Friday, June 29, 2018

Review #564: Avatar the Last Airbender(Gameboy Advance)

 Advanced bending.





 I can't speak much about how good an adaptation this game is, since I haven't watched the series, but I can assure you that this is a good one.

 Aang is the latest reincarnation of the Avatar, a being that can manipulate, or bend, the four different elements: Water, Earth, Wind and Fire. Not that it matters, since Aang is restricted to just air in the game. Spending his days in the Water Village, the Fire Nation attacks and takes away Katara, Aang's friend, and thus he sets out to rescue her. Throughout the game you'll play as a three-man team of Aang, Katara and Sokka, each with their own abilities. Something I want to praise the game for is how much it feels like an adventure, characters constantly going forwards, traversing new lands and facing new puzzles.




 While the franchise lends itself for a good beat'em up game, this is more of a puzzle game, action being an afterthought. The three characters have very different abilities: Aang has a three hit combo, can push wind through vents and shoot air waves. Katara has a simple water-whip attack, that isn't too useful in battle but can stun a few enemies, she can also build ice bridges on water. Lastly, Sokka has a boomerang that can hit crystals from afar, or dash ahead while swinging his club back and forth.

 Undeniably, the game puts puzzles first, and you'll notice it pretty early, as some sections are entirely devoid of enemies, instead being puzzle affairs. This is for the best, as combat is pretty half-baked, only Aang has decent offensive abilities, but Sokka and Katara each have attacks that stun some of the tougher enemies, so a good idea is to use Sokka or Katara  to stun them and then bash them with Aang's three hit combo. Switching characters is as easy as tapping(Or holding, can be changed at the options menu) the L or R button.




 Luckily, puzzles are very fun to solve, and some are quite tough. Not all puzzles are mandatory,  but it's better to explore before leaving an area in order to get permanently missable health upgrades. The game is at its best when you are toggling between characters in order to solve puzzles, some which even have the party separating and collaborating while traveling on different paths. It's a very fun game.

 Avatar the Last Airbender is a surprisingly fun licensed game. The combat could've used some polishing, but the puzzles are great, and having each character having different skills makes for some fun brainwork. It's a shame the game is a bit on the short-side, about 3:30 hours in all.
 7.5 out of 10

No comments:

Post a Comment