Zatch Bell on the GBA: A Fighting Game the West Never Got
Zatch Bell! began as Makoto Raiku's manga, which ran in Weekly Shonen Sunday from 2001 to 2007, and grew into a 150-episode anime. Its core idea, human partners using spell books to unleash their mamodo companions' powers, suits a fighting game well. Konjiki no Gash Bell!! Unare! Yujo no Zakeru 2 is the second such game on the Game Boy Advance, a 2D fighter released in Japan in December 2004.
At a glance
- Based on: the Konjiki no Gash!! manga and anime
- Created by: published by the Bandai group; English fan translation by SuperrSonic
- Released: December 2004 (Japan)
- Genre: 2D fighting
- What sets it apart: a cancelled Western release, now readable in English
The cancelled Western version
The first game in the line did reach North America as Zatch Bell! Electric Arena. For this sequel, a North American release was planned under the name Zatch Bell! Electric Arena 2, but the localisation was cancelled for reasons that were never explained. That left it as a Japanese cartridge for the rest of its life.
The fan translation
An English patch by SuperrSonic is listed at version 1.0, last updated on 28 December 2023. This cartridge carries a fan translation, so the story battles and the head-to-head versus mode can be played with English text.