Passable RPG action for the GBA.
The game presents you with a fairly standard story -- you are the son/daughter of a famous Craftlord, and you must prove yourself to be of equal or greater prowess. In what field? Making weapons, of course, then slaying monsters with these weapons. A lot of monsters.
Such is how much of Summon Night plays out: you are given a new weapon "recipe" by somebody, and must go down into the labyrinth to slay enough monsters and find enough chests to get material required to make the new gear. After that, you head into the arena to fight against a fellow Craftknight, and the process repeats.
At least the battle system is somewhat entertaining. Monsters are drawn with detail and the main character is shown as a childlike anime knight wielding a massive axe, drill, or whatever weapon you choose to arm yourself with. These battles play out in a side-scrolling real-time fashion -- you can run back and forth, attacking your enemies, blocking their hits, and calling in support magic from your Guardian Beast, who accompanies you through the game. This magic isn't particularly useful early on, but it gets better. However, the system is difficult to use while fending off your foes, and often takes a backseat to hacking monsters to ribbons.
Summon Night really does focus a lot on battles and it shows in other aspects of the game. While the sprite-based art for the battle sequences is good, that of the overhead world is bland, with objects seeming to blend into the background. Add to that the generic nature of the world and you have a setting that isn't very pretty. The sounds may be worse, with the town music in particular being quite jarring.
While the game is fairly short and isn't terribly original while it lasts, it is fun. The weapon system gives a sense of accomplishment at finally making that new sword, which is slightly diminished when you are given the instructions for an even better one. Even so, the game's lighthearted plot, easy and fun combat, and replayability make it a worthy purchase for anyone looking for a good RPG for the Game Boy Advance.