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This month, Cuddley Panda reviews Chu Chu Rocket on Import.
Sega's puzzling classic gets shrunk and stuffed into the Game Boy Advance - and emerges all the better for it. Full review inside.
Avoid the cats. They eat mice. Got it?
This is genius.
If there's any doubt left in your mind as to just how brilliant GBA will be when it hits UK stores, then allow Chu-Chu Rocket Advance to destroy that last, lingering shred. Even if you're one of the petulant few who are determined to see GBA as nothing more than a platform for re-hashed SNES games, Chu-Chu will change your mind, we guarantee it.
It's that good.
Of course, if you've been anywhere near a Dreamcast in the last year, you'll know (almost) exactly what to expect. A synapse-frazzling puzzle game of epic proportions and devastating simplicity, Sega's elegant game of mice-and-cats-and-rockets is a thing of finger-twisting beauty. And it's even better on the GBA.
The aim of the game, of course, is to guide constantly-spewed mice into rockets whilst avoiding the attentions of rodent-eating cats, by placing directional arrows on-screen. It's that simple, and it works beautifully; especially so in multiplayer, where an extra dimension is added with opponent-baiting spoiler tactics, such as stealing a friends' mice or sending a few cats his or her way. Chu-Chu was always thus, and the basic, unimpeachable core of the game remains untouched from it's Dreamcast origins. Admittedly, there no polygons to be seen, but Chu-Chu's simple characters and backgrounds are lovingly recreated in GBA sprite-o-vision, and it looks almost indistinguishable from the original game.
So, then, what we've got here is a fine port of the Dreamcast title, yes? No. Not even close. Yep, it's the same game, we'll give you that, but the tiny GBA cartridge holds such an absurd abundance of all-new reaches that we're flabbergasted. The familiar single-player game is there, but it's boosted by the presence of full multiplayer options (that can furnish four linked-up players with just one cart!) - including team play - and the jewel in Chu Chu's crown, the puzzle mode. Using a set number of arrows, the Puzzle mode allows you to plan the route of your mice, and 'preview' the action, and is utterly compulsive. It's brilliant; and there's over (wait for it) 2,500 puzzle levels to plough through. Staggering, isn't it? Just how Sega managed this is unclear. And that's not even considering the level editor and graphics editor, where you can create and animate your own four-frame creatures to replace the mice and cats. Unbelievable.
This is a package as complete as you could wish for. And although the GBA is going to be available over here in just over a month, the Japanese version of Chu Chu just begs to be imported. It's even got an option for full English language, ferchrissake, and several different options that all offer pleasingly effective control schemes (our favourite mapping the four directional controls to the shoulder and A+B buttons), and the option to swap data with another player, and a comprehensive help section, and, and, and.... well, so much more.
This is a fantastic puzzle game, given some loving treatment and offering stupidly good value for money. The only downside is Chu-Chu Rocket's tendency to fry your brain after extended play; it's too hectic to allow deep concentration for any length of time. But there really is no excuse not to own this. Get a GBA, get this, and see what all the fuss is about. Simply fantastic; we can't wait to see what Sega have got in store next for Nintendo's machines.
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