10 GBA Games Still Worth Playing Today
“Mario vs. Donkey Kong” (2004)
The 10 BIGGEST Changes In Mario vs Donkey Kong On Switch
We promise this list won’t be loaded with Mario games, but “Mario vs. Donkey Kong” is one worth mentioning. Donkey Kong has become obsessed with the adorable Mini-Mario toys, so much so that he’s stolen all the toys and taken over the factory. Mario will have to navigate the several floors to restore the factory while rescuing all the toys. With nearly one hundred levels to challenge your wit and platforming skills, “Mario vs. Donkey Kong” was the perfect title for fans of puzzle-platformers, and it kept us busy for quite a bit of time.
“Advance Wars” (2001)
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Funny thing about “Advance Wars” is that we here in the West weren’t supposed to get this game at all; Nintendo thought Western players wouldn’t have the patience to learn a turn-based strategy game like this. Indeed, “Advance Wars” is a bit of a different beast compared to most strategy games, but we’d argue it’s more simple than Nintendo gave it credit for. There’s plenty of depth here between units, their abilities, and how terrain can affect them, not to mention the challenging AI. It’s enough to where we’d say if you’re looking to find a way into strategy games, “Advance Wars” is the perfect starting point. Just an hour of playing this will show why it was awarded so much praise during its review process.
“Golden Sun” (2001)
While the GBA was responsible for bringing in new audiences to “Final Fantasy” and “Fire Emblem”, its biggest JRPG hit was the first “Golden Sun”. We could spend quite a bit of time talking about the story, characters, world, music, etc., but the most unique aspect of “Golden Sun” was its combat. By battling and capturing different kinds of Djinn, elemental monsters of the world, you can alter your party’s character classes, thus affecting the way you approach future combat encounters. This alone is what made “Golden Sun” such an incredible GBA title, and to see it’s coming to Switch Online filled us with joy. Every fan of RPGs, casual and hardcore, needs to check this out.
“Kirby and the Amazing Mirror” (2004)
Top 10 Kirby Games
We will always love and cherish “Nightmare in Dream Land”, but “Amazing Mirror” is the most unique here. Whereas “Nightmare in Dream Land” only offered up multiplayer in the form of side games, “Amazing Mirror” allowed the entire game to be played with co-op thanks to Kirby having a cell phone. Along with the more non-linear format, “Amazing Mirror” set a new standard in “Kirby” games as well as platformers, and few have ever managed to reach the same level of quality since.
“Sonic Advance” series (2001-04)
Top 20 Sonic Games
The 3D Sonic fans will always be contentious within the gaming community when questioning quality, but when talking about “Sonic Advance”, we’re all pretty much in agreement here, right? These games were thrilling to play through and through with their unique level design and back to basics gameplay. It was simple, Sonic fun but with more replay value tacked on with multiple playable characters. Whether you loved “Sonic Advance 1”, “2”, “3”, or all of them, this was a handheld series every Sonic fan can get behind.
“Wario Land 4” (2001)
Top 10 Wario Games
Sure, we could have chosen the first “WarioWare” game; it’s still great all these years. However, “Wario Land 4” seems to always live shrouded in garlic clouds…or “WarioWare’s” wafts. On the surface, it looks like just another platformer. While that is partially true with previous “Wario Land” entries, “4” is a bit more demanding by including a health system and also layering in some speedrunning tactics. Once you’ve retrieved a treasure, you’ll need to hurry back to the entrance before the time runs out. But beware - some parts of the level will alter their previous paths. It all creates an intense and addictive race to the exit, making “Wario Land 4” one of the GBA’s most thrilling games ever!
“The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap” (2005)
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When talking about “Zelda”, “The Minish Cap” seems to be left out of the conversation almost all the time. Yes, it is a strange one considering it was developed by Capcom and Flagship. But “Minish Cap” deserves recognition for its imaginative use of shrinking Link, forcing the player to navigate the world differently than other “Zelda” games. Of course, there is also a lighthearted story with hilarious writing that makes this a memorable experience…and a nice break from the sometimes overly serious “Zelda” games we’d gotten used to on consoles.
“Pokemon Emerald” (2005)
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“Ruby” and “Sapphire” were already fantastic “Pokemon” games for GBA owners. But as with every pair of new “Pokemon” games, there must be a third to really evolve things. Enter “Pokemon Emerald”, the third wheel that truly carried this generation. There were a few reasons why “Emerald” was considered the better of the three. For starters, the way the story weaved Team Aqua and Team Magma into one plot was interesting, especially in how it finally wrangles in Rayquaza as a key part of the game’s story and “Pokemon’s” lore. And then, there’s the endgame content: the Battle Frontier, which saw the return of the Battle Tower as well as brand new areas for Trainers to fight and catch more Pokemon.
“Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga” (2003)
Look, we know we already recommended “Golden Sun”, but the GBA saw a ton of brilliant RPGs. “Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga” was absolutely top-notch in every way. While it checked off the same beats and charm as “Paper Mario” and “Super Mario RPG”, the first “Mario & Luigi” showed the brothers had another spin to show off. Rather than loading you up on different party members, all you have are the boys and their various Bros. Attacks, which reward you with bonus damage as you get better at memorizing button prompts and timing. If you own a Switch and have been needing a good RPG that lasts about ten hours or so, “Superstar Saga” is an excellent title to consider.
JOKE: “Mother 3” (2006)
Oh yeah, “Mother 3” would be an excellent title to play…if Nintendo ever made the decision to release it outside of Japan. But there is another “M” title that we haven’t forgotten…
“Metroid Fusion” (2002)
20 Times Metroid Infiltrated Other Games
“Metroid Fusion” is absolutely the GBA game everyone needs to play. Yes, it does play quite a bit like “Super Metroid” save for the addition of grabbing ledges and better sense of location with the inclusion of Navigation Rooms. But one of the coolest aspects of “Fusion” is the story and setting. This might sound ridiculous given the size of the GBA, but the boss fights here, specifically the encounters against the SA-X parasite, are terrifying in the same way the EMMI’s were in “Dread” or Mr. X in “Resident Evil 2”. If you want to see what made people so excited over “Metroid: Dread”, please play “Fusion”!
