The Game Boy Advance was a nifty little system. Many people refer to it as “a portable Super Nintendo,” but it was more than that. While it had many Super Nintendo ports, it also had a plethora of innovative original games that pushed the limits of the system’s capabilities and provided hours of fun. Let’s take a look at six of the best games the Game Boy Advance had to offer.
1. Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga
Super Mario RPG: The Legend of the Seven Stars on the Super Nintendo and Paper Mario on the Nintendo 64 showed that the world of Mario meshed well with the RPG format. Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga brought Mario RPGs to the handheld world and kicked off the Mario and Luigi series that continues today. The game plays with the traditional RPG formula by giving Mario and Luigi different skills to access different areas. With bright, colorful graphics and hilarious writing, it’s a must-play for any fan of the Game Boy Advance.
2. WarioWare Inc.: Mega Microgames
Wario is greedy and he thinks the game business looks lucrative. Of course, since he’s also lazy, he makes the simplest, shortest games possible, and it makes for a brilliant game. The simple minigames mean it’s easy to pick this game up and start playing immediately, and the game is full of humor and quirky, memorable characters. Like Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga, this game also spawned a series that is still going today. Here’s hoping it gets a new entry on the Nintendo Switch 2.
3. Metroid Fusion
In the first 2-D Metroid game since Super Metroid, Samus Aran must find a way to eradicate the X parasite that almost killed her from a space station. The game features beautiful environments, rich music, and a tense, creepy atmosphere. The moments when the X parasite creates a clone of Samus and it stalks the real Samus are especially memorable. While Super Metroid is generally seen as the best game in the series and one of the greatest games of all time, Metroid Fusion was a worthy follow-up, and it showed how capable the Game Boy Advance was.
4. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Was anyone asking for the story of how Link got his famous green cap? Probably not, but The Minish Cap ended up being a story worth telling. In this game, Link’s titular cap is a Minish sage who was transformed into a hat, and he can help Link to shrink down to reach new areas and contact the tiny Picori people. The shrinking mechanic is artfully utilized, creating anticipation for the player to explore. As usual for the Zelda series, the game also features excellent music and vast exploration.
5. Golden Sun
You are Issac, a magical Adept who must team up with your friends to save the world of Weyard from chaotic elemental magic. This is an epic RPG with several twists in its gameplay. For example, you can use the magical skills you gain in the world itself in addition to battles. You might have to freeze pillars or blow away debris to reach different areas. You can also enlist the Pokemon-like Djinn to help you in battle and combine their powers to unleash mighty summons. Any fan of RPGs has to play this game.
6. Kuru Kuru Kururin
One of the system’s best games didn’t get a North American release during the initial Game Boy Advance. It wasn’t until the game was released on the Wii-U’s Virtual Console that Americans finally got to play this underrated gem. The gameplay is simple: guide a constantly-rotating helicopter through a maze of walls and other obstacles. Despite the simplicity, the game offers increasingly challenging levels and true satisfaction when completing them. With happy, upbeat music, this is a game that can be picked up and played for a few minutes or a few hours.
