Gameboy Advance is finally here! I've been watching this system develop in the pages of NP (Nintendo Power) since just after the Gameboy Color came out, and I've been chomping at the bit to get one. I'm pleased to say that this promises to be one of Nintendo's greatest systems yet. The screen is bigger, the color is bright and beautiful, the sound is crisp, and it fits in your pocket so you can take it anywhere! Finally something to do covertly in class when the teacher is boring you to death. Uh....wait a minute. Forget I just said that.
Naturally, being the big Mario fan that I am, I had to put Super Mario Advance on top of my "to buy" list. It's basically a remake of the classic Super Mario Bros. 2 from the old 1985 NES days (remember that poor old clunker?) with the addition of a multi-player. I was always pretty good at SMB2, but for some reason I've been having trouble with SMA. Maybe I'm not used to the smaller screen or my gaming ability is rusty (1988 was a long time ago after all). The programmers didn't really change anything about the game except for the addition of scoring and these things called "Ace Coins" which you can collect for extra lives. It's pretty much a pixel-by-pixel translation from the old version.
As such, I can't put a high endorsement on this game. If you loved SMB2, you'll like SMA. But if you didn't, don't buy it. I was kinda hoping Nintendo might've done something more to this pak than simply rehashing a classic, but I guess they were too busy with other launch titles. Anyway, get it if you're a SMB2 fan or if you sold your old NES (hopefully for more than $5) and want to take a refresher course.