics are unique and complement wario very nicely from powerups ranging to bull horns to a flamethrower wario certainly gets the means to make his acquisition of gold possible.

Unique bosses also add a nice cherry on top to the already nice controls sound and enemies. with little mini games after the levels to either lose or gain more gold and hidden rooms scattered throughout the game it adds a bit of replay value to search the levels again. Warioland also has multiple endings depending on the amount of gold wario collects along his journey giving players many more hours of fun to find all the endings.