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Scooby Doo (GBA)
Those meddling kids and their perpetually famished, speech-impeded pooch are at it again, out to solve a cluster of ghostly mysteries on Spooky Island.
By Avi "dotmatrixtroubador" Fryman | June 28, 2002

Poor

The Lowdown: You know something is wrong when the official website is just slightly more entertaining than the game.

Pros:	Decent background design; a few good one-liners; no mention of the many other cross-promotional items related to the flick.
Cons:	Choppy controls; frustrating gameplay; poor character design; no manual save feature; redundant missions; linear narrative.

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Platform: Game Boy Advance

Game Type: Adventure / Puzzle
Developer: Helixe
Publisher: THQ

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Borrowing considerably from the big screen blockbuster, Scooby Doo for the GBA presents the oddball Mystery Inc. gang in a slightly different light than the original cartoon series did. Norville "Shaggy" Rogers, at long last, professes his love for Mary Jane (as if there was ever any doubt), Daphne has learned martial arts, and Fred seems a bit less femme and a bit more like an egocentric action hero (although he still dons the neckerchief on occasion). Scooby and Velma, however, remain more or less the same -- he's still a cowardly canine, and she's still an androgynous puzzle-solving geek.

Unfortunately, Scooby Doo gets so bogged down in unfolding its linear narrative and conveying the differences of its main characters that it never really gets around to being fun. Its choppy controls, poor animation, lack of a manual save function, and a map system in which not a single clue as to where you've been or where you ought to be going is granted, and you've got yourself a study in "Scooby Doobie Don'ts." Ruh-roh!

Tackling the initial challenges as either Shaggy or Scooby, you'll switch between them by sorting through a series of menus that are not a big deal at first, but become increasingly more tedious as you make your way through the game. There are ultimately five characters to sort through, and you'll also need to use the menu system to gain access to the map screen, inventory screen, and non-descript goals screen. (Typical goals include, "Find 3 clues," and "Where did the ghosts come from?"). A quicker selection process would have bumped the frustration level down substantially.

Shaggy and Scooby share identical abilities; pressing the "B" will motivate them both to run, for example. This ability is always at your disposal when playing as either, and does not require any power-ups. Unfortunately, they are the only two characters capable of moving relatively fast, and even their runs are a bit on the slow side. When using the normal run, it's still possible to be injured by enemies. The solution to this is a "special" run, also solely available to Shaggy and Scooby. Yuk!

Initially, enemies are limited to tiny rats that emit horrible screeches as they deplete your strength. Later, the rats are joined by ghosts and monsters, which are less agitating, but more dangerous. To replenish strength and stamina, you'll need to collect food and Scooby Snacks, respectively. You may also buy food and stamina at some of the island restaurants, but you'll need to gather tokens first. These are scattered about, and some must be earned by solving puzzles.

Enter Velma. There are four mini-games in Scooby Doo, and Velma's brainpower is required for three of them. You can also practice the mini-games outside of the main game by selecting them from the startup screen. The most prevalent mini-game is "Unlock the Chest," which involves turning color-coded rings on a combination lock until the rings properly match the center color. Since Spooky Island is haunted, the rings also randomly turn on their own, making it trickier to solve the combinations. The number of tokens you receive is commensurate with how quickly you solve each puzzle. This is fun at first, but quickly gets old. Other mini-games include "Repair the Pipes," "Lights Out," and "Musical Mayhem." Each is redundant, unimpressive, and unworthy of further mention.

"Like, what's going on over there?"

Each character can walk, talk, trigger a scene-specific action, and block attacks. In addition, each also has a unique ability and a super ability. Fred likes handling large objects, and will gladly deliver single blows or multiple blows with his fists of fury. Daphne's boots are made for walking, but they're also great for kicking the ectoplasm out of pesky mice, ghosts, and monsters. Velma is a thinker, not a fighter. She can sneak past enemies (with varying success), and slow down or stop time during the mini-games.

As you endlessly traverse the Spooky Island Hotel, Spooky Castle, and the caverns, you'll come across some variably talkative folks. Generic hotel guests tend to spew out the same series of six or seven lines over and over, but will occasionally throw you a hint that may give you some sense of direction. Still, by the five-hundredth time I read the phrase, "I want off this island now!" it occurred to me that I strongly agreed. Zoinks! •

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