
    .____________________________________________________________________.
    |.                                                                   |
    |.:.                           T H E                                 |
    |:::.       ______|_ _            ______                             :
   _______    __\_    |____  /\__. ___\_    \___|_   __  _______  _____/\___
  /     _/__ /   _   .|    \/    |/    /   //   |____  ___\_    \/    /    /
 //    |    /    |   ||.        ://   _____/.   _    \/    /   //    /   //
 \______    \_________||   \/    \________/||   |   //\________/\_____   /
  \  _______|         l____||____|         |________/  -rtx/art  \  ____/
   \/       `                              '                      \/     .
    .                 __ |_____   ______|_ _      ___/____               |
    |       _______ .____|    | __\_    |   ______\_    _/______ __      |
    |     _/     _/ |    |   .|/   _   .|___\_    \/    \/    _/___      |
    |    //      |__|    _   |/    |   ||.   /    /     \\_____    \     |
    |    \_________/|    |____\_________||   \____\______/\  ______/    .|
    |               `----'               l____|            \/         .::|
    |  Issue #3 Advance  -  May 2002          '                     .::.:|
    `--------------------------------------------------------------------'


   [- Released on June 4th 2002 - Gameboy Charts Staff: Wayne Kerr & Jus -]

             [- Guest Writers this time - Zigor, DG, & Soutlaw -]          


 INTRODUCTION
 ------------

 Hello and welcome to issue 3 of the ONLY REAL GBA charts :)  Quite a few
 games this month worthy of your attention, along with the usual
 selection of absolute crap...did you expect anything else?
 
 Anyway, I'm back in the editor's chair (although I'm sitting on a 'roid
 donut, as my assgrapes have yet to heal sufficiently) - thanks to jus
 and the others for picking up some slack while I was otherwise engaged.
 Let's get on with the show...

                                                                    - WK


 Back again for another round of he-said she-said... a little bit late this
 time, but its well worth the wait. We take a few extra days to bring you 
 the REAL commentary from the REAL scene.

 Huge thanks go out to Zigor/EURASIA, DG/MODE7, and Soutlaw/VENOM for taking
 the time jot down their thoughts on last month's action. These are the guys
 that really represent the handheld scene.

 Zigor is a long-time soldier in the console wars, going back further than
 I can remember and a contributing commenter to MANY a chart over the years.
 We're glad to have him talkin' it up in the new Advance edition of the 
 Gameboy Charts, and you should be too.

 I'm sure DG is a familiar name to all you GBA leeches out there that bother
 reading nfo's, and needs no introduction. Suffice to say, his whimsical
 comments are a pleasure to read and we hope to have him back in the future.

 Soutlaw is a veteran of these charts and an upstanding citizen. He enjoys
 long walks on the beach, puppy dogs, and.. err wait, wrong mag :) Anyways, 
 Sout is a good guy and you should all kiss his ass next time you see him.
 We miss his intro and summary this month, but theres finals and the start
 of the summer and he has better things to do (unbelievable, I know).

 You know the drill...

                                                                    - jus


 Another 30 days pass and its time for the post-game review. After an
 inevitably slow April, May could only get better. The last few weeks
 saw a new scene born with the introduction of the xbox mods and releases,
 although many guys were getting excited about this, others saw it as just
 another scene for releasing a lot of hyped crap. The dc scene now a distant
 memory, only time will show if the xbox can find a long standing position
 like the trusty gba.

                                                                    - zigor


 Just want to thank jus for this opportunity for letting me put my 2 cents
 in and interjecting some witty comments.  Greets go out to fellow 
 groupmates in Mode7 and everyone else who makes it fun.   

                                                                    - DG

 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------' 


 RULES & POINTS
 --------------

 The rules are simple. Territories are relative and unimportant. Distinctions
 in these charts are made by language. A Japanese game with all English text
 or an English select is considered English.


 +4 Points - MAJOR: Usually the best/most-anticipated game of the month.

 +3 Points - A world-first English game (never before released in English).

           - A world-first 100% playable Foreign (non-English) release. 

 +1 Points - A world-first unplayable Foreign (non-English) release.

           - A trainer, crack, or useful gba/hardware related tool.

 +0 Points - TER.DUPE: Any subsequent version of a game that has already been
             released in English (final) is considered a dupe, regardless of
             any extra languages or which territory it is from.

           - BETA: A beta version of a game will get 0 points.

           - A late trainer with the same or less options is a dupe trainer.

 -1 Point  - If you release a game/trainer/crack that doesn't work, -1 time!

           - DUPE: If you release a game that's identical to a previous 
             release, this is different from a territory dupe and the penalty
             is more severe.


 NOTES
 -----

 Overdumps are noted for posterity, however no points are deducted for over-
 dumping a game, as it doesn't affect the playability of a game, and is easily
 truncated with any number of tools. Similarly, "redumps" and "propers" of 
 overdumped games will not receive any points, or even a mention in these 
 charts.

 Releases done by individuals or "groups" of a single person are tallied up
 under the Independent section.

 The playability of a foreign game is based upon the experience of any 
 number of people who have actually played the game. Decisions are final, so
 don't bitch that your favorite super shogi pachinko slot gaiden game 
 deserves more points.


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Cezar

      ___/\____/\_________   /\   ________
      \__  ___/  __/\__  /__/  \__\  _   /poyZ
   __ _/  /  |  __/  /  / _/    \_  _/ _/_ __
  \\_\\ _____| _____/_____\__/\__/__\  \ //_//
   ----\/----|/----------------------\  /---- 
                                      \/
 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 May  2  Konami Arcade Game Collection - Konami        JAP/32M     0 TER.DUPE
         Motocross Maniacs Advance - Konami            JAP/32M     0 TER.DUPE
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      0
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 More territory dupes from Cezar, 'nuff said!
 
 - Wayne Kerr


 I didn't need WK's crystal ball to predict Cezar's performance this month;
 they continue to release their usual fare of japcrap and territory dupes.
 But at least Cezar brings it to us on, near, or before the retail date in 
 Japan, unlike most of the other japcrap that gets released (repacked) by 
 ind guys months later. You get an A for effort guys, but a 0 for the
 territory dupes.

 If the words QUALITY and JAPCRAP could be combined together, they would
 spell CEZAR.

 - jus


 After picking up 1 point last month, Cezar take nothing this time for these
 country dupes. I'm sure someone appreciates the work the Cezar guys do :)

 - zigor


 If theres one thing you can depend on month in and month out, its territory
 dupes from Ceasar.  These games were fun...when we were playing them months 
 ago.  

 - DG


 Didn't even notice these were released.

 - soutlaw


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Cream

     ____/________   ____________        /____
   _/  ________   \_/   ___/  .  \____  /    \
  /    /   /  /   /_   ___/_      \   \/     /
  \_______/   \_____|_______|_|____\  \/____/
  <-rS!-/______|--------/--------\_____\----->

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 May 30  Tottoko Ham Tarou 3 - Nintendo                JAP/64M    +1
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      1
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Menoplay japcrapi mucha.  Cream harikiri, hai.
 
 - Wayne Kerr


 I think its fair to say this release surprised a lot of people. Nice logo.
 If these were ascii charts, Cream might be the winner. 

 Seven years later and redSkin's shit still looks super fresh. From what I 
 hear tho, we might not see it again for another 7 years.

 - jus


 A blast from the past! Out of nowhere Cream make a guest appearance for May.
 Just 1 point for an unplayable Jap game, can't comment on the game as
 I didn't try it. Could this mean the mighty Cream have returned or are they
 destined to melt away like a kids ice cream on a sun drenched beach?

 - zigor


 I was just telling myself, there should be more unplayable jap games with
 hamsters in it.  Thanks!

 - DG


 Of course, everyone loves hamster sims, so nuff said.

 - soutlaw


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Independent

                               _______  -poyZ!
       __    ___\______________\   __/ __
      /_/\  _\   \_   _    /   _   \  /_/\
  .---\_\/-/______/___/___/_________\-\_\/---.
  `------------------/-----------------------'

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 May  7  Koro Koro Puzzle: Happy Panech! - Nintendo    JAP/32M     0 REQ.TILT
         Kurohige no Golf Shiyouyo - Tomy              JAP/64M    +3 PLAYABLE

 May 15  Hitsuji no Kimochi (Sheep) - Capcom           JAP/64M    +1
         Jinsei Game Advance - Takara                  JAP/64M    +1

 May 20  Kawa no Nushi Tsuri 5 - Victor                JAP/32M    +1

 May 25  Golden Sun - Camelot                          ITA/64M     0 TER.DUPE

 May 27  GT Championship - Kemco                       EUR/32M     0 TER.DUPE
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      6
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Kurohige no Golf Shiyouyo is the only playable one amongst these, and it's
 actually pretty good!  Decent flatshaded poly-engine, and I found myself
 playing it for a few minutes at least...

 - Wayne Kerr


 As usual a bunch of old and useless crap from the Independents. The golf
 game is nice, even if it's older than most of the kiddies begging for it in
 #gbar0mz. 

 Also saw one of the funnier examples of just how retarded these rom collectors
 can be, with the GT territory dupe. GT is just Top Gear GT (released ONE YEAR 
 AGO by Mode7) without the Top Gear license and a dozen or so bytes difference.

 This type of shit wouldn't get released if there wasn't any demand for it.
 Just goes to show you the real motivation of anyone that leeches this. They
 don't care about playing GBA games, just collecting ROM dumps like they were 
 pokemon... HOLY SHIT, MY GT EVOLVED INTO A TOP GEAR GT! I GOTTA CATCH EM ALL!!

 Keep on keepin' on with all the wack old dupetastic shit guys...

 - jus


 Nobody picked up Kurohige no Golf in April so it took the job of an
 independent to release it in May! The game is ok and at least most of the
 text is in English. Too bad Koro Koro is unplayable as it seems like an
 interesting puzzle game. The remaining ind releases seem crap so I won't
 make any further comments.

 - zigor


 Nothing really special here (but then, do you really expect much?).  Territory
 dupes, jap crap, and a game needing special hardware. Only read italian and
 want to play Golden Sun? Your in luck! Next...

 - DG


 Kurohige Golf is the only game out of this bunch I played for any period of
 time. It has very nice graphics and very poor gameplay, Tiger Woods is the
 golf game of the month for sure.

 - soutlaw


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Menace

     ___ __   ____ ____ ._______  ____   ____
    /   '  \_/__  \ _  \|  ____ \/ .  \_/__  \
  _/   \/   \ \___// \  \_ /  .  \_|--<_ \___/
  \____||___/______\__\____\__|___/____/_____\

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 May 16  Davis Cup - Ubi Soft                          EUR/32M    +3
         Total Soccer Manager - Ubi Soft               EUR/32M    +3
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      6
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 A brief return to life from Menace, and a couple of good titles this time
 round.  Davis cup is surprisingly good (especially the awesome music by
 C64 legend Laxity/Vibrants, who also programmed the game itself), and even
 Total Soccer Manager is quite decent, including both an arcade "Kick Off"
 style game and a reasonable management sim.  Nice to see MNC back.

 - Wayne Kerr


 Menace is back you ask? Does Pinocchio have wooden balls man? Don't ever count
 these guys out, you'll end up regretting it. Greets go out to RZA, stop
 duckin' me bitch!

 (I thought soccer was called football across the pond?)

 - jus


 After a month vacation, Menace return with a couple of European sport titles.
 Total Soccer Manager shouldn't be confused with Steven Gerrard Total Soccer
 as they are different games! Now lets see some releases from Menace in June.

 - zigor


 Menace returns this month with 2 mediocre euro sports games.  Theres always
 next month...

 - DG


 Menace showed they're still kicking with a pair of nice euro releases in
 the middle of the month. Davis Cup is a fun game to pick up and play for a
 few minutes.

 - soutlaw


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Mode 7

  ._     - M O D E 7 -   ______       _________
  | /\__  ____________ __\    | _ ____\__     /
   /    \/   _/   _   \      .|___\_   \/   //
  //   \  /  \    /  //   |  |/   _____/____/ .
   ____|\/|___\______/\_______\_______/-rtx! _| 

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 May  2  Dinotopia: The Timestone Pirates - TDK        USA/64M    +3

 May 10  Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis - Atlus     USA/64M    +4  G.O.T.M
         Tiger Woods PGA Tour Golf - Destination / EA  USA/64M    +3

 May 13  Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku - Infogrames    USA/64M    +3

 May 16  Downforce - Titus                             EUR/32M    +3

 May 28  Sheep - Capcom                                EUR/32M    +3

 May 29  DBZ: The Collectible Card Game - Infogrames   USA/64M    +3
         Roland Garros 2002 Next Gen Tennis - Wanadoo  EUR/32M    +3

 May 30  Star Wars: Attack of the Clones - THQ         USA/64M    +3
         Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron - THQ        USA/32M    +3

 May 31  Earthworm Jim 2 - Majesco Sales / Shiny Ent.  USA/64M    +3
         Bomberman Max 2: Red Advance - Majesco Sales  USA/64M    +3
         Bomberman Max 2: Blue Advance - Majesco Sales USA/64M    +3
         Frogger Advance: The Great Quest - Konami     USA/64M    +3
         Punch King - Acclaim                          USA/64M    +3
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:     46
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Phew, a lot of releases from M7 this month...we'll start at the beginning.
 Dinotopia is hideous platforming-by-numbers crap.  Tactics Ogre is a nice
 looking RPG, but didn't really grab me to be honest, others voted it GOTM!
 Tiger Woods really is the worst golf game I've played for a long time.
 Dragonball Z, both the "wander around and fall asleep" game, and the "who
 gives a f**k?" cardgame didn't really arouse me much.  Downforce is a
 pretty good snes-style racer, although the sprite graphics always look
 like they're 'floating' above the rotating track...Roland Garros tennis
 doesn't look nearly as nice as the Davis Cup game MNC released, but to
 be honest it's much more fun to play, and I actually played this game
 quite a bit.  SWEP2 on GBA is simply the devils work, lame animation,
 extremely lame gameplay, don't waste your time (when you've got me to do
 it for you...*sigh*) - the exact same review goes for Spirit too.
 Bomberman is still one of the finest games ever made, and these English
 GBA versions are as good as ever.  EWJ2 is a crap platformer (surprised?),
 and Frogger Advance isn't much better (it wants to be a RARE Donkey Kong
 SNES game, but it's more like a C64 freeware game w/ gfx by Stevie Wonder).
 Punch King, yawn.

 "But Wayne, you've forgotten Sheep" I hear you say - well no, I didn't, I
 left it 'til last because it deserves a paragraph of it's own.  If any of
 you rom-collecting little chimps ever buy originals, buy this one.  I liked
 this game on other platforms, but the GBA version is my favourite.  It's
 a very slick puzzle game, and I played this one longer than every other
 release this month combined.

 Overall, a great month for Mode7 in terms of quantity (it could've been
 more, but Dropcom was chased out of EB by Mall security for trying to
 persuade small children to go and buy "Hey Arnold!" for him, in order to
 avoid facing the same shop assistant that sold him Britneys Dance Beat).
 
 - Wayne Kerr


 Like the energizer bunny, Mode 7 keeps on going and going and going and..
 Well, you get the idea. They started things off in high gear, going blow for
 blow on the US titles with Venom, and even managed to kick it up a notch 
 towards the end of the month and blow us out of the water to secure first
 place.

 In addition to the usual flood of US games (grabbing 12 out of a total 19 
 games released in the states this month), they even put out a few European
 world firsts. All in all, an excellent month for Mode 7.

 Anyways, lots of nice releases here. As Wayne went through them pretty
 accurately, I wont bore you by going back over what's hot and what's not. 
 However, Sheep and Tactics Ogre are my top picks out of the bunch. OK, I'll
 tell you the truth, those were the only 2 I tried. But they both kicked ass!
 
 On a side note, If all of the staff agrees that Sheep was the best game this
 month, how does Tactics Ogre end up with the extra point? Shit I dunno 
 either, but whether it's for Ogre or for Sheep, that point goes to Mode 7.

 - jus


 May was a good month for handheld fans, especially with titles like Tactics
 Ogre to enjoy. Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron could be worth checking out,
 according to the nfo; The galaxy is in turmoil and only 3 Jedi's can save
 the Galactic Republic (I just hope they don't kill the horses!) Anyway,
 enough talk, most of these games are worth checking out, Nice work M7.

 - zigor


 Mode7 once again comes out strong with the US titles, going apenuts at the 
 end of the month (Good job guys!).  Wide range of quality from M7, with 
 Spirit and Frogger on one end of the spectrum and the Game of the Month, 
 Tactics Ogre, on the other.  

 Tactics Ogre, hands down GOTM, is simply an amazing game to experience and 
 has been the longest game ive ever had on my cart.  

 - DG


 With twelve USA releases and three from Europe, Mode7 showed that they are
 the GBA scene's powerhouse in May. The best games of the bunch in my opinion
 are Tactis Ogre and Sheep. Earthworm Jim 2, Tiger Woods, DBZ and Downforce
 are decent games as well. I found Frogger, Punch King and Star Wars to be
 somewhat disappointing, but are all major releases as well. Overall, this
 was one of Mode7's finest months.

 - soutlaw


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Quartex

     ___  ___  ________________________:___
    / _ \/ | \/ _ \  _  \_.  ._/ __ \  |  /
   /  |_ \ |  \ |  \_/ _/ |  |/  \__/     \
   \___ \/____/ |__/\  \RD|  |\________|___)
  <----\__/-----'    \__) `--:---------:----->

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 May  3  Dinotopia: Timestone Pirates +6 Trainer - TDK USA/IPS    +1
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      1
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Only one trainer in the entire month?  Sign of the times I guess...
 
 - Wayne Kerr

 
 Only one trainer? No level-skip? At least this one works properly. The only 
 thing Quartex Reigns Supreme over lately are broken and half-assed trainers.

 In the end, one is still better than none. Better luck next month guys.

 - jus


 Hmm whats this? I guess it must be a trainer! They seem to be out of season
 this month. Respect to Quartex for bringing us this one.

 - zigor


 Slow month for trainers overall.  Quartex comes through for those needing a
 little help with Dinotopia with a nice trainer.  

 - DG 


 A decent trainer for a decent game. In the past few months, a bunch of GBA
 releases usually meant a bunch of QTX trainers. The pace slowed down a lot
 in May (and yet no other groups released trainers in May either). Hopefully
 we'll see more action from trainer-makers in the coming months.

 - soutlaw


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Rapid Fire

           _______     _______.___________
   __ .____\_     \____\_     \     _    / _
  |.  |.    /    //     |    //.    |___/  .|
  |:. ||    \     \_    _____/||    _/   .::|
  `-- l_____|\_____/____|-rtx!l_____| ------'

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 May  7  Keitai Denjuu Telefang 2: Power - Smilesoft   JAP/64M    +1

 May  8  Keitai Denjuu Telefang 2: Speed - Smilesoft   JAP/64M    +1
         Kaeru B Back - Kadokawa Shoten                JAP/64M    +1

 May  9  Formation Soccer 2002 - Spike                 JAP/64M    +1
         Doraemon Board Game - Epoch                   JAP/64M    +1
         Animal Mania - Konami                         JAP/64M    +1
         Kami no Kijutsu: Illusion Evil Eyes - Konami  JAP/64M    +1
         Kawa no Nushi Tsuri 5 - Victor                JAP/64M    -1 BAD DUMP
         Gekitou! Card Battler Go!! - Victor           JAP/64M    +1
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      7
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Rapid Fire B Back! Rom Kidi Battler GO!! Fuuji kawa no BAD DUMP: plus RPGs!!

 - W.P. Willy


 I concur w/ Web Page Willy's views entirely.
 
 - Wayne Kerr


 Rapid Fire started the month out all over the crappiest of japcrap like white
 on rice, but fell silent shortly after the first week. Even so, they managed
 to dominate the japanese side this month. Too bad most of these games are 
 ancient.

 (I could've sworn soccer was called football in japan too)

 - jus


 After a meager 2 releases last month, Rapid fire make up for it with
 more nihongo games. While most of these are either crap or unplayable,
 Formation Soccer has to be the one out of this lot to check out.
 Unfortunately Kawa no Nushi Tsuri 5 was a bad dump so no points for that.

 - zigor


 Ugg, web repacks and super jap crap galore.  Almost makes me wish I took
 Japanese in school so I could at least understand these titles. Almost. 

 - DG


 Formation Soccer is the best of the bunch, but not in the same league as the
 top soccer game, Winning Eleven.

 - soutlaw


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Venom
  
       ___________ ____  ______________ _____.
  .____/    /  _/__|_  \/     /   \    \/    |
  |   /    /   _/   /   \    /  \  \  \      |
  |_______/________/___\____/_______\__\/    ;
  <----------------------- / --------mAZ!____|

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 May  9  Desert Strike Advance - EA Games              USA/32M    +3
         All-Star Baseball 2003 - Acclaim              USA/32M    +3
         NASCAR Heat 2002 - Infogrames                 USA/32M    +3

 May 15  Spy Hunter - Midway                           USA/64M    +3

 May 23  Backyard Baseball - Infogrames                USA/32M    +3

 May 31  Muppet Pinball Mayhem - NewKidCo              USA/64M    +3
         Hey Arnold! The Movie - THQ                   USA/32M    +3
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:     21
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Desert Strike was a pretty decent release, not a bad conversion from
 16-bit consoles.  ASB2k3 looked pretty awful, although I must admit
 I struck out 3 times in a row and turned it off :)  Nascar is the
 definition of a "piece of shit", absolutely shocking.  Spy Hunter
 wasn't (as I hoped) a conversion of the original top-down arcade
 classic, but it wasn't too bad nonetheless.  Backyard Baseball makes
 ASB2k3 look like a baseballing classic, although at least I could
 hit the ball in this one...

 The month ends with Muppet Pinball which is great fun, the coders are
 obviously big fans of the Pinball Dreams series of games from the
 Amiga, and they've done a very polished rip-off w/ licenced
 characters/tables on the GBA...only the GBA screen being impossible
 to see can ruin the gameplay.

 Hey Arnold is a pretty standard platformer, nothing to see here.
 Quite a few releases for Venom, but they'll need to do better if they're
 going to avoid being bent over by Mode7 again next month...

 - Wayne Kerr


 I dont usually do in-depth game commentary, but I'll do a couple minireviews
 for the games that I enjoyed, as reviewing my own group is kind of silly.
 I'll let the other, unbiased guys do that.


 ASB 2003:

 They say baseball is a game of inches.. what game could be more appropriate
 for a console with a screen smaller than Ricky Henderson's strike zone?

 ASB 2003 is one of the better if not THE BEST game of baseball to be found
 on the GBA. The only baseball game that even comes close is Sega's Baseball
 Advance. ASB has a real slick interface, nice graphics and animation... It 
 even has trading cards, so all the rom kiddies have something to collect in
 the game, after they collect the rom on irc!

 Btw WK, try laying down the bunt if your timing and hand/eye are so bad you
 can't even get a runner on by hitting :) On second thought, maybe Backyard
 Baseball is more age-appropriate for you. And speaking of getting bent 
 over... I heard you like getting your poop pushed in, so maybe you can take 
 it from Mode 7 instead of us next month!

 
 MUPPET PINBALL:

 It's time to play the music, it's time to light the lights...
 Thats right, it's time for Muppet fucking Pinball.

 With the vast majority of kiddies collecting gba r0mz being 14 or 15 years
 old, I doubt that many of you will remember the Muppet Show that this game is
 licensed from. No, it's not the muppet babies or any other such gayness. It's
 the Muppet Show and it's probably from before your time.

 It doesn't really matter anyways, as the extent of the license pretty much 
 begins and ends with the opening theme music. Oh sure, it has muppet 
 characters from the show, thematic graphics, etc. But once you get beyond
 the title screen this game is pure pinball action. The boards and table games
 are excellent, and the graphics really shine. If you like pinball, you will
 dig this game. And if not, give it a try and flash it anyways. Because it's
 a welcome break from the usual baddie-crushing, platform-hopping, and 
 ladder-climbing that most GBA games entail.
 
 - jus


 Providing healthy competition for M7, Venom comes though with some nice
 playable USA titles. Not being much of a sports fan, the two Baseball games
 didn't interest me. Muppet Pinball has to be checked out for the fun
 factor, and if you like pinball games you will love it!

 - zigor


 Some nice US releases here.  Desert Strike takes me back to the good ol'
 SNES days and All-Star baseball is solid.  Spy Hunter isn't too shabby 
 either.  And of course, theres Muppet Pinball.  Good stuff.  Solid month 
 for Venom. 

 - DG


 An improvement over April, Venom had a solid showing in May. Spy Hunter,
 Muppet Pinball and All-Star Baseball are all enjoyable games and exceeded
 my expectations. Greets to the Venom team!

 - soutlaw


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 MAY
 ---

    .____________________________________________________________________.
    |.                                                                   |
    |::.    TOP 10    __ |_____   ______|_ _      ___/____               |
    | .     _______ .____|    | __\_    |   ______\_    _/______ __      |
    |     _/     _/ |    |   .|/   _   .|___\_    \/    \/    _/___      |
    |    //      |__|    _   |/    |   ||.   /    /     \\_____    \     |
    |    \_________/|    |____\_________||   \____\______/\  ______/     |
    |               `----'               l____|            \/            |
    |                                                                    |
    |    Position                Group Name              Total Points    |
    |    --------                ----------              ------------    |
    |    1ST                     Mode 7                       46         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    2ND                     Venom                        21         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    3RD                     Rapid Fire                    7         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    4TH                     Menace                        6         |
    |    4TH                     Independent                   6         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    6TH                     Cream                         1         |
    |    6TH                     Quartex                       1         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    8TH                     Cezar                         0        .|
    |                                                                  ..|
    |                                                                .:::|
    `--------------------------------------------------------------------'

    - Mode 7 takes the number one spot for the second month in a row, 
      with M7 and Venom accounting for every US release, while M7 and
      Menace split the legit Euro games.

    - Rapid Fire, Cezar, and the Independents continue to duke it out for
      dominance of Japan, along with new-comer (to GBA) Cream.

    - Quartex stays on the radar with the only trainer early in the month.

    - Eurasia and Lightforce noticeably absent, for the first time since
      we brought the charts back 4 months ago.



 ALL-TIME
 --------

    .____________________________________________________________________.
    |.                                                                   |
    |::.    TOP 10    __ |_____   ______|_ _      ___/____               |
    | .     _______ .____|    | __\_    |   ______\_    _/______ __      |
    |     _/     _/ |    |   .|/   _   .|___\_    \/    \/    _/___      |
    |    //      |__|    _   |/    |   ||.   /    /     \\_____    \     |
    |    \_________/|    |____\_________||   \____\______/\  ______/     |
    |               `----'               l____|            \/            |
    |                                           Last    This    Total    |
    |    Position        Group Name            Total + Month = Points    |
    |    --------        ----------            ----- - ----- - ------    |
    |    1ST             Mode 7                  50      46       96     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    2ND             Venom                   46      21       67     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    3RD             Eurasia                 28       -       28     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    4TH             Rapid Fire              14       7       21     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    5TH             Independent              8       6       14     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    6TH             Menace                   6       6       12     |
    |    6TH             Lightforce              12       -       12     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    8TH             Quartex                 10       1       11     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    9TH             Cezar                    8       0        8     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    10TH            Hyperion                 6       -        6     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    11TH            The Corporation          4       -        4     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    12TH            97                       3       -        3     |
    |    12TH            Paracox                  3       -        3     |
    |    12TH            Rocket                   3       -        3     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    15TH            Cream                    -       1        1     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    16TH            Evasion                  0       -        0     |
    |    16TH            Koma                     0       -        0     |
    |    16TH            Oldskool                 0       -        0    .|
    |                                                                  ..|
    |                                                                .:::|
    `--------------------------------------------------------------------'

    - Almost no movement on the all-time chart, with the same groups doing
      most of the releasing.



 SUMMARY
 -------

 Summary time, and fortunately you've got my crystal ball this issue
 rather than the shabby cracked marble that jus used last month when he
 predicted we'd see more trainers and Venom + Mode7 battling it out
 during May (...and we actually got 1 trainer all month, and Mode7's
 handprint all over Venom's tail).

 I foresee Mode7 releasing the vast majority of US games, Venom picking
 up a few here and there, and almost no-one producing any trainers :)
 To make matters worse (for the GBA scene I mean), it's summer and
 chances are the usual release-drought will hit us soon enough.
 
                                                            - Wayne Kerr


 Another month over, and another chart finished. Compared to last month,
 May was a good one for games.  A couple highly anticipated titles came out,
 and a few sleeper hits that no one expected much from. I'm sure Tactics 
 Ogre and Sheep kept many a gamer glued to their gba, but games like Muppet
 Pinball and Davis Cup were also highly enjoyable. And there was certainly 
 no shortage of sports games and platformers to be had, some good (ASB 2003),
 some bad (NASCAR 2002), and some REALLY bad (Star Wars EP2).

 But unfortunately the various trainer makers seem to have taken this month
 off, with only 1 group producing 1 trainer compared to the half dozen or so
 trainers by 3 different groups last month. Who's ass do I have to break my
 foot off in to get these guys motivated?

 Eurasia was silent this month with zero releases due to a very slow month
 on the Japanese side. But you can be sure they'll be back to kick ass and
 chew bubble gum when things in Japan pick up, bringing us the major titles
 and leaving the rest for the inds to grab a month later.

 My crystal ball may not be that accurate (ok, ok, if incorrect predictions
 were the goal I'd be batting a thousand last month), but WK's is no better.
 Despite the foretelling of no trainers next month from Wayne, We're already
 2 days into June, and 2 trainers have been released (by 2 different groups!)

 Thanks again to WK and everyone that helps out with these charts, 
 especially Zigor, DG, and Soutlaw this month. See you in the next issue!
 
 Greetings go to: Crossfade, Lordee, Rotox, Wayne Kerr, Soutlaw, NTSC, Rza,
  (in no order)   Optic Freeze, Ennay, DG, Dropcom, Gem, B, Abrasax, Neimod,
                  Maz, Poyz, Zigor, Son Doobie, Loaded, MFM, Fredro, Kdogg, 
                  Badmonkey, Sekret, Harlekin, CG, War, and everyone else I
                  forgot that actually CONTRIBUTES to this scene.

                                                                   - jus


 Decent month for releases, but more of the same old same old.  Slow euro
 month, strong jap crap month, decent US month with Tactics Ogre being 
 the high point.  Same groups putting out the quality, same groups putting 
 out the crap.  Heres looking forward to next month.

                                                                   - DG


 After a good but slow start, Mode7 unleash a flood of handheld titles
 towards the end of the month which Propelled them into first place.
 May was a good month for GBA, some groups made a welcome return, while
 others were noticeably absent. Now that summer is here we can surely
 look forward to some great games and trainers over the coming months
 and hopefully a more active scene.

 Greetings go out to my fellow Eurasians and everyone involved with GBA.

                                                                   - zigor


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                (c) Copyright, GC 2002 - Art/Design by: Rotox!                
