"The Next Big Thing?"

When it comes to the Hand Held Hardware in the world of Nintendo, most people will say that one of the most influential pieces was the original Game Boy. Years later, the Game Boy Advance has come onto the scene, allowing gamers everywhere to play games from both the present and the past in startling color and clarity. With the standing library of games numbering one hundred plus and still growing, it’s almost unthinkable that this little hand held system could be a mainstay in the gaming world. However, with copies of past games becoming more apparent and the fact that hardware makeup of the hand held is sometimes difficult to use, how much of a possible future could this little machine have?

And I Shall Name Him….Mini-Me…

Essentially what you have with the Game Boy Advance is a little hand held unit that weighs next to nothing and has the ability to play games from all of the previous Game Boy systems. There are literally hundreds of titles that range from action and adventure to role playing and strategy games. With the list that is constantly growing these days, it seems as though every time I look at the shelf at the store, there are more games that I didn’t know existed. Once you’ve found the niche that you’re looking for in certain genres, then you can start building your collection from there with games such as Metroid, Super Mario and even Zelda.

When playing through these games, you’ll find that there are a good selection of excellent titles and a good selection of bad titles. The unfortunate point in this case is that a good number of the available titles for the Game Boy Advance are rehashed copies of games that have been played before, or games that can be played in better fashion on the respected systems. This is not to say that the Advance doesn’t have any good titles going for it, but in order to really appreciate what the system has done for portable gaming, you are looking at playing several major titles in their true forms on home systems that date back over ten years and more.

Boiling down the actual system and the way that it handles is something that takes a little getting used to. The days of the singular box style of the Game Boy is long gone, now leading into a more compact and streamlined package that features two facial buttons and the addition of two shoulder buttons. While these added buttons do plenty to give games more options {especially with fighting games} the near out of the way style that they are in can cause a little bit of finger twisting if you forget to use them. The directional pad is spread far enough out, but the stiffness of the pad is almost enough to warrant hammering down on the pad in order to get your character to move in different areas.

Tell Me…What About The Options?

There are plenty of third party accessories that you can add onto your Advance that come in the form of handle grips, rumble packs, lights for the screen {which does help infinitely}, code breakers and carrying cases. All of these additional pieces to the Advance help in some way or another, but like all of the previous Game Boy designs, some of these devices are hard to work with and can get in the way if you don’t have them positioned properly. On top of that, the battery packs that you can buy tend to have a bit of a problem being placed in the back of the Advance with the cover on. Regardless, there are accessories that will fit just about any need and most of them are under ten dollars or less.

My Eyes Hurt…

The screen of the Advance has plenty of detail and color attached to it with the games that are being released. With near home console quality with some of the more current games, it’s almost perfect for the eyes and what you’ll see. However, the screen has a problem being too dark with some of the games and if you’re playing through the Game Boy Color games, you’ll find that the screen doesn’t quite hold the action the way that you want to view it. Different games come with different effects and although the visual display of the Advance does an excellent job, the glaring problem of the lack of lighting and the need to point it near a light source is almost overwhelming. Visual acuity in the form of some action games and recreations of older titles are a must see if you’re a portable gamer, though you won’t find anything here that you haven’t seen before.

What Is That I Hear?

The sound of the Advance is a little on the soft side, regardless of what you’re playing and what you’re listening to. While I’ve looked for different accessories to pump up the volume, there is nothing that I can find that helps with the overall volume of the different games and even the headphones really don’t make much of a difference. However, most of the games that I’ve played really do have some excellent audio qualities to them that are pronounced through the little Advance speaker. With the ability to hear the quality of the games in addition to most of the visuals that you see, you have a true sensory picnic at your disposal, regardless of what you play.

The Vast Library Of Games…

As I said before, there are a ton of Advance titles that are available to play from old games such as Super Mario World to newer games such as Lord of the Rings. With the different titles that you can find, you’ll be hard pressed to not find something that you might want to play. For action games, you can look towards the resurrected Castlevania line that has elements of action, adventure and some role-playing. Strategy games include such titles as Advance Wars and Mega Man Battle Network. Role-Playing games come in the form of Golden Sun and Breath Of Fire while some of the more classic games have been remade and re-copied in the form of Super Mario and Legend of Zelda. If you’re looking for something, it’s probably here and if you want the older games that were featured on the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, everything is compatible.

The Next Big Thing…

Game Boy Advance has plenty of things going for it at the moment with a library of games, accessories and hardware appeal. While some of the more glaring problems come in the form of an unlit screen and a speaker that just doesn’t seem to have too much of the sound coming out, there might be something left to improve upon. In the world of hand held game systems, this is the only one that is still standing, after several different models and versions of the Game Boy, Advance is out on top and the only one on the battle field. If you’re looking for something that you can take with you on long trips and have some fun with wasting hours of your time, then you’re looking at the right piece of equipment.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 02/05/03, Updated 02/05/03