Konami Collector's Series: Arcade Advance

This game is actually 6 games in one. You get near perfect arcade ports of Frogger, Gyruss, Time Pilot, Rush'n Attack, Scramble, and Yie Ar Kung-Fu. Frogger is basically moving a frog to the top of the screen while avoiding highway traffic and other obstacles. Very fun, very simple. Gyruss is a shooter where you move a spaceship in a circle motion to kill enemies spawning from the center. It is addictive and has very good music, a very fun game. Time Pilot lets you pilot a plane while shooting enemy planes, and you transport to different time periods like the future and 1940. It is fun and mostly challenging. Rush'n Attack is a lot like the NES game, you kill enemies with your baton while going from left to right. It's challenging and a very good game. Yie Ar Kung-Fu is one of the best games on this cartridge. It's a fighting game, but only one on one, where you challenge all of the best kung fu masters, and they get harder as you beat each one. However, the game is very challenging because you don't have very many lives, and it takes a lot of trial and error. This game saves your high scores, with one problem: when you turn the system off, the high scores are erased. Bummer. But the gameplay you get with this cartridge is unparralleled, and you will be playing Arcade Advance for hours on end. These are some of Konami's best arcade games, too. A great budget title, and one of my favorite GBA games. Go play it!

Graphics- 5.9 out of 10
Sound and Music- 9.0 out of 10 (near-perfect port!)
Presentation- 6.3 out of 10
Gameplay- 10 out of 10

Overall- 8.5 out of 10

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past

Nintendo brings back this Super Nintendo classic to the Game Boy Advanced handheld system. Released in 2002 this role-playing-game also features Four Swords. A multi-player adventure.

The story begins with the magic of Agahnim messing up the world. Link hears Zelda calling for help in a dream. Is it a dream? The adventure begins as Link searches for Zelda. Link must complete each dungeon while exploring the world. This game is very close to the original "Link to the Past" which can be found on the Super Nintendo (SNES). This is a top down action video game much like the original Legend of Zelda. There are three save slots too.

There are a few changes in this game. Link now yells and screams which can be annoying at times. There is also an extra dungeon hiding in the game. Plus this game also includes Four Swords (that game can only be played if at least one other person has a Game Boy Advanced, another copy of the game and a link cable). Four Swords can be up to 4 players.

The graphics are very nice just like the SNES game. The sound and music is also well done. I think they could have left a few sounds out. The game play is much like the original Zelda but better. It can be confusing at times. Where is the next dungeon? Collecting rupees is too easy. The game difficulty isn't really hard either, it is just a long game with a big map. The presentation is well done with a few improvements. Overall I like this game. Four Swords can only be played if there are other people but "Link to the Past" is a big game. If you like long story games and have not played this on the Super Nintendo then you might want to play it.

I reflect on this game as a good one.

Graphics: 8 out of 10
Sound and Music: 8 out of 10
Game play: 9 out of 10
Presentation: 8 out of 10

Overall: 8.8 out of 10