:GT Advance Championship Racing

GT Advance Championship Racing is a customizable experience, including 48 cars from 8 car manufacturers, and 32 courses. Some of the cars featured in the game are exclusively found in Asia, such as the first-generation Nissan Cube. The courses vary between paved and dirt roads, requiring the player to adapt their driving to meet the conditions of the course they're driving on.

The game's championship mode features four levels of play, three cups of varying levels, and two unlockable "extra" modes, "kart racing mode" (labelled as Extra 1), and "formula racing mode" (labelled as Extra 2).{{Cite web |date=8 August 2024 |title=3.5 Manual Scan.pdf |url=https://ia804708.us.archive.org/17/items/4-games-on-one-game-pack-gt-advance-moto-gp/3.5%20Manual%20Scan.pdf |access-date=8 August 2024 |pages=3–6 |type=Manual for 4 in one combination cartridge including item in question. |via=Archive.org}} Upgrades earned through gameplay can be added to the player's car, and in some cases, they can change the physical appearance of the vehicle. The game contains multiplayer support, allowing two people to play against each other using a Game Link Cable.

Controls are simple, with the A and B buttons controlling the player's gas and brakes respectively. The R and L buttons shift the car up or down a gear when set to manual control, and the D-Pad controls the car's steering. The game requires the player to master the powerslide technique to skid around corners and to reduce their lap time.

File:GT Advance Championship Racing GBA.png

The roads in the game are painted on a flat plane, which allows the game to progress at a smooth rate, but makes it harder for the player to see upcoming turns in the road. The problem can be remedied by playing through a track multiple times to gain familiarity with the turns in a course. The cars are rendered through sprite frames, giving the impression of 3D graphics in the game.

The Japanese version of the game, Advance GTA, had save support. However, THQ pulled the battery RAM out of the North American and European releases of the game, and utilized passwords to save data instead. The system forces players of the North American and European releases to enter a sixteen digit code consisting of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols into the game to retrieve their data. Many critics blamed THQ for what was perceived to be a cost-cutting measure. It was the only major change from the Japanese version of the game.

MTO began development on GT Advance Championship Racing about a year before the release of the game in Japan. The game was first announced in August 2000, under the name of Pocket GT Advance.{{cite web |last=Sato |first=Yukiyoshi Ike |date=August 18, 2000 |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pocket-gt-for-gba-announced/1100-2617380/ |title=Pocket GT for GBA announced |website=GameSpot |publisher=Fandom |access-date=March 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200825223810/https://www.gamespot.com/articles/pocket-gt-for-gba-announced/1100-2617380/ |archive-date=August 25, 2020 |url-status=live}} With the exception of a new password save system, tweaking was kept to a minimum for the North American version of the game. The choice was made in the Japanese version to use mostly English in the game so it would be playable outside Japan.

The Japanese version of the game, Advance GTA, was praised by critics and the anticipation for the North American and European releases of the game grew.{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Craig |date=April 11, 2001 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/04/11/gt-advance-championship-racing-2 |title=GT Advance Championship Racing (Preview) |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis |access-date=March 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315071342/https://www.ign.com/articles/2001/04/11/gt-advance-championship-racing-2 |archive-date=March 15, 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Delbart |first=John |date=April 11, 2001 |url=http://www.gamershell.com/news/788.html |title=GT Advance announced |website=GamersHell |access-date=February 13, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20041214055111/http://www.gamershell.com/news/788.html |archive-date=December 14, 2004}}{{cite web |last=Gerstmann |first=Jeff |date=March 22, 2001 |url=https://www.gamespot.com/articles/advance-gta-hands-on/1100-2700394/ |title=Advance GTA Hands-On |website=GameSpot |publisher=Fandom |access-date=February 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20010621170916/http://gamespot.com/gamespot/stories/previews/0,10869,2700394,00.html |archive-date=June 21, 2001 |url-status=live}} A reported bidding war between United States publishing companies to release the game in the US began after the positive feedback from the Japanese version. THQ later gained the publishing rights for the game's North American and European releases.

{{Video game reviews

| MC = 82 of 100

| Edge = 6 of 10{{cite magazine |author=Edge staff |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/e/e9/Edge_UK_098.pdf |title=Advance GTA |magazine=Edge |publisher=Future Publishing |issue=98 |date=June 2001 |page=79 |access-date=September 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210909231213/https://retrocdn.net/images/e/e9/Edge_UK_098.pdf |archive-date=September 9, 2021 |url-status=live}}

| EGM = 8.83 of 10{{cite magazine |last1=Sewart |first1=Greg |last2=Hager |first2=Dean |last3=Chou |first3=Che |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/e/ea/EGM_US_144.pdf |title=GT Advance Championship Racing |magazine=Electronic Gaming Monthly |publisher=Ziff Davis |issue=144 |date=July 2001 |page=94 |access-date=February 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230119023333/https://retrocdn.net/images/e/ea/EGM_US_144.pdf |archive-date=January 19, 2023 |url-status=live}}{{efn|In Electronic Gaming Monthly{{'}}s review of the game, two critics gave it each a score of 9/10, and the other gave it 8.5/10.}}

| EuroG = 7 of 10

| Fam = 26 of 40{{cite magazine |url=https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=12220&redirect=no |title=アドバンスGTA [GBA] |language=ja |magazine=Famitsu |publisher=Enterbrain |access-date=March 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200825223922/https://www.famitsu.com/cominy/?m=pc&a=page_h_title&title_id=12220&redirect=no |archive-date=August 25, 2020 |url-status=live}}

| GI = 6 of 10{{cite magazine |title=GT Advance Championship Racing |magazine=Game Informer |publisher=FuncoLand |issue=99 |date=July 2001}}

| GSpot = 7.3 of 10

| GSpy = 84%{{cite web |last=Hiscock |first=Josh |date=June 14, 2001 |url=http://www.sportplanet.com/features/reviews/gtadvance/ |title=Gt Advance Championship Racing Review |website=SportPlanet |publisher=IGN Entertainment |access-date=March 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030219141929/http://www.sportplanet.com/features/reviews/gtadvance/ |archive-date=February 19, 2003}}

| IGN = 8 of 10

| NGen = {{Rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine |url=https://archive.org/details/NextGen79Jul2001/page/n65/mode/2up |title=GT Advance Championship Racing |magazine=NextGen |publisher=Imagine Media |issue=79 |date=July 2001 |page=64 |access-date=September 1, 2022}}

| NP = {{Rating|4|5}}{{cite magazine |title=GT Advance Championship Racing |magazine=Nintendo Power |publisher=Nintendo of America |volume=146 |date=July 2001}}

}}

GT Advance Championship Racing received "favorable" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic. In Japan, Famitsu gave it a score of 26 out of 40.

Critics garnered praise for its overall gameplay, but the inclusion of a password save system by THQ into the North American and European releases was heavily criticized. IGN{{'}}s Craig Harris praised the high quality graphics engine and the entertaining powerslide system, but panned the password system. GameSpot called GT Advance as robust and graphically impressive racing game. Despite praising the gameplay, GameSpot recommended that players buy a Japanese import version of the game instead, since it was in English and included a battery save feature. Eurogamer wrote that even though GT Advance was hampered by passwords, it recommended the game for fans of racing genre. NextGen praised the selection of cars and tracks, and called the graphics and sound as "passable", but was critical that some tracks are short and that the game has issue with collision physics. Bro Buzz of GamePro said, "Despite the dents, GT Advance is a solid early contender in the handheld racing championship—just be sure to drive with the lights on."{{cite magazine |author=Bro Buzz |url=https://retrocdn.net/images/5/50/GamePro_US_155.pdf |title=GT Advance Championship Racing |magazine=GamePro |publisher=IDG |issue=155 |date=August 2001 |page=72 |access-date=February 16, 2024 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060319081050/http://www.gamepro.com/nintendo/gameboy_advance/games/reviews/14523.shtml |archive-date=March 19, 2006 |url-status=live}}{{efn|GamePro gave the game three 4/5 scores for graphics, control, and fun factor, and 3/5 for sound.}}

Responding to criticisms of the password save system, THQ later re-instated the battery save feature into the two sequels of the game, GT Advance 2: Rally Racing, and GT Advance 3: Pro Concept Racing.{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Craig |date=June 18, 2002 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/06/18/gt-advance-2-races-to-shelves |title=GT Advance 2 Races to Shelves |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis |access-date=March 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180104074622/https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/06/18/gt-advance-2-races-to-shelves |archive-date=January 4, 2018 |url-status=live}}{{cite web |last=Harris |first=Craig |date=November 26, 2002 |url=https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/11/26/gt-advance-3 |title=GT Advance 3 (Preview) |website=IGN |publisher=Ziff Davis |access-date=March 12, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180315071028/https://www.ign.com/articles/2002/11/26/gt-advance-3 |archive-date=March 15, 2018 |url-status=live}}

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Category:2001 video games

Category:Game Boy Advance games

Category:Game Boy Advance-only games

Category:MTO (video game company) games

Category:Multiplayer and single-player video games

Category:Racing video games

Category:THQ games

Category:Video games developed in Japan