Super Dodge Ball Advance

"Finally a game that rewards smacking people senseless with rubber balls, but I’m still disappointed."

You know the feeling. Pegging an opponent with one of those soft, rubber balls, the sound it makes, the look of despair on the opponent's face, and the joy of your teammates as you eliminate yet another obstacle to the win. Even worse, most of us have been on the receiving end of one of those balls, and getting pegged is not all that fun. Especially if the ball is thrown hard. But dodge ball is “a sport of violence and degradation” after all, to quote the recent movie. Most of us lucky enough to have played dodge ball understand just how madly fun the actual game can be. Unfortunately, a bit of that excitement and enjoyment gets lost in this translation for the Game Boy Advance. While Super Dodge Ball Advance does a lot of things well, like adding in traditionally RPG elements, the game eventually feels stale and repetitive. A tragedy that even the game's many innovations cannot overcome.

After picking up SDBA for the first time, your first few matches are almost guaranteed to be the most difficult you'll play, but this is only because the control scheme takes a bit of getting used to. It is so responsive and simplistic, however, that once you understand it completely, you'll never have to worry about controls again. The simple four-button scheme allows for one set of moves for offense and another for defense, but you never even notice the changeover as it is very smooth. As you might guess, players can dodge, jump, grab, throw, jump and grab, jump and throw, and even combine efforts in a two-player attack move where one throws the ball to the other (who has already jumped) who then fires the ball over the net, usually tearing into the opponents with remarkable accuracy.

As you might guess, utilizing different strategies is crucial in the game. Just throwing a ball at an opponent with the B button is a good start, but experimentation can lead to all sorts of unique shots (depending on the player) that have excellent side effects. Combination throws are also an excellent strategy. In fact, they're something you will find yourself doing repetitively, almost constantly, because they are that effective, as they also tend to have special properties for the best attackers. However, there is a downside to this attack, as with most things that work well, which is that it sends the jumper across the middle line and into the ever-dangerous territory of your opponent. If you're lucky, your jumper will get back across without being pegged… but not always. And if he gets hit once, he will likely be hit several times. So time your jumps well, and make sure to stun at least one opponent; don't leave yourself too open!

The game introduces lots of other interesting elements into the traditionally violent sport of dodge ball. First off, SBDA takes some pages from the RPG book, implementing a system of hit points for every character. Instead of one-hit-and-done gameplay, a character is only eliminated from a game when their hit points are reduced to zero. When all four of the players on a side are eliminated, the match ends, and the team with at least one member still standing is the winner. This isn't the only element borrowed from RPGs, though. Each member of a team has a set of stats that indicate their strengths and weaknesses. It's not good to put a poor thrower in an offensive position; you're just asking for the enemy to catch your shots and use them against you.

Another element of strategy comes from the placement of your team's players. There are four primary members on the court at a time, but they are not the only combatants in the game. Standing along the sidelines and surrounding the opponents' side of the court are your secondary attackers. These players are just as capable as the primary players at dishing out damage, and actually since they cannot be “eliminated,” they're often a better, safer alternative for taking out your opposition. Passing the ball to a secondary teammate just to let them slam an opponent standing too close is scarily effective. Unfortunately, this is something you must also watch out for, as the computer AI uses it quite successfully.

Then we come to the Championship mode, which allows you to follow one team in their rise to the top of the world rankings. Your team will challenge one team after another, and eventually even get a shot at the special Dream teams (which provide the best challenge the game has to offer). Beat them and you're allowed to go back through the game with any team you desire – a definite perk for those who enjoy replaying a game, I must admit. In fact, if it weren't for the eventual repetitive nature of every game, this would be a great feature. Unfortunately, once you figure out your team's strengths and best shots, you'll likely only ever use one pattern throughout every match.

Graphically, SDBA is a sprite-fan's dream come true. The game uses a very colorful 2D approach to everything, and despite pretty small character sprites, they all manage to have good variation. Whether it's a variation in hair color, or a player wearing a mask, or just having stereotypic facial features, it's fun to see how each distinct every player is. Also, each court has a bit of a unique feel to it… at least with surroundings and color scheme. The game handles motion and all the graphical elements smoothly, but there isn't really anything flashy to make you take notice. So while watching a ball contort as it's sent through a star-shot, or watching it split into a triple shot is still cool, that's about it. Just enjoy the fact that the graphics never take away from the gameplay. For a first generation GBA title, it still stands up rather well.

The sounds also are about what you'd expect. You get to hear all those familiar rubber-smacking-flesh sounds, and even a few new twists from the special shots. While the background tracks have the annoying tendency to loop at noticeably short intervals, that the music is decently catchy (and uplifting!) makes it less of a drag. As with much of the game, however, there just isn't anything worth high praise. The game does enough to work, but not enough to be spectacular. There definitely were not any musical tracks that I'd consider worthy of listening to outside the game.

While not exactly offering the most diverse gameplay available, Super Dodge Ball Advance does enough to make it thoroughly enjoyable – especially in short bursts. If you still recall those after-school games with fondness and think you might enjoy occasionally reliving a bit of that, this is definitely the game for you. Pounding away at the computer- or occasional human-controlled team of small sprites can be quite cathartic after all, especially since the game handles itself so well. Unfortunately, the game's key flaw is its repetitious nature. After one run (or two?) through the Tournament, you'll have probably played enough digital dodge ball to last you for months. What good is replay potential if every match plays extremely similarly? Don't get me wrong, I love the game's zany dodge ball action, but after a while, it gets old. The game just never quite rises about the cloud of mediocrity, though it tries pretty hard.

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 10/13/01, Updated 04/15/05