
    .____________________________________________________________________.
    |.                                                                   |
    |.:.                           T H E                                 |
    |:::.       ______|_ _            ______                             :
   _______    __\_    |____  /\__. ___\_    \___|_   __  _______  _____/\___
  /     _/__ /   _   .|    \/    |/    /   //   |____  ___\_    \/    /    /
 //    |    /    |   ||.        ://   _____/.   _    \/    /   //    /   //
 \______    \_________||   \/    \________/||   |   //\________/\_____   /
  \  _______|         l____||____|         |________/  -rtx/art  \  ____/
   \/       `                              '                      \/     .
    .                 __ |_____   ______|_ _      ___/____               |
    |       _______ .____|    | __\_    |   ______\_    _/______ __      |
    |     _/     _/ |    |   .|/   _   .|___\_    \/    \/    _/___      |
    |    //      |__|    _   |/    |   ||.   /    /     \\_____    \     |
    |    \_________/|    |____\_________||   \____\______/\  ______/    .|
    |               `----'               l____|            \/         .::|
    |  Issue #1 GBA (Feb - March 2002)        '                     .::.:|
    `--------------------------------------------------------------------'


   [- Released on April 6th 2002 - Gameboy Charts staff: WayneKerr & Jus -]

    [- Guest Commenters this time - Ennay, Sinister Outlaw & Son Doobie -]


 INTRODUCTION
 ------------

 We're back!  As the strain of producing a monthly(ish) chart proved to
 be too much for ennay + loaded, we decided to resurrect the Gameboy
 Charts for all you point-hungry scene whores out there.  Hopefully
 we'll last longer than Console World (in its GBA incarnation), but
 only time will tell...
 
 Thanks to Ennay, Sinister Outlaw, Son Doobie for guest comments this issue.

 This issue is a dual Feb/Mar chart, as CW failed to produce a February
 issue.  Normal service will be resumed for April.

                                                                - Wayne Kerr


 Same as before, but this time for Gameboy Advance. You know the drill...

                                                                       - jus


 Hi folks, it's been a while since you've seen me in some form of chart.  As
 you may or may have not noticed my little chart, Console world has decided
 to take a permanent break.  I just didn't have the heart to do this stuff
 anymore.  I think it's best to stop whenever things start to become more of
 a chore than actually being fun.  At least it lasted 8 issues, I suppose 
 it's something that will have its place in scene history.  

 Anyhow, I feel the point system in this chart is fair, which is a variation
 on the existing charts.  Enjoy jibber jabber, let the charts begin!

                                                                     - ennay


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------' 


 RULES & POINTS
 --------------

 The rules are simple. Territories are relative and unimportant. Distinctions
 in these charts are made by language. A Japanese game with all English text
 or an English select is considered English.


 +4 Points - MAJOR: Usually the best/most-anticipated game of the month.

 +3 Points - A world-first English game (never before released in English).

           - A world-first playable Foreign (non-English) release. 

 +1 Points - A world-first unplayable Foreign (non-English) release.

           - A trainer, crack, or useful gba/hardware related tool.

 +0 Points - TER.DUPE: Any subsequent version of a game that has already been
             released in English (final) is considered a dupe, regardless of
             any extra languages or which territory it is from.

           - BETA: A beta version of a game will get 0 points.

           - A late trainer with the same or less options is a dupe trainer.

 -1 Point  - If you release a game/trainer/crack that doesn't work, -1 time!

           - DUPE: If you release a game that's identical to a previous 
             release, this is different from a territory dupe and the penalty
             is more severe.


 NOTES
 -----

 Overdumps are noted for posterity, however no points are deducted for over-
 dumping a game, as it doesnt affect the playability of a game, and is easily
 truncated with any number of tools. Similarly, "redumps" and "propers" of 
 overdumped games will not receive any points, or even a mention in these 
 charts.

 Releases done by individuals or "groups" of a single person are tallied up
 under the Independent section.

 The playability of a foreign game is based upon the experience of any 
 number of people who have actually played the game. Decisions are final, so
 don't bitch that your favorite super shogi pachinko slot gaiden game 
 deserves more points.


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - 97


 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Mar 13  Rainbow Six Rogue Spear - Ubi Soft            USA/64M    +3
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      3
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 No idea why this didn't come out as Mode7, it's not the worst game I ever
 saw on GBA.  Having said that, it's not exactly a classic...better than a
 kick in the groin, but only just.

 - Wayne Kerr


 97's first (and ... last?) release is a pretty good game. Rainbow Six is
 a nice combination of action and strategy. The developers made good use of
 the GBA's limited screen space. Worth checking out. On a side note, DNL
 released the 'PAL' version of this game, which is identical to 97's
 release.
 
 - soutlaw


 I've been msg'd by quite a few people concerning this release.  Let's just
 say that things weren't going well for Dropcom that day and he decided to
 go ahead and release it under this 97 label.  If any of this doesn't make
 sense to you, don't worry about it.
 
 - ennay


 Is it just me or are all 3 of you guys being a tad nice about this release?
 There is really nothing to be said about it, a boring game, and a little
 scene gossip behind it to add action in a scene with no action. If I seem
 bitter, you are damn right.

 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Cezar

      ___/\____/\_________   /\   ________
      \__  ___/  __/\__  /__/  \__\  _   /poyZ
   __ _/  /  |  __/  /  / _/    \_  _/ _/_ __
  \\_\\ _____| _____/_____\__/\__/__\  \ //_//
   ----\/----|/----------------------\  /---- 
                                      \/
 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Feb 20  EZ-Talk 5 - KeyNet                            JAP/64M    +1 OD+UNPL.
         EZ-Talk 6 - KeyNet                            JAP/64M    +1  UNPLAY.

 Feb 21  Captain Tsubasa Eikou no Kiseki - Konami      JAP/64M    +1  UNPLAY.

 Feb 23  Jimmy Neutron Boy Genius - THQ                EUR/32M     0 TER.DUPE

 Feb 27  J-League Pocket 2 - Konami                    JAP/64M    +1  UNPLAY.
 ----------------------------------------------------- ------------- --------
 Mar 19  Angelique - Koei                              JAP/32M    +1  UNPLAY.

 Mar 20  Power Pro Kun Pocket 4 - Konami               JAP/64M    +1  UNPLAY.

 Mar 28  Magical Fengshen - Koei                       JAP/64M    +1  UNPLAY.
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      7
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 The usual selection of unplayable shit and multi-dupes from Cezar.  I'm
 sure they have lots of Nipponese fans, but none of these releases
 tickled my fancy.

 - Wayne Kerr


 Cezar brings us one region dupe and some text-heavy Japanese roms. Power Pro
 Kun Pocket 4, however, is a fun game. In my opinion, it has the best batting
 interface out of all the handheld baseball games. Maybe one day Konami will
 find a way to bring a version of this game to an english speaking audience.

 - soutlaw


 The usual Japanese stuff that the majority of the scene collects and
 renames as release number XXXX.  This group reminds me of Romkids back in
 the golden age of 16bit consoles.
 
 - ennay


 I agree with ennay, this group reminds me of romkids, or better yet LMK -
 lamekids. A plate full of  unplayable jap releases, and a side order of
 dupes for good luck. Over all I'm glad cezar took the time to put these out.
 Great work guys! and incase you are wondering, lamekids was a group that
 was around in 94, they had beef with romkids. So I was not calling cezar
 lame, all of you already do that job for me.

 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Eurasia


  MTX!____.--._)\____  .-.  ____/(___:.___
  .--/  _ |  | \___  \/ _ \/  ___/___]/ _ \--.
  | /   __|  l  |   _/     \___  \   /     \ |
  `-\____ \_____|_\_ \__|__/ ____/___\  |__/-'
   ------\(---------\(-----)/---------`-'---- 

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Feb 15  WTA Tour Tennis Pocket - Konami               JAP/64M    +3

 Feb 27  Goemon New Age Shutsudou - Konami             JAP/64M    +3
 ----------------------------------------------------- ------------- --------
 Mar 11  Estopolis Densetsu - Taito                    JAP/64M    +1  UNPLAY.

 Mar 21  Groove Adventure Rave - Konami                JAP/64M    +3

 Mar 27  Fire Emblem: Kurayami no Fujo - Nintendo      JAP/64M    +1  UNPLAY.
         Shining Soul - Sega Japan                     JAP/64M    +1  UNPLAY.

 Mar 29  Extreme Ghostbusters: Code Ecto-1 - LSP       EUR/32M    +3
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:     15
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 A mixed bag this time around from Eurasia - A decent tennis title, an
 average fighting game (Groove Adventure Rave) + 3 unplayable jap titles.
 February's Goemon release was pretty good, but the pick of the bunch is
 definitely Ghostbusters... quality driving + snes-style platform levels
 throughout, a surprisingly good game.

 - Wayne Kerr


 Four quality games from Eurasia over the past two months. WTA is a solid
 tennis game that is very playable. Goemon and Ghostbusters are well-done
 platformers. If you find them to be too difficult at some points (and I
 really think Ghostbusters is a hard game at parts) check out the trainers
 from Venom.

 The RPG's from Japan I'm sure pleased a lot of die-hard RPG fans. Eurasia
 seems to be the only group that can consistently provide playable Japanese
 games. However, aside from Ghostbusters, Eurasia hasn't released many 
 English titles lately.

 - soutlaw


 You can always expect the majority of the Japanese majors from Eurasia.
 These guys managed to sneak in a European firstie at the end of the month,
 I wonder which group will dupe the un-needed US Final?
 
 - ennay


 A decent period for Eurasia. Goemon rules! Go ahead and grab Venom's trainer
 and finish it if you find you suck. Fans of the Estopolis/Lufia series will
 be thrilled to see Taito's latest installment. Ghostbusters was kinda cool
 but I still prefer Goemon. Some other japanese titles thrown in to let you
 know Eurasia still does have interest on the GBA.
 
 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Hyperion


 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Feb 26  Bomberman Max 2: Bomberman Version - Hudson   JAP/128M   +3 OVERDUMP
 ----------------------------------------------------- ------------- --------
 Mar  4  Bomberman Max 2: Max Version - Hudson         JAP/128M   +3 OVERDUMP
         Mail de Cute - Konami                         JAP/128M   +1 OD+UNPL.
         Angelic Layer - Epoc                          JAP/128M   -1     DUPE
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      6
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 A couple of old bomberman games that I'm surprised no-one else picked up,
 and some useless shit.  I'm not sure ascii conveys how unimpressed I am,
 but you can use your imagination...

 - Wayne Kerr


 Hyperion provided us with a nice Japanese game, Bomberman Max 2 (and a twin).
 Its too bad this group didn't bother to check cart size three times or do a
 dupecheck before releasing Angelic Layer. Quality control is important.

 - soutlaw


 I'll be honest, I haven't tried any of the games above so I can't comment.
 
 - ennay


 Is this what the scene has came to? 3 overdumps, and 1 dupe? I praise you
 for the fact that you even bother but, what are you bothering for? Take a
 few seconds to check cart size, and make sure you are not duping anyone
 else if you want to be positively acknowledged in (what is left of) the
 scene.

 At least you guys deserve some props for the Bomberman titles. We can never
 get enough of those. Epoc software developers should be shot, I mean when
 was the last time they put out a good title? The SD gundam games back in 93?
 Argh, annoyed.
 
 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Independent

                               _______  -poyZ!
       __    ___\______________\   __/ __
      /_/\  _\   \_   _    /   _   \  /_/\
  .---\_\/-/______/___/___/_________\-\_\/---.
  `------------------/-----------------------'

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Feb  9  Okuman Chouja Game - Takara                   JAP/32M    +1  UNPLAY.
         Pinky Monkey Town - Star Fish                 JAP/32M    +1  UNPLAY.

 Feb 16  Dave Mirra 2 Freestyle BMX - Acclaim          EUR/64M     0 TER.DUPE

 Feb 19  Golden Sun - Nintendo / Camelot               FRE/64M     0 TER.DUPE

 Feb 22  Planet Monsters - Titus                       EUR/32M     0 TER.DUPE
         Tom and Jerry: The Magic Ring - Ubi Soft      EUR/64M     0 TER.DUPE

 Feb 24  Chu Chu Rocket - Sega                         EUR/32M     0 TER.DUPE
 
 Feb 28  Inspector Gadget: Adv. Mission - Dreamcatcher USA/32M     0 TER.DUPE
         Phalanx - Kemco                               USA/32M     0 TER.DUPE
         EEPROM To SRAM Patcher v1.4                   UTILITY    +1
 ----------------------------------------------------- ------------- --------
 Mar  2  Super Street Fighter 2 Turbo Revival - Capcom USA/64M     0 TER.DUPE

 Mar  5  Planet of the Apes - Ubi Soft                 USA/32M     0 TER.DUPE

 Mar  7  Casper - Microids                             EUR/32M    +3

 Mar 13  Moto GP - THQ                                 USA/32M     0 TER.DUPE
         Mike Tyson Boxing - Ubi Soft                  USA/32M     0 TER.DUPE
         Crash Bandicoot The Huge Adventure - Univer.  USA/64M     0 TER.DUPE

 Mar 18  Gulroz Chang Poo - Compile                    JAP/32M    +1  UNPLAY.

 Mar 23  EEPROM To SRAM Patcher v1.5                   UTILITY    +1

 Mar 27  Broken Sword The Shadow of the Templars - BAM USA/64M     0 TER.DUPE
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      8
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Apart from having the best game title in this issue ("Pinky Monkey Town"),
 the IND releases didn't have much to offer.  Best of the bunch were the
 useful patching utils.  I expected a "known" group to put out Casper,
 but I don't think any of them will be crying over the loss of this title
 if they actually played it...

 - Wayne Kerr


 Aside from Casper and the SRAM patchers, this is a bunch of worthless 
 garbage. Its a shame that all of this rom collecting crap has shown up on 
 this chart. If you already have a game in English (Euro), why bother with 
 the USA version. There is no point to it, its just a waste of space.

 - soutlaw


 A majority of useless territory dupes that any REAL group would pass.  I
 haven't tried out Casper, but knowing Microid's history, I am willing to
 guess the game blows.
 
 - ennay


 The only people that will enjoy the Euro and Usa finals are all those rom
 collectors out there. One would think that Casper would be a nice release
 to play, think again. You are right ennay, the game blows. Microids if you
 are reading this, what the fuck are you doing?

 On a side note, thanks for the SRAM patchers. It's nice to know someone
 still cares.

 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Koma

  -------------------------------------------
              KOMA PRESENTS:                 
  -------------------------------------------

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Mar 23  Golden Sun - Nintendo / Camelot               GER/64M    +0 TER.DUPE

 Mar 27  Breath of Fire - Capcom / Ubi Soft            EUR/32M    +0 TER.DUPE
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      0
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 I'm sure there are millions of Germans thankful for the Golden Sun release,
 but that doesn't include me.  Dupe-tastic.

 - Wayne Kerr


 Something of interest to collectors and maybe some people in Europe.

 - soutlaw


 Read my comments for the Independent section.
 
 - ennay


 When I try to pick up bitches in germany, I make sure I flash my cart with
 the German Golden Sun release. If I ever end up picking up a german broad
 with this method, all you readers will be the first to know.

 I dont even give a shit to mention that Breath Of Fire dupe. Oh wait, I just
 did. ;)

 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Lightforce

   ___   _   ___      _____     _____         
  /  /__\/__/ _/____ /    /___ /    /----+(\S!
    /         \_    /    /    /   _/+        +
  _____________/___/____/____/____\ ---------.
   _____ _____  _____ ___     __             :
  /   _/   _ /_/_   // _/____/_/___lIGHTfORCE'
     _/    //  _/  /   \     _\    / 2 o o 1  
  ___\ _____\__\____\ ____________\-----------

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Feb 12  Jurassic Park 3: Dino Attack - Konami         EUR/64M    +0 TER.DUPE

 Feb 20  ESPN Great Outdoor Games Bass - Konami        EUR/64M    +0 TER.DUPE
 
 Feb 22  Hot Wheels Burnin' Rubber - THQ               EUR/64M    +0 TER.DUPE
 
 Feb 27  Mike Tyson's Boxing - Ubi Soft                EUR/64M    +3 OVERDUMP
 
 Feb 28  An American Tail: Fievel's Gold - Conspiracy  EUR/64M    +3 OVERDUMP
 ----------------------------------------------------- ------------- --------
 Mar  7  Sonic Advance - Sega / Sonic Team             EUR/64M    +0 TER.DUPE

 Mar 22  Chessmaster - Ubi Soft                        EUR/32M    +3

 Mar 27  Scrabble - Ubi Soft                           EUR/64M    +3

 Mar 29  Peter Pan Return to Neverland - Ubi Soft      EUR/64M    +0 TER.DUPE
         Super Black Bass Advance - Ubi Soft           EUR/32M    +0 TER.DUPE
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:     12
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Pretty good effort from LFC this issue, Mike Tyson was a good title, and
 even Scrabble was quite playable :)  They also grabbed the 2nd GBA chess
 game, although personally I preferred Kasparov.

 - Wayne Kerr


 Lightforce gave us some world-first releases from the UK and a bunch of 
 regional dupes. My favorite out of these games would have to be Scrabble, 
 although the CPU is a little too brain-dead to make the game very challenging.
 An American Tail and Mike Tyson's Boxing were also fun to pick up and play 
 for a few minutes.

 In Febuary, they had a couple of overdumps, but in March that problem seemed 
 to be solved. However, the packaging of their recent releases hasn't been 
 proper. I'm not sure why this is a problem, but a .zip should contain the
 rom, .nfo and file_id.diz files. Just a technicality, but some file-handling
 scripts read information from file_id.diz.

 - soutlaw


 4 legitimate games from Lightforce this month.  They've had better months.
 
 - ennay


 Attention European Readers: PLAY SCRABBLE. I do not want to see anymore of
 this jeps.... keke, habe gamez? Use your gaming addictions to your benefit.
 An American Tail was kinda fun, my babys mamma liked playing it till the
 power went out again. I didn't get to try punchout because she was screaming
 at me about how I never rub her feet anymore.

 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Menace

     ___ __   ____ ____ ._______  ____   ____
    /   '  \_/__  \ _  \|  ____ \/ .  \_/__  \
  _/   \/   \ \___// \  \_ /  .  \_|--<_ \___/
  \____||___/______\__\____\__|___/____/_____\

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Feb 24  Moto GP - THQ                                 EUR/32M    +3    FINAL

 Feb 27  The Land Before Time - Conspiracy             EUR/32M    +3
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      6
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Moto GP is a pretty good racer, it's nice to see the final come out and
 prove MNC still have a heartbeat.  I can't find anything good to say
 about TLBT, so...'nuff said :)

 - Wayne Kerr


 Menace released two quality titles in the past two months. I only played Land
 Before Time briefly, but Moto GP is the only good motorcycle racer on the 
 GBA. Probably a lot of people have already played the Paracox release of this
 rom ages ago. There are differences, this final version has noticeable 
 improvements.

 - soutlaw


 The crew at Menace manages to bring out 2 playable games.  These guys have
 certainly slowed down since their GBC times.
 
 - ennay


 Moto GP had me playing for more than 5 minutes, So I guess that means it's
 half decent. Isn't Disney milking it with The Land Before Time? I guess we
 go with what works right? Nice to see that Menace still gives a shit. 

 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Mode 7

  ._     - M O D E 7 -   ______       _________
  | /\__  ____________ __\    | _ ____\__     /
   /    \/   _/   _   \      .|___\_   \/   //
  //   \  /  \    /  //   |  |/   _____/____/ .
   ____|\/|___\______/\_______\_______/-rtx! _| 

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Feb  6  Jonny Moseley Mad Trix - 3DO                  USA/64M    +3

 Feb  7  Puyo Pop - Sega / THQ                         USA/64M    +0 TER.DUPE

 Feb 11  Super Mario World: SMA2 - Nintendo            USA/32M    +4  G.O.T.M

 Feb 20  NBA Jam 2002 - Acclaim                        USA/32M    +3

 Feb 28  Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars - Konami USA/64M    +3
 ----------------------------------------------------- ------------- --------
 Mar  6  High Heat Major League Baseball 2003 - 3DO    USA/32M    +3

 Mar 20  Baseball Advance - THQ                        USA/64M    +3 NEWINTRO
         Konami Collectors Series Arcade Adv. - Konami USA/32M    +3
         Motocross Maniacs Advance - Konami            USA/32M    +3

 Mar 27  Britney's Dance Beat - THQ                    USA/64M    +3
         Atari Anniversary Advance - Infogrames        USA/32M    +3
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:     31
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 The usual flood of USA titles from Mode7, a couple of very good ones in
 amongst the usual amount of turkeys.  Notable mentions to Motocross
 Maniacs (not as good as I'd hoped, but still a lot of fun!), the two
 nostalgic arcade collections (especially Atari) and of course the
 nubile Ms Spears first GBA outing (I'm surprised Dropcom could stop
 playing it long enough to dump it...).

 - Wayne Kerr


 Mode7 released many of the most anticipated GBA games from the USA in
 Feb/Mar. The Mid-March appearance of 97 brought rumors of Mode7's demise,
 which (clearly) is not the case. March also brought us a new intro from 
 Mode7, first appearing in Baseball Advance. Coded by Aftermath, its 
 something like the intro to a Star Wars movie.

 NBA Jam, Jonny Moseley and ZOE were all disappointing to me. High Heat 2003
 (what year is it?) and Baseball Advance are both high-quality baseball 
 games. Its too bad the statisticians at THQ and 3DO seem to overrate the
 Yankees in these otherwise outstanding games. 
 
 The classic games compilations (Atari+Konami) provided me with a few hours
 of entertainment. Frogger, Rush n Attack, Tempest, Centipede and Missle 
 Command are still fun to play. Motocross Maniacs was also a fun game to 
 breeze through in 30 minutes.
 
 - soutlaw


 A decent 2 months for Mode7.  Even though Super Mario World was quite
 playable in Japanese, the majority of the folks enjoyed the fully english
 one which makes it the Game of the Month for February.  Puyo Pop was a
 dupe because the Japanese one had a fully english selector before the game
 started.  Oh make sure you check out the latest M7 intro which is found
 on Konami Collectors Series and the other releases that have come out 
 since then. </end shameless plug>
 
 Zone of Enders is pretty crappy and doesn't compare to the amazing mech
 fighter for the PS2.  And of course I can't end this without mentioning 
 Britney's Dance Beat, a game which every GBA owner needs to flash!
 
 - ennay


 Okay first off, that Britney game is dope. I'm waiting for Venom to put out
 the nude patch for it. SMA 2 was kinda fun, you cant really go wrong with
 a Mario release when you are bored and want something to do. Who cares if
 it's Japanese? Konami Collectors was great fun. It seems that the only time
 a bitter old man has fun is with nostalgic reccolection. 

 I really want more Konami Collectors releases. These are the kind of games
 you can sit on the toilet and play for hours and hours but I am willing to
 bet some of you prefer the Britney game on the toilet instead right?

 Overall, great couple of months for Mode 7. 

 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Oldskool
                 .       :_____
  :_____ _____:""|______.|    /__ _____ __.
  |  .  Y   / .  |  ____|!   /.  Y  .  Y  |__
  |  !  !  /\ !  |___ /  . _/ l  |  i  |  l  |
  l_____l____\___i|   \__i  \____|_____!_____|
  ================l____\=|___\================

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Feb  5  Shanghai Advance - Sunsoft                    JAP/32M    -1 BAD DUMP

 Feb  6  Granbo - Capcom                               JAP/64M    +1  UNPLAY.
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      0
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Rubbish, plain + simple.  If this were a school report, it would say
 "could try harder".  But it's not.

 - Wayne Kerr


 Oldskool makes a first appearance in the GBA scene in Feb. OS appeared 
 quickly, and seemed to disappear just as quickly. Not much to say about 
 these games.

 - soutlaw


 Two games that I haven't tried, nor do I care to check out.
 
 - ennay


 What do you expect, 8 years later and OLDSKOOL has kept true to the grain
 of crap releases. You should all be thankful and praise OLDSKOOL's spirit
 has stayed around as long as it has. Who would you talk shit about then?

 By the way, where the fuck is Faz?

 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Paracox


   ()()==================D~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 
 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Feb 26  Crash Bandicoot XS - Universal                EUR/64M    +3
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      3
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Paracox surprised everyone w/ the release of this fine GBA platformer.
 I guess most people expected it to be a beta, but apparently it's not,
 so all credit to the PCX guys for grabbing this one early.

 - Wayne Kerr


 One of the most wanted games comes from Paracox in February shortly before
 the game reached the shelves in the USA. This game is better than I thought
 it would be. It has a lot in common with the PSX original, and is done
 justice on the GBA.

 - soutlaw


 Crash Bandicoot is quite decent on the handheld, it keeps all of the great
 gameplay, controls, and graphic style that was on the PS versions.
 
 - ennay


 I like the PCX ascii. Oh yeah, the release was nice too. Don't always think
 because the name of the group is fucked that the release is going to be the
 same. 

 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Quartex

     ___  ___  ________________________:___
    / _ \/ | \/ _ \  _  \_.  ._/ __ \  |  /
   /  |_ \ |  \ |  \_/ _/ |  |/  \__/     \
   \___ \/____/ |__/\  \RD|  |\________|___)
  <----\__/-----'    \__) `--:---------:----->

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Feb  4  Asterix & Obelix +5 Trainer - Infogrames      EUR/IPS    +1

 Feb 19  Peter Pan Return To Neverland +6 Tr - Disney  USA/IPS    +1
         Super Mario World +10 Trainer - Nintendo      USA/IPS    -1   BROKEN
 
 Feb 20  Super Mario World +10 Trainer - Nintendo      USA/IPS    +1
 
 Feb 27  Moto GP Final +8 Trainer - THQ                EUR/IPS    +1

 Feb 28  Crash Bandicoot XS +6 Trainer - Universal     EUR/IPS    +1
 ----------------------------------------------------- ------------- --------
 Mar  4  An American Tail: FGR +6 Trainer - Conspiracy EUR/IPS    +1

 Mar 28  Konami CS Arcade Advanced +9 Trainer - Konami USA/IPS    +1
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      6
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Nice to see someone is still training GBA (semi) regularly... some good
 options in amongst the usual ones, and most importantly a reduction
 in the number of broken trainer releases from QTX.

 - Wayne Kerr


 Quartex's coders and artists have done a good job putting out trainers for
 a bunch of games in the past 2 months. Seven trainers with three different
 menus shows how devoted the QTX people are to the GBA. The rotatating cubes
 and star scroller menus were cool to look at. However, I wish that options
 were 'off' by default. Especially with a +15 (+9?) like the Konami Arcade
 trainer, it would be nice to choose what option I want (rather than choose
 the options I don't want).

 I tried all of these trainers except for the SMA2, and they all work pretty 
 well and have complete sets of options. Invincibility in Frogger and the
 Turbo-Boost in MotoGP can cause some interesting things to happen if you
 mess around enough :) But, overall, they really are very nice and its good
 to have trainers available for as many games as possible.

 - soutlaw


 A tonne of trainers from the Quartex crew.  I actually enjoy checking out
 the trainer menus rather than the games itself.
 
 - ennay


 If it wasn't for trainers, my babys mamma would be nagging me to get past
 certain parts of these games such as Mario World and Konami Collectors. It
 is the competition between trainer makers that makes life a bit more fun
 and interesting in the scene.

 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Rapid Fire

           _______     _______.___________
   __ .____\_     \____\_     \     _    / _
  |.  |.    /    //     |    //.    |___/  .|
  |:. ||    \     \_    _____/||    _/   .::|
  `-- l_____|\_____/____|-rtx!l_____| ------'

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Feb  5  Sonic Advance - Sega / THQ                    USA/64M     0 TER.DUPE

 Feb  9  Harry Potter to Kenja no Ishi - EA Victor     JAP/64M     0 TER.DUPE
 
 Feb 13  Advance Wars - Nintendo / I.S.                USA/32M     0     V1.1
 
 Feb 14  Columns Crown - Sega                          USA/64M     0 TER.DUPE
 ----------------------------------------------------- ------------- --------
 Mar  2  Black Black - Capcom                          JAP/64M    +1  UNPLAY.

 Mar  4  Yuurei Yashiki no Nijuuyon Jikan - Global A   JAP/32M    +1  UNPLAY.
         DomoKun no Fushigi Terebi - Nintendo          JAP/64M    +1  UNPLAY.

 Mar 24  K-1 Pocket Grand Prix - Konami                JAP/32M    +3
         Super Puzzle Bobble Advance - Taito Japan     JAP/32M     0 TER.DUPE
         Daiya Droid World - Epoch                     JAP/64M    +1  UNPLAY.
         Kikaika Guntai Mech Platoon - Kemco Japan     JAP/64M     0 TER.DUPE
         Jissen Pachi-Slot Hisshouhou - Sammy          JAP/32M    +1  UNPLAY.
         Slot! Pro Advance - Nippon Telenet            JAP/64M    +1  UNPLAY.
         Dai-Mahjong - Hori                            JAP/32M    +1  UNPLAY.
         Iribaru Rieko no Dendou Mahjong - Media Rings JAP/32M    +1  UNPLAY.

 Mar 28  Ikkoku Hattori Kore 1 Honde 8 Shurui - Konami JAP/32M    +1  UNPLAY.
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:     12
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Lots of tongue-twisting titles for those of us who aren't fluent in
 Japanese, and a couple of territory dupes.  The standout game is
 definitely K1 Grand Prix, a pretty good kickboxing beatemup w/
 SD-style characters...

 - Wayne Kerr


 RPF wins the prize for providing the most useless crap to the GBA scene in
 the past two months. K1 Pocket is a decent game and DomoKun no Fushigi is
 one of the strangest games I've ever played.

 - soutlaw


 Wow, looks like webpage willy is going to give Cezar some real competition.
 Other than that, I have nothing else to say. 
 
 - ennay


 K1 Pocket is kinda fun, all the rest of those releases can fuck themselves.

 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - The Corporation


 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Mar  6  Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 - Activision O2      USA/64M    +4  G.O.T.M
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      4
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 TC grabbed this major game ahead of all the others, serving as a wakeup
 call to all those USA suppliers who like to stay in bed until the
 afternoon :)  If you've seen THPS2, then you know what to expect - the
 same except better...hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

 - Wayne Kerr


 TC seems to really like Tony Hawk. Well, if you're going to release one game
 a year, this one is a good choice. THPS3 is much like THPS2, but is a little
 more difficult and has new and more complex levels. This game is really fun
 to play and is the best game released in March.

 - soutlaw


 Their only release of the month has earned the GOTM.  Tony Hawk 3 is simply
 amazing.
 
 - ennay


 Out of nowhere TC comes out and kicks you in the head with this dope release.
 Tony Hawk must have so many groupies man. I figure if you get good at this
 game and buy that GBA->TV adapter, show all the neighborhood sluts your skill
 on this game and start your own groupie movement.

 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 - Venom
  
       ___________ ____  ______________ _____.
  .____/    /  _/__|_  \/     /   \    \/    |
  |   /    /   _/   /   \    /  \  \  \      |
  |_______/________/___\____/_______\__\/    ;
  <----------------------- / --------mAZ!____|

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Feb 17  Peter Pan Return to Neverland - Disney Int.   USA/64M    +3

 Feb 21  Pocket Music - Rage Software                  EUR/64M    +3 1STINTRO
         Virtual Kasparov - Titus                      EUR/32M    +3

 Feb 27  Bomberman Max 2 Bomberman +6 Trainer - Hudson JAP/IPS    +1

 Feb 28  Goemon +7 Trainer - Konami                    JAP/IPS    +1
 ----------------------------------------------------- ------------- --------
 Mar  7  NHL 2002 - EA Sports                          USA/32M    +3

 Mar 13  Space Invaders - Activision                   USA/32M    +3

 Mar 16  Mary-Kate & Ashley: Girls Night Out - Acclaim USA/32M    +3

 Mar 21  Broken Sword The Shadow of the Templars - BAM EUR/64M    +3
         Ice Age - Ubi Soft                            USA/32M    +3
         Shrek: Swamp Kart Speedway - TDK Mediactive   USA/64M    +3

 Mar 27  Maya the Bee - Shin'en / Acclaim              EUR/32M    +3

 Mar 28  FILA Decathlon - THQ                          EUR/32M    +3    FINAL
         Monster Jam Maximum Destruction - Ubi Soft    USA/64M    +3

 Mar 29  The Scorpion King Sword of Osiris - Universal USA/32M    +3

 Mar 30  Extreme Ghostbusters +7 Trainer - LSP         EUR/IPS    +1
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:     42
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 A quiet February followed by a good showing in March.  NHL 2002
 is a great handheld version of NHL'9x on SNES, and of course who
 doesn't want to play w/ the Olsen twins?  In amongst the flood
 of sub-standard GBA crap were a couple of real gems, namely
 Space Invaders (really nice version of this classic), and the
 superb Maya the Bee (see? demo-coders CAN produce great games!).
 A few decent trainers completed a good performance from VNM...

 - Wayne Kerr


 FILA Decathlon is the long-delayed final version shipped out to stores.
 Paracox's release was missing events and obviously unfinished to any that
 played it. Props to the Abyss crew for Maya the Bee, a kick ass platformer.
 Support retired sceners, buy this game.

 - jus


 Feb/Mar showed Venom to be one of the strongest teams in the GBA scene. 
 Thirteen world-first english games and three trainers. Venom seems to be
 the only handheld group with a strong presence in Europe and the United
 States. Also in Feb we saw two roms from Venom with an intro attached,
 coded by WK and its worth checking out.

 Virtual Kasparov is probably the best chess game available for a
 handheld console and is worth checking out. NHL 2002 is the first 
 good handheld hockey game (a little too easy though). Fans of old
 point and click adventures will enjoy Broken Sword and Maya the Bee
 is an excellent platformer.

 - soutlaw


 A great combination of releases and trainers from Venom.  The Shrek kart
 game was pretty decent and NHL 2002 reminded me of the 16bit classics.
 Great work earned them a well deserved 1st place for the new chart.
 
 - ennay


 Before I start, I just want to let you all know that The Olsen Twins are
 nearly legal now. All you hockey fans will be pleased when you see NHL2002
 is just like the Snes/Genesis versions (which are really dope imo). And my
 god, trainers, world first releases, a well deserved first place ranking.
 I really don't care to talk shit about VENOM this time around. 

 Ok wait, I lied. Jus is fat, Lordee is a kraut, Rotox is rotox and WK has
 nipple rings.

 - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'


 FEBRUARY
 --------

    .____________________________________________________________________.
    |.                                                                   |
    |::.    TOP 10    __ |_____   ______|_ _      ___/____               |
    | .     _______ .____|    | __\_    |   ______\_    _/______ __      |
    |     _/     _/ |    |   .|/   _   .|___\_    \/    \/    _/___      |
    |    //      |__|    _   |/    |   ||.   /    /     \\_____    \     |
    |    \_________/|    |____\_________||   \____\______/\  ______/     |
    |               `----'               l____|            \/            |
    |                                                                    |
    |    Position                Group Name              Total Points    |
    |    --------                ----------              ------------    |
    |    1ST                     Mode 7                       13         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    2ND                     Venom                        11         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    3RD                     Eurasia                       6         |
    |    3RD                     Lightforce                    6         |
    |    3RD                     Menace                        6         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    6TH                     Quartex                       4         |
    |    6TH                     Cezar                         4         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    8TH                     Hyperion                      3         |
    |    8TH                     Independent                   3         |
    |    8TH                     Paracox                       3         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    11TH                    Oldskool                      0         |
    |    11TH                    Rapid Fire                    0        .|
    |                                                                  ..|
    |                                                                .:::|
    `--------------------------------------------------------------------'


 MARCH
 -----

    .____________________________________________________________________.
    |.                                                                   |
    |::.    TOP 10    __ |_____   ______|_ _      ___/____               |
    | .     _______ .____|    | __\_    |   ______\_    _/______ __      |
    |     _/     _/ |    |   .|/   _   .|___\_    \/    \/    _/___      |
    |    //      |__|    _   |/    |   ||.   /    /     \\_____    \     |
    |    \_________/|    |____\_________||   \____\______/\  ______/     |
    |               `----'               l____|            \/            |
    |                                                                    |
    |    Position                Group Name              Total Points    |
    |    --------                ----------              ------------    |
    |    1ST                     Venom                        31         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    2ND                     Mode 7                       18         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    3RD                     Rapid Fire                   12         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    4TH                     Eurasia                       9         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    5TH                     Lightforce                    6         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    6TH                     Independent                   5         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    7TH                     The Corporation               4         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    8TH                     97                            3         |
    |    8TH                     Cezar                         3         |
    |    8TH                     Hyperion                      3         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    11TH                    Quartex                       2         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    12TH                    Koma                          0        .|
    |                                                                  ..|
    |                                                                .:::|
    `--------------------------------------------------------------------'


 ALL-TIME
 --------

    .____________________________________________________________________.
    |.                                                                   |
    |::.    TOP 10    __ |_____   ______|_ _      ___/____               |
    | .     _______ .____|    | __\_    |   ______\_    _/______ __      |
    |     _/     _/ |    |   .|/   _   .|___\_    \/    \/    _/___      |
    |    //      |__|    _   |/    |   ||.   /    /     \\_____    \     |
    |    \_________/|    |____\_________||   \____\______/\  ______/     |
    |               `----'               l____|            \/            |
    |                                           Last    This    Total    |
    |    Position        Group Name            Month + Month = Points    |
    |    --------        ----------            ----- - ----- - ------    |
    |    1ST             Venom                   11      31       42     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    2ND             Mode 7                  13      18       31     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    3RD             Eurasia                  6       9       15     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    4TH             Lightforce               6       6       12     |
    |    4TH             Rapid Fire               0      12       12     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    6TH             Independent              3       5        8     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    7TH             Cezar                    4       3        7     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    8TH             Hyperion                 3       3        6     |
    |    8TH             Menace                   6       0        6     |
    |    8TH             Quartex                  4       2        6     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    11TH            The Corporation          0       4        4     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    12TH            97                       0       3        3     |
    |    12TH            Paracox                  3       0        3     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    14TH            Koma                     0       0        0     |
    |    14TH            Oldskool                 0       0        0    .|
    |                                                                  ..|
    |                                                                .:::|
    `--------------------------------------------------------------------'


 SUMMARY
 -------

 Phew!  I'm glad that's finished - do you realise I had to actually play
 70+ GBA games, of which at least 60 were a complete waste of my
 valuable time?  The things we do for you...

 Anyway, after a quiet February, March brought us some pretty good games
 for a change - fingers crossed this trend continues.  A quick glance at
 the once-(in)famous Gameboy Chart crystal ball reveals:-

 Eurasia releasing a few Japanese games, and the occasional Euro game.
 Mode7 & Venom battling it out for USA scene supremacy.
 LFC grabbing a few decent Euro games in amongst the dupe-flood.
 Some nice trainers from Venom & Quartex.
 Others releasing pointless territory dupes, jap-crap, and sundry
 other pieces of excrement.  Happy, happy.  Joy, joy.

 The ball never lies... 
 
                                                                - Wayne Kerr


 Thanks to ennay, soutlaw, doobie, wk, and tox for for their time and effort
 spent on these charts. Additional greets go out to anyone that doesn't hate
 me.

 Everyone else (especially the fuckwads that bitch about intros and groups
 out of one side of their mouth, and then beg for the latest r0mz out of the
 other) can eat a fuckin dick.
 
                                                                       - jus


 Thanks to all my friends in Venom for their time and hard work that goes
 into these releases. Also, thanks to everyone in Eurasia, Lightforce,
 Menace, Mode7 and Quartex for putting their efforts into the scene. Also,
 I want to say goodbye to CW Charts, thanks to ennay and loaded for their
 months of service :)
   
                                                                   - soutlaw


 We've finally come to the end of the GB Charts.  This is the first issue
 that was dedicated solely to the GBA scene.  I personally feel that these
 charts will provide a great service in archiving the scene history as it's
 being made at this very moment! (Aww how touching) 
 
 Now I know why I stopped doing Console World, I'm already tired after doing
 the comments for these new charts.  But I felt that this would be the
 perfect opportunity to say THANK YOU to all the people that has taken their
 time out to send me a warm welcome messsage or a few suggestions regarding
 CW.  I'm not sure if this will be the last time you'll be seeing my nick
 in a chart, but I guess time will tell.  

 My respect to every group who does REAL contributions to the scene in any
 way (Useless redumpers and rom collectors can bite me)  

                                                    Signing off now, ennay.


 After alot of deliberation, encouragement, and eventual nagging to do this
 -I managed to still come out with witty comments, group  slander, and all
 that other saucy stuff that makes reading charts fun. If you are probably
 wondering who the fuck I am, then you probably won't understand what I'm
 talking about.

 ennay, I know why you decided to stop doing CW. I don't blame you one bit.
 Don't be a bitter old man, we have enough of those to go around for another
 25 years. (Could anyone imagine still being around then? Rotox.... hm)

 FACT: I said "FUCK" 5 times in this issue of THE GAMEBOY CHARTS.
 THOUGHT: If you sold every lame release on the GBA and multiplied it by 3,
 how much money would you have?

 The suppliers and coders make the scene, the leechers and lamers break it.
 Think about it before you cry and complain.

                                                               - Son Doobie


 .__________________________________________________________________________.
 |                                                                          |
 `--------------------------------------------------------------------------'

                (c) Copyright, GC 2002 - Art/Design by: Rotox!                

