The Gameboy Charts, Gameboy Charts Issue 2 GBA

.____________________________________________________________________. |. | |.:. T H E | |:::. ______|_ _ ______ : _______ __\_ |____ /\__. ___\_ \___|_ __ _______ _____/\___ / _/__ / _ .| \/ |/ / // |____ ___\_ \/ / / // | / | ||. :// _____/. _ \/ / // / // \______ \_________|| \/ \________/|| | //\________/\_____ / \ _______| l____||____| |________/ -rtx/art \ ____/ \/ ` ' \/ . . __ |_____ ______|_ _ ___/____ | | _______ .____| | __\_ | ______\_ _/______ __ | | _/ _/ | | .|/ _ .|___\_ \/ \/ _/___ | | // |__| _ |/ | ||. / / \\_____ \ | | \_________/| |____\_________|| \____\______/\ ______/ .| | `----' l____| \/ .::| | Issue #2 Advance (April 2002) ' .::.:| `--------------------------------------------------------------------' [- Released on May 3rd 2002 - Gameboy Charts staff: WayneKerr & Jus -] [- Guest Commenters this time - Dropcom & Lordee -] INTRODUCTION ------------ Another month, another chart as promised. Things slowed down in April after a relatively busy March. Just a handful of games came out in the US and Japan, and a couple from Europe. Less territory dupes and overdumps too. But despite the low numbers there were quite a few noteworthy releases, including BOF2 and Rockman. There was also a month old dupe released. If I've missed a territory dupe here and there, don't freak out. They're useless as far as these charts go, because they don't give your group any points anyways. And since Wayne's hemorrhoids have kept him confined in bed for the last few weeks, we're understaffed as it is. Due to his prolonged condition, Wayne was unable to write for the charts (or even sit down and type). So the rest of the staff will fill in for him. On a positive note, I sent him some preparation-h, so with any luck you can look forward to a speedy recovery and his comments in the next issue! Thanks to Dropcom and Lordee for guest comments this issue. Both of these guys represent the REAL scene, and you know you wanna read what they have to say. You can bet if Mode 7 releases a Britney Spears game, Dropcom's name is all over it. And I'm sure you've seen Lordee's name in more than a few Venom scrollers. You know the drill... - jus .__________________________________________________________________________. | | `--------------------------------------------------------------------------' 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 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 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apr 11 Super Mario World: SMA2 (M4) - Nintendo EUR/32M 0 TER.DUPE Apr 18 The Scorpion King: Sword of Osiris (M5) - U.I EUR/32M 0 TER.DUPE Apr 20 Tetris Worlds - Success JAP/32M 0 TER.DUPE Spider-Man: Mysterio's Menace - Success JAP/64M 0 TER.DUPE Apr 24 Kashiramoji D: Another Story - Sammy JAP/64M +1 UNPLAY. ------------- TOTAL: 1 ------------- COMMENTS -------- In Hungary we say that the Blink182 are the homosexuals of the industry punk. - huh? Just the usual territory dupes and Jappy crap from Cezar this month. Super Mario World is a nice release for the Euros. - Dropcom Cezar with their usual load of useless crap. I wonder if that's just a supplier with no clue going berserk or someone who's really got a lot of spare time and cares to pick all this shit up. What a waste of time. I wish you guys would do something useful for this scene instead. - Lordee .__________________________________________________________________________. | | `--------------------------------------------------------------------------' - Eurasia ._________./\______ __ ____/\ _____ __ \__ ___/ | \\_ _ \/ \/ ___/_\__ | / \ / __/ | \ / _/ \_____ .| |/ \ // \ ' / \ \_/\ \\_ | :| _/ /\ \\ \____ /_____/__|\_____\__/_____|__\ /____/ <----\/-----------------------------\/------ DATE GAME/COMPANY OGN/SIZE PTS INFO ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apr 10 Lunar Legend - Media Rings JAP/64M +1 UNPLAY. Apr 24 Rockman Zero - Capcom JAP/64M +3 Advance GT2 - MTO JAP/64M +3 Winning Eleven World Soccer - Konami JAP/64M +3 Tennis no Oji Sama - Konami JAP/64M +3 ------------- TOTAL: 13 ------------- COMMENTS -------- Eurasia thrives on Japanese titles and this month is no different. Rockman is the highlight of the bunch this time around. I didn't try GT2 but if its anything like the last one, I'm sure its good. Jap dudes will appreciate Lunar and World Soccer. - jus Excellent Japanese titles from EURASIA, as they usually seem to pump out these days. I enjoyed Rockman Zero and the Tennis game a lot. Lunar Legend is unplayable but still a major. Overall a lot of quality games from EURASIA this month. Good work. - Dropcom Eurasia on the lucky side again this month, Japan's companies put out some playable stuff again. While I wouldn't consider Rockman Zero and Winning Eleven World Soccer fully playable as you are either missing the whole story or have to navigate through neverending Japanese menus, Advance GT2 is completely English and Tennis no Oji Sama's menus are English as well. As for the games themselves, Rockman Zero really looks impressive - but I personally still wanna wait for a completely English version to make sure I don't miss anything. I am missing the trainers from Eurasia. Half a year ago, they released real quality trainers. What happened these days? All in all, not a bad performance by Eurasia this month. - Lordee .__________________________________________________________________________. | | `--------------------------------------------------------------------------' - Evasion DATE GAME/COMPANY OGN/SIZE PTS INFO ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apr 27 Penny Racers - Takara / Xicat EUR/32M 0 TER.DUPE ------------- TOTAL: 0 ------------- COMMENTS -------- We say that the Rancid is the great punks of real music rock you know. In Budapest Hip Hop is the enemy of the Hungarians Punx and when mixes in with the punk it makes murder arrive in this country. - what the fuck?? Another territory dupe from another European group... - Dropcom I pity the guy who picked this up just to find out it's a territory dupe of 'Gadget Racers'. I hope there's more to come from these guys - looks really promising after this furious start. - Lordee .__________________________________________________________________________. | | `--------------------------------------------------------------------------' - Lightforce ___ _ ___ _____ _____ / /__\/__/ _/____ / /___ / /----+(\S! / \_ / / / _/+ + _____________/___/____/____/____\ ---------. _____ _____ _____ ___ __ : / _/ _ /_/_ // _/____/_/___lIGHTfORCE' _/ // _/ / \ _\ / 2 o o 2 ___\ _____\__\____\ ____________\----------- DATE GAME/COMPANY OGN/SIZE PTS INFO ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apr 2 Maya the Bee +7 Trainer - Shin'en / Acclaim EUR/IPS +1 Apr 9 Shrek Swamp Kart Speedway - TDK Mediactive EUR/64M -1 DUPE ------------- TOTAL: 0 ------------- COMMENTS -------- Nice trainer guys, but no level skip? - jus The trainer is a nice addition to a nice game, But It is very surprised that we are still seeing byte for byte dupes in the scene. Haven't we learned from our mistakes by now? - Dropcom An average trainer along with an unforced error: a byte-for-byte dupe. With better quality control and some more dedication, Lightforce would have all the possibilities in the world.. but maybe they just don't like spotlight and prefer to stay in the background - by doing the exact opposite. - Lordee .__________________________________________________________________________. | | `--------------------------------------------------------------------------' - Mode 7 ._ - M O D E 7 - ______ _________ | /\__ ____________ __\ | _ ____\__ / / \/ _/ _ \ .|___\_ \/ // // \ / \ / // | |/ _____/____/ . ____|\/|___\______/\_______\_______/-rtx! _| DATE GAME/COMPANY OGN/SIZE PTS INFO ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apr 1 The Three Stooges - Metro3D USA/32M +3 Apr 5 Wolfenstein 3D - BAM! USA/64M +3 Apr 17 Breath of Fire II - Capcom USA/32M +4 G.O.T.M Spider-Man: The Movie - Activision USA/64M +3 Star X - BAM! USA/64M +3 Apr 22 Blender Bros - Infogrames USA/64M +3 ------------- TOTAL: 19 ------------- COMMENTS -------- Not many games came out in the US this month, but Mode 7 managed to grab them all, including a few quality titles. Star X is an average Star Fox clone, but until Nintendo gives us the real thing it will make do. The graphics are impressive even if the frame rate is not. Blender Bros is worth checking out too. The Three Stooges was disappointing, and I'd rather get kicked in the teeth than play Wolf 3D for more than 30 seconds. I'll pass on the rpg remakes, but enough people enjoy that kinda thing, so BOF2 is GOTM. Nice releases even if the games are not. Overall an impressive performance from Mode 7, which we've all come to expect. What happened to all the US suppliers in other groups? - jus Total domination of the USA this month. They didn't let one title sneak out of their hands. I personally enjoyed BOF2 and Star X. Star X's gameplay sucks, but the graphics impressed me for a GBA title. Wolfenstein was disappointing too, but a great release nonetheless. - Dropcom And the unstoppable supplying machine is still running. The boys in Mode 7 never hesitate long and release everything from the worst (The Three Stooges) to the best Game of the Month, Breath of Fire II. Needless to say they did a good job again this month. I guess everyone noticed that Mode 7 is the most reliable source for USA supplies. - Lordee .__________________________________________________________________________. | | `--------------------------------------------------------------------------' - Quartex ___ ___ ________________________:___ / _ \/ | \/ _ \ _ \_. ._/ __ \ | / / |_ \ | \ | \_/ _/ | |/ \__/ \ \___ \/____/ |__/\ \RD| |\________|___) <----\__/-----' \__) `--:---------:-----> DATE GAME/COMPANY OGN/SIZE PTS INFO ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apr 4 The Scorpion King +5 Trainer - Universal Int. USA/IPS +1 Apr 7 Wolfenstein 3D +5 Trainer - ID Software / BAM USA/IPS +1 Apr 21 Spider-Man: The Movie +6 Trainer - Activision USA/IPS +1 Apr 24 Blender Bros +10 Trainer - Infogrames USA/IPS +1 ------------- TOTAL: 4 ------------- COMMENTS -------- Nice job. See in-depth trainer commentary by Lordee for more. - jus A lot of quality trains from Quartex this month. Great work! - Dropcom Quartex show continuity and dedication, as they are coming up with a decent amount of trainers every month now. From the point of view of a trainermaker tho, they often don't have all the options that make a real good trainer: Level-options are missing and by enabling certain options in the Spider-Man trainer you just get stuck and have to restart the whole game. On the other hand, some trainers by Quartex are really well done - the Scorpion King trainer this month is a good example. Sure it's not easy to assure a trainer is 100% working and some games just cause a lot of problems - but with a bit more testing and quality control, Quartex could make another step forward. - Lordee .__________________________________________________________________________. | | `--------------------------------------------------------------------------' - Rocket DATE GAME/COMPANY OGN/SIZE PTS INFO ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apr 1 Tiny Toon Adv. Wacky Stackers - Conspiracy EUR/32M +3 ------------- TOTAL: 3 ------------- COMMENTS -------- No, its not just your eyes. It's a legit release from Rocket. Fun game too. Puzzlers work real well on a handheld platform. Maybe these guys finally realized that territory dupes are weak. - jus Rocket managed to sneak in one nice original title this month. It sure beats the territorial dupes they usually put out. - Dropcom Probably the game i played the most this month. Rocket is doing a good job putting the stuff out that's slipping through the hands of the established groups. I wonder for how long, but at the moment it still works. - Lordee .__________________________________________________________________________. | | `--------------------------------------------------------------------------' - Rapid Fire _______ _______.___________ __ .____\_ \____\_ \ _ / _ |. |. / // | //. |___/ .| |:. || \ \_ _____/|| _/ .::| `-- l_____|\_____/____|-rtx!l_____| ------' DATE GAME/COMPANY OGN/SIZE PTS INFO ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apr 5 Eigo Kubunhen 26 Units - KeyNet JAP/64M +1 UNPLAY. Apr 27 Sweet Cookie Pie - Culture Brain JAP/32M +1 UNPLAY. ------------- TOTAL: 2 ------------- COMMENTS -------- Mmmm... sweet cookie pie - Wayne Kerr The usual webpage junk.... - Dropcom Rapid Fire brings us the kind of stuff that really comes in handy in case you'll ever have a Japanese exchange student. For all the other moments in life, this is unfortunately totally useless. Nothing but crap. But I always get the feeling Rapid Fire are doing their thing with love. - Lordee .__________________________________________________________________________. | | `--------------------------------------------------------------------------' - Venom ___________ ____ ______________ _____. .____/ / _/__|_ \/ / \ \/ | | / / _/ / \ / \ \ \ | |_______/________/___\____/_______\__\/ ; <----------------------- / --------mAZ!____| DATE GAME/COMPANY OGN/SIZE PTS INFO ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- Apr 4 X-Bladez Inline Skater - Crave Entertainment EUR/32M +3 Apr 20 Star X +7 Trainer - BAM! Entertainment USA/IPS +1 ------------- TOTAL: 4 ------------- COMMENTS -------- Not much to say. Slow month overall and a really slow month for Venom, taking 1 of the 2 games from Europe and nothing in the US. Greetings go out to lANCE and soutlaw for their contributions this month.. - jus X-Bladez was a nice release even though the game sucked. The Star X trainer was another quality trainer for the scene too. Overall a slow month for Venom as they didn't show any competition for Mode 7 in the USA. - Dropcom One can't really say that this was one of our better months but there's definitely a good balance between games and trainers. As far as X-Bladez goes, it wasn't as bad as everyone told me and the Star X trainer was really nice work, especially considering it's a debute - Respect to Sout from here! And prepare for some more action again, dear readers! - Lordee .__________________________________________________________________________. | | `--------------------------------------------------------------------------' APRIL ----- .____________________________________________________________________. |. | |::. TOP 10 __ |_____ ______|_ _ ___/____ | | . _______ .____| | __\_ | ______\_ _/______ __ | | _/ _/ | | .|/ _ .|___\_ \/ \/ _/___ | | // |__| _ |/ | ||. / / \\_____ \ | | \_________/| |____\_________|| \____\______/\ ______/ | | `----' l____| \/ | | | | Position Group Name Total Points | | -------- ---------- ------------ | | 1ST Mode 7 19 | | | | 2ND Eurasia 13 | | | | 3RD Quartex 4 | | 3RD Venom 4 | | | | 5TH Rocket 3 | | | | 6TH Rapid Fire 2 | | | | 7TH Cezar 1 | | | | 8TH Evasion 0 | | 8TH Lightforce 0 .| | ..| | .:::| `--------------------------------------------------------------------' - An extremely slow month in Europe with the vast majority of world first releases coming from the US and Japan, and its evident in the chart with Mode 7 and Eurasia taking the top positions. - Eurasia continues to dominate the Jap scene. - Mode 7 and Venom in the top 3 for the third month in a row. ALL-TIME -------- .____________________________________________________________________. |. | |::. TOP 10 __ |_____ ______|_ _ ___/____ | | . _______ .____| | __\_ | ______\_ _/______ __ | | _/ _/ | | .|/ _ .|___\_ \/ \/ _/___ | | // |__| _ |/ | ||. / / \\_____ \ | | \_________/| |____\_________|| \____\______/\ ______/ | | `----' l____| \/ | | Last This Total | | Position Group Name Total + Month = Points | | -------- ---------- ----- - ----- - ------ | | 1ST Mode 7 31 19 50 | | | | 2ND Venom 42 4 46 | | | | 3RD Eurasia 15 13 28 | | | | 4TH Rapid Fire 12 2 14 | | | | 5TH Lightforce 12 0 12 | | | | 6TH Quartex 6 4 10 | | | | 7TH Cezar 7 1 8 | | 7TH Independent 8 - 8 | | | | 9TH Hyperion 6 - 6 | | 9TH Menace 6 - 6 | | | | 11TH The Corporation 4 - 4 | | | | 12TH 97 3 - 3 | | 12TH Paracox 3 - 3 | | 12TH Rocket - 3 3 | | | | 15TH Evasion - 0 0 | | 15TH Koma 0 - 0 | | 15TH Oldskool 0 - 0 .| | ..| | .:::| `--------------------------------------------------------------------' - Mode 7 takes the #1 alltime-slot after dominating the US this month. SUMMARY ------- April has come and gone, and while it was a relatively slow month we saw some great games released, especially in the US where Mode 7 went 6 for 6. Japan was also pretty busy, and Eurasia brought all the majors and playable titles from there. Venom and newcomers Rocket took care of the meager offerings in Europe this month. Its nice to see there's still some competition on the training side of things, with Venom, Quartex, and Lightforce all putting 'em out. While there weren't a lot of actual trainers released, you have to remember that there weren't many games released this month either. I don't have Wayne's GC crystal ball, but things look about the same for next month. I predict we'll see more trainers, Mode 7 and Venom once again battling for the US, and Eurasia picking and choosing from Japan. Expect the occasional Euro game from Venom, Eurasia, or Lightforce (amongst the dupes they release). The future is looking bright with recent news on updated FAL hardware. A new 512mbit flashcart and a dual P.Port/USB linker will be coming out soon. I can't say I'm real excited about a 512mbit cart as I don't really use multiple games on one cart, but it will bring the price of the smaller carts down which is always good. What's more exciting is the USB linker. Faster flashing/reading times, less buggy, new software... this is what the FAL should have been from the beginning. Thanks again to WK and everyone that helps out with these charts, especially Dropcom and Lordee this month. See you in the next issue! - jus It was a slow month. What more can be said. There were definitely some quality titles. MODE7 and EURASIA dominated in their respective territories and the European games were split up between the rest of the groups. - Dropcom Nothing much changed this month. GBA scene could need some more action again, fresh blood is welcome. Quite unlikely that the good weather does this scene any good but maybe there's still a chance a few guys wake up from their sleep and go back to work again. Greetings to my groupmates in VENOM, that became like a family to me. - Lordee .__________________________________________________________________________. | | `--------------------------------------------------------------------------' (c) Copyright, GC 2002 - Art/Design by: Rotox!