Cuts to the core of gaming.
The Bad: A couple control issues mar gameplay; story feels more like a tribute to the works of Osamu Tezuka, rather than a standalone tale; difficulty level is often punishing of small mistakes; devolves into a bit of a widget hunt towards the end; graphical slowdown is really noticeable in spots.
Astro Boy: Omega Factor is a reminder of why we fell in love with games in the first place. It gives us a character that is fun to use, and then creates the appropriate playground for that character. The result is one of the most energetic action games available on the GBA, or any other platform. When combined with its charming presentation, Astro Boy becomes a must-own for those with any interest in action games.
At its heart, Astro Boy is a traditional beat-em-up. You walk from left to right, stopping to beat up any baddies that get in your way. You're timed, given a score, and have a health meter to watch. As you progress, you power up, making each of your moves or character more powerful. What makes Astro Boy: Omega Factor a better game than most of its beat-em-up brethren is its character's variety of moves, and their entertainingly varied use.
Astro has seven moves, which can be powered up as he meets new characters. His most basic attack, a punch combo, does an adequate job of dealing damage in close range. He also has a kick move which will send the victimized enemy flying backwards, damaging any other enemies said victim comes in contact with. Of great use is a finger laser, which shoots across the entire screen, allowing the player to damage multiple enemies at once from long range. There is also a defensive move called the jet dash, which allows Astro to move quickly across the screen without taking damage for the move's duration. Unlike other moves which just become more powerful, as you power the jet dash up, you can chain several of these dashes together. Unfortunately, in the moment between two chained dashes, you'll be vulnerable. In addition to these basic moves, Astro has three special moves. The first of these is a derivative of Astro's jet move, called the EX Dash, which deals damage to all enemies as he comes in contact with them. Also in his repertoire is a machine gun move, which destroys all enemy projectiles, damages all enemies on screen, and freezes time briefly to allow Astro to deal additional damage and re-position himself. The robotic wunderkid's most powerful attack is the arm canon, which is a much more powerful version of the finger laser.
These special moves take up your EX Power, a meter at the top of the screen that fills gradually as you deal damage to your enemies. In a normal game, you have a maximum of five uses of special moves before you have to charge up your meter again. As a result, you'll have to alternate between using your more powerful EX moves and your standard attacks. This leads to some tough decision making, as you're force to decide between using up your EX meter, and making fights more difficult for yourself while conserving EX power for later fights. Thankfully, even using a series of EX moves doesn't guarantee victory if you're not careful, so even when you're using your most powerful moves, it's important to keep a close eye on the circumstances of the moment.
Interpreting circumstances also lends Astro Boy: Omega Factor some light puzzle solving elements. The developers carefully designed the game so that different techniques are effective in different circumstances. In most cases, the best way to fight is using one of your EX moves. For example, if you're being overwhelmed by a horde of relatively weak enemies who are filling the screen with projectiles, your machine gun move is likely your best bet. On the other hand, if you have a lot of powerful enemies all standing on a flat surface, unleashing your arm canon would be most effective. However, all of these circumstances can be dealt with through the use of less effective techniques, if need be, allowing you to conserve your EX power for later. This core dynamic of interpreting individual situations and weighing the importance of your EX power against your ability to fight through with no special moves, makes the gameplay of Astro Boy compelling indeed. That, and it's a lot of fun to smash things.
However, the game does not stop there. Not content to focus entirely on beat-em-up gameplay, the developers also implemented rail shooter stages. Though these levels take away Astro's kick and punch attacks, they make up for it by giving Astro more freedom of movement and an increased quantity of enemy gunfire. These stages are every bit as craftily designed as the beat-em-up sections. What is most impressive, however, is that these levels do not feel like a jarring gameplay shift. With a similar cast of baddies, and a set of attacks that are identical to what's available in beat-em-up levels, it feel cohesive.
The most memorable parts of the game, however, are the boss fights. They're everything you could hope for. Difficult, but not to the point of being insurmountable. Impressive looking, as they're well designed and often take up most of the screen. A bit of a puzzle, as you learn their weak spot and how to avoid their attacks. They're also capable of throwing you the occasional curve ball as you get closer to defeating them. Overall, the boss fights are easily the highlights of the game, and on par with the boss fights of the Zelda series.
With gameplay this good, it's no wonder that the game is highly replayable. In fact, the developers seemed intent on proving it, by forcing you to replay the game in order to complete the story and unlock the final levels. Not that it hurts the game. Since Astro Boy is all about the challenge of the core gameplay, a more difficult "second quest" actually benefits the game; it continues the game's demanding, but smooth, difficulty curve. Granted, the game is often unforgiving, but the design never feels cheap, as it always punishes you for your mistakes. In addition to the "second quest", you can also play through levels again for high scores or fast completion times, further adding to the game's value. Finally, it's simply fun to jump into a level and play it again, making it a fantastic choice to take with your GBA or DS wherever you go. The gameplay is terrific enough to motivate you to replay it, even without the extra incentives the game provides.
Terrific, but not flawless. Astro Boy: Omega Factor is hindered by a few unfortunate control issues. Chief among them is the difficulty of pulling off an on-ground jet dash. Likely due to the limited number of buttons on a GBA, the game requires you to tap the left or right button twice to dash to the side while on the ground. This may not sound like much of an issue, but in a game that demands instantaneous response like Astro Boy, a near instantaneous response doesn't cut it. Furthermore, if you tap the left or right direction too slowly, your character won't dash, leaving you in big trouble. As a result, you'll develop the habit of tapping the dash button several times consecutively. The problem with this is that you'll often interrupt your dash with another dash, which momentarily leaves you vulnerable, and often causes you to sustain damage you would have otherwise avoided. Fortunately, the mid-air dash is much easier to pull off, negating the control issues of the on-ground dash a bit. Other control issues involve trying to tap the A and B buttons simultaneously to pull off EX Dash. The game insists that you press them at the exact same time, which can be a little difficult. Also, the rocket attack goes in the direction you first press after choosing it, rather than the direction you are holding when it is executed. These control issues are not enough to stop Astro Boy from being a highly enjoyable game, but they do hurt what is otherwise one of the best action experiences to be had on the GBA.
Though the core gameplay is enough to justify purchasing the game, there are a number of presentation elements that add to the package.
Astro Boy's story, although more a tribute than a standalone yarn, is enjoyable. It's clear that the designers were more intent on creating a send-up to Tezuka than fully characters and themes themselves. You constantly get a sense that the characters and themes are more complete than they seem in the form they are presented here. Worse yet, the story often sends you on a hunt for specific characters, which is even less fun than it sounds. On the other hand, these characters lend the story a lot of charm. Since characters seem to have more depth than their scant lines of dialogue suggest, the game is unusually dense with a large, well defined, likable cast. So while the overall story may seem underdeveloped, it feels like an introduction to something much bigger. Furthermore, since the characters all seem more developed than their limited roles suggest, this makes the individual dialogue encounters enjoyable. So while it may not feel like a full story, the individual plot points are almost always entertaining, so it's hard to fault.
Visually, Astro Boy is remarkable. Everything feels alive, and seems a great representation of the manga for a 16-bit system. Animations are smooth, and help the world pulse with life. Sprites are large and impressive, and often take up large portions of the screen. Various visual effects litter the game, and are impressive in their own right. It's a visual knock-out, even compared with many of console cousins. Unfortunately, the game occasionally experiences severe slow-down, which is the only blemish on an otherwise shockingly good looking GBA title.
Audio fares quite well too. The music can be best described as appropriate. It always captures the mood of a locale. If it's a bustling city, there's a upbeat, fast-paced tune to match. A dungeon-esque location is matched by a more mysterious, darker tune. Or, in the case of a tender plot point, there's a simple, heart-felt melody. You'll undoubtedly have heard better from other games, but it's solid across the board. The real star of Astro Boy's audio, ultimately, is the sound effects. Much like the graphics, they teem with life. Everything sounds ideal. From the zinging of Astro's laser finger, to the robotic cries of his enemies, to the Astro's apprehensive yell at being hurt, everything sounds appropriate, and more importantly, is fun to listen to.
There are a few extras, including a character description list, sound tests, a high score list and cut-scene tests. These are all moderately interesting, but they add little to the game, with the possible exception of the character descriptions. These are nice, but they are written poorly, though the information is still interesting.
Astro Boy: Omega Factor is a brilliant action game. By concentrating on a compelling core gameplay, the game establishes itself as classic throwback to the 2D action games of yore. When added to the solid presentation, it becomes that much more tantalizing. There are few games that are as consistently entertaining, and few games that are easier to recommend. Astro Boy: Omega Factor is a must-play for anyone with the means to play it.