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The Game Boy Advance Was A Monster System

H

HotHamBoy

Member
Hydrus said:
Mother 3 was great if you played the translated ROM, but it was never officially released outside of Japan. I dont think it's fair since most of the world cant play it legally.

Dawn of Sorrow is just another great title in the insane DS library. I don't have time to sit here and make a greatest DS games list. That would take hours.
Click to expand...

It's certainly a matter of preference. I love the GBA Warioware games, the DS game sucks. Same for Rhythm Tengoku. No Metroid, no F-Zero. Animal Crossing is grrat and all but I could never play Wild World again because of New Leaf. The DS Zelda and Star Fox games suck.

We definitely could make a case by case arguement for both systems, though. Don't get me wrong, I love the DS, too.
 
F

foxuzamaki

Doesn't read OPs, especially not his own
Fun fact, the GBA is the ONLY nintendo handheld I was not able to own, I told my mom I wanted it back in like 20001 or something, she said no and never did, missed out on so much stuff.


I really really love the Wiiu VC, im playing all these GBA games I never could before.
 
P

Piers

Member
GBA life cycle felt way longer as I was going through high school at the time.
Saying that, I did also get DS by the end as well
 
M

MicH

Member
I love the visuals of GBA games. They look so vibrant and crisp!

I'll never forget getting Pokemon Ruby and seeing my character's reflection in the water for the first time. That was the coolest thing I had ever seen
 
M

-Mutsukki-

Member
Man, I can never believe how short it's life was. It seemed so much longer! It had a killer line up and I honestly think it's one of the best portables to hold on your hand to this day. OG GBA with backlight would have been the perfect handheld
 
Havoc2049

Havoc2049

Member
I bought a glacier GBA, Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, Iridion 3D and Aliens: Thanatos Encounter (GBC game that was released shortly before the GBA launch) on launch day and was in handheld nirvana. I still have my launch GBA and all my games and bought an SP as soon as it came out.

The Castlevania games were just the best and I also put tons of time into Advance Wars, Golden Sun, Gunstar Super Heroes, Iridion II, Phantasy Star Collection and The Pinball of the Dead.
 
R

ramparter

Banned
You know I start to think that there is a market for a Gameboy console along with Switch. Should have a minimal design and simple technology - no dual screen, touch, 3d etc. Cost 100$ max, come with built in games like the nes classic but have a store to download more. Main library would consist of retro games (nes, snes, gameboy, mega drive, game gear etc up to Gameboy Advance) but anyone could also make new games for it. I think indies would love this system, it would also be great for games like the new Double Dragon.
 
IrishNinja

IrishNinja

Member
all that quality in the OP, plus ninja five oh!

i largely missed out on the GBA during its short life, got into the DS heavy after that & went back to discover one of the finest libraries, and from such a short window too

Spieler Eins said:
The remasters and ports were way out of control.
Click to expand...

ehh, it was taking from the peak of 2D nintendo, so i think most folks didn't mind
 
S

saunderez

Member
I remember going to the toy store, seeing Tony Hawk on the demo system and coming back to buy one the next week. Amazing system.
 
meanspartan

meanspartan

Member
I still have my OG Glacier one, have since gotten an SP too.

Like the GB and GBC before it, I still dont know how I didnt go blind playing those non-backlit screens lol.
 
D

deleted

Member
This thread made me check on my Game Boy Micro that I didn't use in years (4-5 easily) - the battery still holds. Turned it on, played some Minish Cap without having to reload the battery.. Crazy stuff, especially compared to the 3DS.
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
xyla said:
This thread made me check on my Game Boy Micro that I didn't use in years (4-5 easily) - the battery still holds. Turned it on, played some Minish Cap without having to reload the battery.. Crazy stuff, especially compared to the 3DS.
Click to expand...

They don't make'em like they used to.

When I bought my Micro last year it had been in the case at the store for a long time. Battery was still charged.

Tagyhag said:
Gameboy Advance Video was crazy to me, they sold actual Spongebob episodes to watch on your gameboy.
Click to expand...

Ah, yes, i should update the OP.
 
cireza

cireza

Member
Got a SP, SP AGS-101 and a Micro. Great consoles, the best portable console indeed.

Third party games were great on the console, which helped a lot for me. Nintendo had a pretty great output too.

Just going to post this here because I played this game way too many hours...

0890.jpg


The first three games in one cartridge. The Algo Star system in your pocket.

And those are good ports, each game has been reworked to take into account the smaller resolution of the GBA.

Also, this console is great for emulating Game Gear / Game Boy / Game Boy Color (GBA Micro could not play GB games).
And it also has good emulators for NES and Master System.
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
cireza said:
Got a SP, SP AGS-101 and a Micro. Great consoles, the best portable console indeed.

Third party games were great on the console, which helped a lot for me. Nintendo had a pretty great output too.

Just going to post this here because I played this game way too many hours...

0890.jpg


The first three games in one cartridge. The Algo Star system in your pocket.

And those are good ports, each game has been reworked to take into account the smaller resolution of the GBA.
Click to expand...

Did they release IV? That's the best one.
 
cireza

cireza

Member
HotHamBoy said:
Did they release IV? That's the best one.
Click to expand...
No. But resizing the Phantasy Star IV graphics so it would fit in the 240 * 160 resolution of the GBA would have proven extremely complicated. There is a ton of rework for them.

Still, it would have been great to have this game too.
 
T

Tapejara

Member
I loved my GBA (it was the translucent one). Got it with a copy of Super Mario Advance 2 which I played so much. I actually thought I had lost my GBA for the longest time, until one day I was digging through storage and found it. Unfortunately for me, I had left the batteries inside, and they ended up bursting. It still boots up, but I'll need to clean it and make sure it's all in working order before I try running through a game.

I would really like to check out more of the system's library. I only ever owned three GBA games. Hopefully the Switch has a decent GBA Virtual Console.
 
H

Hilarion

Member
Harlock said:
Most 2D graphics, one screen, lot of great games. Could be the perfect VC on Switch. But will not.
Click to expand...

There's 70+ GBA games available on WiiU right now. Are you saying you don't think Switch will eventually match that, or is that an insufficient number? (Given that a lot of the GBA's library is licensed junk that would be very difficult to get the rights to rerelease...)

The current Wii U GBA library plus Square Enix support would be nearly the entirety of worthwhile GBA games.
 
H

HotHamBoy

Member
Hilarion said:
There's 70+ GBA games available on WiiU right now. Are you saying you don't think Switch will eventually match that, or is that an insufficient number? (Given that a lot of the GBA's library is licensed junk that would be very difficult to get the rights to rerelease...)

The current Wii U GBA library plus Square Enix support would be nearly the entirety of worthwhile GBA games.
Click to expand...

Wow, is there really 70+ now?

Man, there is zero reason why they couldn't at least release GBA games on the New 3DS. Nintendo hates money, I guess.

Remember when Nintendo leveraged GBA VC as a selling point for the Wii U?
 
S

Stalk

Member
Recently lost my famicom mini gba micro (and everdrive) in a house move, never been so heartbroken :( fantastic little console.
 
J

jackal27

Banned
n0razi said:
I just dropped $80 for an AGS-101 panel to mod my OG GBA

ex.
G7aEwhL.jpg
Click to expand...

Omg this looks so damn nice. Really, really tempted get one of these myself, especially if I still had my white OG laying around. I sold/lost so many of my GBA games. I'd rebuy a lot of them but the prices went way up. I still have several great ones, but I wish I had them all...

At least emulation has me covered. (Shhh)

HotHamBoy said:
Did they release IV? That's the best one.
Click to expand...

No. It's Phantasy Star 1, 2, and 3. Why they didn't ditch 3 and include 4 instead is a question that has haunted me for the majority of my life on this earth.
 
Toadthemushroom

Toadthemushroom

Member
I'm still playing my Game Boy Micro and undiscovered GBA games! This year I played through for the first time:

Starfi 3
Bit Generations Dotstream
Bit Generations Boundish
Bit Generations Dialhex
Bit Generations Digidrive
Bit Generations Coloris
Bit Generations SoundVoyager
Kururin Paradise
Koro Koro Puzzle Happy Panechu
Guru Logi Champ (RIP Compile...)
Donkey Kong: King of Swing

I also replayed Wario Land 4 on my 3DS and Golden Sun on Wii U.

What a library of games, GBA (and DS) was probably the last time you saw the biggest publishers and developers work on smaller projects like this and manage to pay the bills because of it due to lower demands on development.

I also think the Game Boy Micro hardware has aged extremely well - the anodised finish and metal chassis make it feel like a premium device, and the screen gets the job done with minimal ghosting. only thing I'd change is to ditch the plastic faceplates.

Edit: forgot I also played Drill Dozer for the first time this year - Nintendo made the unreleased European version available on Wii U VC. But I wish I had the original cartridge...
 
mcz117chief

mcz117chief

Member
I have it but the only games I own for it is this karate game and DOOM. It never really sold well in my country and it just vanished almost instantly.
 
F

FlynnCL

Unconfirmed Member
It's a system that's absolutely full of gems. Year after year it continues to surprise me.

Mother 3, Metroid: Zero Mission, Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow and Fire Emblem are all brilliant games that made the system absolutely worth it.

But there's also so many other titles like Swordcraft Story, Oriental Blue, Ham Ham Heartbreak and Dragonball: Advanced Adventure that were all surprisingly good.
 
F

Firemind

Member
Hydrus said:
Its the truth
Click to expand...
The only DS games that would make such a list for me is Ouendan 1+2 and Pokémon DP/P. Maybe WarioWare DIY because of the novel concept. Most of the DS library is honestly middle of the road. And I own more DS games than GBA games.
 
cireza

cireza

Member
As great as the GBA can be, I will never be satisfied with the available display options.

You can either play on a SP AGS-001, with the pretty dark screen. This is eye straining, but in a perfectly dark room, can be kind of OK.

Or you can use an AGS-101 screen, which will be must brighter.

The problem is that game graphics were made with the dark screen in mind, so everything looks way to bright on an AGS-101 screen.
 
B

Bucket Mouse

Member
I remember my dad coming back from the Far East and bringing the GBA home a couple of months before the European launch. I'd never been so excited for something in my life. It felt like a gargantuan leap forward from the GBC and I remember taking it into school and the other kids' jaws just dropping when I showed them F-Zero.
 
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