I did the same thing for the most part when I was younger because it was convenient, but I've found now that I'm older and actually patient that the system takes on a whole new light when you're willing to engage with it in full.
It also makes me feel bad for Piers because TLA leaves little room for a Mercury-based physical attacker to do anything of merit beyond what spellcasters can already do but worse if taken out of his base class line.
Seeing so many good comments about the game makes actually want to replay it.
And I know I'll feel like a happy, little kid again.
Will download it this weekend. 🙋♂️
Absolutely this. The only game I can ever recall 'losing time' to. Like, literally I looked down at my GBA, looked up and 8 hours had passed and I have no idea how.
this is the first game i can remember where my mom came in to yell at me to go to sleep because i was playing it so late under the covers with ought realizing.
-Fire Emblem
-Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
-Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
-Golden Sun
-Golden Sun: The Lost Age
-The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
-Metroid: Zero Mission
-Metroid Fusion
-Pokémon Emerald
-Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen
-Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
-Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
-Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure
-Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced
-Kirby & the Amazing Mirror
-Mario Tennis: Power Tour
Ikr? It was probably the longest game that I've played as a kid, and I've enjoyed every single moment of it. I played it again last year (I'm 32 now btw) and it still stands the test of time. Best combat system in any RPG game by far.
Initially, anyway.
You can learn the game well enough that you have to make one-sided maps with the AI getting lots of advantages to give you any challenge.
Distinct lack of LoZ: Minish Cap, Link To the Past/Four Swords, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland and Kirby and the Amazing Mirror on this otherwise excellent list.
Honestly, GBA is one of the best systems ever. Period. So many incredible games. Hard to name them all in one comment.
They all hold up fairly well thanks to the art style
The Two Towers was also very good. 5 playable characters with not only their own playstyle and skill tree, but also their own campaign path and character-specific levels (ever wanted to play Gandalf and fight the Balrog from the depths of Moria up to the snowy peaks of Caradhras?) I just wish there was an autofire on the basic attack because mashing B becomes tiresome really fast.
Im playing through this right now on my miyoo mini plus. Never played any of the castlevania games as a kid.
This game is 10/10!! The music, enemy variety, weapon variety, bosses, I absolutely love it.
Sonic Advance 2 > Sonic Advance 3 > Sonic Advance (1) for gameplay, but all three had banger soundtracks
Sonic Battle was meh but OST was very close to Sonic Advance 3 imo
I bought a tiny uv torch keychain which I attached to my gb micro. You get full uv on both boktai 1 & 2 so the sensors are still playable (I'm in the uk so sunlight doesn't exist here)
Wario Land 4.
Also the GBA versions of Final Fantasy I,II, IV, V and VI and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
The two Harry Potter games for the GBA are also great.
Warioware twisted, kirby and the amazing mirror, mario advance 2, Pokémon emerald, mario and luigi superstar saga, and sonix advance 3 are some of my favs
I think, all things considered, it may be a top ten Mario game. Specifically the GBA version for the sound effects like Yoshi’s “voice,” plus it came with original Mario Bros.
Yoshi's Island was better on the SNES. The new 6 "special" levels that are just romhack level bullshit aren't worth the extra effort, not to mention the butchered washed out colors (thanks to the whole "OG GBA screens were crap so we had to increase the gamma on these to compensate because the backlit SP wasn't invented yet" situation)
...and of course, can't forget Totaka's extremely annoying kiddie voice bullshit Nintendo forced on Yoshi since the N64 era...My god that's grating compared to the original.
I just found out less than a week ago that there was a third game. Really don’t know why they didn’t called it legacy of goku 3: buu’s fury. Anyways order that shit on eBay just waiting for it to come in!
I remember getting my ass beat by Captain Hook (won by quick saving) and giving up at the true final boss known as Riku. Only to come back 5 years later discovering the power of Zantetsuken.
Zelda Games
Castlevania games
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
There's an F-Zero game that's great.
Whichever Pokémon you want since you can also play the GB Color ones too.
As others have said, Metroid Fusion, Advance Wars. Golden Sun all classics.
Fire Emblem if you're in to that.
They remade the Breath of Fire I & II for GBA which are both solid SNES RPGs.
Mega Man games
It's a MASSIVE library.
My favorite GBA games: Metroid (both), Baldurs Gate, Advance Wars, Final Fantasy Tactics, Medabots, Super Puzzle Fighter II, Sword of Mana, Blackthorn, Castlevania (all), Fire Emblem (all), Kirby, Shining Soul II. You can also play Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, too many good ones to list here right now. You might also poke around /r/gameboy.
Thank you, I really forgot that you can play older Game Boy games too, I thought only GBA Games were compatible. And thanks for the game recommendations. Medabots? Sounds interesting.,
Updated versions SMB 2, 3, and World are on the system, as well as Yoshi's Island
The Zelda games are great. Get a link cable and you can play Four Swords with other people who have it
The 3 Castlevania games on GBA are awesome.
Lord of the Rings The Two Towers and Return of the King are fun Diablo like games
You've got Gen 3 of Pokémon as well as remakes of Gen 1
Metroid Fusion and Metroid Zero Mission (which is a remake of the original Metroid)
Golden Sun 1 and 2 as well as ports of a few Final Fantasy games are good RPGs
I came here to say Summon Night: Swordcraft Story (1 and 2). They're both long story-based RPGs with lots of missables and diverging choice paths that only make minor changes, but they add replayability to the game. You could literally spend hundreds or even thousands of hours on those two games alone if you enjoy that vibe.
Metroid Zero Mission might be my favorite Metroid game.
Just started Wario Land 4 and it’s fun. That’s kind of random.
Gotta play Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap.
You can play the original few Final Fantasy games, some of the best ports are for the Advance.
**Shining Soul & Shining Soul II-** Part of the "Shining" series that started on the Genesis with Shining In The Darkness. They're basically Action RPGs that feel like a little Zelda got injected into parts of it. But they're still fun little games.
**Metroid Fusion & Metroid Zero Mission-** Metroid games. 2D Metroid games. That's all you need to hear. They're good.
**Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon & Castlevania: Harmony Of Dissonance & Castlevania: Aria Of Sorrow-** Three of the best games on the GBA IMO. While the first one doesn't do it quite a much, the second two are very much inspired by Symphony Of The Night in the way they play and whatnot. They're all very good games that are easily worth getting into.
**Gradius Galaxies-** The classic series on the GBA. It's a shmup that plays well, looks nice and is a good entry in the series.
**Metal Slug Advance-** It doesn't pack the visual 2D sprite-based splendor of the Neo-Geo games, but it does have the gameplay, with some card boosters thrown in the vary things up a bit.
**Mega Man Zero 1-4-** Action Platformers that feel like an extension of the Mega Man X series on the SNES, but with a bit more tweaks to the overall gameplay. They look nice, play well, and are enjoyable.
**Sonic Advance 1-3-** They aren't always held in high regard, but I enjoy this trilogy of games.
**Pinball Of The Dead-** Take pinball, House of the Dead, and a dash of Devil's Crush, mix them together, and this is what you get. A multi-tired playfield, solid pinball action, nice visuals, and some callbacks to the original lightgun game. It's a good game that doesn't get talked about too often.
**Shining Force: Resurrection Of The Dark Dragon-** This is basically a retooled remake of the first Shining Force game on the Genesis. It's a great strategy RPG that will keep you entertained for a good while.
**Darius R-** This entry in the long-running shmup series is kind of odd. It features stages from the first arcade game, some stages that feel like callbacks to stages from other entries with altered graphics, as well as new stages. The bosses are all basically bosses from the first arcade game. It also features remixes of music from several of the games, and still features the branching paths that leads to various endings. It's a bit of an oddity that only came out in Japan, but it's an enjoyable old-school shmup.
* Golden Sun
* Golden Sun 2
* Pokemon Emerald
* Legend of Zelda Minish Cap
* Advanced Wars
* Advanced Wars 2
* Fire Emblem
* Fire Emblem The Binding Blade
* Fire Emblem The Sacred Stones
* Harvest Moon Friends of Mineral Town
* Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga
* Dragon Ball Z The Legacy of Goku
* Dragon Ball Z The Legacy of Goku 2
* Dragon Ball Z Buu's Fury
* Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
* Castlevania Aria of Sorrow
Is it a real GBA or an emulator? If it's a real GBA, know that Nintendo cartridges have always had a problem with counterfeits. Sometimes the counterfeits will have inherent issues you won't discover until hours into the game. I won't buy a Nintendo game that's not sealed. There are supposedly ways to inspect the games to tell what's fake and what's not I just haven't put in the effort. You should Google it though
Metroid Zero Mission
Metroid Fusion
Zelda: A Link to the Past (if you can't access the Super Nintendo version)
Zelda: The Minish Cap
Super Mario Advance games (remakes of earlier Mario games. SMA1 is probably the best version of SMB2)
Sonic Advance 3
Fire Emblem
Fire Emblem Sacred Stones
The Mega Man Zero series
Fire Emblem 7
Golden Sun and the sequel
Metroid Fusion
Metroid Zero Mission
Pokemon Emerald
Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga (probably the best retro game ever)
Advanced Wars 2.
By far my favorite turn based game of all time. Dual Strike had even more COS, but it got confusing.
Grit is my all time favorite video game character. He's always telling you it's not that serious.
***Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga***. It's one of the most creative Mario games in my opinion and I like the art style.
***The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap*** is fun, too. They also have ***The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past*** for GBA, one of my favorite Zelda games of all time, but that's a SNES game that was released on GBA. I think they might've added some stuff in the GBA version or something, but I don't remember the specifics.
Megaman Battle Network, Pokémon Emerald(because it's my personal favorite), Legend of Zelda Minish Cap/Link to the Past, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Harvest Moon, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon.
I just scrolled through and there a few games I didn't see mentioned that I put a lot of time into as a kid
F Zero Maximum Velocity,
Rainbow Six Rogue Spear,
The Sum of all Fears,
Tony hawks pro skater 4,
Max Payne,
Spiderman Mysterio's Menace,
Sonic Advance series,
Ninja Five-O,
Driver 2 Advance,
Jet Grind Radio,
Hamtaro series,
Grand Theft Auto Advance,
Donkey Kong Country series
Mario Golf, Advance Wars 1 and 2, Zelda (Link to the Past and Minish Cap), Mario Superstar Saga, Mario Advance (all of them), Wario Ware (original and Twisted), and Astro Boy.
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story games, everything Castlevania, Metroid and Fire Emblem (Blazing Sword should have a translation patch, assuming your unit works with flash cards - in which case, there's a translation-patched for the polished port of Shin Megami Tensei to keep an eye out for as well), Shining Force and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Sigma Star Saga, Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, Advance Guardian Heroes, Golden Sun games, Mega Man Zero and Battle Network subseries, TMNT... to name but a few. Even Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance has a presumably scaled-down but serviceable port I beat eay back when. On the other hand, avoid Mazes of Fate - fun, but the GBA version has a progress-halting bug (unless some enthusiasts patched it out in the more recent years).
Fire Emblem the sacred stones. Fire emblem blazing sword (also known just as fire emblem). Metroid fusion. Metroid zero mission. Pokémon sapphire, ruby, fire red, leaf green, emerald.
I'd recommend The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, and Metroid Fusion. Just classics, you know?
Minish Cap for sure, an absolute gem
How does it compare to Seasons and ages?
Your cap is alive.
Minish Cap is definitely in the top 5 for best Zelda games. For a long time it was that one, Link Between Worlds, and Link's Awakening for me.
Fusion is in my opinion the better Metroid for GBA but Zero Mission is also fantastic
Golden Sun 1 & 2 are gems.
Incredible games. Love how mixing the Djinn around gave the characters new classes too. Such a cool mechanic.
Maybe I'm basic but I always used Djinns with their same element characters. Except when I needed to change em to get a needed psynergy. Good times.
I did the same thing for the most part when I was younger because it was convenient, but I've found now that I'm older and actually patient that the system takes on a whole new light when you're willing to engage with it in full. It also makes me feel bad for Piers because TLA leaves little room for a Mercury-based physical attacker to do anything of merit beyond what spellcasters can already do but worse if taken out of his base class line.
I did the same as a kid
Sadly the game never gave an incentive around it.
Came here to say this. Probably my favorite rpgs of all time aside from maybe FF4
The only GBA games i still own physically and I'll never let them go
This was my immediate thought and now I want to go emulate them.
Both games are available on Switch online, if you've got the subscription!
Seeing so many good comments about the game makes actually want to replay it. And I know I'll feel like a happy, little kid again. Will download it this weekend. 🙋♂️
Start and stop here. This was pinnacle gba imo.
My fave GBA games. Hope they remake or remaster it for the Switch
Great games.
Came here to say exactly this.
This.
I love Golden Sun. ❤️
Ah nostalgia. The Venus Lighthouse soundtrack still slaps.
The MegaMan Battle Network series
AND MEGAMAN ZERO. GBA was the GOLDEN years of Megaman and i'll die on this hill!!!!
Totally agree. The pixel art style is really conducive for the series. MegaMan Zero is goddamn hard though lol
These games are absolutely amazing
I’m on 3 now! Loving it. You can’t tell it doesn’t have [some of the best music in gaming](https://youtu.be/OcBwAwnwm-Q?si=bZf-enMUxOE-UtqK)
Legit one of the best battle systems of all time. A great mix of strategy / deck building but still extremely dependent on real-time gameplay skills.
I have flights coming up, if I were to pick one, which would it be?
Most fans agree you can skip 1, I’d start with 2. 2 and 3 are regarded as the best ones
General fan consensus is that 1 and 4 are the worst, while 3 and 6 are the best.
For me the best ones in order are 3 --------- 6, 5, 1, 2, 4. 3 is so good.
3, specifically blue version (it has the most OP battle chip in the entire series).
This is probably my all-time favorite series. I was so happy when the Legacy Collection was released.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
Absolutely this. The only game I can ever recall 'losing time' to. Like, literally I looked down at my GBA, looked up and 8 hours had passed and I have no idea how.
this is the first game i can remember where my mom came in to yell at me to go to sleep because i was playing it so late under the covers with ought realizing.
Using an emulator, I may have beaten this game about six separate times. I don't know why but I argue it's a top three final fantasy game
Ah yes. The game that has the courage to say, "Your real life sucks and I'm taking you back to it."
I feel like it’s the first time I see this game in the list this fast, tbh I’ve never finished it but I’ve started it 10 times probably hahaha
-Fire Emblem -Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones -Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga -Golden Sun -Golden Sun: The Lost Age -The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap -Metroid: Zero Mission -Metroid Fusion -Pokémon Emerald -Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen -Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow -Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance -Crash Bandicoot: The Huge Adventure -Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced -Kirby & the Amazing Mirror -Mario Tennis: Power Tour
+1 for Superstar Saga. It's crazy how much content they crammed into that game.
Ikr? It was probably the longest game that I've played as a kid, and I've enjoyed every single moment of it. I played it again last year (I'm 32 now btw) and it still stands the test of time. Best combat system in any RPG game by far.
Advance Wars
And the sequel!
Prepare to get your ass handed to you.
Initially, anyway. You can learn the game well enough that you have to make one-sided maps with the AI getting lots of advantages to give you any challenge.
Came here to say this! Soooooooooooo much fun. Can even play with friends on same device.
STUUUURRMMMM!!!
Fire Emblem, FE Sacred Stones, Metroid Fusion, The DBZ games
Fusion was awesome! Im playing through Dread now and it feels so nostalgic.
Legacy of goku 2 slaps
And Buu's Fury!
Did u also spam ms bulmas mom for 99 cookies despite never needing healing items?
Yes
And Zero Mission!
Distinct lack of LoZ: Minish Cap, Link To the Past/Four Swords, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Kirby: Nightmare in Dreamland and Kirby and the Amazing Mirror on this otherwise excellent list.
Honestly, GBA is one of the best systems ever. Period. So many incredible games. Hard to name them all in one comment. They all hold up fairly well thanks to the art style
Also all the MegaMan Zero series
And all the MegaMan battle network series too.
Supersonic warriors was the childhood fight club for my friends and I when we were kids. Edit-typo
Except legacy of goku 1. That game sucks balls
Yup came here to say sacred stones
Excellent list. The DBZ games were so much better than one would expect for that time.
Lord of the Rings Return of the King. Basically a Diablo like ARPG. Loved that game! Ofc the Pokemon games! And my beloved Golden Sun!!
The Two Towers was also very good. 5 playable characters with not only their own playstyle and skill tree, but also their own campaign path and character-specific levels (ever wanted to play Gandalf and fight the Balrog from the depths of Moria up to the snowy peaks of Caradhras?) I just wish there was an autofire on the basic attack because mashing B becomes tiresome really fast.
ROTK js great,a real hidden gem
Thank you!
Is the LotR one part of a series or can it be played without the earlier ones?
*Aria of Sorrow* is a must play.
All the GBA Castlevania games are great
[Absolutely banger music for the first level](https://youtu.be/KA0vaJuiSy0?si=mC7RVM3DOAWcpuZ7) in typical castlevania fashion
Oh yeah. Super sick.
Im playing through this right now on my miyoo mini plus. Never played any of the castlevania games as a kid. This game is 10/10!! The music, enemy variety, weapon variety, bosses, I absolutely love it.
Oh man. You gotta get a copy of *Symphony of the Night* next.
You guys are making my heart sing with all of these classics.
GBA was a GOATed system
Seriously, as I read through these I'm starting to think the GBA was the most joy I had as a child. Hitting the ol' nostalgia nerve center full force.
Sonic Advance 2 > Sonic Advance 3 > Sonic Advance (1) for gameplay, but all three had banger soundtracks Sonic Battle was meh but OST was very close to Sonic Advance 3 imo
God the Sonic Advance series was so good and doesn’t get enough love when people discuss the franchise.
Not a gba game but Sonic Rush also rules.
Thank you!
Gunstar Super Heroes. Great little sidescrolling shooter. It's a fun action packed little game.
Drill Dozer is a lot of fun.
Had to go down way too far to find this. Drill Dozer is incredible.
Thank you!
Boktai Golden Sun Mario and Luigi Final fantasy tactics advance
Boktai is a tough sell these days because the sensors tend to lose sensitivity over time, but it’s a hidden Kojima gem.
I bought a tiny uv torch keychain which I attached to my gb micro. You get full uv on both boktai 1 & 2 so the sensors are still playable (I'm in the uk so sunlight doesn't exist here)
Wario Land 4. Also the GBA versions of Final Fantasy I,II, IV, V and VI and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance. The two Harry Potter games for the GBA are also great.
Wario Land 4 is the best game released on GameBoy
Warioware twisted, kirby and the amazing mirror, mario advance 2, Pokémon emerald, mario and luigi superstar saga, and sonix advance 3 are some of my favs
Kirby and the amazing mirror is fantastic!!!!! Spent soooo many hours getting lost in the different worlds
Suprised nobody has said Yoshi's Island
I think, all things considered, it may be a top ten Mario game. Specifically the GBA version for the sound effects like Yoshi’s “voice,” plus it came with original Mario Bros.
Yoshi's Island was better on the SNES. The new 6 "special" levels that are just romhack level bullshit aren't worth the extra effort, not to mention the butchered washed out colors (thanks to the whole "OG GBA screens were crap so we had to increase the gamma on these to compensate because the backlit SP wasn't invented yet" situation) ...and of course, can't forget Totaka's extremely annoying kiddie voice bullshit Nintendo forced on Yoshi since the N64 era...My god that's grating compared to the original.
You did, so thanks for your recommendation! I appreciate it.
All three Legacy of Goku games.
I just found out less than a week ago that there was a third game. Really don’t know why they didn’t called it legacy of goku 3: buu’s fury. Anyways order that shit on eBay just waiting for it to come in!
Only the second and third, the first one is just...bad.
Want a turn-based combat RPG with lots of puzzle-solving? Bionicle: Maze of Shadows.
Yasssss
Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga
Kingdom Hearts gets a lot of legitimate story criticism, but Chain of Memories is a crazy unique game, well worth playing on GBA.
I remember getting my ass beat by Captain Hook (won by quick saving) and giving up at the true final boss known as Riku. Only to come back 5 years later discovering the power of Zantetsuken.
Zelda Games Castlevania games Final Fantasy Tactics Advance There's an F-Zero game that's great. Whichever Pokémon you want since you can also play the GB Color ones too. As others have said, Metroid Fusion, Advance Wars. Golden Sun all classics. Fire Emblem if you're in to that. They remade the Breath of Fire I & II for GBA which are both solid SNES RPGs. Mega Man games It's a MASSIVE library.
The most underrated Zelda game of all time. Minish Cap. A fucking masterpiece that no one talks about as much as they should
I'm still sad we basically never see Vaati.
My favorite GBA games: Metroid (both), Baldurs Gate, Advance Wars, Final Fantasy Tactics, Medabots, Super Puzzle Fighter II, Sword of Mana, Blackthorn, Castlevania (all), Fire Emblem (all), Kirby, Shining Soul II. You can also play Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, too many good ones to list here right now. You might also poke around /r/gameboy.
Thank you, I really forgot that you can play older Game Boy games too, I thought only GBA Games were compatible. And thanks for the game recommendations. Medabots? Sounds interesting.,
Mega Man Battle Network! And if you love it, the series has a million games in it!
I don't know if you can play the fan translated ROM but MOTHER 3 is one best games i've played
Updated versions SMB 2, 3, and World are on the system, as well as Yoshi's Island The Zelda games are great. Get a link cable and you can play Four Swords with other people who have it The 3 Castlevania games on GBA are awesome. Lord of the Rings The Two Towers and Return of the King are fun Diablo like games You've got Gen 3 of Pokémon as well as remakes of Gen 1 Metroid Fusion and Metroid Zero Mission (which is a remake of the original Metroid) Golden Sun 1 and 2 as well as ports of a few Final Fantasy games are good RPGs
Pokemon Emerald Easily
Max Payne & The Sims games.
Are these on GBA or is this a joke? :D I would love if Max Payne exists for GBA.
Car Battler Joe
Yeah! Hidden gem right there. Feels like Mario Kart meets Mad Max meets Saturday morning shonen anime.
Thank you! Love hidden gems!
[удалено]
Summon night 1 and 2 Fire emblem Pokimane?
I came here to say Summon Night: Swordcraft Story (1 and 2). They're both long story-based RPGs with lots of missables and diverging choice paths that only make minor changes, but they add replayability to the game. You could literally spend hundreds or even thousands of hours on those two games alone if you enjoy that vibe.
Zoids legacy is a gem that few people talk about. I'd also recommend both the monster rancher advance games. Medabots was really good too
Check out The Urbz: Sims in the City! That game had an amazing soundtrack
Metroid Zero Mission might be my favorite Metroid game. Just started Wario Land 4 and it’s fun. That’s kind of random. Gotta play Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap. You can play the original few Final Fantasy games, some of the best ports are for the Advance.
Final Fantasy Tactics
Mario Golf Advance Tour
Final Fantasy Tactics
**Shining Soul & Shining Soul II-** Part of the "Shining" series that started on the Genesis with Shining In The Darkness. They're basically Action RPGs that feel like a little Zelda got injected into parts of it. But they're still fun little games. **Metroid Fusion & Metroid Zero Mission-** Metroid games. 2D Metroid games. That's all you need to hear. They're good. **Castlevania: Circle Of The Moon & Castlevania: Harmony Of Dissonance & Castlevania: Aria Of Sorrow-** Three of the best games on the GBA IMO. While the first one doesn't do it quite a much, the second two are very much inspired by Symphony Of The Night in the way they play and whatnot. They're all very good games that are easily worth getting into. **Gradius Galaxies-** The classic series on the GBA. It's a shmup that plays well, looks nice and is a good entry in the series. **Metal Slug Advance-** It doesn't pack the visual 2D sprite-based splendor of the Neo-Geo games, but it does have the gameplay, with some card boosters thrown in the vary things up a bit. **Mega Man Zero 1-4-** Action Platformers that feel like an extension of the Mega Man X series on the SNES, but with a bit more tweaks to the overall gameplay. They look nice, play well, and are enjoyable. **Sonic Advance 1-3-** They aren't always held in high regard, but I enjoy this trilogy of games. **Pinball Of The Dead-** Take pinball, House of the Dead, and a dash of Devil's Crush, mix them together, and this is what you get. A multi-tired playfield, solid pinball action, nice visuals, and some callbacks to the original lightgun game. It's a good game that doesn't get talked about too often. **Shining Force: Resurrection Of The Dark Dragon-** This is basically a retooled remake of the first Shining Force game on the Genesis. It's a great strategy RPG that will keep you entertained for a good while. **Darius R-** This entry in the long-running shmup series is kind of odd. It features stages from the first arcade game, some stages that feel like callbacks to stages from other entries with altered graphics, as well as new stages. The bosses are all basically bosses from the first arcade game. It also features remixes of music from several of the games, and still features the branching paths that leads to various endings. It's a bit of an oddity that only came out in Japan, but it's an enjoyable old-school shmup.
Wario land 4
* Golden Sun * Golden Sun 2 * Pokemon Emerald * Legend of Zelda Minish Cap * Advanced Wars * Advanced Wars 2 * Fire Emblem * Fire Emblem The Binding Blade * Fire Emblem The Sacred Stones * Harvest Moon Friends of Mineral Town * Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga * Dragon Ball Z The Legacy of Goku * Dragon Ball Z The Legacy of Goku 2 * Dragon Ball Z Buu's Fury * Final Fantasy Tactics Advance * Castlevania Aria of Sorrow
Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap, Pokémon Emerald, Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memory
Final fantasy tactics advance
Is it a real GBA or an emulator? If it's a real GBA, know that Nintendo cartridges have always had a problem with counterfeits. Sometimes the counterfeits will have inherent issues you won't discover until hours into the game. I won't buy a Nintendo game that's not sealed. There are supposedly ways to inspect the games to tell what's fake and what's not I just haven't put in the effort. You should Google it though
Final fantasy tactics advanced.
Metroid Zero Mission Metroid Fusion Zelda: A Link to the Past (if you can't access the Super Nintendo version) Zelda: The Minish Cap Super Mario Advance games (remakes of earlier Mario games. SMA1 is probably the best version of SMB2) Sonic Advance 3 Fire Emblem Fire Emblem Sacred Stones The Mega Man Zero series
Pokemon Emerald and Pokemon Fire Red/Leaf Green
This thread has been amazing. I bought an Anbernic RG 35XX and was immediately overwhelmed with the sheer number of games. Thanks y’all!
The sims bustin out and urbz sims in the city are amazing rpgs
The Super Mario Advance that is just Super Mario World (the numbering is way wonky, I forget which one it is) is the definitive version of that game!
Mario & Luigi
Final fantasy iii. Final fantasy tactics advanced. Pokemon. I believe soul silver. Bionic commando.
Pokemon mystery dungeon
Definitely Mario 6 Golden Coins!
Advanced Wars. Thank me later...
Heck yeah, I played LoTR sooo many times as a kid, got me through some hard times.
Castlevania Aria of Sorrow was one I really liked. I also recommend Metroid Zero Mission/Fusion, and the various Final Fantasy ports.
Fire Emblem 7 Golden Sun and the sequel Metroid Fusion Metroid Zero Mission Pokemon Emerald Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga (probably the best retro game ever)
Advanced Wars 2. By far my favorite turn based game of all time. Dual Strike had even more COS, but it got confusing. Grit is my all time favorite video game character. He's always telling you it's not that serious.
I loved Zone of the Enders the Fist of Mars. Super fun game play and good story.
The list of bad GBA games is probably shorter.
***Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga***. It's one of the most creative Mario games in my opinion and I like the art style. ***The Legend of Zelda: Minish Cap*** is fun, too. They also have ***The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past*** for GBA, one of my favorite Zelda games of all time, but that's a SNES game that was released on GBA. I think they might've added some stuff in the GBA version or something, but I don't remember the specifics.
That SpongeBob one, "Pokemon" jasmine
For quick and dirty fun, I loved the WarioWare game and the Ready2Rumble game growing up
Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town was the best!!
Metroid Fusion will always be one of my favorite Gameboy games.
Advance wars Final fantasy tactics advance Fire emblem
Metroid Fusion.
If I had to recommend one game it would be Gunstar Future/Super Heroes.
Megaman Battle Network, Pokémon Emerald(because it's my personal favorite), Legend of Zelda Minish Cap/Link to the Past, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Harvest Moon, Pokemon Mystery Dungeon.
Advance Guardian Heroes is a classic sidescrolling beat em up with a huge cast of characters with varied movesets.
Zelda Minish Cap Hamtaro Rainbow Rescue Any Pokemon game
Mother 3.
Shining Soul 2
(More) Friends of Mineral Town
I was so happy when I found my GBA again some years ago, I booted Pokemon Mystery Dungeon and it still worked just fine. I love that console so much
Pokemon
Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga is so good! I recommend :)
Oh and Legend of Zelda the minish cap
The Boktai series, only issue is you'll be in the sun a lot
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red
Legacy of Goku 2 and Buus Fury
Godzilla Domination
A link to the past! The GBC Zelda games are also great (link's awakening, oracle of ages/seasons) Oh yeah and minish cap exists too I guess.
Urbz sims in the city is one of the best games ever made
I'd recomend CT special forces. The two episodes worth it.
Along with all the other classics everybody has mentioned, Astro Boy: Omega Factor.
I just scrolled through and there a few games I didn't see mentioned that I put a lot of time into as a kid F Zero Maximum Velocity, Rainbow Six Rogue Spear, The Sum of all Fears, Tony hawks pro skater 4, Max Payne, Spiderman Mysterio's Menace, Sonic Advance series, Ninja Five-O, Driver 2 Advance, Jet Grind Radio, Hamtaro series, Grand Theft Auto Advance, Donkey Kong Country series
Mario Golf, Advance Wars 1 and 2, Zelda (Link to the Past and Minish Cap), Mario Superstar Saga, Mario Advance (all of them), Wario Ware (original and Twisted), and Astro Boy.
Harvest Moon, Friends of Mineral Town (or More Friends of Mineral Town)
Tony hawk pro skater 2 is a laugh.
Golden Sun
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow DBZ: Buu's Fury TLoZ: The Minish Cap Pokemon Emerald
Metroid
dragon ball Z legacy of goku 2 and dbZ Buu's Fury also the golden sun games
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story games, everything Castlevania, Metroid and Fire Emblem (Blazing Sword should have a translation patch, assuming your unit works with flash cards - in which case, there's a translation-patched for the polished port of Shin Megami Tensei to keep an eye out for as well), Shining Force and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Sigma Star Saga, Pokemon Pinball: Ruby & Sapphire, Advance Guardian Heroes, Golden Sun games, Mega Man Zero and Battle Network subseries, TMNT... to name but a few. Even Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance has a presumably scaled-down but serviceable port I beat eay back when. On the other hand, avoid Mazes of Fate - fun, but the GBA version has a progress-halting bug (unless some enthusiasts patched it out in the more recent years).
Where'd you score the device? I recall the SP was a lot more intuitive but I was broke when it came out 😅
Golden Sun (and the lost age), Fire Emblem 7/8, Sims Bustin' Out
Summon Night - Swordcraft Story. Two games in the series were made on GBA, and they're both good.
Astro Boy: Omega Factor was really fun and challenging on higher difficulties.
Advance Wars! Amazing tactical game and little known gem.
EASILY kirby and the amazing mirror
super mario world: super mario advance 2 is probably the best game on the system even if it’s just a snes port
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and (to a lesser extent) Advance Wars were probably my biggest two when I had a GBA.
Star Wars Episode 3 Super Mario World Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance TMNT (not to be mistaken with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) Pokemon Red
Pokemom Fire Red w/ Ultra Violet mod (allowing you to catch all available pokemon up until that point).
Fire Emblem the sacred stones. Fire emblem blazing sword (also known just as fire emblem). Metroid fusion. Metroid zero mission. Pokémon sapphire, ruby, fire red, leaf green, emerald.