Nintendo Handheld Gaming Thread (Game Boy to DS)

[Gunstar Green]

Yeah I know it was Torus, they did awesome work with non-3D yet 3D style shooters on the system, best of breed. I considered them the top developer for that style of gaming just as the blue roses and v3d teams were for 3D polygonal GBA games. Once you see stuff like DOOM2/DNA or Wing Commander Prophecy/V-Rally & Asterix on the GBA you just have to really wonder how the hell they pulled it off so well.

I consider the 2 DOOM games and Duke the best FPS titles by far on the system. Even if they didn't have that pedigree on them the overall engine and stage designs are fantastic.

The Blue Roses engine is pretty damned impressive. I was shocked at how good the port of Wing Commander Prophecy was.

[Tanooki]

It's crazy how they nailed it down so well. Sure you lost the FMV, if you could consider that a loss. It's not quite as aiming precise as a joystick but it works. I've taken it down a couple of times before and it never ceases to amaze.

[Fragems]

So Wing Commander Prophecy on the GBA is decent? Been staring at it for a while on Amazon it's been discounted to $4.65 shipped.

[ExedExes]

I'm very impressed with the 2 Doom GBA ports. I don't have them but I've seen them enough.

The port of Wolfenstein 3D by Stalker Entertainment to the GBA was also perfect.

[Fragems]

Serious Sam Advance, and Back Track were also pretty decent 3d shooters for the GBA.

[Tanooki]

I'm very impressed with the 2 Doom GBA ports. I don't have them but I've seen them enough.

The port of Wolfenstein 3D by Stalker Entertainment to the GBA was also perfect.

I would say rendering, speed and design wise yes, but bam entertainment cheaped on the chip size which forced it to stupidly have no music at all. So many when it came out on gba were pissed and thought it was broken. I have the game but I dont give it the same credit as the others due to that.

[Gunstar Green]

So Wing Commander Prophecy on the GBA is decent? Been staring at it for a while on Amazon it's been discounted to $4.65 shipped.

Obviously it's not quite the PC experience graphically but for the GBA it's great and gameplay-wise they somehow did a decent job of jamming the essential bits of Wing Commander's complex controls onto the GBA.

As for the loss of FMV... I personally love the FMV stuff even though it's not nearly as well written or acted as Wing Commander 3 and 4 were. I've got a soft spot for Tom Wilson and his portrayal of Maniac especially.

It's certainly worth five bucks.

The port of Wolfenstein 3D by Stalker Entertainment to the GBA was also perfect.

Except for the lack of music. Not a huge deal really but it did annoy me back in the day. Like Tanooki said I literally thought my cartridge was defective. I was still thrilled to play Wolfenstein 3D on the run though.

I've also had the boss death cam glitch out on me for whatever reason.

[ExedExes]

I forgot about the no music on Wolf 3d, it's been a few years since I played and completed it, but to be fair, when I first played it on PC I didn't have any music either (no sound card).

I've also had the boss death cam glitch out on me for whatever reason.

That too, the final boss of the last episode, since i had him trapped in an open doorway, the camera just showed a wall

I forgot about Serious Sam Advance, that's one I'm looking for.

[Tanooki]

Be aware that Serious Sam is much like Medal of Honor Underground on GBA, slower engine, super blocky even at close range. It makes it hard to see things coming until they're well within range and already chipping away at your life bar. The areas are fairly bland and non-detailed compared to those we've discussed. I mean they're playable, but the enjoyment value suffers.


And the Wolfenstein bit, that makes sense if you didn't have an Adlib/Soundblaster back in the day. My first PC was this huge expensive christmas gift in 1990 and it has a SB Pro installed into it along with a CD drive (like 1/2 a single speed, it was the first as it was a Philips/Magnavox PC), 2MB of ram too, so it handled lots well for awhile. I always loved the sound track, that actual tune it opens up with is taken from the Nazi's in the era so it always sticks in my head when I see the old game I played it so much.

[ExedExes]

Yeah my old clunky 486 sounded like yours. I played with the PC Speaker sound which wasn't too bad, but I eventually added 2 more MB RAM (total 4MB), the SB Pro card, a 2X CD drive and an extra 250 MB hard drive. High class back in the day

SSA's got mixed reviews on Metacritic, but if I could find it for cheap, why not?

For the time being I'm going to dig deeper into Duke Nukem Advance. I've got 4 ways to play it (GBA/DS/Gamecube/Retron 5). Again I'll say everything is spot on, I ran through the first level again, the 3D is convincing, the enemy and object graphics are well drawn and detailed, and general pixelation due to the small-screen resolution is kept to a minimum. Just like Doom, you only shoot on the 2D plane, and anything above or below you is automatically targeted. Lots of exploding barrels too!

I forgot to mention the overhead level maps available through the pause menu that can be rotated and zoomed. The select button along with a d-pad direction switches your weapons.