February 4, 2003 - Okay, stay with me here. Back when THQ picked up the rights to release the Japanese title Advance GTA for the Game Boy Advance, the company renamed it GT Advance Championship Racing in the North American markets. When the same development team created a rally game for the Japanese market, Advance Rally, THQ again was there to pick up the rights for a US release...but the company went with the original branding for the racer and called it GT Advance 2: Rally Racing. Now here's where it gets confusing. The original Japanese developer released a sequel to the original Advance GTA overseas several months ago, Advance GT2.. And once again, THQ's there to release a localized version stateside...and again, the name was changed to follow the US numbering structure. So, just keep in mind this: Advance GT2 is GT Advance 3. Got it?

Features

  • More than 90 cars
  • More than 46 different races
  • Link cable support for two players
  • Cartridge save (one slot)
  • Only for Game Boy Advance
Regardless of the confusing naming structure, GT Advance 3 Pro Concept Racing is an excellent racing game for the Game Boy Advance, just as the past two games in the series were. This sequel, as mentioned above, has way more in common with the original GT Advance game released almost two years ago than it does with the Rally Racing title released in the GT Advance franchise. This is, essentially, the "apology" we were waiting for from THQ; if you remember correctly, THQ localized the original Advance GT game almost as-is, except for one crucial factor: the cartridge save of the Japanese version was removed in favor of an abysmal password system. GT Advance 3, however, keeps the original game design intact. The game is a fun, fast and furious arcade racer with tons of cars (many of which are only available in Japan), several racing and gameplay modes. And yes, cartridge save memory to keep all the collectables and racing scores on-hand.

The game itself is, at its core, a tweaked, retooled, and upgraded GT Advance Championship Racing. The graphics engine is flat Mode 7-style 3D for the roadways with vehicle sprites rendered at different angles. Even though this engine isn't quite as advanced today as it was when the original version hit the scene back during the system's launch almost two years ago, it still offers racing fans a great sensation of speed since it moves the on-screen action at an incredibly fluid 60 frames per second.

But it's the series' arcade-style racing gameplay that's received the biggest set of tweaks. Where the biggest issue in GT Advance was how it handled collision detection during the race, this has been ironed out for the sequel. Contact with other cars or walls are much more forgiving; in fact roads have been contructed with a bit more shoulder instead of putting up annoying, invisible walls right on the edges of the course. The annoying angles that literally stopped your vehicle at top speed in the original game have been ironed out, which makes the racing a lot smoother in the sequel. And since the sequel is on a cartridge that's twice as large as the original, the developers filled up this extra space with more stuff: there are loads more tracks and cars in this sequel.

An extra racing option has also been added to put players' powersliding techniques to the test: Drift is a cool mini-game where racers have three laps to link together as many corners during a their slide. If their wheels gain traction at any time during the skid, the combo chain is broken. The idea is to get the highest combo possible in each of the game's powerslide-friendly tracks. This "Drift" mode is a fun little addition that builds upon an already great design.

But some of the same issues from the original game still surface in this sequel. For example, players earn vehicles and car parts for finishing first in races, and the player has to attach the car part to their vehicle in order to upgrade that racer. There's absolutely no reason not to install these car parts, so this should have been an automatic menu selection to begin with; it's a drag having to upgrade every single car when you decide to change to a different vehicle mid-circuit. The only other problem, of course, is its music quality. Like the original game (and the sequel, GT Advance 2/Advance Rally), GT Advance 3 features an in-race soundtrack that utilizes the very weak Game Boy Color sound chip. It's just a technical blemish in an otherwise great GBA Racing game.

Closing Comments
Even though games like Moto Racer Advance and Colin McRae Rally Racing mop the floor with this game's graphic engine, the arcade-style gameplay of GT Advance 3 is still excellent even to this day. Folks who were burned the first time with the original GT Advance's lack of cartridge save can rest assured that they're getting a quality racer in this sequel. Not only is the save RAM in there, but the gameplay from the original has been given a significant shot in the arm. It's a great GBA racer, absolutely.

IGN Ratings for GT Advance 3: Pro Concept Racing (GBA)
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9.0 Presentation
Tons of cars, tracks, track conditions; extra racing features. And yes, even cartridge save.
7.0 Graphics
The game engine is very similar to the one the development team produced for GT Advance, but with tweaks to make it look slightly improved. There are better looking racing titles on the GBA.
6.0 Sound
The music is still using the lame GBC sound chip, but the engine noises are nice and digitized.
8.0 Gameplay
Though it's not a huge advancement over the original game in design, the handling has been tweaked significantly, and the game now records right to cartridge. Awesome.
8.0 Lasting Appeal
There are more than forty different races to complete, and several "Drift" challenges to accomplish. Two player link mode as well, and it records all the best times to cart.
8.5
Great		 OVERALL
(out of 10 / not an average)		 See All Award Recipients