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GBA.nfo Charts No. 1
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/ /_____/ // /__/ // / / / / \/ // _/ / / / /
/ // // / / /__ / /\ // / / /_/ /
/______________//____________//______/ /__//_//_/ \//_/ /_____/
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/ / / __ // __ // _ _/ / / \ \ _____ ____ / /
/ /__ / / / // / / // / \ \ / / __/ / / _ // _ /__ _/ /_
/____//_/ /_//_/ /_//_/ \/ /_/ /___/ /_//_//___//_/ /____/
AN INDEPENDENTLY RELEASED GBA-CHARTS!
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March 1, 2001 through June 30, 2001
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/ //\ / //_ __// __ / / __ /
/ // \/ / / / / _ _/ / / / /
/ // /\ / / / / / \ \ / /_/ /
/_//_/ \/ /_/ /_/ \//_____/
==[ SOME WORDS ABOUT GBA CHARTS ]=============================================
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I've always wanted to do a 'charts'. With the release of the GBA and a
whole new scene presenting itself, I decided to go ahead and do it. I
plan to do one monthly from this point on, cataloging all releases, giving
out points based on a fair point system and commenting on each release.
Seeing how this is the first issue of GBA.nfo Charts, the only commentary
is from me, a non-group-belonging-to scener who usually just lurks and
doesn't get involved, however I have run a completely ad-free resource for
some N64 information for about a year. If any of you other sceners or
groups want to lay down some comments, send them to fab@elitendo.com. And
remember: Don't expect anything and you won't be disappointed. If you are
so inclined you can visit www.elitendo.com/gba to check out the GBA.nfo
site which includes news, a release list, a charts archive (one so far,
heh) and some links. These charts are just for fun and if you don't like
them, don't read them and please don't bash them. Counting points and
keeping track is dumb to some people but fun for me. If I miss something
let me know and I'll ad a addendum to future issues of these charts
indicating that there was a mistake or oversight in a previous issue.
Anyway... this issue of the GBA Charts covers four consecutive months:
March 2001 through June 2001. There wasn't any real reason to have a
release chart until now due to the fact that the scene was just getting
off of the ground and there wasn't any GBA backup devices available until
June 2001 and as we all know the scene as we know it is around hardware
console playing and not emulators, although the advent of the GBA brought
us GBA emulators before the GBA hardware was even released. The focus of
these GBA charts will of course be on scene releases played on hardware
backup devices. The only current hardware backup device for the GBA at
the time of this writing is the GBA-Xchanger and 64 Mbit GBA-Flash Card.
The release of this backup device in early June brought many questions
about quality and save-methods with many of the devices being reported as
faulty out of the box and causing problems with games crashing and the
inability to load more than one ROM on a card. Anti-lockup patches which
slowed down the timing of the ROMs were released in an effort to overcome
hardware problems and later angered customers of the GBA-Flash Card when
it was realized that the patches were not needed on good working
non-faulty hardware. I'm not sure if there is any "good" Flash Advance
hardware out there. Everyone I've talked to has had various issues with
various games. I personally have some problems with some commercial
software out there on the Flash Advance hardware, and luckily people have
discovered a way to patch the ROMS to work with the Flash Advance
hardware. I personally think that all of the currently available Flash
Advance hardware has problems. The people that aren't experiencing the
problems just haven't experienced them yet. I can play every game
without patches too, it's just that some of them might crash if I play
them without patches. I won't be sending mine back and will limp along
with it until something better/different comes out. It works well enough
for me for now and I'm sure it won't be the last unit to exist for the GBA
nor the last backup unit I'll own. There were also two save-fixes
released by Nintendo Backup Crew which allow saving in Super Mario Advance
(USA/JPN) using the SRAM-only capable GBA-Flash Cards.
Prior to the public publishing of these charts, another GBA charts was
released to the scene by scene people: "The Gameboy Advance Console World
Charts". Those charts have comments by scene people and may be deemed as
the "offical" charts, but I don't agree with that charts' point system. I
almost didn't release these charts, but it's something I had fun with and
there's always room for some other charts IMO. Plus I already put
together some web space and stuff to host my charts and world charts so
here it is: on to the charts...
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/ __ \ / __ // //\ / //_ __// __/
/ ____// / / // // \/ / / / \ \
/ / / /_/ // // /\ / / / __/ /
/_/ /_____//_//_/ \/ /_/ /___/
==[ A WORD ABOUT THE POINT SYSTEM ]===========================================
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The point system is lifted from the RedboX N64 Charts point system which
out of all of the point systems out there is the most fair. I agree with
this system because ANY world premiere release, Japanese or not,
unplayable (due to foreign language) or not should be given full credit.
I can't I deem a Japanese game I can't play because of a language barrier
unplayable and therefore worth less (and less points) to the scene.
There's plenty of English language games that I would consider unplayable
crap. Also, I don't like the fact that negative points are ever given.
If the release is BAD or a DUPE zero points will suffice. Also, I am only
giving points to commercial game releases, selectable trainers and cracks
or save fixes. Points will not be awarded to hacks (non-selectable
trainers), manuals, box art, etc. Sorry but I can't keep track of all
that stuff.
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==[ THE POINT SYSTEM ]========================================================
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World Premiere Release of a Final Game : 8 Pts
Final Version of a Previously Released Game : 6 Pts
Beta Version of a Game / Kiosk Demo : 4 Pts
Fix, Crack & Trainer Patches : 2 Pts
Version Change Release/Patch : 2 Pts
Dupe or Corrupt release : 0 Pts
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______ _____ __ _____ ______ ____ _____ ____
/ __ / / ___// / / ___// __ // __// ___// __/
/ _ _/ / _/ / / / _/ / __ / \ \ / _/ \ \
/ / \ \ / /__ / /__ / /__ / / / /__/ // /__ __/ /
/_/ \//____//____//____//_/ /_//___//____//___/
==[ RELEASES SORTED BY NUMBER OF POINTS AWARDED PER GROUP ]===================
MTX!____.--._)\____ .-. ____/(___:.___
.--/ _ | | \___ \/ _ \/ ___/___]/ _ \--.
| / __| l | _/ \___ \ / \ |
`-\____ \_____|_\_ \__|__/ ____/___\ |__/-'
\( \( )/ `-'
==[ EURASIA ]=================================================================
-[ RELEASES ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Rel. Date Release Title CID/LAN Size Pts
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31-Mar-2001 Battle Network Rockman EXE JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
31-Mar-2001 Kuru Kuru Kururin JPN/JAP 032 Mbits 8
18-May-2001 Super Mario Advance USA/ENG 032 Mbits 6
25-May-2001 Final Fight One JPN/JAP 032 Mbits 8
25-May-2001 Bomberman Story JPN/JAP 032 Mbits 8
30-May-2001 Iridion 3D USA/ENG 032 Mbits 8
04-Jun-2001 Pinobee: Wings of Adventure USA/ENG 064 Mbits 6
04-Jun-2001 Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 USA/ENG 064 Mbits 8
06-Jun-2001 Castlevania: Circle of the Moon EUR/ENG 064 Mbits 6
07-Jun-2001 Army Men Advance USA/MU5 032 Mbits 8
20-Jun-2001 Tactics Ogre: Knight of Lodis JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
23-Jun-2001 Tweety and the Magic Gems EUR/ENG 032 Mbits 6
27-Jun-2001 Yushun Rhapsody JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
27-Jun-2001 Choro Q Advance JPN/JAP 032 Mbits 8
27-Jun-2001 Toy Robot Force JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
-[ TOTALS ]-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Releases This Issue : 15
Total Score This Issue : 112
Average Points Per Release : 7.47
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
EURASIA is the number one release group for the Game Boy Advance so far.
They have provided 7 world premiere releases to the GBA community, making
extra strong entries with Final Fight One, Iridion 3D and the first
english version of Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. Castlevania was
incorrectly noted as USA in the release .NFO, however it is the European
(albeit not multi-language) version of the game. Castlevania: CotM is
probably the best launch title for the Gameboy Advance. It has everything
you'd want from a Castlevania release and more. Unfortunately Rockman EXE
and Bomberman Story are pretty unplayable in their Japanese form unless of
course you can speak Japanese. Kuru Kuru Kururin is a fun little game
that reminds me of Irritating Maze on the Neo Geo and Fire Electric Pen on
the N64. Thankfully an English version of Kuru Kuru Kururin was released
by Mode 7 this issue as well. Pinobee is a nice looking, albeit generic
playing platform game. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 and Army Men Advance
round out the USA releases, both being fairly hum-drum. Finally, Eurasia
gives us the first english version of Tweety and the Magic Gems. This
Mario Party style board/party game may have appeal to some, but not to me.
Perhaps it's more fun with multiple players, but it's no fun for one.
EURASIA also gives us the last three releases for the month of June, all
three are Japanese: Yushun Rhapsody, some kind of Horse Racing RPG from
Capcom, Choro Q Advance, the first GBA incarnation of the popular Japanese
racer. EURASIA'S last release for the month of June was another Japanese
game: Toy Robot Force (or is it Toy Robo Force?).. It's also pretty
unplayable unless you can read Japanese. It's unlikely that we'll see
many, if any, of these Japanese releases here in the USA, however.
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________ _________/______
____ / __/ ____\_ / / _____
| // |__/ _____// /_/\ |
`----\________/_______|-rtx\_____/____\----'
==[ CAPITAL ]=================================================================
-[ RELEASES ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Rel. Date Release Title CID/LAN Size Pts
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13-Apr-2001 Mr. Driller 2 JPN/JAP 032 Mbits 8
13-Apr-2001 ChuChu Rocket JPN/MU5 032 Mbits 8
13-Apr-2001 Akumajyou Dracula: Circle / Moon JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
13-Apr-2001 Advance GTA JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
13-Apr-2001 Wai Wai Racing JPN/JAP 032 Mbits 8
14-Apr-2001 Bakunetsu Dodgeball Fighters JPN/JAP 032 Mbits 8
14-Apr-2001 Pinobee: Quest of Heart JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
14-Apr-2001 Power Pro Kun Pocket 3 JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
14-Apr-2001 Napoleon JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
14-Apr-2001 Top Gear All-Japan GT Championship JPN/JAP 032 Mbits 8
15-Apr-2001 Fire Pro Wrestling A JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
15-Apr-2001 Tweety's Hearty Party JPN/JAP 032 Mbits 8
15-Apr-2001 JGTO Golf Master JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
16-Apr-2001 Castlevania: CotM *+4 TRAINER* JPN/JAP -IPS- 2
-[ TOTALS ]-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Releases This Issue : 14
Total Score This Issue : 106
Average Points Per Release : 7.57
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
CAPITAL comes in second this month with 13 world premiere releases. All
of CAPITAL'S releases are from Japan, but many of them are very playable.
Mr. Driller 2 is the sequel to the multi-console and arcade game from a
couple years ago. It makes it's debut on the GBA before any other system.
ChuChu Rocket is Sega's first entry on the GBA with hopefully many more to
follow. ChuChu Rocket is just like the Dreamcast version and is quite
suited to the GBA. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is definitely a
must-have game for the GBA but being in Japanese and containing the amount
of text it contains, English speaking GBA'ers will enjoy the English
version much more. Advance GTA is one of the first traditional racing
games for the GBA and is quite nice. It uses a Mode 7 style game engine
and quite a selection of vehicles. The Japanese version features SRAM
save capabilities while the USA version only has a clumsy password method
for keeping track of your game in-progress. Wai Wai Racing is Konami's
version of Mario Kart and it plays surprisingly well and should keep us
occupied until the Nintendo version hits later this year. Super Dodgeball
Advance is dodgeball in the same vein as it has always been in console
form. It's fun. Pinobee is your standard platformer, named 'Wings of
Adventure' in the USA. Powerful Pro Baseball 3 is good 'ol Konami Big
Head Baseball. Napoleon is a strategy game, however is Japanese and not
playable unless you speak the language. Top Gear All-Japan GT
Championship is the Top Gear series debut title on the GBA and it's a
good little racer for the handheld. Fire Pro Wrestling A is wrestling
game that is not in the vein of WCW/WWF type games so if you're looking
for that kind of game steer clear. Tweety and the Magical Jewel is a
Mario Party type game that just like Mario Party is more fun with
multiple players. Golf Master is your standard Golf fare; the ability to
read Japanese is definitely helpful. Finally, CAPITAL'S last release this
issue is the second selectable trainer for the GBA; a trainer for
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon (Japan). As of this issue there are only
2 selectable trainers for the GBA, hopefully there are many more trainers
in the future of the GBA.
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._ - M O D E 7 - ______ _________
| /\__ ____________ __\ | _ ____\__ /
/ \/ _/ _ \ .|___\_ \/ //
// \ / \ / // | |/ _____/____/ .
_____|\/|___\______/\_______\_______/-rtx! _|
==[ MODE 7 ]==================================================================
-[ RELEASES ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Rel. Date Release Title CID/LAN Size Pts
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08-Jun-2001 Earthworm Jim USA/ENG 064 Mbits 8
08-Jun-2001 Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure USA/ENG 032 Mbits 8
08-Jun-2001 Super Dodgeball Advance USA/ENG 064 Mbits 6
08-Jun-2001 F-Zero: Maximum Velocity USA/ENG 032 Mbits 6
08-Jun-2001 Fire Pro Wrestling USA/ENG 064 Mbits 6
21-Jun-2001 Kuru Kuru Kururin EUR/ENG 032 Mbits 6
21-Jun-2001 Top Gear GT Championship EUR/ENG 032 Mbits 6
29-Jun-2001 Hot Potato USA/ENG 032 Mbits 8
29-Jun-2001 Bomberman Tournament USA/ENG 032 Mbits 6
-[ TOTALS ]-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Releases This Issue : 9
Total Score This Issue : 60
Average Points Per Release : 6.67
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
MODE 7, a newcomer to the ROM release scene has released a bunch of great
games for the GBA this issue. Two world premiere releases in the form of
Earthworm Jim and Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure were their first releases.
Both of these releases are SNES ports of games released years ago.
Earthworm Jim has always been one of my favorites and is a pretty faithful
port. Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure was never a favorite of mine and this
port seems off somehow from the SNES and Genesis versions and seems much
more frustrating to play. Neither of these two releases have any save
capability however there is a code that allows level selection.
Most of MODE 7's other releases are all English versions of previously
released Japanese ROMS. All of these releases are much better in English
and are some of the best games for the GBA. Super Dodgeball Advance is a
unique title that is pretty fun to play and has lots of modes. F-Zero:
Maximum Velocity is one of the best games for the GBa and in my opinion
gives Castlevania: Circle of the Moon a run for it's money for Game of the
Month. Fire Pro Wrestling is the first of the Fire Pro Wrestling games to
be released in the USA for any console and is a good game, however it's
not like the WCW/WWF games that we USA players are used to. An english
version of Kuru Kuru Kururin is here too! It's a very unique and fun
action oriented puzzle game in which you have to guide a rotating stick
through some mazes without touching the sides of the mazes. It's really
cool and it's great to see an english language version of this game
released. Top Gear GT Championship makes it's English debut here too;
it's a fairly decent racing game with good controls and good graphics, the
engine is doesn't seem to be Mode 7'ish like GT Advance Championship
Racing, and isn't quite as good as GT Advance. Out of those two
traditional racing games, GT Advance is the clear winner.
Finally, MODE 7 brought us the last two releases of June: USA versions of
Hot Potato and Bomberman Tournament. Hot Potato is a strange puzzle game
that has you in control of Potato's from outer space. I haven't really
been impressed with this one, however it's the first GBA game I've seen
that has a contrast setting built into the game --nice touch. Bomberman
Tournament is the USA version of Bomberman Story. It kind of reminds of
Zelda for NES/SNES/GBC. It's a great handheld version of Bomberman.
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__ .____\_ \____\_ \ _ / _
|. |. / // | //. |___/ .|
|:. || \ \_ _____/|| _/ .::|
`-- l_____|\_____/____|-rtx!l_____| ------'
==[ RAPID FIRE ]==============================================================
-[ RELEASES ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Rel. Date Release Title CID/LAN Size Pts
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15-Apr-2001 Winning Post JPN/JAP 032 Mbits 8
15-Apr-2001 Silent Hill Play Novel JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
16-Apr-2001 Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeondice Monsters JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
16-Apr-2001 I Am An Air Traffic Controller JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
16-Apr-2001 J-League Pocket JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
16-Apr-2001 Momotaro Festival JPN/JAP 032 Mbits 8
16-Apr-2001 Monster Guardians JPN/JAP 064 Mbits 8
-[ TOTALS ]-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Releases This Issue : 7
Total Score This Issue : 56
Average Points Per Release : 8
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
RAPID FIRE comes at us this month with 7 world premiere releases. Like
CAPITAL they are all Japanese releases and fairly unplayable unless you
speak Japanese, which I do not.
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___/\____/\_________ /\ ________
\__ ___/ __/\__ /__/ \__\ _ /poyZ
__ _/ / | __/ / / _/ \_ _/ _/_ __
\\_\\ _____| _____/_____\__/\__/__\ \ //_//
-----\/----|/----------------------\ /-----
\/
==[ CEZAR ]===================================================================
-[ RELEASES ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Rel. Date Release Title CID/LAN Size Pts
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14-Jun-2001 Konami Krazy Racers EUR/ENG 032 Mbits 6
18-Jun-2001 Castlevania: Circle of the Moon USA/ENG 064 Mbits 6
18-Jun-2001 Rayman Advance USA/ENG 064 Mbits 8
22-Jun-2001 Rayman Advance *FINAL* EUR/MU5 064 Mbits 6
22-Jun-2001 Super Mario Advance USA/ENG 032 Mbits 2
-[ TOTALS ]-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Releases This Issue : 5
Total Score This Issue : 28
Average Points Per Release : 5.6
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
CEZAR, another newcomer to the ROM release scene brought us five releases
this issue. All five releases of are previously released games. Konami
Krazy Racers is just the European release of the USA version of the same
name and the Japanese Wai Wai Racers. CEZAR also released the USA
versions of Castlevania and Rayman Advance. EURASIA and MENACE released
European versions of Castlevania and Rayman Advance incorrectly labled as
USA versions. The CEZAR releases are the actual USA releases. CEZAR
also released what at first glance would appear to be duplicates of
previously released GBA ROMS: Rayman Advance Europe, which is identical in
every perceivable way to the MENACE release of the same game, however a
binary file comparison shows that they are very different and the CEZAR
release has been deemed as the FINAL release of the European version of
Rayman and the MENACE version has been deemed as the BETA version of the
European version of Rayman. Confusing isn't it? CEZAR'S release of Super
Mario Advance which has a USA serial number, yet is claimed as the
European release in CEZAR's NFO file is deemed as a legit European release
by some and an alternate USA release by others. It confuses me too, but
I'll go with what the serial number says (USA) and give credit as an
alternate release of the previously released USA version and give it 2
points. As always, I'm up for debate.
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==[ THE CORPORATION ]=========================================================
-[ RELEASES ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Rel. Date Release Title CID/LAN Size Pts
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07-Jun-2001 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 USA/ENG 128 Mbits 0
07-Jun-2001 GT Advance Championship Racing USA/ENG 064 Mbits 6
07-Jun-2001 Namco Museum Advance USA/ENG 032 Mbits 8
07-Jun-2001 Chu Chu Rocket USA/MU5 032 Mbits 6
-[ TOTALS ]-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Releases This Issue : 4
Total Score This Issue : 20
Average Points Per Release : 5
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 was released by The Corporation as a 128 Megabit
ROM file. The correct size is 64 Megabits and it was released by tOTAL
cRAP, the anti-'The Corp' fake group. This re-release by tOTAL cRAP was
appears to be just a re-sized and repackaged release of The Corporation's
as far as I can tell, but the consensus is that the tOTAL cRAP should be
given credit for the release. Anyway, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is one of
the best launch titles for the system and is a blast to play. I had read
the reviews and saw the stills for this game and wasn't that impressed
until I actually had played it. It's quite stellar and is definitely a
"killer app" for the GBA.
As for the rest of The Corp's releases, they all look really good with one
other world premiere release in the form of Namco Museum Advance and USA
releases of 2 other great launch titles for the GBA: GT Advance
Championship Racing and ChuChu Rocket. ChuChu Rocket is identical (but
not a dupe) to the Japanese version in every way, including the 5
selectable languages.
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__ __ ____ _____ ___ _____ __ ____ _____ __ ______
/ //\ / // __ \ / ___// _ \ / ___//\ / // __ \ / ___//\ / //_ __/
/ // \/ // / / // _/ / ___// _/ / \/ // / / // _/ / \/ / / /
/ // /\ // /_/ // /__ / / / /__ / /\ // /_/ // /__ / /\ / / /
/_//_/ \//_____//____//_/ /____//_/ \//_____//____//_/ \/ /_/
==[ INDEPENDENT RELEASES ]====================================================
-[ RELEASES ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Rel. Date Release Title CID/LAN Size Pts
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26-Mar-2001 F-Zero JPN/JAP 032 Mbits 8
26-Mar-2001 Super Mario Advance JPN/JAP 032 Mbits 8
-[ TOTALS ]-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Releases This Issue : 2
Total Score This Issue : 16
Average Points Per Release : 8
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Two legitimate independent releases this month. Both come from BillyJr of
billyjr.com fame. With a home made GBA ROM dumper (the first ever?) he
was able to provide the first 2 GBA ROM dumps to the scene. NIL later
tried to cash-in on these releases by re-releasing them with their own
NFOs.
Another independent, Jurai, re-released a couple of ROMS this month: 32
Megabit versions of Konami Krazy Racers and Super Dodgeball Advance. The
USA versions of Konami Krazy Racers and Super Dodgeball Advance were
originally released by Menace and Mode 7 respectively. The original
releases of these games were NOT bad dumps and were more than likely
released oversized due to the fact that the card that they were on was 64
Megabits. You can easily re-size the original releases of these ROMS to a
proper size of 32 Megabits using any number of tools. In fact a tool was
released by RAPID FIRE this month to resize ROMs.
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___ _ ___ _____ _____
/ /__\/__/ _/____ / /___ / /----∑(\S!
/ \_ / / / _/∑ ∑
_____________/___/____/____/____\ ---------.
_____ _____ _____ ___ __ :
/ _/ _ /_/_ // _/____/_/___lIGHTfORCE'
_/ // _/ / \ _\ / 2 o o 1
___\ _____\__\____\ ____________\-----------
==[ LIGHTFORCE ]==============================================================
-[ RELEASES ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Rel. Date Release Title CID/LAN Size Pts
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15-Jun-2001 Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 EUR/MU3 032 Mbits 6
25-Jun-2001 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 GER/GER 064 Mbits 6
-[ TOTALS ]-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Releases This Issue : 2
Total Score This Issue : 12
Average Points Per Release : 6
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
LIGHTFORCE released two games this month in the form of the European
version of Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 and the European version of Tony
Hawk's Pro Skater 2. Ready 2 Rumble Boxing Round 2 is not one of the
better launch games for the GBA, but this version is multi-language.
LIGHTFORCE also released the German version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2.
If German is your native language, perhaps you'd prefer to read German
texts.. if so this is the ROM for you.
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___ __ ____ ____ ._______ ____ ____
/ ' \_/__ \ _ \| ____ \/ . \_/__ \
_/ \/ \ \___// \ \_ / . \_|--<_ \___/
\____||___/______\__\____\__|___/____/_____\
==[ MENACE ]==================================================================
-[ RELEASES ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Rel. Date Release Title CID/LAN Size Pts
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06-Jun-2001 Rayman Advance *BETA* EUR/MU5 064 Mbits 4
06-Jun-2001 Konami Krazy Racers USA/ENG 064 Mbits 6
-[ TOTALS ]-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Releases This Issue : 2
Total Score This Issue : 10
Average Points Per Release : 5
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
MENACE comes to us this month with 2 good releases. They released the
World Premiere of Rayman Advance which was incorrectly packaged as the USA
version when it is actually a European pre-release or BETA version (the
USA version was later released by CEZAR). This pre-release Rayman is
Multi-language and appears to be identical in every way to the "FINAL"
released by CEZAR however it was deemed pre-release by folks other than
myself. MENACE also released Konami Krazy Racers which is the first
english language version of the game. Konami Krazy Racers was released 32
Mbits too large, though so if you're so inclined you can re-size it to 32
Mbits and it will work fine.
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| |_¶ |__|
¶ __| | |
| |_| ¥ |
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| ¶ ¶
¶ : :
:____:_____:
==[ TOTAL CRAP ]==============================================================
-[ RELEASES ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Rel. Date Release Title CID/LAN Size Pts
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07-Jun-2001 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 USA/ENG 064 Mbits 8
-[ TOTALS ]-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Releases This Issue : 1
Total Score This Issue : 8
Average Points Per Release : 8
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
tOTAL cRAP, a fake(?) group with a grudge against The Corporation released
this "good" version of Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. The Corp's original
release was sized at 128 Megabits. tOTAL cRAP released the correctly
sized 64 Megabit version. Most people feel that The Corp should NOT be
given credit for this release, thus tOTAL cRAP is getting credit. I'm up
for debate on this, however. Whatever version you get, don't miss this
one as it's definitely a standout on the GBA.
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__ __ ____ ____
/\ \/\ \ /\ _`\ /\ _`\
\ \ `\\ \\ \ \_\ \\ \ \/\_\
\ \ , ` \\ \ _ <'\ \ \/_/_
\ \ \`\ \\ \ \_\ \\ \ \_\ \
\ \_\ \_\\ \____/ \ \____/
\/_/\/_/ \/___/ \/___/
==[ NINTENDO BACKUP CREW ]====================================================
-[ RELEASES ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Rel. Date Release Title CID/LAN Size Pts
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12-Jun-2001 Super Mario Advance *SAVE-FIX* JPN/JAP -IPS- 2
12-Jun-2001 Super Mario Advance *SAVE-FIX* USA/ENG -IPS- 2
-[ TOTALS ]-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Releases This Issue : 2
Total Score This Issue : 4
Average Points Per Release : 2
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
NBC released the first two GBA save-fixes. These two save-fixes allow the
Japanese and USA versions of Super Mario Advance to save to SRAM instead
of EEPROM. This is beneficial because the only backup device for the GBA
currently only supports SRAM. These patches are essential for playing and
saving in Super Mario Advance when using the Flash Advance backup device.
Hopefully there will be future save-fixes released so that other games
that require EEPROM or FLASHRAM to save will work with the Flash Advance.
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QUALITY_ _______. BEFORE QUANTITY
____ _____. | l__ ___________________
/ Y | | Y / \_ | _/
/ | | | | | | | |_/ | / \
\_____|__|__|__|__|__|__| \_____/___|___\
==[ ANTHROX ]=================================================================
-[ RELEASES ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Rel. Date Release Title CID/LAN Size Pts
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09-Apr-2001 F-Zero *+4 TRAINER* JPN/JAP -IPS- 2
-[ TOTALS ]-----------------------------------------------------------------
Total Releases This Issue : 1
Total Score This Issue : 2
Average Points Per Release : 2
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
Oldtimers, Anthrox, come through with the first ever selectable trainer
for the GBA. This one is for the Japan version of F-Zero. So far there
have only been two selectable trainers for the GBA, other "trainers" have
been released but I don't count them as they aren't selectable (ie only
one option and no intro). I hope to see many more trainers in the future
from all groups.
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______ ______ ______ ______
/ ____// __ //_ __// _ _ \
/ /___ / / / / / / / // // /
/ /_/ // /_/ / / / / // // /
/_____//_____/ /_/ /_//_//_/
==[ GAME OF THE MONTH ]=======================================================
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The game of the month for June is Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. June
brought us all three major territories of this release and it's the best
release of the month. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon stays in the 2D
tradition of the Castlevania series and offers extra elements of
exploration and item collecting that makes this game a stand-out. The
closest Castlevania game this CotM resembles is Symphony of the Night on
the PSX and Saturn. Like SotN, CotM is a lot like Metroid in it's huge
amount of exploration and item collection required.
Runners up: Konami Krazy Racers & Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2. These 2
releases are really outstanding too. Konami Krazy Racers is the GBA's
first Mario Kart clone and it's a good one. Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 is
a really nice game too featuring the same gameplay style seen in the other
console versions of this game but with 2D graphics.
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____ __ __ ______ __ ______ _____
/ __ \ / / / / __ /_ __// // _ _ \ / ___/
/ __ // / / / /_/ / / / // // // // _/
/ / / // /__ / /__ / / / // // // // /__
/_/ /_//____//____/ /_/ /_//_//_//_//____/
==[ ALL-TIME CHART ]==========================================================
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Pos Group USA Europe Japan Trainer Patch Total Pts
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1. EURASIA 005 002 008 - - 015 112
2. CAPITAL - - 013 001 - 014 106
3. MODE 7 007 002 - - - 009 060
4. RAPID FIRE - - 007 - - 007 056
5. CEZAR 003 002 - - - 005 028
6. THE CORP. 003 - - - - 003 020
7. INDEPENDENT - - 002 - - 002 016
8. LIGHTFORCE - 002 - - - 002 012
9. MENACE 001 001 - - - 002 010
10. TOTAL CRAP 001 - - - - 001 008
11. NBC - - - - 002 002 004
12. ANTHROX - - - 001 - 001 002
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Total Number of Releases : 063
Total Number of Points Awarded : 434
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
There's no monthly chart this issue as this is this issue covers multiple
months, plus this is the first issue ever. The all-time chart shows a
pretty good number of participants releasing GBA ROMS so far. It's good
to see some new groups get involved and release some quality stuff.
Capital and Eurasia led the pack, with Eurasia having the most variety in
their releases. Mode 7 came in strong with lots of English releases which
are what most people are playing. There were only a couple countable
trainers and patches this time, I'm sure we'll see more trainers and
save-fixes in the future.
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______ __ ____
/ _ _ \ / // __ \
/ // // // // __ /
/ // // // // / / /
/_//_//_//_//_/ /_/
==[ MISSING IN ACTION ]=======================================================
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Rel. Date Release Title CID/LAN
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23-Apr-2001 Doraemon: Rescue on Green Planet JPN/JAP
23-Apr-2001 Space Hexcite: Metal Legend EX JPN/JAP
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
In the tradition of the RedboX N64 charts, here is the MIA list for this
issue of the GBA charts. Only a couple missing in action this issue, both
Japanese games though. Doraemon and Space Hexcite were released back in
April. Hopefully these releases will see the light of day in a future
month's charts.
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_____ ______ ______ __ __ ______ ____ ______ ______ __
/ ___// __ // _ _ \ / //\ / // ____/ / __// __ // __ //\ / /
/ / / / / // // // // // \/ // /___ \ \ / / / // / / // \/ /
/ /__ / /_/ // // // // // /\ // /_/ / __/ // /_/ // /_/ // /\ /
/____//_____//_//_//_//_//_/ \//_____/ /___//_____//_____//_/ \/
==[ COMING SOON ]=============================================================
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Rel. Date Release Title CID/LAN
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10-Jul-2001 Top Gear GT Championship USA/ENG
10-Jul-2001 Tweety and the Magic Gems USA/ENG
12-Jul-2001 Mail de Cute JAP/JPN
12-Jul-2001 Morita Shogi Advance JAP/JPN
12-Jul-2001 Pac-Man Collection USA/ENG
13-Jul-2001 EX Monopoly JAP/JPN
13-Jul-2001 Minna no Shiiku Series: JAP/JPN
Boku no Kabuto Mushi
17-Jul-2001 High Heat Major League Baseball 2002 USA/ENG
19-Jul-2001 Klonoa: Empire of Dreams JAP/JPN
21-Jul-2001 Mario Kart Advance JPN/JAP
21-Jul-2001 Mahjong Keiji JPN/JAP
21-Jul-2001 Jurassic Park 3 DNA Factor USA/ENG
26-Jul-2001 F-14 Tomcat USA/ENG
26-Jul-2001 Fortress USA/ENG
-[ COMMENTS ]---------------------------------------------------------------
July looks like a slow month for the budding GBA. The game that most
folks are looking forward to has to be Mario Kart Advance. This updated
SNES version of Mario Kart will hopefully live up to the hype. Fortress
F-14 Tomcat may turn out to be pretty good. High Heat Major League
Baseball looks like a pretty good looking baseball game for the GBA...
hopefully it will play as good as it looks. Klonoa by Namco should turn
out to be a pretty good platformer but USA folks will likely want to wait
for an English version to be released.
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_____ ______ __ _____ __ __ __ ____ __ ______ __
/ ___// __ //\ / // ___// / / / / // __// // __ //\ / /
/ / / / / // \/ // / / / / / / / \ \ / // / / // \/ /
/ /__ / /_/ // /\ // /__ / /___ / /_/ /__/ // // /_/ // /\ /
/____//_____//_/ \//____//_____/ \____//___//_//_____//_/ \/
==[ CONCLUSION ]==============================================================
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There were a lot of releases covered in the first issue of the GBA Charts,
hopefully the efforts of this release are recognized and appreciated by
those people that care. It's my first effort and I've been inspired by
other chart releases going all the way back to the SNES/Genesis days. I
hope it's been fair and accurate and I hope to keep contributing this way
for the rest of the GBA scene. I am very open to any ideas, submissions,
additions, contributions, etc. I hope you've enjoyed this first (of
hopefully many) issue of the GBA charts.
- fab (fab@elitendo.com)
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03-JUL-2001
eof.
