Car Battler Joe

Last updated
Car Battler Joe
Car Battler Joe GBA coverart.jpg
North American cover art
Developer(s) Ancient
Publisher(s) Natsume Inc.
Director(s) Keisuke Miyanaga
Producer(s) Koichiro Nakamura
Programmer(s) Kazutoyo Kobayashi
Artist(s) Ayano Koshiro
Composer(s) Yuzo Koshiro
Platform(s) Game Boy Advance
Release
  • JP: November 30, 2001
  • NA: October 21, 2002
Genre(s) Vehicular combat
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Car Battler Joe [lower-alpha 1] is a 2001 vehicular combat game developed by Ancient and published by Natsume Inc. for the Game Boy Advance. The game involves using cars to fight opponents in action-styled battles, with role-playing video game game mechanics. It combined vehicular combat game with action role-playing elements in a similar manner to Autoduel from 1985. [1]

Contents

Plot

Gameplay screenshot Car Battle Joe gamplay.png
Gameplay screenshot

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.

Development

The game was developed by Ancient, with joint publishing by Victor Interactive Software in Japan and Natsume Inc. in the United States. [2] Known in Japan as Car Battler Go, Natsume Inc. secured the North American publishing rights for the game, changing its name and originally scheduled its release in mid-2002. [3] Composer Yuzo Koshiro wrote 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!!

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References

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  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.
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  6. Bishop, Samantha (September 19, 2015). "Car Battler Joe makes its way to the Virtual Console". GameZone. Retrieved January 5, 2018.
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  8. 1 2 EGM staff (September 2002). "Car Battler Joe". Electronic Gaming Monthly . No. 158. p. 162.
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  10. 1 2 Frank Provo (February 10, 2003). "Car Battler Joe Review". GameSpot . Retrieved June 19, 2016.
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  12. 1 2 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. 1 2 "Car Battler Joe". Nintendo Power . Vol. 165. February 2003. p. 158.
  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.
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  19. Neal Chandran (November 17, 2004). "Car Battler Joe". RPGFan. Archived from the original on February 1, 2013.
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