Scooby Doo and the Mystery, Inc. crew have, like, a groovy mystery to solve at this really far out, creepy hotel! Ghosts are haunting the premises, and the guests are threatening to leave unless something's done to exorcise the ghosts - fortunately, ghosts are the Mystery, Inc.'s specialty.

Scooby Doo is a linear adventure that unfolds over levels laid out as chapters. Players will need to collect clues, health and stamina regenerating items, and other objects, plus reach certain goals. These items and goals are listed during the course of the game, and can be referred to again if needed. All these items are for the most part laying around in plain sight for easy pickup, but the dark screen makes some of these items hard to see. Each chapter is laid out in a maze-like environment, which requires a lot of walking around looking for things, but don't worry about getting lost, there's a handy map function which shows the player's exact location at all times. There are also four mini-games that can be played at any time, to earn tokens which can be redeemed for more stamina or health.

In the beginning, only Scooby Doo and Shaggy are available as characters, but Velma, Fred and Daphne are added later during the course of the game. Each character has a specific talent: Scooby Doo and Shaggy are fast runners, Velma is the brain teaser specialist, Fred can lift heavy items and fight, while Daphne is a mean, fighting machine! Scooby Doo and Shaggy are the best choices for the first chapters, because they move faster and can run away from the vicious rats patrolling many of the hotel's rooms, but later chapters will often require Daphne or Fred to fight off the many ghosts lurking around. Each time a character is attacked, their health and stamina meters are affected, requiring "refueling" by using food items found scattered around, or by redeeming tokens at Dead Mike's restaurant. Unfortunately, only when in the hotel levels will the restaurants be available where they can be redeemed.

Scooby Doo is modeled after the recent movie, not the cartoon series - for example, Daphne is now a martial arts expert with a bad attitude, seems like she's been harboring years of resentment at her depiction as the helpless, vapid femme fatale of the bunch, and now is using those boots for more than walking. Fred is also not afraid to get in touch with his more physical side, and can mete out some mean punishment to ghosts. Shaggy and Scooby Doo are much the same as before, and rate running away as their best defense. Enemies for the most part are not too tough to beat, but the problem is that most encounters will rapidly deplete health meters, which in some levels is hard to replenish as the restaurants aren't around and the found food items quickly run out. Once the health meter is empty, the game has to be started over at the last automatic save point.

The mini-games are all fun to play, and are designed well, except for the dark screen present in Repair the Pipes, which makes it almost impossible to see where the pipes need to be placed. Sometimes the mini-games have to be played to advance in the game, but mostly they're just for recreation.

Graphically speaking, this is the darkest game I've ever encountered on the GBA, and I don't mean philosophically! The incredibly dark screen made it a chore to see the characters and backgrounds. The only place I could see the game with any degree of comfort was perched on top of my bathroom sink countertop, with the many lights around the mirror. My little worm light just wasn't cutting it for this game. At one point early in the game, the next step was obvious, Fred was supposed to find and move a pile of debris; unfortunately, I had a most difficult time finding this pile of debris because of the dark screen. The backgrounds are nicely drawn with a large amount of detail, but again, it's kinda hard to see them unless under a strong light source.

This is an adventure game, which means there will be lots of wandering around looking for items. The map helps players keep track, but the maze-like levels still mean plenty of backtracking. The puzzles and inventory items are easy to find and solve for the most part, once the correct location has been accessed. Fighting is mostly easy, but some of the ghosts are a bit more tricky and throw things, which can quickly deplete a character's health before he or she can get close enough to deliver some punishment of his or her own.

I really enjoyed playing this game despite the squinting eyes, as I'm a big adventure game fan and like finding inventory items to solve puzzles. The fighting isn't too hard, which is good for players like me, but not very challenging for some. This laid back approach is great for kids, and adults who don't want a "fist fest". The silly one-liners are amusing, and add to the game's atmosphere. A good choice for players looking for a traditional adventure game on the GBA, but I strongly suggest a good source of added light, other than a worm light.

Graphics: 7 
Like, dark, man - way too dark!

Sound: 7
The sound is reminiscent of the cartoon and the movie.

Concept: 7.5 
There aren't a whole lot of adventure type games for the GBA, and this one is decently done.

Overall: 7.4
An amusing game for adventure fans, but one that requires lots of wandering around, which can be tiring. The fighting is fairly easy, which is a plus or minus, depending on taste. Older kids will enjoy this game, as well as adults.