Game Boy Advance

Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo

The colorful graphics, Capcom-tight control, and just-fine sounds have been faithfully ported from the PlayStation original, right down to the weird animated nonsense that occurs in the background as your fighters duke it out, though the GBA version struggles with slowdown as the matches get near the end?which isn?t a bad thing, really, since it gives you ample time to think.

Technically, Super Puzzle Fighter II is an excellent port of the PlayStation classic. Judging on the single player mode alone, Puzzle Fighter gets top marks. Unfortunately, the GBA version loses points due to the woefully inadequate multiplayer mode, which severely limits the game’s replay value. If you’re mainly going to play by yourself, then Puzzle Fighter is well worth the $35 investment, especially if you’re new to the game; Puzzle Fighter is one of those few games that anyone must have played in order to truly call themselves a hardcore gamer. However, if multiplayer is what you’re after, the PlayStation version might actually end up being more affordable in a few months than two copies of the GBA version.

Developer Atomic Planet did a wonderful job of bringing Super Puzzle Fighter II over to the GBA. I usually get nervous when I have to deal with a handheld version of a six- or seven-year-old console or PC game. Too often they pale when compared to titles built from the ground up that are designed to take advantage of the GBA's power.

Un puzzle-game génialissime. C'est mignon, c'est jouable, c'est prenant, beaucoup de bonus à débloquer, un mode multijoueur convivial... Il ne restera plus qu'à nous proposer plus de personnages et décors pour le prochain opus et on obtiendra alors un jeu presque parfait.

If you've played the original console version of Super Puzzle Fighter, or if you've screwed up your original copy by playing it too often i.e. me, I would highly suggest picking this game up for your GBA library. Even if you've never played any version, frankly I would still suggest in investing in it. Super Puzzle Fighter gets addictive quick, to the point where everything looks like they're made of colored jewels, and everyone looks like a super-deformed cartoon character. Or maybe that's just me.

If you're already convinced that this is a great puzzle game (as many, many die-hard Super Puzzle Fighter fans will tell you, the GBA version is definitely one to pick up...especially since this is the first time the series has been officially released in the US since the Saturn and PSX (and PC) versions hit the scene more than a half-decade ago. But personally, even though I'll still pick up this game casually every now and then, I'm sticking with the, in my opinion, better-designed Puyo Pop

While it may not be a pixel-perfect port, Super Puzzle Fighter II Turbo for the Game Boy Advance plays very well, makes a great link cable game, and still stands as one of the best Tetris-style puzzle games ever made. Purists may find the slowdown a little disappointing, but people looking for a great GBA puzzle game certainly won't go wrong here.