______. .________ __________ ________/ __/ _/ __|_______/____|____ \/ /_______/ / __/_. / / / \ / /\ \/ \ /__________| /__________/ / /____/____/_________/ / /________| <-/-rS!-------\________/--------------------\________/-----+ ___________/_______________ ________ | _/ / / \ _ \ ________|____ \ | The Console / /\ / / / / /_/ / / / | Scene Charts! /______/\ /\________/____\ / /__________/ | \_/ \__/__________|<-------------+ Gameboy Advance Console World Charts for August 1 - August 31, 2001 Issue Number 3, Released September 2nd, 2001 - Staff! - Dropcom & ennay Featuring Guest Commentary by: Loaded / Eurasia .- Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------. Yeah Yeah. Sorry for being a day late. I've been really lazy and I didn't even do the releases section this month (Thanks ennay!). Anyway, this month was great for quality of releases. Not really for the number of them, but there was only 1 dupe this month, and no bad dumps. It is great to see people wisening up and checking their releases prior to spreading them all over the Net in a hurry. - Dropcom Hey everyone, as Dropcom mentioned, we're a day late. Sorry about that guys, we'll try to do better next month. Everyone's acting like a pack of hungry wolves regarding the late charts, so I'll make this short intro and semi-sweet. We've also decided to stop mentioning any of those EEPROM fixes that are needed to play games that depend on this. There are numerous tools out there which will do this for you. Another thing to mention is the lame TACHYON releases of: Super_Dodgeball_Advance_EURO_Plus_1_Trainer_GBA-Tachyon Super_Dodgeball_Advance_EURO_GBA-Tachyon Two offenses here: 1. Its a +1 trainer and 2. Its a PC EXE which needs to be run on VGBA. How LAME is that? The 'supposedly' European release of Super Dodgeball Advance was nothing more than the USA one with the words "TACHYON" hex edited onto it. We will not include them in this month's chart and we'd probably give them -100 points for these offenses. Thanks to WayneKerr for the detective work. We have Loaded / Eurasia as this month's commentary guest. Loaded's done a few things to represent Eurasia and I'm sure you guys will find his commentary quite interesting. Enough jibber jabber, let the charts BEGIN! - ennay RULES & POINTS -------------- -1 Point - DUPE: Released a game, but only after another group already beat you? -1 point then. DUPE TRAINER: A Late Trainer with the same or less options. BROKEN: If you release a game/trainer/crack that doesn't work, -1 time! +0 Points - BETA: Beta releases are cool to check out, but they are not the real deal. No points are given or taken for these. TERRITORY DUPE: If a game is released in Europe first and contains English, then a following USA release is considered a territory dupe. If a game is released in the USA first, and it releases later in Europe with no additional languages, it is also considered a territory dupe. Games that have additional game features/levels/etc. added are void from territory dupe rules. Only Roms that contain differences when file compared fit into the territory dupe category, if a Rom is the exact same in 2 territories, it fits into the -1 dupe category. Territory dupes receive 0 points. FIX: A non-protection related fix for a released game gets 0 points. +1 Point - TRAINER: Any selectable trainer including a menu receives 1 point. MULTI: A European Multi Language release of a previously available US title. FOREIGN: A German/French/Spanish/Etc. release of a previously available English title. TOOL: A tool for the PC that is useful for Gameboy Advance purposes gets 1 point. EEPROM FIX: A fix for games containing EEPROM saves, to allow the game to run without EEPROM saving on the current GBA copiers. These get 1 point for now, they will get 0 once flash-carts featuring EEPROM saving become more mainstream. +2 Points - AVERAGE JAPANESE: An average Japanese game. Most RPGS, Mahjong titles, Slot games, Sims, Adventures, etc. will be put into this category. These receive 2 points. FOREIGN WORLD FIRST: If a German/French/Spanish/Etc. game is out before the English version, it gets 2 points. CRACK: A crack for a protected/non-working game gets you 2 points. +3 Points - ENGLISH WORLD FIRST: The first release of a game in English. This is generally the first release of the game available, either in Europe or the USA. These receive 3 points. QUALITY JAPANESE: A quality Japanese title that is either highly awaited or playable will receive 3 points. Generally games from major companies due out for release later in English will fit into this category. Most action games, fighting games, etc. will also fall under this category. TRANSLATION: Translating a non-English game to English = 3 points. The points reflect the major amount of work this requires! +4 Points - MAJOR: Usually the best/most-anticipated game of the month. .- Charts for the Month of August 2001 ------------------------------------. ßßßÛ ßßßÛ ßßßÛ ßßßÛ ßßßÛ ßßßÛ ßßßÛ ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛÜÛ ÛÛÜß ÛÛÜÜ ÛÛÜ ÛÛ Û ÛÛ ÛÛÜ ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÜÜ Û ÛÛ Ü Û Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Ü ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û Û Û ÛÛ Û ÛÛ Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û Û ÜÛ ÜÛ ÜÛ Û ÜÛ ÜÛ .-------------------------------------------- Absence ---------------------- Date Game Name / Company Info Pts N o t e s --------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 17 Jurassic Park 3 DNA Factor - Konami EUR/32 +1 MULTI 5 August 24 Bomberman Tournament - Activision EUR/32 -1 DUPE -- Total Points - 00 Comments: Dropcom: Blah. Why can't you just FC /B the Roms to the previous releases prior to spreading them all over the Net. It doesn't take that much effort guys.. ennay: The release of Jurassic Park balances out the dupe of Bomberman Tournament, so its ZERO points for these Absense this month. I personally feel these Euro dupes are useless, but I guess there's a demand for these out there. Loaded: After an appearance last month, Absense brought a decent multiple language game for the foreigners in the scene. Good. Then for some reason, whether it be lazyness, lack of experience, or inability to file compare, they brought out another identical dupe of the previous Mode7 release. Its very sad that even now, after these charts and various web sites document all the necessary information people can continue to screw up. Perhaps this will go away in the coming months. MTX!____.--._)\____ .-. ____/(___:.___ .--/ _ | | \___ \/ _ \/ ___/___]/ _ \--. | / __| l | _/ \___ \ / \ | `-\____ \_____|_\_ \__|__/ ____/___\ |__/-' .------\(---------\(-----)/---------`-'----- Eurasia ----------------------- Date Game Name / Company Info Pts N o t e s --------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 1 Dokapon Q Monster Hunter - Asmik JPN/64 +2 August 2 Our Breeding Series My Ameba - MTO Inc JPN/32 +2 August 4 Jurassic Park 3 - Park Builder - Konami JPN/32 +2 Our Breeding Series: My Beetle - MTO Inc JPN/32 +2 August 8 Super Black Bass Advance - Star Fish JPN/32 +2 August 9 Extreme Mahjong Deluxe - Athena JPN/64 +2 August 14 Fortress - Majesco USA/32 +3 August 18 Wario Land 4 - Nintendo JPN/64 +3 August 24 Klonoa - Empire of Dreams +2 - Namco JPN/IPS +1 GROUP 1ST August 25 Jurassic Park 3 Advanced Action - Konami JPN/64 +2 August 30 Super Mario Advance +4 - Nintendo USA/IPS +1 August 31 Tang Tang +3 - Take 2 USA/IPS +1 -- Total Points - 23 Comments: Dropcom: Eurasia had yet another great month. Wario Land 4 & Fortress are very nice titles and they started doing trainers this month. Add in the usual dominance of Jap crap and you have the #1 group for this month. ennay: Eurasia has the usual dominance of the Japanese titles this month, and a firstie for this group with the +2 trainer for Klonoa. The trainer logo by Jailbird looks totally kick ass on the GBA screen. And it looks like MFM is a busy guy pumping out 2 more trainers in the next few days. Make sure you read the nfo for Tang Tang +3 trainer as it seems like these guys have some beef against some other group cpl / rpf There were also some heated debates on irc regarding the Rapid Fire +4 trainer for Tang Tang, but I'll comment on that one in their section. Loaded: Eurasia once again managed to release all of the Japanese titles for the month of August, plus a nice release from the USA. Our trainer department came into existance and managed to release several quality trainers by the end of the month. On top of that, a fiasco developed near the end of the month as a result of several different factors which I will describe. Apparantly the "expect more from your favorite group" rigamarole that we've seen every group cite in their nfo's combined with a Mahjong game text lifted OFF the package caused the Capital crew to release a trainer under Rapid Fire to make some commentary about us. We of course responded, causing a quick trainer to be thrown together to make more comments. This escalated into an argument on IRC. The initial RPF comments were merely a misunderstanding, but some of the later comments may have left some scars. Hopefully both groups can move past this in the future. i N F e R N O (Sorry no file_id.diz) .--------------------------------------------------------------------------- Date Game Name / Company Info Pts N o t e s --------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 9 Mario Kart Super Circuit - Nintendo USA/32 +4 -- Total Points - +4 Comments: Dropcom: Very nice release. I've played this title more than any other game on the GBA so far. ennay: Great start into the GBA scene with their first release. This was released about 2 weeks ahead of retail as well. Will these guys continue on with more releases in the future? Or will these guys get bored like some other groups. Loaded: Out of nowhere, this PC group brought us the USA 2 weeks ahead of retail. Mario Kart is definitely the game of the month for the second month in a row, and there's no question why. Not only is the game extremely playable, I personally love the SNES tracks within the game. Nintendo certainly made an effort on this title. Regarding Inferno, will we see them again? Only time will tell, but this is not bad for their first release. ___ _ ___ _____ _____ / /__\/__/ _/____ / /___ / /----+(\S! / \_ / / / _/+ + _____________/___/____/____/____\ ---------. _____ _____ _____ ___ __ : / _/ _ /_/_ // _/____/_/___lIGHTfORCE' _/ // _/ / \ _\ / 2 o o 1 ___\ _____\__\____\ ____________\----------- .----------------------------------------------- Lightforce ---------------- Date Game Name / Company Info Pts N o t e s --------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 15 Pitfall The Mayan Adventure +4 Majesco USA/IPS +1 GROUP 1ST August 24 Wario Land 4 +2 - Nintendo JPN/IPS +1 -- Total Points - 02 Comments: Dropcom: Lightforce brings us 2 quality trainers. It's good to see the new groups giving CPL some competition on this stuff. ennay: Lightforce also joins the trainer scene with their first one for Pitfall. I've checked this one out and its got some neat effects with a great looking logo and font. Loaded: Lightforce proved that they could do trainers with the nice +4 in the middle of the month. They of course continued with the second a week later. I'm sure we will see some more excellent trainers in the future by these guys, and I certainly wouldn't count them out of getting a few great titles in the coming months. ._ - M O D E 7 - ______ _________ | /\__ ____________ __\ | _ ____\__ / / \/ _/ _ \ .|___\_ \/ // // \ / \ / // | |/ _____/____/ . ____|\/|___\______/\_______\_______/-rtx! _| Mode 7 ----------------------- Date Game Name / Company Info Pts N o t e s --------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 30 ESPN Final Round Golf 2002 - Konami USA/64 +3 Tang Tang - Take 2 Interactive USA/32 +3 -- Total Points - 06 Comments: Dropcom: Mode7 lost Fortress & Mario Kart, but they did manage to bring us 2 other USA titles towards the end of the month. The USA scene will be really busy next month, so we'll have to see where Mode7 will end up next month. ennay: Two USA titles from Mode7 at the end of the month. Tang Tang seemed quite a popular title for the trainer makers out there as Eurasia + Rapid Fire both made trainers for this game. Loaded: Mode7 released two USA titles right at the close of the month, proving that they still had hold of the USA scene. With the impending winter months closing in on us, will Mode7 be able to maintain hold or will, perhaps, another group emerge to provide more competition? As always, we will just have to wait and see. M.U.G.S MOST UGLY GAMEBOY SCENERS --------------------------------- We are ugly and you suck, fact! ================================= .------------------------------------------- Most Ugly Gameboy Sceners ----- Date Game Name / Company Info Pts N o t e s --------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 20 Tweety and the Magic Gems - Kemco GER/32 +1 -- Total Points - 01 Comments: Dropcom: Yawn. ennay: The German version of this board game for the GBA. Not much else to say. Loaded: A German title of a game released previously in several regions. At least they didn't lose the one point they gained like some other groups. ()()==================D~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ pARAcOX - wE sUXX cOX .----------------------------------------------- Paracox ------------------- Date Game Name / Company Info Pts N o t e s --------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 4 Final Fight One - Capcom EUR/32 +3 -- Total Points - 03 Comments: Dropcom: Many people might consider this game to be a beta. However, We will give Paracox the benefit of the doubt. They will receive points for this release until someone can PROVE that the release is a Beta by comparing to the store final. Talk and rumors do not mean anything without proof. If this release is indeed proved to be beta, we will deduct the points for it in a future month. ennay: People were debating whether this game is a final or not. This game is due at the end of September which makes this almost 2 months early. The game itself seems pretty complete and playable all the way to the end. On the other hand, due to the group's history. As Dropcom mentioned, we'll give these guys the benefit of the doubt, and subtract points later on. I doubt any other group has to put up with so much scrutiny regarding their releases, but this one has no obivious signs of BETANESS. (Wow a new word!) Loaded: Everyone was a bit shocked to see this title appear so early ahead of retail. The obvious conclusion is that this title was a beta, merely because of the extraordinary amount of time until retail release. In any case, the game is completely playable, as it only needed to be translated from Japanese. Who is behind Paracox? We all have our suspicions, but perhaps in the future their true identities will be revealed. ____________________ _________ \____ \ /\ _.\_| / _ / / / /_/\_/ \/ / / : /__. \/ / __/_/ :\ / / \ '/ / . \ /___| \_____\ /__\___\/_______/ .----------------------------------------- Perversion ---------------------- Date Game Name / Company Info Pts N o t e s --------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 8 Meine Liebe - (Angel League) - Konami JPN/64 +2 -- Total Points - 02 Comments: Dropcom: Boooooooooring. ennay: Perversion manages to sneak one past Eurasia and brings you some RPG/SLG type game. Not much else to say. Loaded: A missed Japanese title released near the end of April was snatched up by Perversion. Due to the recent information, this may very well be the last release under this label. We will have to see if Quartex will manage to make their mark in the scene in the next months. _______ _______.___________ __ .____\_ \____\_ \ _ / _ |. |. / // | //. |___/ .| |:. || \ \_ _____/|| _/ .::| `-- l_____|\_____/____|-rtx!l_____| ------'-- Rapid Fire ------------------- Date Game Name / Company Info Pts N o t e s .--------------------------------------------------------------------------- August 30 Jurassic Park III - The DNA Factor +5 USA/IPS +1 August 31 Tang Tang +4 - Take 2 USA/IPS +1 Final Fight One +5 - Capcom JPN/IPS +1 -- Total Points - 03 Comments: Dropcom: RPF brings us a couple decent trainers. Tang Tang still gets a point since it has an extra feature over the Eurasia release. ennay: Rapid Fire delivers 3 trainers towards the end of the month. Tang Tang +4 trainer is valid because of the Unlimited Time that the Eurasia one did not have. The directory is also interesting : Tang_Tang_USA_Plus4_Trainer_NOT_DONE_BY_ROTOX_GBA-RPF I assume everyone associate Rapid Fire with Rotox/CPL which can be true to some extent. Also make sure you read their nfo as it is pretty funny to see the tension building up between these two groups. I guess Loaded can explain the reasons for this. Loaded: Rapid Fire released several good trainers right before the close of the month. Read my comments under the Eurasia section for a short commentary as to the events that occurred. Rather than dwell on the past, it seems best to just move on and see where things develop in the future. .- Group Totals & Summary -------------------------------------------------. Rank Group Points All Time Points 1. Eurasia 23 97 2. Mode7 06 39 3. Inferno 04 04 4. Paracox 03 03 5. Rapid Fire 03 19 6. Lightforce 02 04 7. Perversion 02 05 8. Most Ugly Gameboy Sceners 01 01 9. Absence 00 01 - Eurasia ranks 1st place for the 3rd month in a row. Nice work again! - Lightforce makes a re-appearance after being absent in July. - Capital doesn't make it onto the chart for August, I guess RPF's been stealing too much of their work. - Two new groups enter the GBA scene: MUGS & Inferno. .- Conclusion -------------------------------------------------------------. It was just another ordinary month for the GBA. The same group dominated USA releases and the same group dominated Japanese releases. The most interesting thing to see this month was the groups that started to push out trainers. It seems that this will be a very competitive aspect of the scene in the coming ones, and definitely one to keep an eye on. Next month should be more exciting for American releases, which should make the scene more lively. See you then! - Dropcom .- Greetings & What We're Playing Currently -------------------------------. Dropcom - Currently Playing: - Mario Kart Super Circuit / GBA - Simply the best game on this platform. - Devil May Cry / PS2 - Amazing. I love the controls & graphics on this one. Capcom did it once again. - Super Puzzle Fighter IIX / DC - Addictive. Wish i could play online. Greets to : Cenobit, Supreme, & Z-Boy. Congrats on the comeback! ennay - Currently Playing: - Advance Wars / GBA - Kick ass strategy game from Nintendo. I suggest you flash this one ASAP! (EMU lamers go away) - Devil May Cry / PS2 - OMG check out the graphics on this game. Capcom once again proves themselves of the original KINGS of the Survivor Horror GENRE! FUCK OFF TO: Rotox & lrd (Go harass them in #gbc on efnet) as follows: hiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii i'm doing console world charts now the next few guys who do !greets will get a greet in the chart !loser !gay Everyone's a comedian. At least Kid_Curry / Gilligan / Ego asked where the charts are this month. See ya in the next... Loaded - Currently Playing: - Mario Kart Super Circuit / GBA (of course!) - This game rules! The more I play it, the more I like it. The SNES levels within the game are an excellent feature which may bring back many found memories of the SNES classic released so many years ago. Greets to : Everyone in Eurasia; its great to have many great friends to chat with and I truly appreciate it. I'd also like to greet all the console groups for their hard work and dedication day in and day out, especially the ones supporting the GBA! Special thanks to Console World for allowing me to have an opportunity to commentate this month, I just hope I haven't outlasted my welcome. ;) .--------------------------------------------------------------------------.