20 Best Game Boy Advance Games Of All Time
Hail to the King.
Category
📺
TVTranscript
00:00 The Game Boy Advance is officially considered retro.
00:02 There are plenty of people out there that have never played it or simply have forgotten
00:06 about it.
00:07 But let's give the system its due.
00:08 It's in the top 10 best-selling video game consoles of all time.
00:12 And when you have a great console, you need some great games.
00:15 Here are the best of what Nintendo's handheld department were doing in the 2000s.
00:20 I'm Sy for WhatCulture.com and these are the 20 Best Game Boy Advance Games of All
00:24 Time.
00:25 20.
00:26 Mario Kart Super Circuit The GBA, despite being the console that kept
00:30 Nintendo raking in the cash when the GameCube floundered, started off quite weakly.
00:35 Its launch lineup was pretty poor and the new entry in the system-selling series Pokemon
00:39 was nearly two years away.
00:41 The first big eye-catching moment for the console was Mario Kart Super Circuit.
00:45 The title has colourful courses which are so good that they were updated and put into
00:49 future instalments like the brilliantly weird Cheese Land.
00:52 That's just one example from a roster with quite a lot of personality that also includes
00:57 a haunted pier, a world made of toys and a park that contains an erupting volcano.
01:02 Mario Kart Super Circuit is fully deserving of being called one of the best GBA games
01:06 of all time.
01:07 It gave us Mario Kart on the go and yeah, it's not all that impressive by today's
01:11 standards, but the idea of playing the series portably in 2001 was mesmerising.
01:16 19.
01:17 Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories Chain of Memories looks like a weird spin-off,
01:21 but if you play Kingdom Hearts for the story, it's integral.
01:24 Of course, with the existence of Kingdom Hearts Re-Chain of Memories, a remake of this title
01:28 for modern platforms, you don't need to take your GBA out to experience this, but
01:32 it's an interesting novelty worth a look all the same.
01:35 The card-based battling gameplay here is the most strategic the series has ever gotten
01:39 and it's fun building up your deck and trying out different strategies against your enemies.
01:44 It isn't perfect though, the biggest problem is that the story is very similar to the original
01:48 game as you spend Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories in Sora's memories of that game.
01:53 However, the new elements it does add tie perfectly into Kingdom Hearts 2 and players
01:57 who skipped out on Chain of Memories were left quite confused because of it.
02:01 18.
02:02 Super Mario World - Super Mario Advance 2 Nintendo love their re-releases and in an
02:07 industry that is begging for more video game preservation, we have to applaud them when
02:11 they do it right.
02:12 Although they probably could have spent more time working on the naming scheme of the Super
02:16 Mario Advance series, Super Mario Advance is a remaster of Super Mario Bros 2, Super
02:21 Mario World - Super Mario Advance 2 is a port of the SNES game, there's also Yoshi's
02:25 Island - Super Mario Advance 3 which is of course a remaster of Super Mario World 2 - Yoshi's
02:30 Island, and finally there is Super Mario Advance 4 - Super Mario Bros 3 - Wolverhampton Nil.
02:36 Are you confused yet?
02:37 Well switch your brain off, pick up your GBA and simply enjoy one of the platforming genre's
02:41 finest.
02:42 Super Mario World is one of the best games ever made and so a faithful adaptation of
02:46 that on the go simply cannot be ignored.
02:49 Additionally, it separates itself from the SNES original by including Luigi as a playable
02:53 character in one player mode, complete with his own unique attributes like Super Mario
02:57 Bros 2.
02:58 Pretty neat.
02:59 17.
03:00 WarioWare Inc - Mega Micro Games The origin of the WarioWare series, Mega Micro
03:05 Games is still one of the best entries all these years later.
03:08 The story of the game is simple yet perfect for a character like Wario.
03:12 Wario realises that video games can make a lot of money and so he decides to get his
03:16 friends to make them for him.
03:18 In the end he attempts to run away with all the cash because Wario is actually pretty
03:21 similar to real life video game company executives, letting his employees do all the work only
03:26 to run off with the riches.
03:28 WarioWare isn't something you go into for the story though, it's the small bursts
03:32 of amazing gameplay.
03:33 The title consists of a collection of over 200 incredibly weird micro games which exude
03:37 charm and make the game a struggle to put down.
03:40 If you want some pure uncompromised fun you can do much worse than this and if you really
03:44 want to pick somebody's virtual nose, well this might be all you've got actually.
03:49 16.
03:50 Sonic Advance 2 Sonic Advance 2 is part of the Sonic Advance
03:53 series because many games on the GBA had to have the word 'Advance' in the title so
03:57 that we didn't forget what system we were playing.
03:59 These underrated 2D side-scrolling titles were the perfect place to go for any Sonic
04:03 fan who was just tired of seeing what the series was doing on home consoles at the time.
04:08 And who would have thought that Sonic would thrive on a Nintendo system like this?
04:12 Sonic Advance 2 is a pure Sonic experience, no fuss and no muss.
04:16 The gameplay mixes some surprisingly fast moments considering the hardware with platforming
04:20 to stop it from becoming totally mindless.
04:23 It inches out ahead of its siblings simply based on its excellent level design.
04:26 There's also the introduction of the now long-standing, worst-named Sonic character
04:31 Cream the Rabbit, who offers a beginner difficulty for those coming to the series for the first
04:36 time.
04:37 15.
04:38 Golden Sun When you think of classic fantasy JRPGs, Golden
04:41 Sun may not be the first that comes to mind, but it really should.
04:44 It doesn't do much new that's going to rock the world, instead concentrating on really
04:48 refining traditional JRPG tropes to the nth degree.
04:52 The idea of using magic not only in battle, but to interact with the environment isn't
04:56 uncommon in JRPGs, but Golden Sun ramps that up to 11.
05:01 Exploration is just as important in the game as combat is.
05:04 Speaking of which, the turn-based battles are baked to perfection and make great use
05:08 of the GBA's overall visual capabilities.
05:11 Utilising the four elements, the game has a host of cool-looking spells and summons
05:14 as well as a killer soundtrack.
05:17 This thing goes hard.
05:18 Golden Sun is just a really solid JRPG and definitely worth your time.
05:23 14.
05:24 Wario Land 4 The Wario Land series is overshadowed by the
05:28 WarioWare games.
05:29 Whilst both franchises are great and the WarioWare series is definitely more creative, the WarioLand
05:34 games are as good as they are underappreciated.
05:37 WarioLand 4 lacks the carefree fun of WarioLand 2 and 3, as you can actually die in this game
05:42 as opposed to the two previous entries, but it's still a fun platformer that rewards
05:47 experimentation and exploration.
05:49 The game takes place in the Golden Pyramid, a place filled with portals to other worlds,
05:53 each containing a myriad of treasures to collect.
05:56 WarioLand 4 is just a lot of fun to play through and perfectly suited to the GBA.
06:00 We might not have gotten an original mainline Mario entry on the system, but Wario was willing
06:05 and capable to take his rival's place and give us the best original pure 2D platformer
06:10 on the handheld.
06:11 13.
06:12 Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald Generation 3 is a real line in the sand for
06:16 Pokémon.
06:17 This is where a lot of the classic fans really jumped off the pokey train, especially as
06:21 it feels like a big leap away from Gold and Silver.
06:24 However, it's also a childhood classic for many.
06:26 Instead of dusting a few new Pokémon into the mix like Gold and Silver did, Ruby and
06:30 Sapphire resets everything with an entirely new line-up.
06:34 Classics do appear in the post-game, at least, and both Mons new and old look lovely in full
06:39 colour on the GBA.
06:40 The game's location, Hoenn, has a more tropical feel than most regions in the Pokémon world,
06:45 and while some review outlets claim it has too much water, that water hides interesting
06:49 locales such as an abandoned ship and the extremely rare Mirage Island, something that
06:53 led to many playground rumours throughout the world.
06:56 The games later got a third version called Pokémon Emerald, which adds the battle frontier
07:00 to make this the definitive version of Hoenn.
07:03 12.
07:04 Advance Wars The Game Boy Advance was the place where many
07:06 franchises that weren't released outside of Japan finally got shipped off to the West.
07:11 It happened to Fire Emblem, we'll get there, and it happened to Advance Wars, which is
07:15 a part of the Wars series, a franchise with the worst naming convention ever.
07:19 At first glance, it's hard to know that Famicom Wars, Advance Wars and Battalion Wars
07:23 are all part of the same series.
07:25 The word 'Wars' is too common in gaming to make it the only way of distinguishing
07:29 a game in your franchise, ergo my favourite entry is Star Wars Battlefront.
07:33 See Nintendo, see what you did!
07:35 In Advance Wars, you follow the conflicts between the four countries Orange Star, Blue
07:39 Moon, Green Earth and Yellow Comet, but there's of course something happening behind the scenes.
07:44 You fight these battles with a really solid turn-based strategy system set in a modern
07:48 setting.
07:49 This is unique enough, as other games in the genre are typically medieval fantasy.
07:52 There's plenty of variation with unit types, making it an addictive and charming little
07:57 conflict simulator.
07:58 11.
07:59 Super Mario Advance 4 - Super Mario Bros 3
08:03 Even if you prefer Super Mario World over Super Mario Bros 3, its GBA remaster absolutely
08:08 deserves a high ranking due to the huge array of extra levels, all included via the e-reader.
08:13 To get the levels, you needed the e-reader and specific Super Mario Advance 4 - Super
08:18 Mario Bros 3 cards.
08:19 Sadly, American gamers never saw the full release of these cards, and in Europe, they
08:23 never came at all.
08:24 Unless you're a wealthy Japanese man who loved Mario in the early 2000s, it's unlikely
08:28 you've experienced all of these levels legitimately on the Game Boy Advance.
08:32 Which is a shame, as the levels take mechanics from all other 2D Mario games that were released
08:36 at the time and use them within Super Mario Bros 3 to make some of the most imaginative
08:41 levels in the franchise.
08:42 It's almost like a proto-Super Mario Maker in a way.
08:46 Oh, and once you're finished with those levels, legitimately or otherwise, you've
08:49 still got an amazing port of the excellent Super Mario Bros 3 to play through.
08:53 10.
08:54 Fire Emblem
08:55 This was the first time Westerners got a taste of Fire Emblem.
08:58 The game's full title is technically Fire Emblem The Blazing Blade, but Nintendo dropped
09:02 the subtitle to make it clear to Western gamers that this was a perfectly good starting point
09:06 for a new audience.
09:08 It has compelling characters, an interesting story that is relatively constrained in comparison
09:12 to later entries, and the combat here is simple yet engaging.
09:16 Interestingly, this entry is a prequel to Fire Emblem The Binding Blade.
09:20 That game stars Roy, who, because of his inclusion in Super Smash Bros Melee, is one of the most
09:24 recognisable characters in the series.
09:26 So it's strange that the Binding Blade wasn't localised, but this game, which stars Roy's
09:30 dad, was.
09:31 All the same, there's been very few Fire Emblem games since Blazing Blade that have
09:35 only released locally.
09:36 As such, it goes to show the success of the franchise's first foray into the West, which
09:40 began an upwards trajectory that has made it one of Nintendo's biggest franchises
09:44 all over the world.
09:46 9.
09:47 Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen The GBA has a lot of remakes and ports.
09:51 Kirby, Nightmare on Dreamland, Final Fantasy IV, V and VI Advance, and the myriad of other
09:56 games that are on this list, but the most recognisable one is arguably Pokemon FireRed
10:01 and LeafGreen, remakes of Pokemon Red and Green, or in the West, Red and Blue.
10:06 Pokemon FireRed and LeafGreen are easily the most definitive versions of Generation 1 that
10:10 you're going to get.
10:12 Even with the games getting another pair of remakes in a Let's Go Pikachu and Eevee
10:15 variety for the Nintendo Switch, FireRed and LeafGreen are just a more pure version of
10:20 that original formula.
10:21 There's the right amount of nostalgia and refresh in the pair of monster battlers.
10:26 All of Red and Blue's bugs have been removed, the games are better balanced, and the game
10:29 adds in combat mechanics from Ruby and Sapphire.
10:32 FireRed and LeafGreen doesn't end when you're champion either, as you can travel to the
10:36 Sevii Islands to continue the story and catch Pokemon from Generation 2 and 3.
10:42 When you decide to revisit Kanto for the 100th time, honestly, these are your best options.
10:47 8.
10:48 Harvest Moon - Friends of Mineral Town
10:50 Whilst most of the Harvest Moon games are worth your time, Friends of Mineral Town is
10:53 one of the best in the series.
10:55 Whilst not the first portable entry, it's the one that at the time stood toe to toe
10:59 with its home console counterparts.
11:01 In fact, this game might just be better.
11:03 There's a reason that Friends of Mineral Town got a remake with Story of Seasons - Friends
11:07 of Mineral Town, as it's arguably the most beloved entry in the series.
11:11 You play as an unnamed boy who becomes friends with a kindly old man who gives you a farm
11:16 in his will.
11:17 You don't find out about this until half a year after the man died, though, so the
11:20 farm isn't in great shape when you start.
11:23 When was someone going to tell you that you now own a farm?
11:25 The mayor only tells you because you leave home to come visit.
11:28 Friends of Mineral Town and its follow-up re-release, which lets you play as a girl,
11:31 are arguably still the most streamlined and satisfying Harvest Moon experiences.
11:36 7.
11:37 The Legend of Zelda - The Minish Cap
11:39 Timing can be everything, and The Legend of Zelda - The Minish Cap is a victim of poor
11:43 circumstance.
11:44 This Capcom-crafted Zelda experience released just weeks before the Nintendo DS dropped,
11:48 and so attention was firmly elsewhere.
11:51 It's pretty sad, really, as Minish Cap is one of the most creative entries in the series.
11:55 The gimmick of shrinking Link down and exploring little environments never gets old - seriously,
11:59 we need more games to do this.
12:01 But even regardless of this, Minish Cap still provides a classic Zelda adventure on the
12:05 go.
12:06 It introduces the adorable Minish to the series, Ezlo, who is one of the most underrated characters
12:10 in the franchise, and new mechanics like the Kin Stones.
12:13 It's also the second game on the timeline included with Hyrule Historia, so for those
12:18 who care about the deep Zelda lore - like why Link wears a green hat - then this game
12:22 is pretty important.
12:24 6.
12:25 Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga
12:27 Mario has a long legacy of RPGs, which is a bit weird for a character who usually stars
12:31 in games where the story is as simple as it can get.
12:34 The princess has been kidnapped, go rescue her, be back in time for tea.
12:38 The majority of these RPGs have charming worlds, lovable characters and fun stories - for example,
12:43 Mario & Luigi Superstar Saga.
12:45 In Superstar Saga, you play as the titular brothers and journey through the Bean Bean
12:49 Kingdom to defeat the evil Fourful and Cackletter, who feels like a character who is named basically
12:54 as a dare.
12:55 Cackletter.
12:56 Really?
12:57 Aside from the lovely story and characters, there's a basic yet compelling turn-based
13:01 combat system where you must time your button presses to your attacks to maximise damage,
13:05 much like its Mario RPG predecessors.
13:08 It works incredibly well on the little purple handheld, and the Mario & Luigi series became
13:12 a cult-hit franchise because of it.
13:14 5.
13:15 Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
13:17 Even people who don't normally enjoy turn-based strategy games like Final Fantasy Tactics.
13:21 That's how good it is.
13:23 And so its follow-up had a helluva big pair of boots to fill.
13:26 Final Fantasy Tactics Advance follows a group of real-world school friends as they are transported
13:30 into the fantasy world of Ivalice.
13:32 Tactics Advance has all the charm of the best Final Fantasy games, with the added bonus
13:36 of its amazing grid-based tactical combat.
13:39 The gameplay is arguably much deeper and more thoughtful than anything the Final Fantasy
13:43 series had to offer when this came out, proving that the series could excel in different directions.
13:48 Oh, and it even teaches its combat with a snowball fight, which is the best way to teach
13:52 any combat system.
13:54 Just ask The Last of Us Part 2.
13:56 Tactics Advance, for diehard FF fans, usually ranks pretty highly, and it's hard not to
14:00 see why.
14:01 It marries the GBA's pick-up-and-play style with a truly compelling combat system, showing
14:05 that handheld games could be every bit as deep as home console releases.
14:09 4.
14:10 Metroid Fusion
14:11 Metroid Fusion is amazing.
14:13 Whilst it's not as good as its predecessor Super Metroid, little is, Fusion manages to
14:17 be a game worthy of the Metroid 4 status.
14:21 After getting infected by the X-Parasite, Samus gets cured by cells from the little
14:25 baby Metroid that she rescued in Metroid 2, which in turn makes her part Metroid.
14:30 Truly, she became what she vowed to destroy.
14:32 The X-Parasite has managed to mimic Samus, however, creating SA-X, an evil entity who
14:38 will stalk you throughout the game.
14:40 Metroid Fusion manages to be a compellingly creepy horror title on the Game Boy Advance.
14:45 That doesn't seem possible, and yet, here it is.
14:48 Metroid Fusion is definitely more linear than other entries, which is an easy criticism
14:52 to make.
14:53 However, it doesn't mean that the game's tone and plot aren't worth celebrating.
14:56 Fusion is a more deliberately delivered story and experience than the open exploration of
15:01 other Metroid titles.
15:02 It also has some of the most refined gameplay in the entire series, taking what worked from
15:06 Super Metroid and giving you even more.
15:09 3.
15:10 Castlevania Aria of Sorrow
15:11 All three Game Boy Advance Castlevania games are great.
15:14 In fact, despite Symphony of the Night being the point of reinvention for the franchise,
15:18 its true re-emergence took place on the GBA.
15:21 This is where the Metroidvania portion of the series really kicked off hard, with three
15:25 solid back-to-back-to-back titles.
15:27 However, Aria of Sorrow just beats out the other two games due to its introduction of
15:31 the fan-favourite character, Soma Cruz, and the tactical soul system.
15:35 The system encourages you to kill every enemy you see, as they'll all have cool abilities
15:39 that they can pass onto you.
15:41 This became a staple of the series, of course, but it all started here in Aria.
15:45 The setting is also something worth noting.
15:47 Unlike other Castlevania games, this one takes place in the future.
15:50 You'd think that would stop this from feeling like a Castlevania game, but in reality it
15:53 gives Aria of Sorrow a unique identity, whilst not preventing it from feeling at home in
15:58 the series.
15:59 As the final Castlevania title on the system before jumping to the DS, Aria really shines
16:04 as an example of the franchise's growth.
16:06 2.
16:07 Metroid Zero Mission
16:08 The original Metroid was revolutionary when it came out, but it's hard to go back to
16:12 it today.
16:13 Metroid is filled with archaic design choices, or lack thereof, which makes it near impossible
16:17 to beat unless you have as much time as a kid in the late 80s or have a guide.
16:22 Because of this, it makes sense that they ended up really updating the game down the
16:25 line.
16:26 Let's get the one major criticism of Zero Mission out of the way.
16:28 Yes, it is super linear, and also quite hand-holdy.
16:31 The thing is, it's so fun to play that you'll stop caring about that pretty quickly.
16:36 Exploration is still there, just maybe not as much as there is in something like super
16:39 "still the best game in the entire series" Metroid.
16:42 It is however one of the most fun games in the entire franchise, introducing new moves
16:46 that Samus wishes she had in the original Metroid.
16:49 Metroid Zero Mission is so good that it pretty much outright replaces the original version
16:53 these days.
16:54 Whilst we can all look back and appreciate what the 1986 NES classic gave us, Zero Mission
16:58 is the version that people should actually play.
17:01 1.
17:02 Mother 3
17:03 Released exclusively in Japan in 2006, fan demand for Mother 3 across the world has been
17:08 loud and consistent enough at times that Nintendo have been forced to answer it, even going
17:12 so far as to make jokes about it themselves, but never actually deliver it.
17:16 Thankfully, devoted fans have made English patches for emulation, but all the same, Mother
17:21 3 might be the most obvious cash-left-on-the-table move Nintendo have ever made, simply based
17:25 on the hype alone.
17:26 Additionally, it's also really good.
17:29 The game refines everything about the SNES classic Earthbound, adding in new elements
17:33 like rhythm-based attacks to its turn-based battles.
17:36 Which works well because the soundtrack is also a masterstroke on its own.
17:40 But Mother 3's biggest achievement is the strength of the story it tells.
17:44 It follows Lucas as he explores the Nowhere Island in an effort to take down the Pig Army,
17:48 find his brother and stop a dragon who slumbers below the islands from waking on the wrong
17:52 side of the bed.
17:53 That's the simple version, of course, as Mother 3 really goes a lot of places and plumbs
17:58 some really effective emotional depths.
18:00 Never thought you'd cry at a GBA game?
18:02 Well Mother 3 will do its darnedest.
18:05 Critics and gamers alike call Mother 3 the perfect Game Boy Advance title, so how could
18:09 it be anything other than number one?
18:11 If you watched this video, most likely you're a Nintendo fan, so why not check out more
18:15 of our content based on the big N. Here's a list on the 10 most brutally difficult NES
18:19 games ever.
18:20 Other than that, don't forget to leave a comment down below.
18:22 This list is all subjective, so I'd personally love to hear what your favourite Game Boy
18:26 Advance games are.
18:27 Don't forget to like this video, subscribe, head over to whatculture.com for more content
18:31 every day.
18:32 I've been Si for What Culture, and have a good week.