Car Battler Joe

Car Battler Joe[lower-alpha 1] is a car battling video game for the Game Boy Advance, developed by Ancient and published by Natsume. The game involves using cars to fight opponents in action-styled battles, with role-playing video game game mechanics. It combined vehicular combat with action RPG elements in a similar manner to the earlier 1985 game Autoduel based on Car Wars, and later 2006 MMO game Auto Assault.[1]

Car Battler Joe
Developer(s)Ancient
Publisher(s)
Composer(s)Yuzo Koshiro
Platform(s)Game Boy Advance
Release
  • JP: November 30, 2001
  • NA: October 21, 2002
Genre(s)Action role-playing
Vehicular combat
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay
Gameplay of Car Battler Joe.

The player, taking the role of 16-year-old Joe, must earn money by battling to buy parts for his car to make it stronger. The battles are fought in 16-bit Mode 7-style.

Development

The game was developed by Ancient, with joint publishing by Victor Interactive Software in Japan and Natsume in the United States.[2] Known in Japan as Car Battler Go, Natsume secured the North American publishing rights for the game, changing its name and originally scheduled its release in the summer of 2002.[3] Composer Yuzo Koshiro was involved with creating the funk music for the game.[4] It was shown at Nintendo Space World in 2001.[5]

In 2015, the game was re-released for the Wii U's Virtual Console.[6]

Reception

Car Battler Joe received "generally favorable reviews" according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[7] It was well received by Nintendo Power, which called it a "one-of-a-kind adventure" due to its combination of driving challenges and "RPG depth".[14] Before it was playable, Marc Nix of IGN was excited about its premise, as well as the developer attached to it.[15] In his review, he called its gameplay "hectic" and its controls well-designed. He also enjoyed the Mode 7 graphics. However, he found the sound to be less desirable, calling it "busy" but also "lacking punch".[12] It was the 87th most anticipated game for IGN's readers as of January 3, 2003.[16]

Electronic Gaming Monthly praised the car customization, commenting that without it, it would be both mediocre and not as deep.[8] GameSpot's Frank Provo called it "weird and unique", and may not suit some people's tastes. However, he found an abundance of variety and personality to it.[10] The publication later named it the best Game Boy Advance game of February 2003.[17] In his preview of the game, GamePro's Pong Sifu found the gameplay unique and the graphics "delightful".[18] In his review, he commented that while the story was weak and the concept unoriginal, it was "easily one of the most fun action RPGs on the portable system".[9] RPGFan's Neal Chandran found it fun and worth a shot, noting that even with its flaws, its "charm and heart" won him over.[19] GameSpy's Zach Meston called it "unexpectedly entertaining", praising its customization and music and sound effects. However, he criticized the aiming system and storyline, the latter described as "bare-minum".[11]

Retrospectives on Car Battler Joe were also positive towards the game. Outlets such as GamesRadar and Den of Geek listed it as one of the best games for the Game Boy Advance.[20][21]

Notes
  1. Japanese: 激闘！カーバトラーGO！！, Hepburn: Gekitou! Car Battler Go!!

References
  1. Joe Kaiser (July 8, 2005). "Unsung Innovators". Next Generation. Archived from the original on October 28, 2005. Retrieved April 2, 2010.
  2. Nix (December 13, 2002). "Car Battler Joe". IGN. Ziff Davis. p. 1. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  3. Harris, Craig (December 11, 2001). "Natsume's Lucky Seven". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved January 18, 2018.
  4. Greening, Chris (March 19, 2013). "Yuzo Koshiro Profile". VGMO. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  5. Harris, Craig (August 25, 2001). "Spaceworld 2001: Car Battler Go!". IGN. Ziff Davis. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  6. Bishop, Samantha (September 19, 2015). "Car Battler Joe makes its way to the Virtual Console". GameZone. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
  7. "Car Battler Joe for Game Boy Advance Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  8. EGM staff (September 2002). "Car Battler Joe". Electronic Gaming Monthly (158): 162.
  9. Pong Sifu (October 31, 2002). "Car Battler Joe Review for Game Boy Advance on GamePro.com". GamePro. Archived from the original on January 23, 2005. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  10. Frank Provo (February 10, 2003). "Car Battler Joe Review". GameSpot. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  11. Zach Meston (February 11, 2003). "GameSpy: Car Battler Joe". GameSpy. Archived from the original on November 20, 2005. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  12. Marc Nix (December 13, 2002). "Car Battler Joe". IGN. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  13. Jose Acosta (October 1, 2015). "Review: Car Battler Joe (Wii U eShop / GBA)". Nintendo Life. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  14. "Car Battler Joe". Nintendo Power. 165: 158. February 2003.
  15. Marc Nix (August 8, 2001). "Car Battler GO!". IGN. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  16. IGN staff (January 3, 2003). "The GBA Top 100". IGN. Archived from the original on February 23, 2004. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  17. The Editors of GameSpot (March 8, 2003). "GameSpot's Month in Review: February 2003". GameSpot. Archived from the original on January 23, 2005.
  18. Pong Sifu (April 18, 2002). "Car Battler Joe Hands-On". GamePro. Archived from the original on January 23, 2005. Retrieved June 19, 2016.
  19. Neal Chandran (November 17, 2004). "Car Battler Joe". RPGFan. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013.
  20. GamesRadar Staff (January 3, 2018). "The 25 best GBA games of all time". GamesRadar. Future plc. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
  21. Freiberg, Chris (August 31, 2017). "The 25 Absolute Best Game Boy Advance Games Ever". Den of Geek!. Dennis Publishing. Retrieved January 17, 2018.
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