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The Gameboy Advance had a fruitful year in 2004, with a nice selection of
games for the RPGamer on the move. In fact, the GBA had as many RPGs as the
Xbox and trailed the PC market by only a few entries. With a large variety of
styles, and some exceptional remakes and ports, the GBA managed to bring
together a solid lineup of titles. First and foremost on the readers' minds
when it came to portability was, oddly enough, a port. Final Fantasy I & II:
Dawn of Souls takes the original two Final Fantasy games and gives them each
an additional shine that is irresistible and one of the main reasons why the
GBA was such a strong system for RPGs this year.
Not only does it feature the upgraded graphics its PlayStation counterpart
received not long ago, but it also sports an additional storyline and dungeon
per game. These dungeons extend the gameplay to almost twice as long, and give
players a chance to experience something new to the game whether this is their
first time playing it, or a veteran run-through. Even with these additional
dungeons, which pulled references from the many different Final Fantasy games,
the nostalgia factor was high and pulled in many of the old-school crowd
looking for the old fashioned kind of game. Even so, it didn't matter whether
you'd played one or one hundred RPGs - Dawn of Souls could suck you in with
its enjoyable gameplay either way.
Alone, Final Fantasy I & II would have had a fair chance of winning, but what
really seals the deal for Dawn of Souls are the extra dungeons. Since the difficulty
was lowered a bit in the games, the extra dungeons provide a nice
challenge to the game while adding several hours of playtime. Readers seemed really
excited about fighting previous Final Fantasy bosses in Soul of
Chaos, and got a bit of pride as they beat Omega Dawn of Souls to take gamers on a trip
to a Final Fantasy long gone. Soul of Rebirth adds a nice cap
to the story by showing what happens to some of your fallen comrades and
explaining some of the final events in better detail.
Dashing into second was the Disney and Square-Enix duo, Kingdom Hearts:
Chain of Memories. Adopting the setting and look of the Kingdom Hearts, Sora as
well as trusty sidekicks Donald and Goofy must venture through their memories
of the past. Again featuring cameos of several Final Fantasy characters
across multiple games, it is easy to see why the game became so popular. With
a card-based battle system covering everything from basic attacks to the most
complicated summons of allies and enemies, in addition to a room-creation
system, there are tons of customizations for the readers to enjoy. However, the
battle system did not appeal to all and with exceptionally difficult battle
fights, many RPGamers found it too frustrating of a game. Love it or hate it,
Chain of Memories was popular enough to place in the silver spot for the readers.
Rounding out the top three is another port, this one from the Sega Genesis
rather than the Nintendo. One of the first tactical RPGs, it can be argued
the first Shining Force game shaped the future of rpgs for many years after
its original release. Now redone as Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark
Dragon, RPGamers newer to the genre will be able to experience another solid
RPG. Much like many ports brought to the GBA, the graphics as well as
portions of the translation were touched up. However, the game is more than a
dozen years old and it does show; not everyone enjoys how the battles can drag
on, especially when re-classed characters begin anew at level one, making them
vulnerable to defeat on huge battlefields. Nevertheless, readers still
rallied behind the title, giving it the nod of approval and the bronze award.
by Anna Marie Whitehead & Jordan Jackson
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