Written by Matt Swider  on April 06, 2001

Advance Team Tour: Monkeying around with the Nintendo team at the Philly Zoo.

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As soon as GolinHarris informed us that Nintendo would be appearing in the Philadelphia area, the Gaming Target crew had a seek-and-play mission on its hands. We were determined to catch up with the УAdvance TeamФ and their promotion of the yet-to-be-released Game Boy Advance system. They had already exhibited at the Philadelphia County Fair on Friday and opened up a booth in Hershey Park on Saturday. On Sunday, the team's last day in the city, they were scheduled to appear at the Franklin Mills Mall. However, the PR firm informed us of a last-minute change of venue, so Matt Swider and Kevin Stapf drove to Fairmount Park where the Advance Team was set up on the Impala Lawn just inside the Philadelphia Zoo.


Upon arriving, we were warmly greeted by Senior Media Executive Tim Mulligan, who was overseeing the Advance Team and introduce us to the host of the show, Captain Advance himself, Rob. Wearing a Game Boy Advance equipped jump suit, Rob was quiet styling with several units functioning on his body like a suicide-wearing bomber with attached dynamite to the chestЕonly this wasn't a bombЧthis was the bomb; Game Boy Advance. We quickly took the surrounding kiosks, which also featured the handheld system and three Game Boy Advance titles: Super Mario Bros. Advance, F-Zero: Maximum Velocity and Rayman 2.


Super Mario Bros. Advance - This game (actually it's 2 games) is made in the mold of Super Mario Bros. DX for Game Boy Color. It takes the classic gameplay of SMB2, throws in a few new mechanics and bumps up the graphics presentation. On top of this improved version of SMB2, Nintendo is graciously throwing in the original Mario Bros. For those who have yet to play this true classic, SMBA is going to be an essential launch game for the GBA. It's a true port of the original in terms of level design and should provide many hours of multiplayer enjoyment.

F-Zero: Maximum Velocity - Can the Game Boy Advance handle high-speed ports of Super Nintendo games? From our hands-on experience with this classic racing game, the answer is yes. Vehicles fly above tracks faster than the speed of sound and sometimes faster than we can control. Turns require extreme breaking at such high speeds. Luckily, the game, even when crashing is downright fun. Fast speeds, sharp turns, good graphics and upbeat music make this one of the games to look out for on launch day.

Rayman Advance - Honestly, I didn't come to the show expecting much from this platform game. I thought it would be very similar to the Game Boy Color version of Rayman, but I was wrong. The Advance version showed early signs of what the GBA is actually capable of thanks to the most lush and colorful graphics we've seen on a handheld. Although the gameplay feels like the other Rayman games, the controls are tight and the new wider screen on the GBA does wonders for the left-to-right platform experience.

Castlevania Circle of the Moon - Even though Castlevania wasn't playable at the show, we discussed this game with a few of the members of the Advance Team and this game seems downright cool. Nintendo hopes that this game will help boost the image of the handheld market from being looked at as just a Уkiddy marketФ into a market for all gamers, old and young alike. With crisp graphics and mature vampire-hunting action, the company may be onto something. Beating the game as a vampire hunter opens up the ability to replay the quest as a more advanced magician. Playing the game again means all of your skills have improved, but so have the skills of your enemies, so don't expect the second time through to be a cakewalk.


After we played with the Game Boy Advance for some time, the Advance Team was ready to start another contest in their money booth and, somehow, we forced ourselves to put down the incredible system to watch. Much like on TV game shows, the contest isolated a player, who was randomly drawn from an entry receipt, in a glass booth. As soon as the booth's bottom fan turned on, their goal was to collected as many flying paper tickets as possible while they swirled up in the air. Before entering the booth, the chosen player would suit up in one of the nifty jumpsuits and the hosts would pitch the Game Boy Advance, its features and the titles at launch. Meanwhile, the rest of the team would answer questions from people in the crowd who were interested in this new and powerful portable system.


It didn't take long for a constant to suit up and begin collecting a massive number of Advance tickets, which could be exchanged for prizes after their turn had concluded. The prizes included Game Boy games, stuffed animals, Advance T-Shirts, Frisbees, watches, keychains and your very own Advance jump suitЕoh, yes, and a Game Boy Advance. For the people in the crowd who didn't get called, the hosts would ask questions about Game Boy Advance, state capitals and other random entertainment trivia. Of course, we knew all the answers to the GBA questions, but we let the younger kids answer those state capitals.

In addition to games and prizes, the event also offered some snazzy stickers, which we went ape on, putting them all over their clothes, body and papers. As the young group gathered around for a chance to in the booth, the hosts had them all yell things like УWe love Game Boy AdvanceФ and other lines of loyalty, pledging their dedication to the new system. That's one way to reach the children.


After the crowd of hopeful contestants died down and we finished off a little more playing time with the GBA, it was time to interview the team before tossed around an Advance Frisbee and packed things up. Rob, the Advance Team Captain, answered some of our questions, telling us all about the Game Boy Advance, its launch and its strong future.


Gaming Target: How many Game Boy Advance units is Nintendo planning to ship to U.S. retailers for the system's launch?

Rob: There will be 500,000 the first day, another 500,000 the next week and a total of 25 million in the year.

Gaming Target: What are a few of the features of the Game Boy Advance unit that is Nintendo boasting for the system's launch?

Rob: Well, to name a couple, the 32-bit system will play all the original Game Boy and Game Boy Color titles, make use of a wide color screen and allow four players to connect and play titles only using one game pak. Along with the 17 impressive launch titles, you can expect a numerous amount of additional features to come to the system as well.

Gaming Target: What slogans is Nintendo using for Game Boy Advance during its launch?

Rob: There have been two, the first one being УAnytime, AnywhereФ and the other, which you may have seen on the commercial, УLife Advanced.Ф

Gaming Target: How many titles can we expect by the end of the year?

Rob: You can look for 60 games overall by that time and, in boasting this many titles, you can expect the Game Boy Advance to sell a great deal during the holiday season.

Gaming Target: Will there be similar promotions like this one for GameCube come September through November?

Rob: Nothing definite, but seeing how the Advance Team tour is successful now, you may find us back just before the console's launch.

Gaming Target: Has the Game Boy's demographic changed at all with the GBA, or is it still mostly aimed towards youth?

Rob: Nintendo has always geared their games towards the general audience in the past, not just younger children. However, gamers need to worry no more. Nintendo will still create titles suitable for all players, but has also taken in many games for Game Boy Advance, such as the launch titles Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 and Castevania: Circle of the Moon.

Gaming Target: Yes, it seems that Nintendo likes to deal with a general audience when developing titles and companies creating games on the PlayStation target a specific age group.

Rob: If you look at the statistics, there's a large percentage of gamers of the age of twenty playing Game Boy and Game Boy Color, so it is true, Nintendo deals with a more broad group than most other companies.

Gaming Target: Where is the Advance Team headed next and what other stops will this tour make throughout the country?

Rob: Next, we're off to Boston, and after the tour will hit New York, Atlanta, Chicago, Minneapolis, Dallas, San Diego, LA, Seattle and, finally, San Francisco.


After a good gaming conversation, we were soon ready to depart this magical place (not so much the Zoo, rather the company of the Advance Team), but not until we got a final picture of the Advance Team together (though Tim was missing from the photo in order to catch a plane). I'd like to thank Tim, Rob and the other members of the Advance Team, as well as Nintendo for setting up this promotional event. We were especially happy that Gaming Target could attend as we are stuck up here in the city of Brotherly Love. Look for the tour to hit a town around you soon, and be prepared to pick up a Game Boy Advance, which is ready to hit stores on June 11th.