Avatar: The Last Airbender (Game Boy Advance)

GameSpot editors' review

• CNET editors' rating: 3.5 stars Very good
  Detailed editors' rating
  Overall score: 7.0 (3.5 stars)

• Reviewed by:
  Frank Provo
• Reviewed on: 01/17/2007
• Released on: 10/10/2006
• Originally published on GameSpot: Avatar: The Last Airbender (Game Boy Advance) Review

Avatar: The Last Airbender for the Game Boy Advance is an action adventure featuring the characters and locations from Nickelodeon's popular cartoon show. You lead a party of three heroes through multiple portions of the Avatar world, using those characters' unique abilities to fight Fire Nation soldiers and work through puzzles that typically require some clever teamwork to solve. Even though the game's story isn't based on any specific episode of the show, fans will appreciate that the plot and dialogue hold true to the way key events and characters have been portrayed in the TV series. Meanwhile, the design borrows heavily from similar games--in particular, Nintendo's Legend of Zelda and Square-Enix's Sword of Mana--so while the game doesn't break any new ground, the combat and puzzles are generally satisfying.

In the world of Avatar, people known as benders have the ability to cast elemental magic. The world is split into four different nations, each based on the element the nation's inhabitants have mastery over: fire, water, earth, or air. For centuries, the four nations lived in peace. However, one day the Fire Nation began a campaign to conquer the other nations. According to legend, the only person that can stop the Fire Nation is the Avatar, the legendary bender that has the ability to control all four elements. The game, like the show, follows the travails of Aang, the last airbender and supposed Avatar, on his quest to awaken his powers and bring an end to the war. Since Aang hasn't quite mastered the other elements yet, he's constantly accompanied by a pair of friends, a fighter named Sokka and a waterbender named Katara, that lend a hand as needed. Together, the three set out to visit the different villages in the land to gradually push back the Fire Nation forces and get Aang the training he needs.

Each of the game's seven chapters consists of an above-ground area and multiple smaller caves or dungeons. In the above-ground areas, you'll talk to villagers and do battle in real time with the different Fire Nation soldiers that are situated here and there. Most of these encounters are the typical sort of Zelda-style fights, where you dodge attacks and mash buttons to dish out attacks of your own. Aang can swing his staff to hurt enemies, or you can cast an air wave to hit them from afar. If you want, you can toggle control to Sokka or Katara by tapping the shoulder buttons. Their attacks damage certain enemies more than Aang's do, particularly in the case of bosses. Swapping characters doesn't come into play much in the above-ground sections, but it's integral to solving the dungeons in each chapter. Caves and dungeons rarely contain enemies. Instead, they're chock-full of switches and objects that often can only be activated or moved by a specific character. Aang can push light objects from a distance with his air wave. Sokka can pull heavy switches, break some objects with his club and bombs, and use his boomerang to hit switches from an angle. Katara can use her waterbending talents to create an icy bridge across water, as well as to fill and drain containers and pools. Dungeons are set up so that you constantly have to swap between the characters, and sometimes split the group up, to make progress. In one spot, for example, you'll find that you have to use Katara's power to empty a container, Aang's air wave to shove the container onto a switch, and then Katara's waterbending to refill the container again so that it activates a pressure switch.

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