Car Battler Joe
Encyclopedia
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 RPG 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
.
-style.
and Game Rankings
respectively. This makes it the 195th best Game Boy Advance
games and the 4,438th best video game. 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". Pocket Games also enjoyed it, calling it a "charming, original game". Before it was playable, Nix of IGN
was excited about its premise, as well as the developer attached to it. 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". It was the 87th most anticipated game for IGN's readers as of January 3, 2003.
Electronic Gaming Monthly
praised the car customization, commenting that without it, it would both mediocre and not as deep. 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. In his preview of the game, Pong GamePro
s Pong Sifu found the gameplay unique and the graphics "delightful". In his review, Pong Sifu 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". RPGFan's Neal Chandran found it fun and worth a shot, noting that even with its flaws, its "charm and heart" won him over. 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".
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
, developed by Ancient
Ancient (company)
Ancient Corp. is a video game developer founded on April 1st, 1990, and managed by the game music composer Yuzo Koshiro. The company was founded by his mother, Tomo Koshiro, while his sister Ayano Koshiro also works at the company as an art/character/graphic designer...
and published by Natsume. The game involves using cars to fight opponents in action-styled battles, with RPG game mechanics. It combined vehicular combat
Vehicular combat game
Vehicular combat games are typically video or computer games where the primary focus of play concerns automobiles or other vehicles, normally armed with guns or other weaponry, attempting to destroy vehicles controlled by the CPU or by opposing players...
with action RPG
Action role-playing game
Action role-playing games form a loosely defined sub-genre of role-playing video games that incorporate elements of action or action-adventure games, emphasizing real-time action where the player has direct control over characters, instead of turn-based or menu-based combat...
elements in a similar manner to the earlier 1985 game Autoduel
Autoduel
Autoduel is a 1985 computer role-playing game published by Origin Systems for the Atari 400 and Atari 800 , Commodore 64, Apple II, Apple Macintosh, and MS-DOS. It was released in 1987 for the Atari ST and in 1988 for the Amiga...
based on Car Wars
Car Wars
Car Wars is a vehicle combat simulation game developed by Steve Jackson Games. It was first published in late 1980 .-Game play:In Car Wars, players assume control of one or more automobiles, which may include any powered vehicle, from motorcycles to semi trucks. Optional rules include piloting...
, and later 2006 MMO
Massively multiplayer online game
A massively multiplayer online game is a multiplayer video game which is capable of supporting hundreds or thousands of players simultaneously. By necessity, they are played on the Internet, and usually feature at least one persistent world. They are, however, not necessarily games played on...
game Auto Assault
Auto Assault
Auto Assault was a massively multiplayer online game , developed by NetDevil and published by NCsoft. It combined vehicular combat with role-playing elements, allowing the player to explore a post-apocalyptic future in customizable cars, motorcycles, semis, and tanks...
.
Gameplay
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 7Mode 7
Mode 7 is a graphics mode on the Super NES video game console that allows a background layer to be rotated and scaled on a scanline-by-scanline basis to create many different effects. The most famous of these effects this can create is the application of a perspective effect on a background layer...
-style.
Reception
Car Battler Joe has received above average reception, holding aggregate scores of 77 and 74.11% at MetacriticMetacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
and Game Rankings
Game Rankings
GameRankings is a website that collects review scores from both offline and online sources to give an average rating. It indexes over 315,000 articles relating to more than 14,500 games.GameRankings is owned by CBS Interactive...
respectively. This makes it the 195th best Game Boy Advance
Game Boy Advance
The is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed, manufactured, and marketed by Nintendo. It is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It was released in Japan on March 21, 2001; in North America on June 11, 2001; in Australia and Europe on June 22, 2001; and in the People's Republic of China...
games and the 4,438th best video game. It was well-received by Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power
Nintendo Power magazine is a monthly news and strategy magazine formerly published in-house by Nintendo of America, but now run independently. As of issue #222 , Nintendo contracted publishing duties to Future US, the U.S. subsidiary of British publisher Future.The first issue published was...
, which called it a "one-of-a-kind adventure" due to its combination of driving challenges and "RPG depth". Pocket Games also enjoyed it, calling it a "charming, original game". Before it was playable, Nix of IGN
IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
was excited about its premise, as well as the developer attached to it. 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". It was the 87th most anticipated game for IGN's readers as of January 3, 2003.
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly
Electronic Gaming Monthly is a bimonthly American video game magazine. It has been published by EGM Media, LLC. since relaunching in April of 2010. Its previous run, which ended in January 2009, was published by Ziff Davis...
praised the car customization, commenting that without it, it would both mediocre and not as deep. GameSpot
GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
'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. In his preview of the game, Pong GamePro
GamePro
GamePro Media was a United States gaming media company publishing online and print content on the video game industry, video game hardware, and video game software developed for a video game console , a computer, and/or a mobile device . GamePro Media properties include GamePro magazine and...
s Pong Sifu found the gameplay unique and the graphics "delightful". In his review, Pong Sifu 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". RPGFan's Neal Chandran found it fun and worth a shot, noting that even with its flaws, its "charm and heart" won him over. GameSpy
GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
'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".