Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of my all-time favorite TV shows! It has flawed but relatable characters, an unsettling war to resolve, elemental bending, an OP Avatar State, hints of romance, one of the best character arcs in cartoon history (Zuko), and so much more! I would never pass on the chance to play a video game related to Avatar the Last Airbender. That’s what led me to talk about the game today.
The Burning Earth was released in 2007. The video game takes place during the events of the show’s second season, Book Two: Earth. Depending on the mission, you are able to play as Aang, Katara, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Iroh, Momo, and Jet. There are a variety of enemies from the show that you will encounter, including firebenders, Dai Li agents, and sandbenders.
Avatar the Last Airbender Game Summary
Similar to the six chapters in season 2 of the show, Team Avatar will start the game off fighting General Fong. Aang ultimately needs to use the Avatar State to be victorious. Aang and company go to Omashu to search for King Bumi. Met by force from Azula, Mai, Ty Lee, and Zuko, Team Avatar flees Omashu. The team was disappointed that King Bumi chose to stay captured. Flying to their next destination, they end up in a swamp. Appa is entangled in vines while the team searches for him. Aang and Katara defeat the swamp monster entangling Appa, who turned out to be a man waterbending the swamp. He tells Aang that the entire swamp is connected and to place his hand on the tree. Aang sees visions of the drill heading for Ba Sing Se and the girl that would be his earthbending master.
Team Avatar’s Earth Master, Toph
Visiting the city where the girl lives, Team Avatar learns that her name is Toph. She is blind and born into a noble and respected family. Her family closely sheltered her to the confines of their home, refraining her from participating in outside activities since she was blind. Toph, annoyed by her family, runs away with Team Avatar to be free of the four inner walls she believes to be a prison. The next destination is Wan Shi Tong’s library which is in a desert. Wan Shi Tong is a creepy and wise owl that has an obsession with books and knowledge.
Sinking Library
The owl hears the team is using the solstice map to gain an advantage over the Fire Nation, and in his hate for humans using knowledge for war, Wan Shi Tong sinks the library into the sand. While Toph is busy doing what she can to hold the library above the surface for the rest of the gang to escape, a group of sandbenders show up and capture Appa. Once they are safe on the surface again, Katara calms Aang out of a brief moment of the Avatar State due to the disappearance of his lifelong friend, Appa.
Earth Kingdom Ba Sing Se
After searching the desert for days, the team finds no sign of Appa and sadly travels to Ba Sing Se to warn the Earth king about the solstice. Zuko and Iroh are living as refugees of the Earth kingdom in Ba Sing Se at this time. They happen to find Appa beneath Lake Laogai and set him free. Iroh says that they have done a good deed, but Zuko doesn’t know how he feels. While Iroh and Zuko were rescuing Appa, Aang and Jet duke it out with the commander of the Dai Li agents, Long Feng. Long Feng lands a surprise attack on Jet and flees. Katara isn’t able to heal Jet’s wound, and he dies in her arms.
Fire Nation Drill Attack
The drill chapter begins in the Earth King’s chamber, with Aang rejoicing in finding Appa. The Earth King reveals that Long Feng is to be under arrest and the Dai Li are finished. Katara warns him about the drill in Aang’s vision and agrees to help in the city’s defense. During the ongoing battle between Ba Sing Se and the Drill, Aang and Katara confront Azula on top of the drill. Azula is impressed by how Aang’s skills have improved. Zuko joins Azula in the battle.
Katara is in a state of shock, believing that Zuko had changed. Aang and Katara manage to defeat Zuko and Azula. Aang destroys the drill and won a great battle against the Fire Nation. Back in the Earth King’s chamber, Toph warns the king that they know about the upcoming eclipse, which removes the Fire Nation’s ability to bend. Aang flaunts his mastery of water and earth, in which Katara and Toph shoot him with their respective elements. Team Avatar laughs to bring an end to season two.
Avatar the Last Airbender Burning Earth Game Reputation
People talk about playing The Burning Earth for a lot of days as a kid. You can beat the game and find all collectibles within 4 hours, so either our minds are playing tricks on us, or we really loved beating the snot out of Dai Li jerks and the Fire Nation. The original voice actors in the show also voiced the game characters. The Xbox 360 version earned the reputation as the easiest game to complete all the achievements. The Burning Earth only has five achievements, and 1,000 Gamerscore is in your pocket by only playing a few short minutes in the first level. Yes, I did it too. It’s irresistible! Check out my full list of games that I have earned all achievements for by clicking here.
Remake Needed for Avatar the Last Airbender Series
In the modern era of gaming, remakes are being considered left and right, like the controversial decision by Sony to remake The Last of Us. Although I remain neutral in the decision, I do have a list of video games that deserve remakes too. The Last Airbender series is on the list.
Spellbreak’s art style is what I have in mind when thinking about an Avatar the Last Airbender remake. Unreal Engine, Unity, GameMaker, and other game engines have the resources to pull off amazing artwork, visual effects, combat mechanics, and other minor details for a game like this. The combat could go in any direction since we would control water, air, earth, fire, Avatar state, and combinations of the elements.
Rise to Honor Influence
Jet Li’s Rise to Honor is one of the only games I have played that uses the control stick as your main attack button, and it synced so well with the martial art style represented in the game that I imagine that same mechanic to be the fighting style in an Avatar remake. Holding down combinations of LB (fire), RB (water), LT (earth), RT (air) while striking with the analog stick would be awesome because you would be able to feel the elemental power coursing through your thumb as you dish out a wide variety of combo attacks. Combat designers who worked on Devil May Cry and Bayonetta, please make this dream come true if there’s ever an inkling of an Avatar The Last Airbender remake.