First impression: Game Boy Advance

TOKYO - The Nintendo Game Boy Advance has finally launched in Japan with a host of new games and SNES remakes. The high demand for the GBA was clearly evident as long lines formed at most of the local video game retailers in Tokyo. However, despite the launch rush, we were able to get our GBA, the launch games, and the peripherals. The following are our first impressions of the hardware itself, the games, and such peripherals as the GBA link cable and the AC adapter.

The hardware

After having played the Game Boy and Game Boy Color for years, we're all used to holding our handhelds vertically. Getting used to the new design of the Game Boy Advance, which is played horizontally, may take some time, particularly when playing fast-paced action games such as Mario, F-Zero, and Castlevania. The start button and the select button are located in close proximity to one another. However, it is easy to tell the two buttons apart, because one is slightly lower than the other. The D-pad and the A and B buttons feel just like those of the GBC. The new L and R buttons are slightly different from the those on the prototype version of the GBA displayed at previous trade shows such as the Nintendo Space World and Next Generation Hobby Fair. The spot where your index fingers touch the buttons is slightly wider, unlike on the Super NES controllers, where the buttons were equally wide throughout.

The LCD screen uses TFT just like the GBC, but it is said to be a slightly better version than its predecessor, producing truer colors. The GBC had some trouble displaying the lighter colors--they looked a bit washed out on the handheld's display, and such colors tended to become white in some games--but that problem is fixed with the GBA. Though the GBA certainly displays more colors, it looks darker now. Using a weak light source while playing the GBC was OK, but the GBA is a little harder to see using a weak light source. This should be fixed with a Worm Light-type peripheral for the GBA.

Though the GBA's graphical capabilities are on par with or perhaps greater than those of the Super NES, the audio, for the most part, hasn't made a dramatic leap--at least when heard through the GBA speakers. We found ourselves grabbing a pair of headphones and plugging them into the GBA for clearer audio performance. You will notice a big difference listening to the soundtracks and sound effects of a game through headphones. For example, in Castlevania, when your character jumps and lands on a marble floor, you can hear his shoes clacking on the marble. You can distinctively tell that the sound effects and the in-game music are coming from two separate audio channels. Unfortunately, not all the games provide that type of audio presentation, leaving you with the NES-like "bleep-bleep-bleep" soundtrack and sound effects.

There are two more interesting things to point out about the hardware. One is the cartridge port of the GBA. You may notice that the slot isn't just a straight slot, but has several protrusions. This may have been designed this way for the purposes of territorial lockout, but Nintendo has yet to comment on that issue. Second is the battery terminal. Nintendo has devoted a lot of time to the design, and it shows. The terminals are not like the spring type seen on the GBC--instead, they're like a bent paperclips. They fit the batteries perfectly and seem to be durable enough that they won't become loose as the unit ages. Overall, the hardware is well designed--particularly with the various color units available.

The software

Super Mario Advance is basically a rehash of the classic Super Mario Bros. 2 with the addition of a four-player Mario Bros. game integrated into the package. F-Zero gets a slight revamp, but it plays similarly to its SNES counterpart. Both titles are worth picking up for starters on the new handheld, as well as for folks who want to try these classics for the first time. Super Mario Kart will not be released until summer in Japan, but Konami Wai Wai Racing Advance is a worthy substitute. The game essentially replaces all the Mario characters with popular Konami icons like Goemon, Pawapuro-Kun, and others. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon brings back memories of the PlayStation hit Symphony of the Night. The gameplay is similar, with the addition of the dual setup system--by collecting different cards in the dungeons, you can change the attributes and elemental properties of your whip.

Play Novel Silent Hill is a demonstration of the GBA's ability to show some rather impressive CG movies, and it pushes the audio capabilities of the handheld. It is definitely worth using headphones when playing this game. Dodge Ball Fighters was developed by the same team who made the NES version, and only the Kunio-kun characters seem to be missing from the GBA version. In fact, some of the music tracks are remixes of the old game's tracks. Kurukuru Kururin happens to be one of the more interesting new titles. You have to move a rotating stick through rails without touching the frames--it's definitely a challenging puzzle game. Two racing games, All Nippon GT Competition and Advance GTA, are also in the launch lineup. The choice between the two depends on what you like in a driving game. All Nippon plays more like the old-school racing games like Final Lap, but it doesn't allow you to see much of what's ahead of you on the race tracks. As for GTA, it has the better graphics of the two, and it's more like a driving sim such as Gran Turismo. Finally, Chu Chu Rocket, originally a Dreamcast title, now offers more puzzles than ever, while Mr. Driller 2 is the first port of the sequel onto a handheld. We'll have further impressions on the individual games soon.

The peripherals

Link cables were hard to come by, but we got one. You will need three of these to play with four players in a multiplayer game. Some games only require one cartridge to play, while some require each player to have a copy. Though Nintendo may have been pushing the "one cartridge gameplay" concept, there are certain limitations. For example, only select levels can be played, and some games only have audio on the parent unit. Despite that, it is still a neat feature. We've tried Mario, F-Zero, Kurukuru, and Chu Chu in multiplayer, and they were all fun. The transmission of data from the parent unit to the rest only took about 15-20 seconds. Perhaps the only thing that bothered us was the difficulty of distinguishing between the blue and green colors when playing Chu Chu Rocket. One other convenient peripheral we picked up was the AC adapter. The unit is very compact, and you can even fold the plug sideways so it doesn't stick out.

GameSpot will have further impressions of the Game Boy Advance and its games soon.