Best Game Boy Advance Games

Arriving in 2001 as the first 32-bit handheld console on the market, the Game Boy Advance would succeed the legendary Game Boy and be the fastest-selling game console in North America at the time. Featuring a novel landscape format with shoulder buttons, the GBA would deliver a pantheon of 8 and 16-bit ports of previous generations’ handheld formats. Classic platformers and role-playing games had never had such a capable portable gaming home.

There would also be developers bringing 3D titles to the GBA, including first-person shooters Doom and Eck’s vs. Sever. Retrospectively, the GBA has come to be seen as a powerful piece of hardware, not only an outstanding port machine. The console has dozens of great games that hold up today, but some of them are remembered as all-time classics for a reason.

Updated February 27, 2024, by Alexandra O’Leary: The Game Boy Advance is known for many things. It was a revolutionary for Nintendo’s hand-held consoles, with a landscape screen that would be the basis for Nintendo’s most successful consoles, like the DS and the Switch. Because of its improved technology, a lot of fan-favorite games were ported to the Game Boy Advance, and the console is often known for games that weren’t GBA originals. But that doesn’t mean there weren’t plenty of popular and critically acclaimed titles released for it. If anything, the GBA was one of the more flexible and capable consoles around, responsible for bringing older classics to a new audience and creating a plethora of new games that would define the era.

14 WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames!

Metascore: 89

WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgames! (known as WarioWare, Inc.: Minigame Mania in some regions) was the very first installment of the now cult classic WarioWare series. Loved for its wacky collection of bright and silly mini-games, Mega Microgames established the format that Wario is now best known for.

The game was absolutely adored by fans and critics alike, particularly because it was unlike any pre-existing game. Although mini-games weren’t a new idea, Mega Microgames featured over 200 different ones that were imaginative and totally off-the-wall. From picking a nose to twirling pasta on a fork, the minigames were fast-paced and unpredictable, bringing a totally new life and style to the Mario franchise. With ten games in the WarioWare series and countless titles re-released on modern consoles, Mega Microgames was the beginning and a beloved series for gamers everywhere.

13 The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Metascore: 89

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap was the only main Zelda game to be developed for the Game Boy Advance, preceded by Four Swords Adventure developed for the GameCube and succeeded by Twilight Princess for the GameCube and Wii. It returned to the cartoonish style of The Wind Waker since developers believed it suited the whimsical nature of the narrative.

Although The Minish Cap isn’t one of the more popular Zelda games today, it still received very positive reviews from fans and critics alike. It was applauded for capturing the atmosphere and feeling of a classic Zelda game while embracing the capabilities of the Game Boy Advance and introducing new mechanics that kept it fresh.

12 Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Metascore: 90

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga is one of the earliest Mario RPGs and the first to feature both brothers in the title. That’s not where the originality stops for this game, however, since it introduced changes in tone and gameplay mechanics. The storyline is far more comedic and entertaining compared to previous installments, and the game places extra emphasis on timed button presses, unlike many RPGs that mainly only use turn-based combat.

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Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga quickly became critically acclaimed, with players positively receiving its lighthearted nature and creative take on the RPG genre. It was also the introduction of Fawful, a villainous side-kick, who became an instant fan favorite – so much so, in fact, that he went on to become the main villain in Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story.

11 Golden Sun

Metascore: 91

Upon release, Golden Sun was heralded as the best original RPG to hit the Game Boy Advance. Because the console was well-known for its many RPG ports, an original title that lived up to the genre in every sense of the word was a breath of fresh air for critics and audiences alike.

It was the best-selling Game Boy Advance game for several months, and although it didn’t exactly revolutionize the genre, it absolutely nailed the RPG style with charm. Golden Sun is known for being engaging, creative, and totally captivating, making it a fan-favorite of the GBA and a staple of early-2000s RPGs.

10 Castlevania: Circle of the Moon

Metascore: 91

One of the GBA’s launch titles in 2001 turned out to be one of its very best. Castlevania: Circle of the Moon is a brilliant entry in the series and an inspired platformer. Controlling Nathan Graves, the player must traverse Dracula’s castle to stop the dark lord from returning to full power. Famously, the title’s reception would be weakened by the GBA’s lack of a backlit screen at launch, but the game is one of the highlights of the Castlevania franchise.

Returning to the 2D explorative formula of Symphony of the Night proved to be an outstanding success. Castlevania would receive two further GBA games of equal, if not better, quality.

9 Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3

Metascore: 91

Four years after breaking ground, Super Mario World would receive a worthwhile sequel in Yoshi’s Island. The game would receive a port in 2002 to the GBA with Yoshi’s Island: Super Mario Advance 3. Using a unique mechanic, the player controls Yoshi as he must bring baby Mario back to Luigi. Although it was the first game of the series to use Yoshi as the central protagonist, the most memorable aspect is the brilliantly hand-drawn art style.

Pushing the SNES hardware, the game would utilize the Super FX2 microchip to enable unique sprite-altering effects. This GBA port offers additional levels and is beset with some frame rate drops not found on the SNES original.

8 Final Fantasy 6

Metascore: 92

One of the greatest RPGs ever made would make its way to the Game Boy Advance in 2006. Final Fantasy 6 was the best-selling video game in Japan upon its initial 1994 release and won numerous awards from video game publications. In an industrial revolution meets steampunk setting, the player navigates 14 playable characters in a sprawling epic covering a rebellion against dictatorship, chemical warfare, and apocalyptic battles. The GBA release would include improvements in graphics, a faithful localization, and even added Espers.

The GBA game would not include the video motion cutscenes of the PlayStation release, but it is an outstanding port of a remarkably polished game and one of the best ever made.

7 Advance Wars

Metascore: 92

Among numerous SNES ports and platformers, the GBA would also offer some brilliant turn-based strategy games with Advance Wars being the pick of the bunch. Continuing the Famicom Wars series on the Game Boy Advance, this strategy title places the player in control of the Orange Star Army, taking the battle to the opposing Blue Moon nation and their forces. A genre so synonymous with PC gaming may have once been thought impossible to bring to a handheld format, but Advance Wars succeeds with morish, thoughtful, and engrossing gameplay.

An equally celebrated sequel, Advance Wars 2: Black Hole Rising, would be released in 2004, and both games have been remade for the Nintendo Switch.

6 Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2

Metascore: 92

Considered by many the very best 2D Mario game and one of the greatest video games ever made, Super Mario World would be ported to the GBA in 2002. Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2 would be lauded by critics for capturing the feel of the SNES original in the handheld format. The 1991 classic is entirely intact here, with the only noticeable difference being a slightly lowered difficulty and Luigi added as a playable character.

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A vibrant color palette and sunny soundtrack make this series’ introduction of Yoshi as memorable now as it was in 1991. One of the two launch games for the SNES in Japan, this is an all-time great first-party Nintendo game, and the GBA port is as good a way as any to experience it.

5 Metroid Fusion

Metascore: 92

Released just a day before the groundbreaking Metroid Prime, Metroid Fusion would bring the classic 2D explorative formula to the Game Boy Advance. In this side-scrolling title, players control Samus Aran as she encounters mysterious parasites known as X on the planet SR388. One of the GBA’s most graphically impressive titles, Metroid Fusion offers one of the most atmospheric experiences on the handheld.

Though it would receive critique for its linearity and short length, the storytelling in this Metroid title is among the best in the entire series. On its 2002 release, Metroid Fusion would rack up numerous Game of the Year awards and was celebrated for perfecting every desirable element from the original Metroid and Super Metroid.

4 Mario Kart: Super Circuit

Metascore: 93

Colorful, fast, and fun, Mario Kart: Super Circuit would bring the franchise to the GBA to critical acclaim. Selling just under 6 million units, it would be the fourth bestselling game on the system and was noted by many critics as the best multiplayer game on the GBA. Featuring a Grand Prix mode, Time Trials, and Quick Runs, the replay value in Super Circuit is immense. This is only upped by its unlockable cups and tracks from the SNES game they provide.

Offering 40 tracks and all the signature Mario Kart power-ups, this GBA Mario Kart takes all that made the SNES game a standout title, enhancing and improving its parallax scrolling and Mode-7 presentation.

3 Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3

Metascore: 94

The confusing title is the only downside to this outstanding release. Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 brought one of the NES’s very best titles to the GBA with added extras to boot. In typical fashion, the player controls Mario or Luigi as they must jump and stomp their way through levels to save Princess Toadstool from Bowser. The added features to this release include voice acting from Charles Martinet, a multiplayer option based on the original Mario Bros, and added levels from e-reader functionality.

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Arguably the definitive way to play this NES classic, its re-releases on both the Wii U and the Switch have had all added levels included.

2 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords

Metascore: 95

• Platform: Game Boy Advance, Nintendo 3DS
• Released: December 2, 2002
• Developer: Nintendo EAD & Capcom
• Genres: Action Adventure, RPG

Among the many promises of the GBA hardware was its ability to give the SNES experience an on-the-go capability. This was no better exemplified than the inspired port of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past. Alongside an entirely separate multiplayer game, Four Swords, this release crammed the iconic SNES title into the GBA format. In this classic title, the player controls Link as he must save Hyrule from the clutches of the Demon King Ganon by earning the powers of the seven sages.

An incredibly accessible way to play through one of the all-time great video games, the only notable changes are a slightly smaller screen view and the addition of voice samples from Ocarina of Time.

1 Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2

Metascore: 95

Despite the lack of an iconic soundtrack or a third-person perspective, Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2 proved a rousing success on the Game Boy Advance. Managing to capture the feel of the home console title through an isometric perspective and a brilliant application of SFX, the engrossing gameplay hook of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater is alive and well in the handheld format. Offering the same skate parks, career mode, and an array of skaters to choose from, this handheld port of the game was celebrated at the time and remains celebrated since.

Though not blessed with as many buttons to work with or as much animation in gameplay, this is something of an astonishing port and launch title no less.

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