For me it was no surprise that Sega and Sonic Team have brought the game to the Game Boy Advance for it is ideally suited for the portable environment. So here it finally is, a puzzler to rival Tetris on single player and it's own champion amongst friends. Chu Chu Rocket is perhaps only a game that the Japanese could envisage and coming from such a prestigious development outfit as Sonic Team it had to be special. The concept as with most great games is simple but the execution is unique and laced with genius. I will try to explain the concept of Chu Chu Rocket; these are not the ramblings of a mad man for this is the game, really! On a planet far away in another time zone live the Space Mice also known, as ChuChus and the main enemy of these sweet little creatures are KapuKapus, also known as Space Cats. It wasn't long before the evil KapuKapus invaded their world and the ChuChus had to flee in rockets. This is where you come in, as you need to guide the sweet but exceptionally dumb ChuChus to their rockets whilst avoiding the KapuKapus.
To describe the game another way perhaps harshly would be to call it Crazy Lemmings on speed. You need to guide the mice through mazes and dangers (which can move) by placing arrows on the game screen. The mice do not question anything, as they will blindly follow your directions even if it means instant death. Points are scored on the number of mice that you have safely led to your rockets; the winner is the one with the highest score. The beauty of Chu Chu Rocket is that it goes much further than this concept by throwing in lots of variables and bonuses. To go through each of these would double the size of this review and would also spoil some wonderful surprises.
Those who played the Dreamcast version will understand just how good Chu Chu Rocket is and the rush created playing the multiplayer mode is. A Quake adrenaline rush is timid in comparison to playing Chu Chu Rocket online, fact. Avoiding Space Cats is tricky enough without other players redirecting the mice towards their rockets or the nearest danger Therefore its good to see that the various modes included in the GBA version take advantage of this. Included in the game are the standard single player modes that comprise of Stage Challenge, Puzzle and create a stage or create a character. The Puzzle Mode is comprised of 2500+ of the best stages created by Dreamcast players from all over the world and is worth the price alone. Both create modes add depth as your own data can be traded with other GBA players for them to experience and pass on again.
The Team and Player battles modes support 1-4 players and as you expect push the GBA to new multiplayer heights even surpassing I would think the immense Advance Wars (soon to be reviewed.) It is pleasing to note that the whole Dreamcast look is maintained with this version including the wonderful Options Mode which is laid out like a website including a pointer arrow and (under construction) label. Playing this version has really brought back memories of the wonderful times I had with the Dreamcast version. As for drawbacks any Dreamcast user will immediately realise the difference between playing on a television versus the GBA screen. It is very small and takes some adjustment, given Chu Chu Rocket's hectic nature there is perhaps too much going on, on such a small screen.
Of course any Dreamcast owner would have received the 128bit version for free and yet here is the GBA version at £35. Yet that is only a minor gripe because with all the modes making it future proof and the usual Sonic Team & Sega magic shining through Chu Chu Rocket is one game you must own.
If you enjoyed the article above, check out the following reviews.
Metal Slug Advance review for the Nintendo Gameboy AdvanceShining Soul review for the Nintendo Gameboy Advance
Final Fantasy V Advance review for the Nintendo Gameboy Advance
Shining Force review for the Nintendo Gameboy Advance
Mega Man Battle Chip Challenge review for the Nintendo Gameboy Advance
Rebelstar Tactical Command review for the Nintendo Gameboy Advance
Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix review for the Nintendo Gameboy Advance
blog comments powered by Disqus
