Preview

Platform: Game Boy Advance
Developer: Atomic Planet Entertainment, Ltd.
Publisher: Capcom USA, Inc.
Previewed by Richard Brownell on 2003-03-05

GBA gamers have been craving a great puzzle game for many moons. With Super Puzzle Fighter II (SPFII), Capcom is finally bringing a truly awesome puzzle experience to the GBA. Best of all, it's not a new untested puzzle formula being tested on the GBA market. SPFII has been released in slightly different forms on numerous other consoles and has built up quite a following. This following is not a blind mass, but a group of gamers attracted to the fun, addictive gameplay that SPFII provides.

The game is relatively simple. There are two columns on either side that contain the majority of the gameplay. The rest of the screen shows each player's (or computer's) character and all the fine nuances that show that character whooping butt on the other character. The characters and backgrounds are well-animated for what they are, but it should be noted that being distracted by said graphics will cause the player to lose.

The columns that are the gameplay fill with little colored blocks as time goes by. Depending on the type of game being played, there are different ways to match the blocks up, which will cause them to disappear as well as force an attack on the opponent. After initiating an attack, the opponent's columns will get extra blocks at the next clock tick and the chibi characters will fight each other. The goal? To keep your column empty and fill the opponent's column to the brim.

Throughout the game, different colored gems appear that control how the colored blocks can be destroyed. Each player only gets a queue of one item, so quick thinking is required, not so much strategic planning. Besides the special gems that a player normally gets, counter gems also kick things up a notch. After a large attack, the attackee will receive some counter gems that won't disappear until the counter on them runs out of time (i.e. 5..4..3..2..1) at which point they convert to regular squares of the same color and can be used as such.

The characters in this game might look oddly familiar. They are indeed part of two of Capcom's major series': Street Fighter and Darkstalkers. These characters play an integral part of the game (although their animations alone are quite pleasing to the eye). Each character has a specific color pattern that controls what color the blocks that fall will be. Certain characters are easier to play with and others are harder. It's up to the player to decide which character she feels most comfortable with.

Puzzle fans need this game. It's portable, addictive, and brightly colored for those GBA owners who refuse to upgrade to GBA SP. For those that aren't hardcore puzzle fans, this game will still provide quality single or multiplayer entertainment. Time tested and gamer-approved, SPFII is just good quality fun.

Boxart

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