The GBA was released here in Europe on June 21st, and I was sure to get mine right away. I had pre-ordered a white GBA (arctic) with Mario, F-Zero and Castlevania. But when I was at the store to pick it up the guy waved Tony Hawk under my nose and cut me a deal for the whole package, and since I have absolutely zero resistance against such deals I went for it. I paid about $310 for the GBA with four games, I don't know if that's expensive or cheap compared to what you pay. Probably expensive though, everything is here in Sweden.
Anyway, I'm glad I bought it. It's a great machine, the graphics are truly awesome for a portable considering they would've been considered state-of-the-art on a home system only a few years ago. I agree that the screen is somewhat hard to see, it really works best in sunlight. I guess Nintendo wants us to get out more, eh?
As for the games I haven't had a chance to play any one game for a significant amount of time. That's about to change though since I will be home alone for a week starting today.
My preliminary findings on the games I bought are:
Mario: I guess Nintendo couldn't release a new machine without a Mario game to go with it. I find it quite enjoying, but I would've much preferred Mario 3 (which is in the works for the GBA btw.), since that is my favorite Mario game (except for maybe SMW). As it stands, it's still a good game. They really made the most out of Mario 2 considering it's not even a true Mario game from the beginning.
The graphics are nice, a bit spruced up from even the SNES Super Mario All-Stars. New sprite effects have also been added to show off the hardware.
The sound is also ok, nothing special but pretty nice. The tunes are catchy as always, and they have added voice samples for all of the characters. The voice samples I currently find quite amusing, but I imagine they could become pretty annoying with time.
F-Zero: I've never played F-Zero X, so I can't comment on how similar it is to F-Zero MV. However I have played the SNES game quite extensively, and I think that the SNES and GBA versions have a bit in common. Especially the graphics are of the same style in both games, but that's to be expected since the GBA isn't equipped for N64 style 3d. They are good too, very fast and smooth. It bodes well for the future that first generation games can be this good graphically.
The sound is standard fare, somwhat catchy melodies and reasonable sound effects. Nothing to write home about, but not too bad either.
Castlevania: This game is my primary reason for getting a GBA. I really loved Castlevania: SOTN on the PSX and all the previews said this was very similar. So far I can say I agree to some extent. Basically it's a Castlevania/Metroid cross-over, much like SOTN. You explore a large castle on the hunt for Dracula, and certain items you find give you access to new parts of the castle where even more items can be found etc.
The graphics are dark as hell, but that's because Konami made the game before actual GBA hardware was available and therefore couldn't check how it would look. I find that it's in no way unplayable as long as you have sufficient light though, most like any other GBA game. The look of the graphics is IMO incredible, detailed sprites and backgrounds that wouldn't look out of place on a SNES or maybe even a PSX. The one bad thing I've found so far is the animation on the main character, a few more frames could've been added to remove the stiffness of his movement. Overall I'm very happy though.
The sound is also quite incredible, especially the song that plays on the title screen. Tunes in the game are of SNES or higher quality and very catchy. But since the GBA's speaker is tinny at best you really need headphones to enjoy them to their full extent. I'm currently using my E888 earbuds and it works great.(Made it on-topic, hehe)
Tony Hawk: This game I wasn't even going to buy until I got cut a deal on it. I'm glad I did though, it's probably the best showcase of the GBA hardware out currently and pretty darn fun to boot. If you've played the PSX/DC/PC versions you know what to expect, it plays very similar. The notable difference being that the 3d graphics had to be replaced by a semi-3d isometric view.
Whichever way you look at it though, it looks freakin' awesome for a portable game. The graphics are smooth and fast and as good as you could've hoped. The view was somewhat hard to come to terms with at first, bring used to the full 3d view of the other versions. But after a warm-up period I was up to my old tricks again (no pun intended).
The sound is also good, unfortunately none of the licensed songs of the full-size versions made it onto the cartridge. To be expected, naturally, and it doesn't really matter since the replacements are pretty damn good too. Nice work overall from the music team.
Phew, well that's my opinion on the GBA and assorted games. If anyone has any questions feel free to ask them. I'll do my best to answer.
?). All of you current GC owners must at least try a GBA. It's a masterpiece of design (what the GC should have been).
