Mortal Kombat Advance [GBA] Review by LusterPurge94

• submitted by LusterPurge94
• posted 3 months ago
• 0 of 0 recommend this review

One of the most successful fighting game franchises is the Mortal Kombat franchise, developed by Midway™. Originally an arcade game, in the early '90s it was adapted for both the Sega Genesis and SNES (Super Nintendo Eterntainment System). Both Sega and Nintendo tried competing for sales, and Sega won by keeping gore in their version, while Nintendo edited out blood.

Though they may be graphic, the Mortal Kombat games are excellent challenges.

All but one.

I don't have this game, but I have witnessed others play (and gripe) about it, and I've played a demo or two. That game is Mortal Kombat Advance for the Gameboy Advance.

The endless problems start with the character select screen. Certain characters have different (a.k.a. WRONG) poses. Sub Zero, Noob Saibot, and others pose like Scorpion.

The level select (Novice, Warrior, Master, and Grand Master) tournament tree is stacked incorrectly. While certain characters are on the bottom or top, the order in which you challenge them is different. Also, the game itself is hard - sure all Mortal Kombat games are hard, but this one is not even a fun or entertaining kind of hard. It's beyond frustrating.

Any player, even those who are experts at any other sidescrolling Mortal Kombat game, who would play this would lose terribly. You have to wrestle with the controls, and even then it's still hard as heck.

If you try going online and looking up the characters' move combinations to do their Special Attacks, even if you input those into this game, they don't work. Special Attacks don't work in this game.

I'm about to tell you the ridiculous answer that will make Midway seem like a bunch of lunatics.

In the arcades, Sega Genesis, and Super Nintendo systems, there were four main input buttons (A, B, X, and Y), as well as either a joystick or a D-Pad. On the Gameboy Advance, however, there are two main input buttons (A and B). For that reason, only half the regular moves are allowed. So Midway decided that they'd just leave it like that and just cut out half the moves.

So the end result is that you can't perform special attacks.

You can't do any of the characters' Special Attacks, no matter what. There is no control for it. Your computer-controlled opponents can, but you can't.

There is no way to perform Special Attacks.

So that means that it would be impossible to beat the game, right? Nope. There is a way.

If you select either Easiest or Easy Mode on the Options screen, then you can do a trick. When you are facing your opponent on these modes, if you walk at your opponent and start shoving him or her into the wall, then punch and kick him or her, then your opponent will be unable to attack or defend and you will win flawlessly. You can breeze through the game by doing that. Midway decided to give you that instead of the Special Attacks. But guess what?

THEY'RE IDIOTS!!! Shoving your enemy into the wall and then beating him senseless is the most retarded and simple way of defeating your opponent. You could sweep the entire tournament without taking a single hit this way! What kind of game is that? There's no challenge in that. There's nothing interesting about that.

The final thing I'm going to say is that, in my opinion, this game is THE #1 ABSOLUTE WORST HANDHELD GAME EVER!!! No other handheld can come close to how awful this third-class game is!

I wish I could give this a 0 out of 5 stars, but I'm not allowed to. I would if I could.