
    .____________________________________________________________________.
    |.                                                                   |
    |.:.                           T H E                                 |
    |:::.       ______|_ _            ______                             :
   _______    __\_    |____  /\__. ___\_    \___|_   __  _______  _____/\___    
  /     _/__ /   _   .|    \/    |/    /   //   |____  ___\_    \/    /    /
 //    |    /    |   ||.        ://   _____/.   _    \/    /   //    /   //
 \______    \_________||   \/    \________/||   |   //\________/\_____   /
  \  _______|         l____||____|         |________/  -rtx/art  \  ____/
   \/       `                              '                      \/     .
    .                 __ |_____   ______|_ _      ___/____               |
    |       _______ .____|    | __\_    |   ______\_    _/______ __      |
    |     _/     _/ |    |   .|/   _   .|___\_    \/    \/    _/___      |
    |    //      |__|    _   |/    |   ||.   /    /     \\_____    \     |
    |    \_________/|    |____\_________||   \____\______/\  ______/    .|
    |               `----'               l____|            \/         .::|
    |  Issue #4 (Advance)  -  June 2002       '                     .::.:|
    `--------------------------------------------------------------------'


   [- Released on July 3rd 2002 - Gameboy Charts Staff: Wayne Kerr & Jus -]

                 [- Guest Writers this time - MFM & Lordee -]              


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

 It's your favourite time of the month once again!  No, not enema day,
 it's THE GAMEBOY CHARTS Issue 4.  Thanks to those who gave feedback
 on the last issue, and once again thanks to all the kindly souls who
 give some of their precious time to help your poor overworked GC
 staff out with their comments each month.
 Lots more good games than I thought we'd see this month, so let's
 get on with it...

                                                                    - WK


 That's right, your favorite charts for your favorite console are back to
 shove another dose of scene commentary down your throat!

 The rules have been updated a bit to reflect on the feedback we've 
 received lately. These charts are for the scene by the scene; and feedback
 from the scene (i.e. NO intro-removing rom-begging crc-redumping #gba-heads
 thanks) is always welcome! And if you want to comment in an upcoming
 issue, don't hesitate to contact me or Wayne.

 Thanks go out to MFM/EURASIA and lordee/VENOM for blessing us with their
 profound prose and impeccable insights into the workings of the scene.
 Lots of activity in the trainer department this month and I thought it'd be
 interesting to hear what a couple coders/trainermakers had to say about it.

 Those of you who remember MFM from the GBC scene are surely all waiting 
 anxiously for his GBA send tool. Don't hold you breath for the tool, but I'm
 happy to present you his comments on this months scene activity.
 
 Lordee is the kinda guy that would fuck a person in the ass and not even 
 have the goddamned common courtesy to give him a reach-around. Don't throw
 a shitfit, it's just his nature.

 I wish all our American readers a happy Independence Day tomorrow! (and for
 our Canuk friends, a late-but-happy Canada Day!)

                                                                    - jus


 I didn't really want to write for these charts one more time but both
 you readers and I know that Wayne and Jus couldn't come up with
 something entertaining on their own anyway, so I haven't really got a
 choice, here I am - to the rescue!

                                                                    - lordee


 Not much to say, it's been an above-average month in the GBA scene. If
 anyone thought Eurasia were dead because we didn't release anything
 last month then they were wrong...

                                                                    - mfm


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


 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(s) of the month.

 +3 Points - A world-first English game (never before released in English,
             or as a 100% PLAYABLE Foreign).

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

 +2 Points - An English FINAL of a previously PLAYABLE Foreign release.
             This rule is applied with discretion, depending on how playable
             the previous Foreign release was.

 +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 doesn't 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.


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


 - Cezar

      ___/\____/\_________   /\   ________
      \__  ___/  __/\__  /__/  \__\  _   /poyZ
   __ _/  /  |  __/  /  / _/    \_  _/ _/_ __
  \\_\\ _____| _____/_____\__/\__/__\  \ //_//
   ----\/----|/----------------------\  /---- 
                                      \/
 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jun  7  Zone of the Enders: T.F.O.M - Konami          EUR/64M     0 TER.DUPE
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      0
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 If I had a dollar for every territory dupe I had to comment on, I could quit
 my night job strippin' for the ladies at the girls club.
 
 - jus


 Euro territory dupes are great, and so are Cezar.  Or maybe not.
 
 - WK


 Cezar have gone through many ups and downs in all these years. After all,
 they return with a blast and manage to bring us this long-awaited, very
 anticipated, ancient crap dupe bullshit. Shut this group down. I am
 bored of nuking their releases. All they are good for is increasing this
 charts' filesize every month.

 - lordee


 Someone will probably appreciate a Multi3 version of ZOE... but I don't
 know who.
 
 - mfm


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


 - Cream

     ____/________   ____________        /____
   _/  ________   \_/   ___/  .  \____  /    \
  /    /   /  /   /_   ___/_      \   \/     /
  \_______/   \_____|_______|_|____\  \/____/
  <-rS!-/______|--------/--------\_____\----->

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jun 29  Yu-Gi-Oh! Duel Monsters 7: K.T.D - Konami     JAP/128M   +1
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      1
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 The Cream revival tour continues with another highly awaited title (in Japan
 anyways, yugioh games are the equivalent of crack).
 
 - jus


 I was waiting for Duel Monsters 7, thank you Cream, we love you.

 - WK


 Thanks to redSkin, there's at least one good thing about this comeback.
 Unfortunately anything in the archive besides the FILE_ID.DIZ is not
 worth seeing at all.

 - lordee


 Yet another 128M title, this time from Cream. It's probably not a title
 that makes anyone run and buy a bigger card though.

 - mfm


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


 - Drastic & Lost


 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jun 20  Star X - BAM! Entertainment                   EUR/64M     0 TER.DUPE
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      0
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 I guess DNL didn't bother to read Mode 7's nfo for the US release of this 
 game back in April, as this euro version includes the same 6 languages.

 ("Note to Euro Groups: This game is Multi-6, so don't dupe it.")

 Note to Mode 7: Maybe next time you should write the warning in 6 languages,
 that way the euro groups might have an easier time understanding you.
 
 - jus


 This is taking euro-dupes to a whole new level - not only a territory dupe,
 this one is a dupe of a game that was [a] already Multi-6, and [b] the
 group who released the US version even mentioned the fact!

 Ironically, the words "Drastic" and "Lost" could hardly be more applicable.

 - WK


 This group is called 'Lost' for a reason.

 - lordee


 Two groups team up to bring us a lousy dupe. zZzzz.
 
 - mfm


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


 - Eurasia

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

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jun  1  Gremlins incl. +7 Trainer - Wanado / LSP      EUR/32M    +4  INCL.TR

 Jun  3  Castlevania: Hakuya no Kyousoukyoku - Konami  JAP/64M    +3 PLAYABLE

 Jun 18  Family Tennis Advance - Namco                 JAP/32M    +3 PLAYABLE
         Droopy's Tennis Open - LSP                    EUR/32M    +3
         CT Special Forces - LSP                       EUR/32M    +3

 Jun 26  Ougon no Taiyou: S.W.J - Nintendo / Camelot   JAP/128M   +1
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:     17
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Despite the silence last month, Eurasia shows us once again they own the
 land of the rising sun, taking the couple playable titles and majors that
 came out. Evidently they own the tennis courts too... Family Tennis 
 continues the series from the NES and SNES, and the gameplay is the best of
 any of the [numerous] tennis games released this month. Droopy has more of
 an arcade feel with cutesy graphics and powerups.

 CT Special Forces was a major disappointment. From the screens on the net
 I was expecting a reincarnation of Metal Slug on the GBA. While the graphics
 and animation are as good as any game on the GBA, the gameplay fails
 horribly. The end result is a beautiful game that's almost unplayable.
 Using the trainer makes this game slightly more tolerable, as you don't have
 to use the ridiculous default gun or remember passwords. 

 Castlevania is a nice release but I'll wait for an English version to come
 out before I really get my hands dirty with that game. 

 Overall all a great comeback month for Eurasia with a nice selection of
 Jap games and some early titles from LSP.

 - jus


 A pretty good month for Eurasia this time around, with a couple of Jap
 titles and some good European games too.  Gremlins is a decent
 platformer w/ nice animation, and a good +7 trainer included as well.

 Castlevania is excellent, probably the best game in the series for some
 time - personally I think there's a little too much Jap text for most
 gamers (yes you can play it, but who knows how much of the story you're
 missing?) but don't miss this one.  Family Tennis is a GBA version of
 the old SNES classic Smash Court Tennis (many of the same gfx/snd fx),
 and it's still (almost) as playable as ever... Droopy's Tennis Open
 might have the better gfx, but it's not nearly as playable.

 CT Special Forces is the pick of the bunch tho, old-skool styling
 from the 16-bit console/computer days, and some great music by Shinen
 make this my favourite Eurasia release of the month!

 - WK


 Eurasia with a good performance this month. Respect to mfm for still
 having the patience and motivation to do a trainer now and then, regarding
 that he was one of the most active trainermakers when the GBA was still
 new and has nothing to prove any more.

 I enjoyed Castlevania, I even flashed it multiple times - just to check
 out the huge mass of trainers released for it, of course.

 Overall, once again a nice line-up of titles for Eurasia this month.

 - lordee


 Castlevania would be my choice for GOTM even if the majority of people
 are more impressed by some 3D engine than by actual content...

 CT Special Forces is a decent shooter (even if I'd rather play Contra III)
 and Gremlins is better than I thought it would be. The tennis games aren't
 bad either, but I think I prefer Tennis no Oji Sama which we released 2
 months ago.
 
 Ougon no Taiyou: S.W.J (Golden Sun 2: The Lost Age) is probably nice but I
 haven't been able to try it since I only own a 64M card.

 - mfm


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


 - Independent

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

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jun 10  Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 - Activision         FRE/64M     0 TER.DUPE

 Jun 18  RockMan Zero +7 Trainer - Capcom              JAP/IPS    +1
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      1
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Not a lot of old japcrap to be found on the webpages this month, and 
 coincidentally the Independents don't have much to release. The RockMan
 trainer was a nice surprise tho.

 - jus


 Nice to see someone put out a decent trainer for Rockman Zero, other than
 that it was all quiet on the IND front this month...

 - WK


 Nice to see that I am not the slowest trainermaker around.

 - lordee


 I guess the IND trainer surprised some people. Not bad for a start, but it
 seems to lack any form of level skip/unlocker. The "Max Crystals" seems
 to be a score-option (and thus useless).
 
 - mfm


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


 - Lightforce

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

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jun 19  Earthworm Jim 2 +3 Trainer - Majesco / Shiny  USA/IPS    +1

 Jun 23  Castlevania: H.n.K +11 Trainer - Konami       JAP/IPS    -1   BROKEN

 Jun 24  Castlevania: H.n.K +11 Trainer "FIXED"        JAP/IPS    -1   BROKEN
         Castlevania: H.n.K +11 Trainer "REAL FIXED"   JAP/IPS    +1 
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      0
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Lightforce might have had a half-decent month on the trainer front if they
 had demonstrated a little QUALITY CONTROL. Instead they became the laughing
 stock of the scene with a series of bloopers involving their Castlevania 
 trainer.

 It started out with a trainer where some of the options were not
 functioning as-advertised. A day later, a "FIXED" version was released, 
 however this time the included patch was not even a valid IPS, but a file
 filled with garbage.
 
 To make matters worse, Lightforce tried to sweep their fuckups under the rug
 by deleting the "FIXED" zipfile on their sites and uploading a REPACK into
 the same directory, with the SAME filename/nfo/diz but with a proper IPS 
 file a few hours later. Mistakes can be excused, but did you really think
 no one would notice your sneaky little repacking activities?

 The original coder of the trainer had some integrity and spread the repack
 under a new dirname ("REAL_FIXED"). Credits for the trainer go to him and
 slaps for the fuckups go to Lightforce. You guys should know better.

 The moral of the story kids, is test your fuckin' releases.

 - jus


 Oh dear.  Oh dear, oh dear.  LFC managed to turn the release of a pretty
 good trainer into a complete farce.  If they had a quality control dept,
 the people involved should be tortured to death, or maybe forced to join
 ROCKET or something.  Everyone makes a mistake now and again, but to
 release a "Fixed" version that wasn't even a valid .IPS file says "WE
 ARE AMATEURS" better than a forehead tattoo with the same text... and then
 trying to sneak out the "real" fixed version just put the icing on the
 lame cake.  Respect to the trainermaker who rectified the problem as soon
 as he found out, and spread it correctly himself.

 The Earthworm Jim 2 trainer was OK, but a little late (3 weeks) in my
 opinion...

 - WK


 After a little break, Lightforce were quite active again this month.
 All in all they released 4 trainers. Unfortunately 3 were for the same
 game and only one out of these 3 worked.

 I wonder if these guys care for the scene at all or if they just rush to
 release trash in order to keep their sites happy. These mistakes could
 have easily been spotted by any amateur. Obviously there was no testing
 at all.

 - lordee


 The EWJ2 trainer could use a levelskip and next time atleast TEST the
 trainers before releasing (get some other people to try them first).
 
 And *DON'T* use WinRAR3 (or any RAR for that matter) to pack the releases.
 
 - mfm


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


 - Mode 7

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

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jun  4  ZooCube - Acclaim                             USA/32M    +3

 Jun  5  Disney's Lilo & Stitch - Disney Interactive   USA/64M    +3
         Scooby-Doo: The Motion Picture - THQ          USA/32M    +3

 Jun 12  MegaMan Battle Network 2 - Capcom             USA/64M    +3

 Jun 16  Robopon 2: Ring Version - Atlus               USA/64M    +3
         Robopon 2: Cross Version - Atlus              USA/64M    +3

 Jun 19  GT Advance 2: Rally Racing - THQ              USA/64M    +2  ENG.FIN

 Jun 21  Lego Football Mania - Electronic Arts / Lego  EUR/64M    +3

 Jun 27  Aero the Acrobat - Metro3D                    USA/32M    +3
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:     26
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Another strong month for Mode 7, who leads the pack as they usually do. 
 Taking the majority of games from the US, they managed to release quality
 and quantity. MegaMan and ZooCube are the pick of Mode 7's litter this time
 around. I can't say enough about ZooCube, this game kicks giraffes ass. 
 It's one of the better puzzlers I've played recently, and I play a lot
 of 'em. Its easy to learn but hard to master, which is the perfect formula 
 for a puzzle game. The MegaMan game is very similar to the first one, but if
 you passed on the original be sure to try out this sequel. And if soccer 
 games are your deal, you'll dig Lego Football too.

 GT Advance 2 is pretty similar to the Jap version, but while there was
 relatively little Japanese text, it wasn't 100% English, so the US
 final gets 2 points. Lilo & Stitch is a decent side-scrolling shooter,
 far better than the other released this month (CT Special Forces), but
 still a few kopeks short of a ruble.
 
 - jus


 Another large selection of GBA goodies from Mode7 this month (which
 sucks, as it only means more reviewing for me...*sigh*), here goes:
 
 Zoocube is a very nice puzzle game, I found myself playing it more
 than any other game this month (that's not saying much, but still...).
 Later levels get extremely frantic, but it's got a nice intuitive
 control system and game mechanic, and I'd recommend it to any puzzle
 game fans.  Lilo + Stitch is a pretty nice platformer, but lacks
 anything "out of the ordinary" to make it a great one...

 Scooby Doo - I honestly can't tell you.  I started the game, 
 stared at seemingly infinite amounts of text for what seemed like
 hours, and despite frantically pressing 'A' couldn't reach
 anything that resembled a game before my will to live was reaching
 a dangerously low level, so I switched it off.  At least the movie
 has SMG.

 Megaman had some very good gfx, but the game just didn't appeal to
 me much, *shrug*.  As for the 2 Robopon games, don't listen to the
 game advice - "Build 'em, Collect 'em, Trash 'em" takes far too
 long, just proceed directly to step 3.

 GT Advance 2 we've all seen before, this is the final version and
 there's no real improvement :)  Lego Football is surprisingly
 good, although it's a little hard to control in places...maybe I
 just need more practice, but it's definitely the best football
 game on GBA thus far.  And finally, Aero the Acrobat - a game I
 remember playing on the SNES, and the GBA version is a very good
 conversion indeed.  Overall, yet another strong month for Mode7!

 - WK


 Nothing's gonna stop these guys. But not everyone's willing to spend the
 nights in front of malls, so I guess so much dedication has to be
 honoured.

 Lilo & Stitch, Megaman Battle Network 2 and Aero the Acrobat were the
 most enjoyable titles here and this makes another good month for the
 team of Mode 7.

 - lordee


 Disney's Lilo & Stitch is pretty good for beeing a GBA platform/action
 game, much better than Scooby-Doo or Hey Arnold!. Battling or football
 games aren't my cup of tea so I haven't tried them... But why bother
 converting a crap game like Aero the Acrobat? Maybe the license was
 cheap?
 
 - mfm


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


 - Paradox

   .__________________________/\______/\  ___ 
   |_____  / ________  / ______ \   __  \/  / 
     / ___/ |  |/ _ __/ |  |  |  \ |  \  _ /  
    /  | /     |  \  \_    |     / |  /  / \  
   /___|/   |__|__|\  / |__|____/____/  /___\ 
  -+---/____|-------\/__|-----------/__/RtX-+-

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jun 14  V-Rally 3 - Infogrames                        EUR/32M    +4  G.O.T.M
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      4
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 When you least expect it, this old powerhouse comes up and kicks the scene
 square in the teeth with the heavily-anticipated and Raylight-developed 
 V-Rally 3. There was some stiff competition for the GOTM this time, but with
 an amazing 3D engine and gameplay to match, V-Rally 3 takes the cake with an
 overwhelming majority vote.

 - jus


 Well, what can you say?  V-Rally 3 is easily this months best GBA game,
 and Paradox wake from a long period of lazyness to bring it to us!
 This one really pushes the limits of the GBA, and I suspect there were
 quite a few developers shelving their 3d racing games when they saw
 this one... great-looking, plays well, got to be GOTM.

 - WK


 Just when everyone's wondering where they are, Paradox strike again
 and bring us this month's most awaited game one week in advance. Both the
 game and Paradox' performance this month is surprisingly good.

 - lordee


 V-Rally 3 is quite good if you like rally games... Will Paradox be back or
 did they get this title only because none of the other groups realized that
 it would be released earlier in France than in the rest of Europe?
 
 - mfm


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


 - Patience


 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jun  6  Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase - THQ          EUR/32M     0 TER.DUPE

 Jun 10  The Ripping Friends - THQ                     EUR/32M    +3

 Jun 13  Ice Age - Ubi Soft                            EUR/32M     0 TER.DUPE

 Jun 14  Britney's Dance Beat - THQ                    EUR/64M     0 TER.DUPE

 Jun 21  Star Wars EP2: Attack of the Clones - THQ     EUR/64M     0 TER.DUPE
         Maniac Racer Advance - Konami                 EUR/32M     0 TER.DUPE
         Dokapon Monster Hunter - Ubi Soft / AIA       EUR/64M     0 TER.DUPE
         Pro Tennis WTA Tour - Konami                  EUR/32M    +2  ENG.FIN

 Jun 22  Disney's Lilo & Stitch - Ubi Soft/Disney Int. EUR/64M     0 TER.DUPE
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      5
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Some diamonds among the rough in this otherwise useless flood of dupes.
 WTA Tennis was the better of the 2 legit games they put out, but it only 
 gets 2 points because the Jap version was playable for even the most
 japanese-illiterate foreign devils.

 - jus


 Patience test mine quite severely with a bunch of Eurodupe bullshit this
 month.  However, if you're not afraid to get yourself dirty swimming around
 in the enormous mound of shit they released, you will find yourself with
 2 non-dupe nuggets of GBA gold.  Or, at least tin.  Ripping Friends is
 almost indescribably bad, but Pro Tennis WTA is another decent Tennis
 title for the GBA.

 - WK


 I see a lot of waste and, in between, two nice euro/english first releases.
 I guess as no one is going to do something about it, there's definitely
 more to come from these guys.

 - lordee


 Lots of crap and one real release, not much to see.
 
 - mfm


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


 - Q

             _____
            /     \
           /      \
  -====-  /    |/\  \
          \    \_ \ /
           \______ /
         -=======\/==-

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jun  7  Spider-Man: The Movie - Activision            EUR/64M    -1     DUPE
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:     -1
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Q makes an impressive return to the scene after a long period of slacking
 with the "PAL" version of Spider-Man the Movie.

 Actually a byte for byte dupe of the USA version released ages ago by Mode 7
 (besides their intro of course).

 - jus


 Just fuck off.  Rubbish.

 - WK


 I've come not to expect too much from groups whose names start with a Q,
 but this is a lot worse than everything before. I am sorry for the guy
 who released this, you are retarded.

 - lordee


 Blah.
 
 - mfm


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


 - Quartex

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

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jun 22  Nicktoons Racing +5 Trainer - Infogrames      USA/IPS    +1

 Jun 27  Aero the Acrobat +8 Trainer - Metro3D         USA/IPS    +1
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:      2
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 Consistency is the key to longevity in the scene, and Quartex shows they
 can be consistent with a couple more nice trainers. Good job getting that
 Aero the Acrobat trainer out so quickly.
 
 - jus


 QTX managed to get a couple of trainers out this month, and contrary to
 expectations, they both work!  The Aero the Acrobat trainer was both
 prompt and quality - let's hope this is a sign of things to come!

 - WK


 Finally Quartex make an end to all my bitching and moaning. Both these
 trainers are well done and contain all key options and more. Way to go!

 - lordee


 QTX do twice as many releases as in May and the quality control seems to
 have improved. Let's see if this keeps up...
 
 - mfm


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


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

 DATE    GAME/COMPANY                                  OGN/SIZE  PTS     INFO
 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------
 Jun  2  Hey Arnold! The Movie +5 Trainer - THQ        USA/IPS    +1

 Jun  8  Disney's Lilo & Stitch +6 Trainer - Disney    USA/IPS    +1

 Jun 14  Nicktoons Racing - Infogrames                 USA/32M    +3

 Jun 18  MegaMan Battle Network 2 +7 Trainer - Capcom  USA/IPS    +1

 Jun 19  The Pinball of the Dead - THQ / Sega          USA/64M    +3

 Jun 20  CT Special Forces +6 Trainer - LSP            EUR/IPS    +1

 Jun 21  The Pinball of the Dead +2 Trainer - THQ/Sega USA/IPS    +1

 Jun 27  Medabots AX Rokusho Version - Natsume         USA/64M    +3
         Medabots AX Metabee Version - Natsume         USA/64M    +3
                                                       -------------
                                                       TOTAL:     17
                                                       -------------
 COMMENTS
 --------

 If there are 2 things you've come to expect from Venom, its quality trainers
 and pinball games. And Venom comes thru in spades with plenty of trainers
 and perhaps the most original and innovative pinball game to date, rivaled
 only by Devil's Crush on the TG16. Developed by the same people that brought
 you The House of the Dead (Sega's own WOW Entertainment), The Pinball of 
 the Dead combines elements of the aforementioned lightgun shooter and an
 excellent pinball engine, creating one of the best pick-up-and-play
 arcade games for the GBA. Graphicly the game is stunning, with good tables,
 plenty of zombies and bosses to kill, and enough gimmicks that you can enjoy
 the game over and over again. This game occupied my gameboy for longer 
 than any other game in recent memory. Yes, even longer than V-Rally 3!

 The trainers for Lilo & Stitch and CT Special Forces really enhanced a 
 couple boring Meta Slug clones that fell just short of the mark. Like gamma
 rays on Bruce Banner, the trainers turned these mild mannered games into
 raging green beasts. Well not really, but it made 'em a hell of a lot more
 playable. Fuck wasting time getting new weapons and powerups. Shoot first,
 collect ammo later I say. Or never, when using one of these trainers. The 
 new menus from Wayne Kerr and Soutlaw are pretty sweet too.

 Nicktoons Racing is an ok kart racer with some cool graphical effects. My
 only gripe with the game is, where's Squidward Tentacles? The Medabots have
 fresh intros complete with a j-pop soundtrack. I didn't get into the
 "collecting and trading" aspect of the game but the realtime battles were
 pretty cool. For a few minutes anyway.

 - jus


 A good mix of games & trainers from Venom this month...
 Nicktoons Racing is a good Mario Kart clone, more fun than you'd
 think although the graphics are no more than acceptable.
 Pinball of the Dead is great fun, and ranks up there with
 Muppets Pinball as one of the most playable GBA arcade games around.
 Medabots however... it lulls you into a false sense of anticipation
 with an excellent introduction sequence (complete with cheesy
 singing), and then just when you expect a good game - WHAM! It hits
 you with a frighteningly bad "robot battle" game.  Just horrible.
 Besides the games, a few good trainers (especially Megaman) prove
 who is the top of the trainermaking pile at the moment...

 - WK


 Pinball of the Dead was a really innovative game for a change, not quite
 what you expect from the average pinball simulation. Besides that,
 I'll leave it to the others to comment on our fabulous performance
 this month.

 - lordee


 Venom released most of the trainers and four USA games this month, not
 bad.
 
 The Pinball of the Dead seems pretty good, but looked like it suffered
 from slowdowns at times. Nicktoons Racing is (not surprisingly) 
 another mario kart clone. I have to admit that I didn't try Medabots...
 
 - mfm


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


 JUNE
 ----

    .____________________________________________________________________.
    |.                                                                   |
    |::.    TOP 10    __ |_____   ______|_ _      ___/____               |
    | .     _______ .____|    | __\_    |   ______\_    _/______ __      |
    |     _/     _/ |    |   .|/   _   .|___\_    \/    \/    _/___      |
    |    //      |__|    _   |/    |   ||.   /    /     \\_____    \     |
    |    \_________/|    |____\_________||   \____\______/\  ______/     |
    |               `----'               l____|            \/            |
    |                                                                    |
    |    Position                Group Name              Total Points    |
    |    --------                ----------              ------------    |
    |    1ST                     Mode 7                       26         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    2ND                     Venom                        17         |
    |    2ND                     Eurasia                      17         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    4TH                     Patience                      5         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    5TH                     Paradox                       4         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    6TH                     Quartex                       2         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    7TH                     Cream                         1         |
    |    7TH                     Independent                   1         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    9TH                     Cezar                         0         |
    |    9TH                     Lightforce                    0         |
    |    9TH                     Drastic & Lost                0         |
    |                                                                    |
    |    12TH                    Q                            -1        .|
    |                                                                  ..|
    |                                                                .:::|
    `--------------------------------------------------------------------'

    - Mode 7 takes the number one spot for the third month in a row.

    - Can any groups besides Mode 7 and Venom compete in the US?

    - Eurasia is back after last month's absence, dominating Japan again
      and doing well in Europe too.

    - New-comer Patience gives the euro-dupe groups a run for their money,
      scoring nearly every dupe and even taking a few euro world-firsts
      from the established groups.

    - Paradox surprises everyone with the GOTM after months of inactivity.

    - Venom, Quartex, Eurasia, Lightforce, and even the Independents all
      competing on the trainer scene.

    - Broken trainers, byte-for-byte dupes, and bad packaging... some
      groups got a little sloppy this month.



 ALL-TIME
 --------

    .____________________________________________________________________.
    |.                                                                   |
    |::.    TOP 10    __ |_____   ______|_ _      ___/____               |
    | .     _______ .____|    | __\_    |   ______\_    _/______ __      |
    |     _/     _/ |    |   .|/   _   .|___\_    \/    \/    _/___      |
    |    //      |__|    _   |/    |   ||.   /    /     \\_____    \     |
    |    \_________/|    |____\_________||   \____\______/\  ______/     |
    |               `----'               l____|            \/            |
    |                                           Last    This    Total    |
    |    Position        Group Name            Total + Month = Points    |
    |    --------        ----------            ----- - ----- - ------    |
    |    1ST             Mode 7                  96      26      122     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    2ND             Venom                   67      17       84     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    3RD             Eurasia                 28      17       45     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    4TH             Rapid Fire              21       -       21     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    5TH             Independent             14       1       15     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    6TH             Quartex                 11       2       13     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    7TH             Menace                  12       -       12     |
    |    7TH             Lightforce              12       0       12     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    9TH             Cezar                    8       0        8     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    10TH            Hyperion                 6       -        6     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    11TH            Patience                 -       5        5     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    12TH            Paradox                  -       4        4     |
    |    12TH            The Corporation          4       -        4     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    14TH            97                       3       -        3     |
    |    14TH            Rocket                   3       -        3     |
    |    14TH            Paracox                  3       -        3     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    17TH            Cream                    1       1        2     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    18TH            Koma                     0       -        0     |
    |    18TH            Evasion                  0       -        0     |
    |    18TH            Oldskool                 0       -        0     |
    |    18TH            Drastic & Lost           -       0        0     |
    |                                                                    |
    |    22ND            Q                        -      -1       -1    .|
    |                                                                  ..|
    |                                                                .:::|
    `--------------------------------------------------------------------'

    - Same old, same old... after 5 months, the total points column speaks
      for itself.



 SUMMARY
 -------

 Ok, so I predicted no trainers for June, and I got 11 (or 152 if you
 include the various LFC efforts).  But I was 100% correct that Mode7
 would dominate the US, and they even grabbed things from Europe this
 time around too...
 Eurasia made a mini-comeback with some nice titles, and even PDX got
 in on the act with the GOTM, all-in-all a good month for GBA.
 
 Rubbing my ball vigorously (no, I don't have an undescended testicle,
 it's the Crystal one) produces the following:-

 Mode7 will keep the #1 spot and release most USA games.
 Venom will release a few games, and some trainers.
 Quartex will release no games, and some trainers.
 Eurasia will pick up more nice Jap titles, and the occasional
 European game.
 LFC will gain a quality control dept, and avoid further humiliation.
 
 Actually, that last one's just wishful thinking, the ball said
 otherwise.

                                                            - Wayne Kerr


 Another good month, with lots of quality games and more tennis sims than
 you can shake a racket at. Competition for the GOTM was fierce, with
 some great games like Castlevania 2, Zoocube, Pinball of the Dead, Megaman
 Battle Network 2, and V-Rally 3 all contending for the top spot. Aero the
 Acrobat and Lego Football deserve a mention as well. And fortunately for us
 (the unlucky bastards that have to play EVERY game and comment on 'em), 
 there were very few stinkers (not counting the eurodupe crap, like anyone
 plays those anyways).

 For the most part, we saw the usual performances from the usual groups, with
 the exception of Paradox dropping in for a game, and Patience grabbing 
 nearly every euro-dupe in sight.

 As far as the coding aspect of the scene goes, I didn't have to break my
 foot off in anyone's ass, but I guess they got the message because there
 were lots of quality trainers (and a couple shitty ones) this month.
 Nearly every "trainable" game got the treatment, with plenty of different
 groups competing. Huge greets go to all the guys toiling daily over a 
 debugger and making these games more playable for the rest of us.

 Thanks again to WK and everyone that helps out with these charts, especially
 MFM and lordee this month.  We're getting midway into the summer now, and 
 next month looks like it will be a slow one.

 Until then, remember you can go outside AND still play your GBA!

                                                                   - jus


 Thanks to Jus & Wayne for giving me the chance to drop a line here
 and there again. Some personal greetings go out to Jus, Sinister Outlaw,
 Wayne Kerr, Rotox, Scaz, Juan and MMX. You guys are the reason while I am
 still doing this.

                                                                   - lordee


 Another month passed and some good games were released. Let's see what
 next month will bring; innovative new titles or just SNES conversions
 and shitty license games (Yes, it's quite disappointing that the new
 Contra, Zelda and Mario Advance games are just direct or indirect SNES
 ports).

                                                                   - mfm


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

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