Car Battler Joe

"Good gameplay, shame about the rest"

Ok, so Car Battler Joe or Go! as known in Japan, is released by Natsume and Ancient, two historic game related companies. Natsume of course for classics such as Harvest Moon and Ancient for gems such as Streets of Rage. These two companies, combing should be able to create a game which exceeds all their current creation, this however is not the case with Car Battler Joe.

Gameplay: Car Battler Joe is an Action RPG where the player takes command of ''Joe'', a young gun car battler. The player must travel through roads filled with other car battlers to reach new destinations and find new items and also gain experience. Overall the gameplay is done very well in this game and it handles like a racing game in the driving sections. Battling is also made very easily and done using the ''L'' button. The player can also competes one-to-one battles in the game against major characters or in a tournament which takes place in the game. The player also as in other RPGs is required to update his/her stats in this game. This is done by purchasing new parts for their vehicles and even creating new cars using different parts. The ''overdrive'' function allows the player to add custom special non attacking moves to the vehicle. Overall there are many ways to customize and create a unique vehicle. The game also allows the player to help in building villages and upgrading the vehicle garage. This is done through either purchasing or finding the materials on the road. The reward is an upgrade for the players' vehicle.

Overall the gameplay in the game is solid and has few faults. 9/10

Graphics : The graphics are well done, however one would expect this standard of graphics in a Gameboy Advance game. The characters are drawn in a manga sort of style, which again is standard in 99% of such RPGs'. When in gameplay mode, the graphics appear a bit blurry and one feels that it reminds of snes mode 7 games.

Overall the graphics are a standard affair
7/10

Storyline: The story structure of this game has more holes than swiss cheese. There are no explanations for certain events. There are not a diverse range of characters that the player meets in the game. Some characters (for example the final boss) appear out of the blue and no character development is present for any characters. Some villages that you visit only have one building? Overall, this aspect feels very rushed and more time could have been spent in developing the storyline.

Overall, there is not a clear storyline and it is very confusing. 3/10

Sound & Music: Nothing special is present, the usual sound effects & below par music. This is not expected from Yuzo Koshiro who has showed us in previous games what a genius at creating fresh music he is.

Overall, this game suffers from below par sound & music
5/10

Replayability:
Not much to do in this game after its' finished. The player can use a different type of car for the main quest, but it is simply too boring. There is a feature of taking part in car battles from the main screen and using own data but it doesn't really offer any new reward.

Overall, not really a replayable game:
5/10

Difficulty level:
The game is way too easy, a few bullets can easily dispose of an enemy car. The enemy AI is not very intelligent and can easily be taken out with long range weapons. Such is also the cases with the bosses as they can be destroyed in 1-2 minutes. Gaining experience is also very easy in this game and the player can gain up to 4(!!) levels of experience simply after one battle road sequence. This game is a very short term game and will take a day at most to complete. When the player has gained a certain amount of levels it also seems that their car cannot be damaged any longer.

Overall, the difficulty level leaves something to be desired. 6/10

This game has a solid foundation with its' gameplay. However, it is difficulty level and storyline completely spoil this game. Once you have finished this game, you will never touch it again.

Overall Score : 35/60 = 58%

This game is justified by a :
6/10

Reviewer's Score: 6/10, Originally Posted: 04/14/04