The Game Boy Advance was released by Nintendo in 2001 and it was an instant hit with gamers across the globe. Its bright screen colors along with its multitude of functions and accessories helped it kick off the next generation of hand-held gaming consoles. It became so successful that only a few years later the Gameboy Advance SP was released with a few upgraded features.
There have been well over 1000 games released for the Game Boy Advance and SP. A lot are still in circulation in the form of second-hand purchases or collectors that trade their cartridges. This proves that even though it was the early 2000's, the system had a lot of games that were ahead of their time and are still loved now. Here are some of them.
10 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 - 2001
Even though it was released on several other gaming consoles, the Pro Skater 2 released on Game Boy Advance really stands out for a lot of players. Tony Hawk games have always had a loyal following and it isn't too hard to see why. The game allows players to venture around different skate parks and do awesome tricks without risking real-life injuries.
It does miss the create your own level elements of the games made for larger consoles but the main gameplay is still the same. The graphics for a 3D game in 2001 are undeniably still good and it does beat some modern handheld games now. Plus, for gamers that like to bend the rules, there are quite a few useful and entertaining cheats. It is ranked as one of the best Game Boy games according to Metacritic.
9 Rayman 3 - 2003
Rayman has been around in the gaming world for a very long time but his 2003 Game Boy Advance game is one that many fans remember. He has to help his best friend Globox after he ate a dark lum that makes him sick. Also, an evil pirate is hunting Globox down so Rayman really had a lot to do.
Before Bluetooth connectivity and wifi multiplayer, there was Rayman 3. This game allowed up to four different people to play together as long as they all had a Game Boy Advance and there was one Game Cube. The game used the link cable for Game Boy Advance and it linked to the Game Cube.
This allowed multiple players to work together on a set of multiplayer modes that were essentially little puzzles or minigames. Nevertheless, local multiplayer is something that is beginning to sadly become rare with gaming now. Online multiplayer can be fantastic but there is something about the excitement of playing with other people in the same room that cannot be beaten. Luckily, Nintendo took care of that with their Switch.
8 WarioWare Inc Mini Microgame$ - 2003
Wario Ware is iconic in the way that there was no real set adventure story to it. This gave the game the freedom to be absolutely chaotic and hilarious. The game itself is over 200 mini-games that you have to complete within a certain time limit. As infuriating as it was, it meant that gamers did have more freedom over when they played and how long they wanted to play it for.
With life becoming busier and games that are less labor-intensive becoming more popular now, it is fair to say Wario Ware Inc was definitely ahead of its time. Also, the brightly colored and detailed graphics (though pixelated) are visually stunning.
7 Cartoon Network Collection - 2004
Long before mobile phones let everyone watch videos whenever they wanted to, there were the humble Game Boy Advance Video cartridges. It may be a mouthful but these cartridges were borderline revolutionary when they came out. They allowed owners of a Game Boy Advance to sit and watch videos or even a whole film like Shrek.
One cartridge was the Cartoon Network Collection that merged several popular shows such as Johnny Bravo and Edd Ed n Eddy. This collection, along with other videos, were ahead of their time as they were among some of the first that gave people the ability to watch specific shows whenever they wanted to, wherever they were.
6 James Bond 007: Everything Or Nothing - 2003
Bond games back in the 2000s were popular on whatever console they were on. That being said, Everything Or Nothing on the Game Boy Advance definitely had a premise and gameplay that was ahead of its time. The suave agent himself was based on and voiced by actor Pierce Brosnan. It was a third-person shooter which made it feel as though gamers were playing through a movie, something that became more popular as the years went on.
The graphics of the game were highly detailed and even though the pixels were still evident, the details were clear. The bricks in walls of the buildings, the gun being held in Bond's hands and the response to damage were all very advanced. That being said, 007's face was sort of missing.
5 Spyro Season Of Ice - 2001
Season of ice was Spyro's first venture onto hand-held consoles. The game itself consisted of Spyro having to travel to different worlds to save the fairies after they had been frozen in ice crystals. The game design was ahead of its time for a platformer when compared to other popular platform games for the console. Spyro Season of Ice had isometric game graphics (a way of creating the game that affects the viewpoint).
This meant that, unlike many popular platformers, Spyro did not have a side on or top-down viewpoint. Instead, the game was 3D which meant the developers put a ton of detail into the landscapes. A good example of this incredible design is Mermaid Coast where the texture of the sand is clear and the lighthouses accurately demonstrate the 3D visuals.
4 Grand Theft Auto Advance - 2004
Grand Theft Auto Advance did have its limitations on the console, however, it didn't stop it from boasting features that would later become the franchise's biggest selling points. The top-down view of the game may have been simplistic but the detailing was almost flawless. There were definitely still pixels popping their heads up but compared to other top-down games of the time, the graphics were some of the smoothest.
The open-world format was also one that was uncommon to find on the console and even though critics had mixed opinions over it, fans really enjoyed it. The style was very similar to the other installments of the franchise and it did really well to make Liberty City recognizable from that viewpoint.
3 Sega Arcade Gallery - 2003
Sega Arcade Gallery consisted of four classic games from Sega. These were Out Run, After Burner, Space Harrier, and Super Hang-On. The graphics of the game were similar to the originals on the Sega console and it was easy to switch between the games.
The fact that three games from a completely different gaming console had been made for The Game Boy Advance arguably made it ahead of its time. It could be classed as one of the earliest ''retro'' game compilations that all gamers know are huge in the modern world. Also the ease of being able to choose which game they wanted to play made it a hit with players who wanted more choice.
2 Mario Kart: Super Circuit - 2001
As the third game for Mario Kart, there was no doubt among gamers that Super Circuit would be impressive. It was the first Mario Kart game for a handheld console and the game delivered beautiful graphics coupled with very responsive gameplay. As with all Mario Kart games, players got to choose their favorite character and take part in chaotic races. Each character in the game had their own pros and cons, with some characters being heavier than others which meant that they would have slower acceleration speeds. This kind of detail on a small console was remarkable.
The five different game modes available to players made the Game Boy Advance feel like a bigger console. The game did make use of multiplayer using the game link cable however not every player needed to have the game cartridge to be able to play (unlike Rayman 3). Players did have limited choices in multiplayer if they did not own the cartridge, but the fact that they could still play it with other people was a huge bonus. It is no surprise it was one of the best-selling Game Boy Advance games.
1 Duke Nukem Advance - 2002
There were a few first-person shooters available on the Game Boy Advance but none stood out like Duke Nukem Advance. This may be a controversial topic but there were areas of the game that made it feel very far ahead of its time. It by no means had complex gameplay or brain testing puzzles but what it did have was all-out action. It felt more like a run and gun but the details that went into such simplistic gameplay made it feel futuristic. Again, multiplayer modes were part of this game with each player needing their own cartridge.
Players could choose their own difficulty preferences so they could decide what suited them. The bullet counter in the top right of the screen and the health counter in the left meant that players had to keep track of those stats or risk losing. Additionally, the limited controls did allow for players to be able to choose between a selection of different weapons and save their progress once they completed a level. The game felt like the developers knew the console had limitations so they made the game the best quality it could be for it.