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GBA

North America

Super Dodge Ball Advance

by Mike Orlando - August 12, 2001, 11:42 pm EDT

6.5

Can a game that features more people getting smacked by balls than Debby Does Dallas possibly live up to expectations? Only one way to find out...

You know, it’s not always easy to be a comparatively young journalist. Sure, we get the money, women, and free subscriptions to Cracked magazine (Senior Editors get MAD, and don’t think they don’t gloat about it), but when it comes to reviewing a game with a deep history, it gets downright difficult. Do you remember your favourite game when you were younger? Q-Bert, Contra, Super Mario Kart, there’s always a classic that will remain in your mind as one of the best games ever. While some of these games stand up to the test of time, others don’t.

I have never played Super Dodgeball. Never. The GBA incarnation is my very first encounter with the series, and while the premise of the game is straightforward, there’s something I just don’t get. You see, the Dodgeball series has a large following of old school gamers and cult followers alike. Whether it is compared to the universal appeal and love of Metroid, or the underground following of River City Ransom, Dodgeball has been in many gamer’s minds and rants these past few years. Does the game deliver for most of them? It sure does. From fellow show goers bragging about how they faired in the Dodgeball tournament Atlus held at E3 to PC-centric co-workers hogging my GBA unit just to peg innocent children with a ball, they love it. Unfortunately, I have the feeling that Super Dodgeball is a great title in their minds purely thanks to nostalgic value, as the GBA incarnation itself just doesn’t stack up.

Super Dodgeball’s artistic approach is very distinct. The characters each have distinguishing appearances, varying from multiple hair colors to opposite sexes to….bird masks. The court and overall environment for each setting look both sharp and beautiful, especially for a handheld game. Anything from the full moon dipping in between twin towers from the Panda Bears, to the prominent shadows mapping the edges of full snow, the objects in Super Dodgeball just look fantastic. The only (personal) artistic down point in the title would be your coach, a teenage girl. She has no nose. As Argonaut and crew proved with their upcoming (and multiplatform) title Malice, female figures just need all their facial features intact.

The animation featured throughout the title isn’t anything special, but it gets the job done. Players will duck when told to, roll after getting walloped, and eventually float to the sky as angels when they run out of life. Whichever teammate you’re facing while holding the ball will wave his arms frantically, and every player comes with a circular shadow. Other than that, there are no distinctive idle animations, or small details that could’ve been added such as blinking. A minor annoyance at best.

As for the now infamous lighting problem, Dodgeball thankfully lights up your screen with its bright, digitized pastel look. Though some levels are a little more on the gritty side, you never find yourself squinting or confused. Overall the graphical package in the little cart is above acceptable, as the artistic approach and variety in characters lends for some nice eye candy.

Similar to some of the character designs, Super Dodgeball’s music can be quirky to downright odd. Half of the menu and gameplay tracks sound like remixed Army Drill songs, whereas the other songs are handheld substantiated techno beats. Atlus has done a great job of going its own route with the music, as it’s really unlike anything I’ve really experienced in a domestically released game. The only complaint I can muster from the musical department would be the constant looping of the same song in the titles. As it takes seconds to skim past each title screen, the same song will start playing over and over again, each time you get to the next screen.

As for sound effects, Dodgeball achieves above mediocrity once again, but doesn’t really strive to make it to the next level. Loud footsteps are heard when anyone runs, a loud, distinguishable ‘THWACK’ is prominent throughout the game with each hit, and super sonic throws are preceded with, well, a jet engine noise. There are a few other notable cartoon like effects, little beeps when team mates jump and so on, but screaming would have made hurling a ball at one of those ugly kids twice as enjoyable.

Super Dodgeball features rather spot on control, which is quite impressive considering the number of moves and variables that can be attained. You move you character around with the D-Pad, and double tapping either left or right will result in your character dashing. Throwing and catching the ball is as easy as pressing ‘B’, dodging is achieved by pressing ‘A’, ‘R’ toggles the view of opponent’s health meters, and pressing ‘L’ will get one of your team mates to run and jump over the line for an ally oop pass.

While dashing, you can jump by pressing both face buttons simultaneously. Aiming for a specific character, whether it be attacking or throwing isn’t executed perfectly, as you’ll often find yourself giving away the ball to one of the opposition’s perimeter players. Once you get used to the control, you’ll quickly be pulling off multiple ally oops, mid-air passes, and super attacks. Overall, Dodgeball’s control is tight and well appreciated, as sloppy control would just not do in a title that requires quick thinking and reflexes, such as this.

So the game features cool graphics, spot on control, adequate sound, and a supposedly great core engine. What can be wrong? Well, despite what my peers say, I just don’t see the appeal in the engine. Basically, you have 7 players per team, four players in the main square area, and 3 around the edges of the enemy’s square. Each player has a predetermined amount of hit points, which decrease accordingly when hit, depending on the type of shot. Just throwing the ball normally will often result in the enemy catching it, or a small tap, which will drop a couple points, rendering this attack completely and utterly useless. Why? Well by either throwing while dashing, spinning in air (hitting both face buttons at the peak of your jump), or passing in mid air and then throwing, you can pull off a super shot.

Super shots can result in the ball splitting into multiple tiny balls, turning into one huge meteor ball, or even making it stay suspended in air as it pulls in opposing players. With over 50 selectable super throws, you never know quite what to expect when your enemy comes charging at you. Unfortunately, there are some utterly mundane moves, such as the Ultra Super Slower Than Bush in an IQ Race throws, to the time consuming roulette wheel, where the ball circles in the air for a while before it quickly fires down on an unsuspecting player. While the slowness of some of the throws is irritating, the big problem comes in the lack of time limit.

Many times you’ll encounter a team who will just stand still holding the ball, sometimes passing it back and forth, or around the perimeter, before finally letting a shot off. This procedure often kills the excitement and fast pace of the game, which is a big downer, as a title like such as Super Dodgeball, craves insane speeds. The enemy AI is pretty much non-existent, as it will perform the same throws and maneuvers over and over until the game is over. So what makes playing Dodgeball so special to others? Out of everyone I’ve asked, every single answer has been along the lines of, “It’s just so fun to smash one of those guys in the face and send em flying”. Overall, the Dodgeball formula just wasn’t tweaked enough to adapt to the complex games of today. While I loved simplistic games like Joe and Mac back in the day, releasing the same game these days would not garner impressed players. The same unfortunately holds true for the Dodgeball series.

Will I still pick up and play Dodgeball next week? Sure, for 10 minutes. Though the gameplay gets old fast, Dodgeball still offers a great pick up and play formula, as the fun factor of pegging kids in the nose is always temporarily prominent. If you’ve got a link cable and a friend with a copy of the game, Super Dodgeball improves, not drastically, but noticeably. Gone are the recycled AI routines and 5 hour waits when the opponent has the ball. Faking out a friend can be great fun, and while multiplayer slowdown has been reported, it doesn’t happen too often. Dodgeball makes a very cool 2 player game and a nice 10 minute quick fix. While there are options to tweak anything from the difficulty, to the impact of the ball, to the names of the teams and players, nothing really saves Dodgeball from its unimpressive and formulaic gameplay. Here’s hoping for a tweaked sequel, Atlus

Score

Graphics Sound Control Gameplay Lastability Final
8 7 8 5.5 7 6.5
Graphics
8

A visual style of its own, mixed with oddball and sometimes comically stereotypical settings makes for a nice sight.

Sound
7

The music excels with a nice level of uniqueness, whereas the sound effects are merely adequate.

Control
8

Though a few moves could have been simplified, and aiming at a specific person doesn’t always work, the rest of the control is responsive and solid.

Gameplay
5.5

The biggest factor for most games is Super Dodgeball’s biggest weakness. On top of being slow paced and predictable, the gameplay is just not up to the standards of what one should expect when laying down $40.

Lastability
7

Again, if you’ve got a friend with a copy of the game and a link cable, the game itself drastically improves just based on fun factor. For a quick fix, Dodgeball is one of the best for the system. If neither of those scenarios fit your lifestyle, then you won’t find yourself playing the title very often.

Final
6.5

I had somewhat high expectations based from word-of-mouth hype from people who usually never touch a Nintendo system these days. Ultimately, Dodgeball is a disappointment, as the potential definitely exists in the franchise. A time limit, multiple balls, a more accurate aiming system, improved AI, any one of these potential features will hopefully be implemented if we’re lucky to see a Dodgeball sequel. As it stands, I’d only recommend this game to people who are looking for a nice two player experience, a quick handheld fix, or for those of you just looking for a nice dose of nostalgia.

Summary

Pros
  • 2 Player goodness
  • A great title if you don’t have time for hours of handheld gaming
  • Neat group of enriched songs
  • Nice artwork and graphical fluidity in the characters
  • Supposed nostalgic value
Cons
  • If you don’t have any friends with the game, or you’re into long playtime experiences, the lastability factor is non-existent
  • Lack of options. A tournament and exhibition mode? No story? Too bad.
  • Repeating cycles in the enemy’s attacks makes for a boring single player experience
  • Shallow gameplay
  • What could have been…
Review Page 2: Conclusion

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Genre Sports
Developer Atlus
Players1 - 2

Worldwide Releases

na: Super Dodge Ball Advance
Release Jun 10, 2001
PublisherAtlus
RatingEveryone
jpn: Bakunetsu Dodge Ball Fighters
Release Mar 21, 2001
PublisherAtlus
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