The Game Boy Advance was released in 2001 and was the follow up to the hugely successful Game Boy line of handhelds. The console is affectionately called a portable Super Nintendo with many games from the 16-bit console being ported over to the Game Boy Advance such as The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, Super Mario World, and Donkey Kong Country.
Though the Game Boy Advance is known for having many great ports of games from older systems, there are many original games that made it onto the console as well some that ended up slipping through the cracks. Here are 10 lesser-known Game Boy Advance games that need more love.
10 ChuChu Rocket!
ChuChu Rocket! was originally released for the Sega Dreamcast and developed by Sonic Team and is notable for being the very first Sega game to be released on a Nintendo console after Sega had left the console market.
While the Game Boy Advance port of ChuChu Rocket! is mostly identical to the Sega Dreamcast port, the Game Boy Advance port allows 4 handhelds to be hooked up for 4 player gameplay and only requires 1 cartridge to do so. The Game Boy Advance port also has 2,500 user-created stages that were previously uploaded to the Dreamcast servers.
9 Kuru Kuru Kururin
Kuru Kuru Kururin is a puzzle game that was a launch title for the Game Boy Advance in some regions. You control a slowly rotating stick and must make your way through obstacles without hitting any walls. There are many different mechanics that help shake up with formula such as the length of the stick and more.
Kuru Kuru Kururin is the first title to be released in the Kururin series and was later followed up by Kururin Paradise and Kururin Squash! both of which were exclusive to Japan.
8 Drilldozer
Drilldozer was developed by Gamefreak, the company behind the Pokémon series. The cartridge for Drilldozer is slightly bulkier than other Game Boy Advance games as it is one of the few games with rumble functionality for the console- some other examples being Yoshi Topsy Turvy and Perfect Dark.
In Drilldozer, you control a small robot piloted by a young girl. The robot you control has a large drill on it which you use to go through obstacles and take out enemies. In each level, you find and upgrade your drills gears which allows you to drill for longer periods of time.
7 Pinball of the Dead
Pinball of the Dead is an offshoot of the popular light-gun series House of the Dead. As the name implies, you play pinball on boards that are populated by zombies which are all pulled straight from House of the Dead 1 & 2. There is no real objective aside from high-scores as it is a pinball game.
As with the rest of the series, Pinball of the Dead provides some horrible voice acting to help portray a cheap B horror movie feel. There are also bosses that are taken from the series as a way to earn more points.
6 Sigma Star Saga
Sigma Star Saga provides one of the most unique experiences on the Game Boy Advance. There are overhead stages similar to The Legend of Zelda and shoot em’ upstages similar to Gradius, all thrown into an epic role-playing game set in space. As you progress through the game you upgrade both your character and their ship.
When on overhead stages you will get into random battles similar to Final Fantasy but instead of the typical turn-based combat you’d find in other role-playing games, the battles play out as shoot em’ up stages.
5 Gunstar Super Heroes
Gunstar Super Heroes was developed by Treasure and is a sequel to the cult hit Gunstar Heroes. The game offers frantic run and gun action with some light beat em’ up elements. You have a few different weapons to choose from at the beginning but can only bring along 3. Your weapons can also be combined into one shot to help give the game some strategy and variety. While the game is great overall, the small screen on the Game Boy Advance makes it difficult to gauge what exactly is going on.
4 Dragon Ball Advance Adventure
Dragon Ball Advance Adventure is one of the few Dragon Ball games that is set in the Dragon Ball era rather than the Dragon Ball Z era meaning that Goku is a young boy. The game is a beat em’ up that turns into a 1 on 1 tournament fighter during boss battles.
As you progress through the game you find different power-ups that will improve Goku’s Kamehameha as well as widen his move set. From boss, enemies, and environments, every part of the game is well detailed and looks like it was pulled straight out of the Dragon Ball universe.
3 Ninja Five-O
Ninja Five-O plays similarly to Sega’s arcade classic Shinobi. You must duck behind cover and wait for the right moment to strike. There are hostages in each level that must be saved or you will not be able to progress.
Unlike Shinobi, in Ninja Five-O, you are given a grappling hook that allows you to swing from platform to platform so you can approach your enemies from a more favorable position. You also have the ability to upgrade your shuriken from a basic small projectile to a three-way shot and again into a deadly beam.
2 Astro Boy: Omega Factor
Astro Boy: Omega Factor was developed by Treasure and plays very similar to Gunstar Heroes but focuses more on beat em’ up action rather than run and gun action. You have the ability to shoot massive lasers across the screen, fire a pair of machine guns that will hit everything on the screen, and more.
As Astro Boy makes his way through the game, he will have the ability to level up one of his many abilities, allowing the player to customize the robotic boy however they see fit.
1 Mother 3
Mother 3 is the sequel to Earthbound and was originally intended to be on the Nintendo 64 Disc Drive. Like Earthbound, the game is packed with personality and a lot of heart. Mother 3 is one of the better-looking games on the Game Boy Advance with great sprite work and use of color.