| Introduction
With every new Nintendo system comes a new Mario
game, and the GBA is no exception. Nintendo's newest
title, Mario Advance, brings back some of the old, while
at the same time blending it with several new features.
What Super Mario Bros. Deluxe was for the GameBoy Color,
Super Mario Advance is for the GameBoy Advance.
GamePlay
The cartridge contains two games, first a remake
of a remake of Super Mario USA (Super Mario Bros. 2
originally appeared in the USA, but based on its success,
the Japanese took the game back to their country as
Super Mario USA). The game first appeared on the NES/FC,
then got upgraded on the Super FC/NES in the Super Mario
Allstars game collection. The GameBoy Advance version
is based on the Super FC/NES remake. In addition to
Super Mario USA, the cartridge also includes the original
Mario Brothers game which is a classic arcade style
game experience that was common to see in Nintendo's
early days.
Super Mario USA is quite different from all other
Mario games released, mainly because of its origin,
which was from another game. It starts by letting you
choose a character -- Mario, Luigi, Kinopio (Toad),
or Princess Peach. Each character is unique; Mario is
the well-rounded one, Luigi is known for his extraordinary
jumping ability, Toad is the fastest of the bunch, and
Princess Peach has the ability to hover for a few seconds.
The level design is different from other Mario games
because there are a lot of vertical areas in which you
must jump up platforms or climb ladders. There are vegetables
that you can uproot to throw at enemies, in addition
to throwing vegetables, enemies can be thrown in the
same way (even the huge ones, just not bosses).
The GBA version has its own new features, such as
the huge enemies I just mentioned. There is also an
abundance of hearts (used to refill your life) in the
game that just wasn't in the original version. You can
obtain hearts by either finding them (located in several
places in the air or under roots) or by throwing the
large enemies. I believe they put the extra hearts in
the game to compensate for the difficulty moving around
in a less-than-full resolution environment (although
you can scroll the screen using the L button). Also
added to the GBA version are large coins; there are
5 on each stage for you to find and collect. Other than
this and a few other parts that seem to show off the
GBA hardware rather than add more to the game (carousels
and bouncing balls), the game is pretty much identical
to the Super FC/NES version.
Mario Brothers is an extra bonus added to the game
which I was very happy to see included. In this game,
there are two pipes at the top that enemies come out
of. Your job is to hit them from below the platform
they're walking on (or use a POW block) in order to
flip them over. Once the enemy is on its back, Mario
must then run up and kick the enemy to finish it off
-- otherwise the enemy will get back up and move faster.
While this may sound simple, the game gets more difficult
in later levels, adding fireballs, jumping enemies,
falling icicles, ice platforms, etc. to the mix. Every
5 levels or so, there is a bonus round where you collect
10 coins in under 20 seconds to score extra points.
In addition to the single player Mario Brothers game,
there is a 4 player mode that will work with one host
copy of the game serving 3 other GBA's.
Controls
The control of Super Mario USA is easy to master:
A to jump, hold B to run. Super jumping can be achieved
by holding down on the D-Pad until the character starts
flashing, then pressing A to jump. The L button scrolls
the screen, and pressing Start will bring up a menu
that allows you to save your game, start over, or quit
to the main menu. Overall, the controls are well suited
for a platform game.
The controls in Mario Bros. are similar, except there
is no need to save the game or scroll the screen.
Graphics
The graphics in Super Mario USA are essentially the
Super FC/NES graphics with a few added enhancements
to show off what the GBA can do. Due to the differing
resolutions between the GBA and SFC, the GBA requires
a similar feature to that in Super Mario DX on GBC,
a screen scrolling option that allows you to see the
rest of what would normally be seen. While the limited
resolution increases difficulty somewhat, the game is
far from impossible, and provides a fair challenge.
Super Mario USA makes good use of various effects, such
as scaling, rotation, and mosaic. The scrolling seems
to work well with the GBA screen, not causing any motion
blur.
The graphics in Mario Bros., while simple, are nice.
Added to this version are backgrounds, as well as SFC
quality graphics (color and design) for characters,
enemies, and platforms.
Sound & Music
The music in Super Mario USA is well done. You can
expect the same songs you heard in the Super FC/NES
versions, which are enhanced versions of the FC/NES's
songs. The one thing that is bound to start some controversy
is the addition of character voices. If you have a Nintendo
64, you're probably used to this by now. Ever since
we first heard "It'sa me, Mario!" Nintendo
has been using voices for many of its characters. While
I find Mario and Luigi's voices to be tolerable, Kinopio/Toad's
voice is very annoying and it makes me try to avoid
using him. Princess Peach's voices aren't that bad,
but can get bothersome after a while. This game does
a good job of showing what the GBA's sound processing
is capable of.
Final Comments
Mario games have traditionally set the standard for
what to expect in a platformer. Since the first Super
Mario Bros. game, to Super Mario World, to Mario 64,
Nintendo has been adding more depth to its games. While
Super Mario Advance is a remake of an older game, it
continues the tradition by offering a game that pushes
the envelope of portable gaming. While some parts of
this game may just be a technological showcase of visuals
and voices, Super Mario Advance still comes together
as a solid title that no one with a GameBoy Advance
should be without.
|
Hardware
Reviews 
Game
Title
Super Mario Advance - Includes both
Super Mario USA and Mario Bros. 
