ChuChu Rocket! GBA: A Stellar Challenge for Puzzle Enthusiasts

The Universe of ChuChu Rocket!

As the new millennium began, Sega faced challenging times. Despite a multitude of outstanding new and original titles, as well as nearly flawless home conversions of arcade hits, their beloved Dreamcast struggled to make a mark on sales charts. In January 2001, Sega fans were met with the announcement that the company would discontinue hardware production, pivoting to become a third-party software publisher. In an unexpected turn of events for their initial release, amid the metaphorical flying pigs, a Sega gem—ChuChu Rocket!, developed by Sonic Team—found its way onto the Nintendo Game Boy Advance hardware, with an additional version available for Dreamcast.

The Game

ChuChu Rocket, an action game by Sonic the Hedgehog creator Yuji Naka, entrusts players with guiding mice (ChuChus) to devour cats in space (KapuKapus). Within the Dreamcast's library, few games have encapsulated the console's spirit as effectively as this lively and frenzied release.

ChuChu Rocket! truly shone in its multiplayer aspect. Players could engage in head-to-head clashes or form teams with three friends using the innovative bicycle option. In this mode, your goal was to guide ChuChus to your rocket while simultaneously directing KapuKapus toward your opponent's. For solo players, challenging AI opponents with distinct play styles ensured a satisfyingly challenging experience.

The introduction of special mice, causing chaos once aboard the rocket – from flooding the board with mice or kittens to closing off most of the stage – created a frenetic multiplayer mode that could rival the Mario Kart series. It provided fun for the masses. Furthermore, its easy-to-grasp nature made it a perfect fit for a handheld console, making it irresistible for a replay.

If unbridled chaos isn't your preference, the extensive puzzle stages offer a compelling alternative. Instead of competing for ChuChus, you are given a limited set of directional cards. Your objective is to strategically guide the mouse around the board and into the rocket. With numerous new levels and all Dreamcast stages at your disposal, and the option to use the level editor for crafting your own and sharing them with friends, the game promises enduring entertainment. You can even create your own character using the pixel art editor if you desire.

And for those concerned about content depletion, fear not. While the original Dreamcast had a robust yet somewhat cumbersome online component allowing players to compete and share scenes, the GBA lacks internet connectivity. Nevertheless, Sega ingeniously packed more than 2500 user-created scenes from their servers into this compact cartridge, ensuring a wealth of gaming possibilities.

Gameplay of ChuChu Rocket!

The presentation of ChuChu Rocket on GBA mirrors that of the console version. The music is appropriately lively and catchy, and although you'll encounter many of the same melodies repeatedly, it never becomes annoying or repetitive. While the GBA rendition substitutes the 3D character model with a pre-rendered, Donkey Kong-style version, the difference is hardly noticeable, aside from some pixelated edges during rocket launches.

Everything is remarkably clean and polished, ensuring smooth performance even in more intricate scenarios. The colors also appear brighter, which proves advantageous when playing on the Original GBA monitors that demand the concentrated power of their miniature sun to make anything visible.

Game Controller

The primary drawback of the GBA version is in its gamepad. Maneuvering the cursor across the screen to place tiles lacks the precision of the Dreamcast, and while still functional, it may result in tile misalignment during intense multiplayer sessions. There are various methods for tile placement, each with mixed results: you can opt for the single-button approach, holding down A and pressing a direction on the D-Pad, or the multi-button method, where each of the four face buttons on the front and shoulder is assigned to a specific direction.

ChuChu Rocket encounters an issue with the single-touch method, being slightly slower than necessary during challenging moments. The multi-touch approach takes some time to get accustomed to, as the layout doesn't align like a second directional pad, as it did on Dreamcast. While you'll adapt with time, the performance is more favorable in other setups, making it a bit challenging to adjust to.

ChuChu Rocket! GBA is an excellent game, but in this age of portable devices with internet access, being restricted to this platform is somewhat frustrating. If the game were released on DS or DSiWare, featuring user-generated content and online multiplayer, it would undoubtedly be a success. Frankly, we're surprised that Sega hasn't explored more possibilities for this series over the past nine years beyond a kart game. Despite Naka's departure from Team Sonic, we hope Sega Claus wakes up and introduces something new for Chus soon.

Conclusion on ChuChu Rocket!

As a multiplayer experience, ChuChu Rocket! remains hard to beat nearly a decade after entering the handheld arena. You'll laugh, curse, and engage in endless conversations with your friends – exactly what a party game should offer. The fact that it transitioned from a home console to a handheld device doesn't diminish its experience; in fact, it packs more content than you might initially realize. While some control quirks slightly slowed down the gameplay, they certainly didn't hinder ChuChu Rocket! It continues to deliver crazy and ridiculous fun.