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What are the best GBA games ever?

Demolition_Human

Demolition_Human

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,458
NC
What it says on the title. I want to know what are some of the best GBA games on the game boy advance. I want games from every genre, we are leaving no stone unturned, folks!!! So without further ado, let's get started with this discussion!!

Official Staff Communication
Please list reasons as to why your chosen games are "the best". List threads do nothing for discussion and can get the thread locked. Which hurts the posters who actually put effort into their list of games with reasons.
 
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stinkyguy666

stinkyguy666

Member
Nov 4, 2017
1,147
I love the Sonic Advance trilogy. I wouldn't exactly call the 3rd one a "great" game though, which pains me to say because that one has the best soundtrack & visuals imo.
 
sir_crocodile

sir_crocodile

Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,474
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Metrioid Fusion
Metroid Zero Mission
Castlevania : Circle of the Moon
Castlevania : Aria of Sorrow
Golden Sun
Golden Sun: The Lost Age
Wario Land 4
Pokemon Emerald
Pokemon FireRed
Mega Man Battle Network 3
Mega Man Zero 3
Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper
Tales of Phantasia
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Kuru Kuru Kururin
Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising
Astro Boy: Omega Factor
Gunstar Super Heroes
Fire Emblem (Rekka no Ken)
Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced
Kirby and the Amazing Mirror
 
darthbob

darthbob

One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 20, 2017
2,010
It sure as hell isn't Star Wars Flight of the Falcon. Got that for Christmas back in like 2003, it was not good.
 
Platy

Platy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
27,607
Brazil
Astroboy Omega Factor is absolutely PERFECT game with metroidvania elements, insane combo system, lovely cameos from works of Tezuka, an awesome story and vibrant graphics
 
Ryouji Gunblade

Ryouji Gunblade

Avenger
Oct 26, 2017
4,151
California
Metroid Fusion because it changed the dynamic of Metroid into more tension and horror while boosting the graphics beyond Super.

The two Golden Suns because those new FX and sounds were insane while the RPG itself was a nice adventure with lots of dialogue.

I like Tales of Phantasia, but it's rough on GBA.
 
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Gunpei

Gunpei

Member
Mar 13, 2018
776
Metroid Fusion
Advance Wars
Golden Sun
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
Mario & Luigi
Wario Land 4
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
WarioWare
Pokémon Ruby and Sapphire
Fire Emblem (The Binding Blade?)
 
Birdie

Birdie

Banned
Oct 26, 2017
26,289
I actually love Castlevania Circle of the Moon to be honest.

I played it right after my first ever run through of Symphony of the Night and enjoyed the former a bit more even.
 
El Crono

El Crono

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,291
Mexico
All three Castlevanias (though my fave is Aria of Sorrow)
Metroid Fusion
WarioWare and WarioWare: Twisted
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Astro Boy: Omega Factor
Gunstar SuperHeroes
 
Worldshaker

Worldshaker

Member
Oct 28, 2017
3,919
Michigan
Final Fire Pro Wrestling
Mother 3
Castlevania (every one)
Shining Soul 2
Advance Wars
Tactics Ogre: Knight of Lodis
Metroid Zero Mission
Golden Sun 1/2
 
bionic77

bionic77

Member
Oct 25, 2017
30,888
The GBA had a ton of great games.

Fire Emblem is by far my favorites series on the platform. I had heard about it in the 90s as some amazing game from Japan that I never got to experience until it came out on the GBA and it more than lived up to my personal hype. I was so addicted to those two games. I would burn through the SPs battery like it was nothing.

After Fire Emblem I think my favorites are probably the Castlevania series. Each one was just so fun to play.

I loved a lot of other games as well (i.e. Mario & Luigi, Golden Sun, FF Tactics, etc) but the highlights for me were definitely fire emblem and castlevania.
 

Deleted member 42686

User requested account closure
Banned
Apr 26, 2018
1,847
Castlevania Aria of Sorrow & Harmony of Dissonance, Zelda Minish Cap, Shaman King Master of Spirits 1 & 2 and Golden Sun.

Notable mentions: Bomberman Max Blue 2
 
Shift Breaker

Shift Breaker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
2,483
A lot of the best stuff has already been mentioned, so Polarium Advance, the two Advance Wars games (because I've always preferred them to Fire Emblem, which is a series I've never been able to get into) and for something a bit more left-field, Go! Go! David Beckham! Adventure on Soccer Island. The latter especially because it never gets mentioned in these kind of topics.
 
Mendoza

Mendoza

Member
Oct 29, 2017
85
Columbus
So many good games it's hard to keep track of, but I'll give you my top-3 unique choices.

1) Rhythm Tengoku (Best Handheld Rhythm Game)
2) WarioWare Twisted (Best WarioWare game)
3) Castlevania Aria Of Sorrow (Best Castlevania Game)

Special mention to the bitGeneration titles particularly Soundvoyager & Orbital.
 
Bamboo

Bamboo

Member
Oct 25, 2017
890
Many games already mentioned, just to repeat what was already mentioned:
Rhythm Tengoku - Fantastic style, music and perfect for the handheld.
Wario Ware Inc. + Wario Ware Twisted - Both fantastic both various reasons. I slightly prefer the first game, but they're both equally amazing.
Advance Wars + Advance Wars 2 - Same as above. Easy to learn, but surprisingly deep gameplay. Favorite feature: Multiplayer with only one GBA. The round-based gameplay allows for the GBA to be passed along with every turn.

Not mentioned already, somewhat underappreciated:
Polarium Advance - One of the best (if not the best) puzzle games for the system. Similar to Picross, but instead of uncovering images, you have to dissolve them. The controls are also better suited for the d-pad. There's also Polarium DS which came out before this game, but the Advance version is surprisingly superiour. It even features a one-hand-mode, to be played while commuting (while holding on in the train/bus). It's also rather cheap.

The GBA is such a great system, there are many more games worth playing, but these are among my all-time favorites (on any platform).
 
MrT-Tar

MrT-Tar

One Winged Slayer
Member
Nov 2, 2017
744
So many great games to choose from, but my personal favourites are:

- Advance Wars
- The Golden Sun games
- Castlevania: AoS

I also own copies of Warioland 4, Kuru Kuru Kururin, Astro Boy: Omega Factor, and Advance Guardian Heroes, but haven't got round to playing them yet.
 
MarcelRguez

MarcelRguez

Member
Nov 7, 2018
2,418
My top 3 is Zero Mission, Mother 3 and WarioWare: Twisted. There's a lot of other stuff worth playing though. I have a soft spot for the Boktai games, for example.
 
mindsale

mindsale

Member
Oct 29, 2017
5,911
I just dumped a collection of 100+ carts. Some favorites: Tactics & A2, both Fire Emblems, Tactics Ogre Knights of Lodis, Zero Mission, Fusion, Megaman Zero 1-4, all 3 Castlevania games, the whole of the Mario Advance line, Mega Man & Bass, Drill Dozer, Minnish Cap, A Link to the Past, could go on for a while.

Probably my favorite console / handheld to date.
 
DeuceGamer

DeuceGamer

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,476
The GBA is a massively underrated system in my opinion.

Some great entries in classic franchises.

Fire Emblem
Advanced Wars
Zelda
Metroid
Mega Man
Castlevania
Final Fantasy

Some underrated games that are really good.

Astro Boy
Sonic Advance series
Wade Hixton Counter Punch
Summon Night
Advance Guardian Heroes
Zone of Enders
Shining Force
Drill Dozer

Also a lot of great ports/re-releases/remakes/etc... like the NES Classix series and SNES ports.

Edit: and despite my list I'm still seeing other mention some that I missed and own. Incredible system that I love to collect for.
 
BassForever

BassForever

One Winged Slayer
Member
Oct 25, 2017
29,907
CT
Some of the best jrpgs on the platform

The mega man battle network series, especially 2, 3 blue, and either version of 6

Final fantasy tactics advance

Fire Emblem 7 (6 is japanese only but has an english patch, 8 is also on gba, both aren't as good as 7)

Super Robot Taisen Original generation 1-2

Super Robot Wars J (japanese only but has an english patch)

Tactics Ogre Knights of Lodis

Castlevania Aria of Sorrow (circle and harmony are okay)

Final Fantasy 1,2,4,5, and 6 advance (5 is the definitive version, 6 is definitive content but slow down, 1-2 are very good but psp is better, 4 has exclusive content but a lot of bugs)

Magical Vacation (Japanese only but English Patch)

Advance wars 1-2

Botkai 1-3 (3 is japanese only but has english patch, best played on emulator with the solar patches)

Bomberman Tournament (zelda like bomberman game with an pokemon battle rpg mechanics)

Breath of Fire 1-2

CIMA the enemy (cool real time strategy rpg that doesn't get a lot of love)
 
SantaC

SantaC

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
3,763
Golden sun 1+2
Zelda mc
Castlevania com + aos
Bowsers inside story
FF6A
Mario kart
 
Mechanized

Mechanized

Member
Oct 27, 2017
3,442
Final Fantasy 6
Shining Soul 2
Street Fighter Alpha 3
Street Fighter 2 Turbo Revival
Fire Pro Wrestling
Golden Sun 1&2
Metroid Zero Mission
 
MarcelRguez

MarcelRguez

Member
Nov 7, 2018
2,418
Back with some more. The love for Polarium ITT warms my heart.
  • Mario vs. Donkey Kong: This one's nothing like the weird Lemmings-esque sequels on DS and other platforms. It's a direct sequel to Donkey Kong '94 on the Game Boy, which in turn was a sequel to the original DK. This means, it's a single-screen arcadey platformer that plays very differently from other Mario games. When people point out that the GBA doesn't have its own Mario platformer, this is what I suggest as the next best thing.
  • Guru Logi Champ: One of the best games of the system, and my favorite puzzle game ever. Japan-only, but it's super import-friendly. RIP, Compile.
  • F-Zero Climax: The very last F-Zero game, and the best racing game on the system. There's some gorgeous spritework in this game. Also Japan-only, but even more import-friendly than GLC (the menus and the announcer are in English, even)
  • Konami Krazy Racers: Mario Kart, but it's a Konami crossover. Slightly rougher than Super Circuit, but better overall.
  • TMNT: One of the last games to be released for the system, so it fell under the radar. It's a 2D beat-em-up by Ubi Montreal (the people who worked on the Scott Pilgrim game), and a treat for the eyes.
  • Ninja Five-0: Bionic Commando + Ninja Gaiden. The best Spider-Man game on the system. It's hard to get your hands on an actual cart though.
  • The Urbz - Sims in the City: This is not a stripped-down version of the PC game, but an original adventure game with a ton of charm and great writing. You still have to manage your character's stats, like in any other Sims game, but it's more focused on plot and characters than anything.
  • Racing Gears Advance: An isometric car racing game that has aged like fine wine. It's a bit on the generic side in terms of aesthetics, but it controls like a dream.
The system has games for days.
 
Dogui

Dogui

Member
Oct 28, 2017
8,771
Brazil
Breath of Fire II port, Mother 3, Metroid Fusion and Aria of Sorrow are the legit stuff on GBA imo.
 
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