Another week, another issue of Advance Weekly. The last few weeks were kind of dull, but this week I went on a treasure hunt for new games and succeeded in finding some...

But first we'll run through the hardware section again. Word from Japan came that a new way of playing GBA games on your big-screen TV will become available. We've seen the GB Player, we've seen Datel's version of the GB Player, we've seen the TV-de-Advance, and now the Advance Connector. The idea is quite simple: plug in the device into one of the Gamecube's memory card slots, boot the Gamecube with a special boot-disk and start playing. The Advance Connector also has a save-state option, which allows you to save at any possible moment. This can be very useful when playing an action game in which you'll have to defeat a difficult boss. Simply save the state before the boss-battle begins, and if you fail you can load the state again. No more need to run through the entire level (or even the entire game) again. The Advance Connector is set for a release in Japan in January 2004, for an estimated price of 3480 Yen (compared to a GB Player of 3800 Yen). European and/or US releases have not been confirmed yet. Neither was there any information available on whether this device is capable of running GB Mono/Color cartridges.

And with that, we've seen the last of the hardware section for the week. On to the more interesting part: games.

It's been a long time since we've heard anything about Pokémon Fire Red & Leaf Green, but suddenly 2 scans appeared showing the Japanese boxart, some information, a handful of vague screenshots and the new pokédex. Unfortunately, the original website showing the scans (the Japanese Bulletin Board 2ch) removed the images, so I had to mirror them myself. Just click the link for 2 pages on Pokémon Fire Red & Leaf Green.

Just a short message in between. Astro Boy has just been released in Japan, but soon it'll be available in the US as well: The ESRB (Entertainment Software Rating Board) has listed the game with Sega of America as the publisher.

I told you I went on a search this week, and I've found 5 new games. I'll start with Racing Gears Advance. Racing Gears Advance looks like yet another Micro Machines/Death Rally clone, but this one looks promising. Shortcuts, ramps, homing missiles, different settings for your car (tires, etc), weather conditions... You'll get to race over 25 beautifully detailed tracks, with 12 different characters, using 8 different weapons to stop your opponents. There's even an ingame audio tuner which allows you to select between over a dozen songs during the race. Looking at the screenshots supplied, this game could just be one of the winners.

Next game: Jukka's Treasure. The story begins as the most powerful magic in the land is stolen, a magic that has the power to turn wishes into reality. This power is kept in the magical twilight wand, which was in the safekeeping of the mysterious wizard, Jukka. But now the twilight wand is missing, and the race is on to find it!

Jukka's Treasure transports the player into a beautifully complex and wacky world. A land of magic and intrigue: at every turn, there are hidden traps and passageways, ancient temples, secret villages and sleeping dragons. Some numbers: 20 unique environments with 230 fully interactive screens, 80 different characters to interact with, 40 different tools for the player to use (of which some can be combined), 'an assortment' of cinematic sequences, 40 different quests and 7 different endings (multiple plots).

No time to stand still, we've still got three more games to discuss. Next one up: Eclipse. Eclipse transports players to a world teetering between salvation and oblivion. After a recent attack on a bioresearch facility a new life form has awakened with no memories or sense of identity. It's up to you to unravel the mystery of Aletha's origin as she discovers her role in the facility's research. With seemingly limitless potential, Aletha must absorb the mysterious force known as bioenergy from defeated enemies in order to evolve, escape and survive. A full fact-list of this game can be found here, since I honestly don't know how to combine 'powerful Sibling Aspects', '8 directional isometric perspective' and 'Automatic Camera Logic' into a meaningful story here.

Only two more games to do for today, and the first one is a classic. I'm sorry, I meant "they're classics". Capcom has decided it's time to revive 5 of the original Megaman games and bundle them in Megaman Mania. The little guy has turned 15 already, and Capcom thought it would be nice to include an option to 'learn about the history of Megaman' and to 'unlock original artwork selections'. Hurray!

And finally, we come to the last game... Donkey Kong Country 2. In this all-new exciting story Diddy Kong and his girlfriend Dixie battle with the nasty King K. Rool who has kidnapped Donkey Kong himself! Rambi the rhino, Expresso the ostrich, Enguarde the swordfish, Squawks the parrot and the intriguingly monickered Winky the frog will help you on your quest, all with their own special capabilities at various points. Donkey Kong Country 2 boasts over 30 levels in which to enjoy the company of these fine animal friends. The DK Attack mode is a brand new feature which challenges players to complete each level from the main game in as quick a time as they can. In addition to this, there are 2 mini games, Funky's Fishing & Candy's Dance Studio, which can be played either solo or with a friend using the Game Boy Advance Game Link Cable.

Then there's just one small notice left. A few weeks ago, we were the first to bring you the news that a GBA version of Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow was on Ubi Soft's releaselists. However, I received a new list, with 'cancelled' next to the GBA version...

Like every week, I'll end with a small list of screenshots:

• Brother Bear (screens)
• Kingdom Hearts (scans)
• Max Payne Advance (screens)
• Megaman Mania (screens)
• Racing Gear Advance (screens)

And that's it for the week again. Comments are (as usual) welcome (especially positive ones) and can be send to [email protected].

Dennis Stam
(aka Blackbird on the boards)