Following the conclusion of Gekido, Testuo returns to his Sensei's house, only to discover humanity faces a new threat. Demons and undead have started appearing under mysterious circumstances, terrorising nearby villages. Tetsuo is despatched to discover the source of the trouble and to put a stop to it.
Released in 2002 for the Gameboy Advance, Gekido Advance is a follow-up to Gekido, a 3D beat 'em up released back in 2000 for the original PlayStation. Gekido was notable for the fact it featured a soundtrack with music from the likes of Fatboy Slim and received reasonable reviews at the time of its release.
Being a hand-held console with less power, Gekido Advance is a far more traditional 2D brawler -- think Final Fight and Streets of Rage. The game features only a single playable character this time around, namely Tetsuo from the previous title, who is sent on a mission by his sensei to unravel a mystery involving demons and zombies which seem to be terrorizing the populace of nearby villages.
Whereas most games in the genre simply involve moving to the right and battering enemies which appear (and there's plenty of this to be done), levels in Gekido Advance are made of disparate zones, accessible via doors in the foreground and background. These are often locked, which require the player to find the appropriate key, hit the correct lever, or something similar. In addition to constant waves of enemies, many of these scenes feature rolling log traps, falling debris, crushers and other environmental hazards. These are really difficult to avoid, and most players will experience a fair degree of frustration trying to navigate these areas.
I wanted to like Gekido Advance. There's actually a kernel of a really good beat 'em up here - it's fast-paced and the combat system feels pretty satisfying. Unfortunately, the meandering level design, endless precession of palette-swapped enemies and 10 second music loops mean the whole package is just rather boring as a result.
To conclude, Gekido Advance might look like a delicious club sandwich, but on biting into it you discover that the filling is just more bread, with butter that has been spread rather too thinly. Gekido Advance could have been a really great hand-held brawler if it just had more flavour!
Developer: NA.P.S. Team s.n.c.
Publisher: ZOO Digital Publishing Ltd.
Year of Release: 2002
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