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GameCube (Games) Portables (Games) Entertainment Games

Mario Gets Advanced Again, Parties On 37

Posted by simoniker from the koopa-poopa-scoopa dept.
Thanks to Game Informer for their hands-on impressions of Super Mario Advance 4 for GameBoy Advance, as the 20th October U.S. release nears for this handheld remake of Super Mario Bros 3, which GI suggest is "...probably the best platformer of the 8-bit generation, and also the best-selling video game in the United States of all time, across any platform." The game features e-Reader compatibility, "...where you can add new levels, power-ups, and level demonstrations by scanning in e-Cards", but unfortunately, "you will need two GBA devices" to use the e-Reader capabilities properly. IGN has an enthusiastic review of the game, mentioning Nintendo "will reportedly even create [e-Reader] cards featuring levels from the original Super Mario Bros. game", and elsewhere in the Mario franchise, French site GameKult has many new screenshots from the GameCube title Mario Party 5, due out Stateside on the 11th November.
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Mario Gets Advanced Again, Parties On More

Mario Gets Advanced Again, Parties On

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  • I like the fact that SMB3 is back. I love the conversions of the games so far. However, this e-reader crap and connectivity requiring to GBA's just ticks me off (not to mention that an e-reader costs more than SMB3!) In Final Fantasy TA, for example, if you want to get certain special items, you need to frequently link up with another GBA (and another copy of FFTA). No biggie if you don't, of course, but you're still missing out on cool stuff. Same with SMB3 -- the e-reader adds new levels and such, bu
    • This is a disturbing trend, to be sure. Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles requires a GBA for each player unless you are in 1 player mode (which I've heard sucks). The Four Swords (Zelda spinoff?) for the Gamecube is similar. Zelda: The Four Swords (A Link to the Past) requires a second gameboy and a second copy of the game in order to unlock any of the new features.
      Now the cheapskate in me has a problem paying for content I'm certainly not going to use (very few of my friends have GBAs). But even when i
      • Final Fantasy: Crystal Chronicles requires a GBA for each player unless you are in 1 player mode (which I've heard sucks).

        The reason that FF:CC requires a GBA for each player is that due to the four-person cooperative play, each player needs his or her own screen to view the map, use items, equip armor, etc. without disrupting the entire game. If it were all done without GBAs, then in the middle of an intense battle when one person needs to change weaponry, the whole team would have to wait as that pers
        • "The reason that FF:CC requires a GBA for each player is that due to the four-person cooperative play, each player needs his or her own screen to view the map, use items, equip armor, etc. without disrupting the entire game."

          I'm sorry, but a good designer can effectively design around the limitation of a single screen GUI for a four player game. You can easily represent all spells, armor and weapons using very little of the gaming screen, and still without interrupting gameplay.
          There's also something to b
          • That certainly sucks for you, but that doesn't mean that it's a crappy innovation.

            Most of my friends happen to have GBAs and lots of them have 'cubes too. I absolutely can't wait for FFCC, Double Dash, and WarioWare GC as I think it'll be great way to spend a night kicking back, drinking some beers and playing some kick -ass games in an etirely new and innovative way.

            I'd pick LAN/GBA connectivity over any brainless, endless, socially devoid online game thats out there right now. (No, I don't think its fun
    • it's called milking out the money, create products that create the 'need' to buy other _your_ products.

      1. sell cool thing a.
      2. sell cool thing b that needs a to work.
      3. profits from both a & b.

      i for one welcome our money milking masters!

      but you could get a beowulf cluster of them, and have a beo-cluster in your pocket...
    • If you're really determined to use the E-Reader, it shouldn't be too terribly difficult to track down everything. The actual e-Reader can be bought used for $15. If you don't have any friends with a GBA, get a used one - they're $50.

      Admittedly, it's not going to be cheap to use the e-Reader feature. Nintendo should be applauded, though, for making use of an otherwise useless accessory - the only other games I can think of that use it are Animal Crossing and Pokemon.

      Being able to infinitely expand the

    • "In Final Fantasy TA, for example, if you want to get certain special items, you need to frequently link up with another GBA (and another copy of FFTA). No biggie if you don't, of course, but you're still missing out on cool stuff."

      Solution: Don't buy it. Nobody is holding a gun to your head, making you buy and play FFTA.

      "Why couldn't they have added these extra features onto the original GBA cartridge?"

      Because the whole poing of using the eReader is to be able to allow the programmers to add new fe
  • i think mario parties a liiittle too much. all the hardcore partiers have to slow down eventually... anyone ever see the Behind the Music on Megadeth? ah, but i've already gone way too Offtopic -1...
  • I misread this one as "Mario Gets Advanced Again, Panties On". I supposed that if he were advanced with his panties off, then it would be R-Rated. My mistake.
  • Unless you've been trapped in your parents' basement for the last 20 years eating paint chips, and you've never played Super Mario Bros. 3, you shouldn't call yourself a true gamer.
    Wow, he's set the bar for being a true gamer way up there.

    Oh, well, one out of two isn't bad.
  • Who the hell cares? I played this game 10 years ago... and *again* (with new graphics and sound) on the Super Nintendo. Did Nintendo just release the GBA as a dumping ground for all their old games? Lazy bastards. I want something original damn it!
    • Actually I don't.
      I *love* the fact that I can play the olden goldies on my GBA.
      No more hassle with settin up my old NES just to play some SMB3 (or Defender of the Crown etc), just pop the cart in the GBA and away I go, and I can play it on the train.

      In fact, I wish they ported MORE old games (preferably Amiga games) to the GBA. All of Koei's titles would be sweet on the GBA for instance. Plus, some of those old games are hard to come by for the original platform (when was the last time I saw someone sellin
      • I guess the difference between me and you is I have my NES set up, and I can play the game anytime I want. Plus, I don't care about the game being portable. Every time I take my gameboy with me, I never seem to play it. I agree with you on the price. If they want to do re-releases, fine, but they should be budget titles. When all you do is take the SNES version and port it over (with minor tweaks to the aspect ratio, etc), I don't think you need to recoup quite as much as an "original" game. I'm just
    • Yeah, the GBA is being used for a lot of SNES ports, just like the GBC was used for NES ports (The problem with both of these, of course, is that they both don't have the same screen aspect ratio as the SNES and NES.)

      Personally, I want to see Square port some of their SNES games to the GBA. There wouldn't be problems with slowdowns like with the PSX ports (since that was mostly due to load times.) Portable Chrono Trigger? Hell yeah.

  • and also the best-selling video game in the United States of all time

    No, Super Mario Bros. and Tetris outsold it, IIRC. It's the best-selling video game that was never bundled with a console.
    • Arguing semantics can be fun, can't it? For instance, when the NES was packaged with Super Mario Brothers, was this a video game sale? No, because the majority of the cost was associated with the hardware - thus it was a console sale with a free game. In fact, when you look at advertising in EB for the X-Box, you will see signs that say "X-Box: Now with 2 free games!" What this tells us is that the games that are packaged with consoles are in fact, free when you purchase the console. Furthermore, since you
  • To everyone bitching about Nintendo 'milking' money out of them by 'forcing' them to buy a 2nd GBA and an e-Reader:

    Do you bitch when Blizzard releases expansions to their games? That's what e-Reader cards are. Expansions. The e-Reader is the only mechanism the GBA has for expansion. If you don't have one, you can't magically get more stuff onto your cart.

    Good god ... It's a f'ing optional bonus feature and people are complaining about it.

    --Jeremy
  • Yay! I just found my copy of Super Mario All-Stars in my closet! No SMA4 for me!
  • I left the NES behind without ever playing SMB3, and never had a SNES, so I look forward to playing SMA4. I might even pick up a used e-reader for the whole experience. The previous Mario Advance games (also based on NES/SNES games I never played) have been good enough that I know I'll get hooked.

    And yet...

    I bought a Gamecube a couple months ago and got Super Mario Sunshine with it. After playing the "just OK" Sonic 3D games I never had any idea how much fun a 3D platformer could be, but Sunshine hooke

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