February 23, 2007 - The Game Boy Advance seems to have two main camps when it comes to games. There's the "Children's Game" camp, specializing in dozens of Spyro games and Pokemon. Then you have the "Old School" camp that gets all the ports of classic Nintendo titles. Sabrasa Entertainment and Graffiti Entertainment's new title, Mazes of Fate definitely falls into the latter camp, bringing back classic role playing style to the GBA. It's a great game, or at least it would have been more than a decade ago.

Mazes of Fate is the very definition of old school. Chances are, very few gamers under the age of 25 are familiar with the American RPG scene. Back in the day (I mean way back, before the Internet was cool!), it wasn't just Final Fantasy and other, what is now commonly referred to as "traditional," RPGs that dominated the market. American RPGs offered a slightly different approach to the popular genre. With the success of games like Oblivion, it's no surprise that developers are trying their hand at the classic American RPG style.

All the classic RPG elements are here in Mazes of Fate, including the pretty standard premise. Players start as a hero wannabe in a small village. There isn't a lot of danger to start with, so the first evil players vanquish are cellar rats. The game's story quickly picks up, progressing steadily towards epic levels. Thieves, evil sorcerers, a race of goat men, and angry gods create a pretty engrossing story, much of which is carried by dialogue with the world's eclectic cast of characters. The branching conversations are well written and sometimes pretty humorous, and most of the characters have strong personalities that come through in the writing. Unfortunately, the dialogue doesn't do much to help the story, so the plot is a little hard to follow.

The first things players are going to notice about Mazes of Fate is that the game looks like it was made in 1993. The graphics are definitely dated, with very crude enemy animations. The dungeons, presented in a first person view aren't graphically impressive either, even for a GBA game. It's also probably best for players to keep the volume turned off while playing, since Maze's of Fate has some of the worst sound effects on the system. The clanging and monster noises during the battles, as well as some of the songs playing in the dungeon are unoriginal and repetitive, Since everything else is similar to the dungeon crawlers of yore, it makes sense that the game looks and sounds the same too, but the decision is likely to turn off gamers who never played the games that inspired Mazes of Fate.



For people that can get past the lackluster visuals and sound (or for players that like the homage), Mazes of Fate is a really solid game with a lot to do. There are dozens of dungeons, caves, basements, and towers to explore, and players can customize their characters with a large variety of equipments and weapons. Since all the dungeons are presented in a first-person perspective, the battles are much more action oriented than most RPGs. Players can move and flee from monsters, or attack them as fast as they can. A slight delay mimics the feel of a turn based battle system, but quick menu control definitely works in the player's favor.

With so much to do it's no surprise that Mazes of Fate takes a long time to beat. Players are in for a whole lot of game for a portable system. The dungeons can get pretty confusing, so much of the time is spent trying to solve the puzzles within. In addition, the side quests extend the life of the game and allow the Mazes of Fate's story to branch off in a couple different directions.

Players shouldn't expect to just blaze through Mazes of Fate with no problem. The difficulty level gets pretty high, and it's not the type of game where players can just level up their party for a while. A lot of strategy is involved with the battles, and the puzzling dungeons take some thought and patience to get through. The difficulty curve is high enough to possibly discourage some gamers. For a player that's enjoying the game, it's a suitable challenge, but for a player that is not having that much fun anyway, it's a good reason to turn the game off and shelve it.

Closing Comments
Not everyone is going to like Mazes of Fate, and that's fine. It's obviously not intended for everyone. It's a game built for the fans that grew up playing classic games on early computers. For many gamers it may be a title their father will find more interesting than they do. Still, Mazes of Fate does a good job of mimicking older RPG titles. It's just a shame that they followed the formula so closely, since what comes out is a solid game that looks, sounds, and feels way too dated to be taken seriously.

IGN Ratings for Mazes of Fate (GBA)
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out of 10 click here for ratings guideGet Ratings Information
6.0 Presentation
There are some nice characters and a really interesting story, but unfortunately players don't get to hear much of it.
5.0 Graphics
It looks really old, but that is what they were going for. Don’t expect to be astounded by anything.
4.5 Sound
Repetitive, boring, and unimpressive in every way. There are a couple nice songs, but most of them are pretty bland.
7.0 Gameplay
A very engrossing and challenging game that offers a lot in the way of customization.
7.0 Lasting Appeal
The game takes a while to beat. This is one cartridge that will be in your GBA for a while.
6.5
Passable		 OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)