If you were like me and grew up when the Lord of the Rings films came out, then you are probably already fully aware of the treasure trove of video games that followed it. From the Gameboy Advance, to the PlayStation 2, to the PC, Tolkien fans were in a golden age of Middle Earth. And it wasn’t just hack-and-slash games as you’d expect. Oh no, there was a wide variety of genres graced by the ever expansive world of Tolkien’s masterpiece. There was anything from RPGs to hardcore strategy games scratching any itch that you could have as a fan of the greatest fandom ever created.

However, we’re not here to talk about Lord of the Rings. We’re here to talk about the prelude to the famous trilogy. A story that follows a Hobbit on a quest for adventure and bountiful treasure. Yes, that’s right. We’re talking about The Hobbit. More specifically, the version released for the Gameboy Advance!

Right off the bat, players are taken to the cozy hills of the Shire, the homeland of the Hobbits of Middle Earth. Here, we are introduced to the game’s protagonist, Bilbo Baggins, who wants nothing more than to just eat snacks all day and smoke pipe weed. Sounds like my kind of life, excluding the fantasy version of tobacco, of course, ’cause that’s kind of gross. Players are given the opportunity to explore Bilbo’s rather large house (Hobbit Hole), which is such a spitting image of the novel from which the source material came. Frankly, I probably spent way too much time just wandering around his house and the Shire as a whole. It’s a happy place sort of thing.

Anyone who is slightly familiar with anything fantasy pretty much knows what happens next. “I’m going on an adventure!” Heck yeah you are Bilbo, and we’re coming with you. We’re going on an adventure that revolutionized the fantasy genre and made it what it is today.

The gameplay for the GBA version of the Hobbit leans more towards stealth rather than combat, as mentioned earlier. It makes sense, though, because how on earth is a 4 foot tall Hobbit going to take on Goblins and Orcs? The stealth gameplay is actually done super well and is very refreshing compared to the usual hack and slash nature of most Middle Earth games. Especially when you get the Ring. Yes, that Ring. Being able to slip through levels completely unseen is an absolute treat when backtracking through levels.

Something else of note that I thought was interesting is the style of RPG it is. I think I played too many of the Lord of the Rings games on the Gamecube that I was expecting a small leveling system like most standard RPGs. It was a system that was noticeably absent during the early part of my play through, but after a while, it was actually quite nice to not worry about level grinding and assigning skill points. If I had to compare it to anything, I would say that the gameplay is very similar to that of a Legend of Zelda for its focus on exploration and puzzle solving. This was by no means a bad thing.

Now, there were ways to increase Bilbo’s stats in the form of acquiring runes. There are health runes that increase health, strength runes to do a little more damage, you get the picture. These are acquired by either finding them by exploring off the main path and by completing some very simple mini games. Again, this is very Zelda(ish), and you can certainly see the influences here, which, again, is not a bad thing at all. If you discover a winning formula, why change it?

If you’re a lover of all things Middle Earth, then I can not recommend this more. It’s such a blast to follow a faithful adaptation of the novel in the palm of your hand. Even if you’re not too familiar with the lore of Tolkein, then any lover of fantasy adventure will have a great time with this little gem. You can grab this on most trusted Roms sites, or I’ve seen it readily available at several retro game stores if you have a GBA!   

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