Handheld Adventures Part 4: Super Mario Advance for the Gameboy Advance.





Personally, out of the handheld devices that are out right now, I prefer the Gameboy Advance. The Gameboy Advance, also known as the GBA, was just such an awesome handheld device to have. It was like a Super Nintendo Jr. I remember I got it for my birthday with my first GBA game called Super Mario Advance. Now, the first Mario Advance was a 16-bit remake of Super Mario Brothers 2, also known as the black sheep of the side-scrolling Mario games. I just want to say that I love that game, and I love this game also. So, for all the people who hate this game and the original version of it, I just have to say, “Shut it, don’t flame, and just chill, and please just read the review before commenting, please.”

Basically, the story is not important in this Mario game. It’s just Mario, Luigi, Toad, and Princess Peach going across a different land entirely, and defeating the evil tyrant that rules over it. Basically, it’s kind of the same story-like theme in every Mario game. There is an evil tyrant wanting to rule the kingdom, and it is up to Mario to stop him. Then again, why would you play a Mario game for the story? Let’s get started.

The game play is basically where Mario games shine, a 2D side-scrolling plat-forming game. You play to get from point A to point B. This time around though, instead of jumping on top of enemies, you have to pick them up and throw them at another enemy to get rid of them. Of course, if you find a pound block, you can wipe everyone out on the screen. Something that has also changed is that you start with a two-heart health meter, kind of like the Zelda games, in a way. We also have a new cast of enemies, like shy guys, bombs, and those tall cacti-like characters. Of course, they have mushrooms, but instead of healing your meter, they give you another full heart meter. You can also find hearts in the game to heal your health. You see a return of the invincibility star, but you have to collect 5 cherries to get one. That reminds me Pacman. I wonder if he is in the game…. Oh! Back to the review.

Now, since this is a remake of the first Mario Brothers 2 game, there are better graphics. These graphics are a lot better then the ones on the Super Mario All Stars Cartridge. The music is also very fun and lively. It’s just great to listen to. There is also the added deal of digital voice acting. It sounds very clear and doesn’t sound all choppy and etc. This is just a great game, I know a lot of people were like, “what the heck?” but if they just sit down and play the game, I bet they would get some enjoyment out of it. Another great thing they did was to add a remade version of the original Mario Brothers arcade game.

There are some faults this game does carry with it. One of the faults comes with the new attack style. I find it tedious that you can’t just throw the enemy and they die. I think they should have done that, because when I’m stuck in an area where I need to dig down and I can’t kill them like I said above, it gets really difficult and annoying. The other thing I have an issue with in this game is that not a lot of people consider this a Mario game. I’m just upset that people can be so closed-minded since everything is different, they can’t call it a Mario game. What about Mario Sunshine? It was different, but I consider it a Mario game. Still I can’t really blame people hating the game since originally it was a different game, and the original sequel was never released until the early 1990’s on the All Star cartridge for the Super Nintendo. Though in a business view of the situation, it was smart. We all have to take in that Nintendo is a business.

All and all, I love this game. I also love it since it was my first GBA game. I would recommend getting this game. If you are looking for a good-looking and fun plat-forming game for the handheld race, then this should be in your top 10.
This game gets an 8 out of 10.

Comments