Table of Contents
- Advance Wars + Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising
- Astro Boy: Omega Factor
- Castlevania: Aria or Sorrow
- Drill Dozer
- F-Zero GP Legend
- Fire Emblem
- Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
- Golden Sun + Golden Sun: The Lost Age
- Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
- Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga
- Mario Kart Super Circuit
- MegaMan Battle Network (série)
- Megaman Zero (series)
- Metroid Fusion
- Metroid Zero Mission
- Pokémon emerald
- Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen
- Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis
- The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords
- The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
The GBA arrived in 2001 with the hype of being, practically, a pocket Super Nintendo, with characteristics similar to a video game that, although from previous generations, had barely completed ten years. That's why many of their titles are extremely competent ports of the console in question. Being such a remarkable device, Techlifers put together a list with the best gameboy advance games.
We emphasize that our listing is not in a predetermined ranking (as in a Top 20), but in alphabetical order, without specific categorization. Check out:
Advance Wars + Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising
Advance Wars: Metacritic 92 | Release: September 9, 2001
Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising: Metacritic 89 | Release: June 24, 2003
Nintendo and Intelligent Systems already had an interesting experience in the area of tactical RPGs with the series Fire Emblem. After some incursions, the idea most likely arises: “what if we brought the battlefields to a more modern environment?”. That's how it came about Advance Wars, a tactical RPG where cavalry gives way to tanks. The two titles produced for the GBA are worthy of attention and are among the best Game Boy Advance games, but we highlight the second one because of the new features and better unit balance compared to the first. Still, a remake of both is on the way to Switch, with a release date of April 2022, worth checking out.
Astro Boy: Omega Factor
Rating on Metacritic: 85 | Release: August 18, 2004
In the same way that Mega Man used Astro Boy as the main influence in its conception, Astro Boy: Omega Factor closes this circle by taking a little bit of Mega Man — more specifically from Mega Man 8 — when it won its own video game developed by Treasure, one of the most renowned developers of the past. Although the influence of the Blue Bomber is noticeable, it would be not only a mistake, but also an extreme injustice, to reduce it to such, as Omega Factor has a brilliant beat'em up gameplay of its own that easily makes it one of the best adaptations ever. made from a work by Osamu Tezuka and is certainly one of the most interesting games on the GBA.
Castlevania: Aria or Sorrow
Rating on Metacritic: 91 | Release: May 6, 2003
One of Castlevania's supreme experiences is precisely with Aria of Sorrow, whose skill evolution mechanic comes from the souls collected from enemies defeated throughout the campaign, in addition to being starring Soma Cruz, who differs greatly from other classic protagonists of the series. It is no wonder that the GBA was seen as a portable SNES, given how well this game managed to adapt to the console, living up to historical names such as Super Castlevania e Rondo of Blood. In fact, Aria of Sorrow carries the true soul that reminds us of the strength of the name that the franchise has had in the past.
Drill Dozer
Rating on Metacritic: 81 | Release: February 6, 2006
Although Game Freak is primarily known as the company that is currently unable to produce a Pokémon with a minimum of quality, it is noteworthy how, in the past, it was concerned with producing other IPs of its own and unrelated to the monster phenomenon. of pocket. Drill Dozer, for example, is one of them. Extremely captivating, the player controls Jill and the machine that gives the game its name on their platform journey to rescue her mother's diamond. Its differential is precisely in the drill of the Drill Dozer, used to overcome the challenges of maps and defeat enemies. Easily one of the most original of the best Game Boy Advance games.
F-Zero GP Legend
Rating on Metacritic: 77 | Release: September 20, 2004
F-Zero GP Legend may not be the most challenging of the F-Zeros on the GBA, but it is the most inviting of them all. With better presentation and more diversified content due to the story mode and the Gran Prix, which gives hours and more hours of fun to the most passionate players who incessantly try to beat the best time using all the resources, shortcuts and trajectories that a track allows. GP Legend even yielded a sequel called F-Zero Clímax, but which was restricted to the Japanese market and to this day is the last F-Zero ever released.
Fire Emblem
Rating on Metacritic: 88 | Release: November 3, 2003
Fire Emblem it was a franchise that remained in obscurity for a long time until this seventh title achieved the feat of being the first released in the West. Also known as Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, it is already the result of several previous releases, worked to correct errors and bring news in order to render an experience consistent enough for its audience, bringing challenge in the right measure and intensified by the classic mechanic that involves the definitive loss of defeated units. The series has come a long way since Blazing Blade, but the Game Boy Advance title is still a solid representative and one of the top GBA games.
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Rating on Metacritic: 87 | Release: September 8, 2003
What else stands out in Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, especially compared to its PlayStation predecessor, is the diversity it offers. Produced by remnants of the Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis team, the player revisits Ivalice — which gained notoriety some time later for being the setting for Final Fantasy XII — in a long, but extremely rewarding and captivating adventure in all its aspects. .
Golden Sun + Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Golden Sun: Metacritic 91 | Release: November 11, 2001
Golden Sun: The Lost Age: Metacritic 86 | Lançamento: 14 de Abril de 2003
In a catalog full of remakes and ports of classic Super Nintendo RPGs, Golden Sun manages to stand out as a game of this genre without ceasing to be an exemplary representative of what is most traditional in it. Very friendly and with its own system that involves collecting the Djinn to manipulate the four elements, Golden Sun is a hidden gem of the device. The sequence, The Lost Age, balances some of the mechanics and picks up the original's storyline right where it left off, closing a cycle in which both GBA games act as a single narrative, much like Kill Bill's two volumes.
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
Rating on Metacritic: 80 | Release: October 18, 2004
Kirby attended the GBA on two occasions. The first, Return to Dreamland, was a kind of remake of the Super Nintendo original, while this second one, entitled Kirby and the Amazing Mirror, brings a never-before-seen adventure to the pink acorn. Following a metroidvania format, the title takes advantage of the console's cable connectivity potential to implement a multiplayer mode that greatly facilitates the progress of the campaign, even if its completion is still possible in single-player mode.
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga
Rating on Metacritic: 90 | Release: November 17, 2003
While it lacks the atmosphere or plot elements common to traditional RPGs, Nintendo's mascot plumber has a surprisingly positive track record when it comes to his forays into the genre at hand. Not enough to bring a curious and fun story that holds the player, the battle system of Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga is easily one of its main highlights, bringing a dynamic flow of combat in which it is necessary to coordinate movements to achieve success. Sympathetic and charismatic, it's easily one of the best games on the GBA.
Mario Kart Super Circuit
Rating on Metacritic: 93 | Release: August 26, 2001
After lavishing an authentic three-dimensionality on the Nintendo 64, Mario Kart returns to its origins in the Game Boy Advance, using a system called mode7 quite characteristic of the first game in the series on the Super Nintendo. Extremely fun and easily one of the top GBA games, Mario Kart Super Circuit essential for any laptop owner in the 2000s.
MegaMan Battle Network (série)
MegaMan Battle Network: Metacritic 79 | Release: October 30, 2001
MegaMan Battle Network 2: Metacritic 81 | Release: June 17, 2002
MegaMan Battle Network 3: Metacritic 77 | Release: June 24, 2003
MegaMan Battle Network 4: Metacritic 68 | Release: June 29, 2004
MegaMan Battle Network 5: Metacritic 67 | Release: June 21, 2005
MegaMan Battle Network 6: Metacritic 63 | Release: June 13, 2006
In order to revitalize the Mega Man brand for new audiences, Capcom decided to digitize the little blue robot in the spin-off. Mega Man Battle Network. In it, the platforms of the original titles gave way to a new real-time Tactical RPG system whose power ups are given through a kind of chip deck that can be used in battle. The entire Battle Network series deserves to be played, but if there's any highlight, it's definitely the third, which wraps up the original trilogy — note that while there's a running story that spans all six games, they're playable. individually without any problems.
Megaman Zero (series)
Mega Man Zero: Metacritic 82 | Release: September 9, 2002
Mega Man Zero 2: Metacritic 81 | Release: October 14, 2003
Mega Man Zero 3: Metacritic 77 | Release: October 5, 2004
Mega Man Zero 4: Metacritic 77 | Release: October 4, 2005
Mega Man Zero is a kind of continuation of the X series, known for its individual quality and worthy character development for the Mega Man franchise as a whole. Hundreds of years after the events of Mega Man X, android Zero is awakened and needs to destroy the remaining reploids (suitcase for replicant and android) in this visceral and extremely fun platformer in the classic sense of the genre, being an essential choice among the games of the GBA in the style in question.
Metroid Fusion
Rating on Metacritic: 92 | Release: November 17, 2002
It's true that the Game Boy Advance was home to several Super Nintendo classics, a very safe platform for already knowing its potential and inheriting a kind of philosophy in game design developed precisely from the SNES times. However, this does not mean that there is no room for experimentation. Metroid Fusion a practical example of this. In this case, it is a linear Metroid by the standards of the franchise that even helped to name a genre - the metroidvania - and that preferred to focus on the narrative issue of the series and to develop Samus as the character we know.
Metroid Zero Mission
Rating on Metacritic: 89 | Release: February 9, 2004
The good thing about having the Gamecube reach flights considered much more suited to the three-dimensional modernity of its time — with Metroid Prime — is that the Game Boy could continue as a safe and comfortable platform when sticking to the origins of a franchise. Metroid Zero Mission, for example, takes this to heart by serving as a sort of remake of the original released for the NES, bringing updated visuals to a more powerful platform and more elaborate storytelling in keeping with where the franchise had already gone. developed. Good on the NES and one of the best games on the GBA too.
Pokémon emerald
Rating on Metacritic: 76 | Release: April 30, 2005
The norm for Pokémon was for a generation to be opened by a couple of games and then given a better finished, definitive individual version, with features that didn't actually make it into the base edition. That way, Pokémon emerald consolidates itself as one of the main GBA games by fixing most of Ruby & Sapphire's problems, making them obsolete in the face of new features and functionality, in addition to a rewritten story that works more properly the clash between the Magma and Aqua teams.
Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen
Rating on Metacritic: 81 | Release: September 7, 2004
Without connectivity to the Game Boy Color, Pokémon Ruby & Sapphire had a problem: it was not possible to complete the National Dex due to the absence of certain Pokémon that were not present in the title. The solution was to produce the remakes Fire Red & Leaf Green, which not only made it possible to fill this gap by making all Pokémon available in a single generation, but also serves as a remake for Red & Blue, updating the classics to the visuals reproduced by the GBA and bringing news such as the Sevii Islands, with even more content for veterans.
Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis
Rating on Metacritic: 88 | Release: May 11, 2002
The Game Boy Advance was a very suitable console for tactical RPGs, wasn't it? Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis is another one of them, but it is special because Tactics Ogre, as a whole, stands out due to its characteristic map design for reproducing beautiful isometric scenarios. Responsible for garnering a niche for fans in their forays into different consoles, the Ogre Battle series had Knight of Lodis as one of the best games on the GBA. In time, the team responsible for Tactics Ogre was incorporated by Squaresoft and became precisely the team responsible for another representative here on our list, Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past and Four Swords
Rating on Metacritic: 95 | Release: December 3, 2002
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, in its original SNES edition, is considered by much of the fanbase to be the best and flagship two-dimensional Zelda ever released, founding a series of recurring patterns and structures for the franchise that have extended through nearly every subsequent title. This remake, in addition to being very competent and worthy in itself, has an add-on called Four Swords, a kind of exclusively multiplayer game in which players have to overcome exclusive temples whose challenges were designed precisely to be solved in cooperation.
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Rating on Metacritic: 89 | Release: January 10, 2005
Being last on the GBA's list of best games doesn't mean that The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is less important, especially considering that it is in alphabetical order. With the series reaching increasing magnitudes on consoles, The Minish Cap is a Zelda in its traditional style, having as a differentiating element the hat that gives the game its name and is able to shrink Link so that he can succeed in his quest to gather the Kinstone fragments and save the people of the Picori.
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After all our nominations for the best Game Boy Advance games, how about another series of recommendations for another Nintendo console? Check out our selection of the best Nintendo 64 games!
