"...a treat for fans of the series."
Gameplay here is a pure platformer as I mentioned prior with plenty of foes to bash with kid Goku's extending staff. Control mapping is done well with easy access to his moves, but movement seems kind of cumbersome during combat. Fortunately Goku can run, but moving slowly when advancing into new areas is more advisable. He also can jump, which without that it couldn't be a platformer. There are even special moves he can use in certain places like shooting upwards by planting his staff into the ground. Goku's combat skills are varied but some you'll find are more useful than others, such as in the case with punching attacks. Punching is effective, but more often than not you'll discover a quick energy blast or a full-blown Kamehameha wave are far better. Punching is almost a last resort because moving in that close takes some work especially when foes are packed in groups. Goku's staff will probably be the weapon you use most often as it has some big moves like a twister that will clear an area of foes very quickly. Speaking of foes, you have the standard bunch of animal-looking thugs dressed in German-looking uniforms either tossing stick grenades at you or shooting at you with their energy weapons. There are other enemies as well like little annoying flying robots and another one that shoots missiles at you. Enemy AI is just what you'd expect from a game like this: "don't think, just kill the kid." Bosses are a little more "intelligent" as they have a pattern of movements or attacks or both. Bosses are fairly tough and are pulled right from the pages of the Dragonball television show. The game isn't just about the fighting, as there's also some collecting to be done like for gaining new moves and such, but fighting is still the primary mode here. Overall gameplay is very solid and manages to pull of a fun, yet very worthy game of the show.
Graphics are surprisingly good for a GBA game with accurate models of such characters as Goku, but common enemy models are all recycled for the most part. Environments are so-so, but they do get the job done to make the game fun. A neat thing about the levels is you get to pick where you want to go next, and you'll be able to select a number of locales from the Dragonball universe. Goku's attacks are actually fun to execute and watch as a whole ton of enemies will go flying by his staff or get blown away by a Kamehameha wave. To be absolutely honest the graphics didn't "wow" me, but they're certainly nothing to gawk at.
Sound is also surprisingly good for a GBA game. Goku makes the obvious "yaaaaa!" or "haaaaa!" when using his staff or use other melee attacks. He'll also yell "Kamehameha!" when you fully charge the attack. Other than this you have the sounds of his staff and other miscellaneous SFX. Overall sound is nothing new or special.
Value is debatable, as you'd have to be a pretty hard fan to pay $19.99. However, if you just like platformers you would definitely find something to like about Advanced Adventure. Though if you are neither a fan of Dragonball nor of platformers or both, then stay away! For fans of the series-- even if you don't like platformers, this game is a worthy addition to your Dragonball collection.
In a line of poor DBZ games a relative gem comes out, though simple and classic as it is, it makes good the materials it had to its full potential. Is it amazing? No. Is it revolutionary? No. Is is worth your time? Depends. Is it a worthwhile game overall? Most definitely.