Summary

• Game Boy Advance design influenced future Nintendo handhelds by adopting landscape presentation with buttons on either side of the screen.
• The game library of the GBA was deep, with many contenders for the best Nintendo games ever made, still relevant and engaging.
• The best GBA games include several Legend of Zelda titles, alongside other hits like Golden Sun and Metroid Fusion.

The Game Boy Advance was a landmark achievement for Nintendo when it first released in 2001. As the successor to the wildly popular Game Boy Color, it had big shoes to fill, but its release heralded a few major design changes that would inform the future of Nintendo's handheld launches. Its adoption of a landscape presentation that moved buttons and the D-Pad to the side of the screen became stock for the release of the DS, 3DS, and Switch, and its backward compatibility helped push the notion that it was an evolution of a larger family of handhelds that would be worthy investments for years to come.

The Game Boy Advance wasn't just a major hardware upgrade, however. It also pushed handheld gaming towards greater heights. Whether it was the adaptation of something old or the innovation of something new, the Game Boy Advance game library was deep by the end of its life cycle, with a number of contenders for some of the best Nintendo games ever made. With so many options to choose from and a number of ways to play them today, they're still relevant and engaging, too. These games are the best GBA games ever made, and well worth checking out in 2024 with the right hardware.

15 The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Metascore: 89

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap is a prequel to Four Swords, detailing how the titular sword came to be and providing backstory for main villain Vaati. As a top-down Legend of Zelda game, it's reminiscent of many of its earlier efforts that were adapted to handheld, such as A Link To The Past. It was well-received upon release, and has since gone on to be considered one of the best GBA games ever made, having won an award for GBA Game of the Year in 2005 and remaining relevant to the series ever since.

The main twist on standard Legend of Zelda gameplay involves the Minish Cap, which allows Link to shrink in size. This change in scale also changes how Link can interact with the game world; some entrances or portals are too small for a normal-sized Link, but shrinking down can create obstacles out of every day items and environments, like puddles that suddenly become too deep and large to traverse successfully. It's a fun twist that keeps with the spirit of the franchise since Ocarina of Time, featuring an item that can create multiple puzzles/memories out of the same areas.

14 Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis

Metascore: 88

Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis follows the knight Alphonse as he navigates the brutal politics of a war-torn land. It's a prequel to several other games in the series, and features an A+ ending that was so hard to get - and so needlessly obscure - many people likely don't know who Alphonse's identity in future games is (which is a shame, because it's quite the backstory). The Knight of Lodis also features the series' trademark tactical gameplay, with deep skill systems and strategies available to those who want to dive into the more detailed elements of its mechanics.

The biggest victory for Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, however, was proving that tactics games could be successfully brought to the Game Boy Advance in ways that didn't sacrifice their identity for simplicity's sake. Contextually, Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis helped pave the way for future tactical RPGs on the Game Boy Advance and, by extension, helped create a healthy environment for future great instalments in Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics to exist. It's also a great title in its own right and is definitely one of the best GBA games of its era.

13 WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$!

Metascore: 89

WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! is the obnoxiously titled collection of minigames that is the debut title for the series, launching in 2003 for the Game Boy Advance. It released to extraordinary acclaim, having been rated one of the best handheld games of all-time, one of the best games of all-time in general, and as one of the most innovative games created in its era. Its success founded the WarioWare, Inc. series and helped create a foundation upon which other "games that are collections of games" could be built - think Jackbox, even, many years later.

The gameplay of WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! is simple: bombard players with a series of simple minigames with little respite and an increased speed as things progress. That bare bones aesthetic and concept yielded an incredible party game, and it features over 200 minigames to keep things fresh for players. That many was necessary given its pacing, too, which is absurd in a compelling way. Every platform needs its far share of weird games that somehow find success, and it's hard to argue that WarioWare, Inc.: Mega Microgame$! wasn't the best GBA game to achieve that feat for its time.

12 Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire

Metascore: 82

Perhaps the biggest criticism that Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire faced when they released in 2002 was that they were more of the same thing - somewhat hilariously now, given that's often a criticism Pokemon titles in 2024 face, too. What they lacked in innovation they made up for in refinement, however, adding 135 new Pokemon while honing systems that had already been beloved by fans. Graphics were tightened up when compared to previous generation releases, too, which helped add to the appeal.

Ultimately, Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire are great games that were certainly boosted by their status as entries into an historic franchise. That said, these are the two best Pokemon games for GBA, and it would be impossible to leave the franchise off a list discussing the handheld device. The introduction of double battles and continued excellence in Pokemon designs make it a worthwhile endeavor, and its remakes prove there's interest in revisiting the Hoenn region.

11 Golden Sun

Metascore: 91

Golden Sun was a landmark JRPG release when it arrived in 2001. It marked a new era for handheld RPG titles, with superior graphics, far better audio design thanks to the GBA's capabilities, and a deeper story and playtime that allowed it to breathe and achieve a narrative that was remarkable and fleshed out. Djinn-based gameplay helped differentiate its combat systems from competitors, while Psynergy allowed for deeper strategy, offering players choices and depth that were usually, in this era, reserved for console releases.

Golden Sun is important not just because it's a great JRPG, but because it's one of the best GBA games of all time. It challenged convention of what was possible for a title in this genre to achieve on a system with lower power capabilities than consoles. It's hard to discern just how much of an impact Golden Sun had on modern gaming's landscape, but it was one of the innovators of its era that helped prove developers weren't "wasting" their time by developing an ambitious, story-first title on a handheld system.

10 Metroid: Zero Mission

Metascore: 89

Metroid: Zero Mission is a 2004 remake of the original Metroid released in 1986. It's a retelling of the classic story that doesn't stray too far from anything that was already considered canon, but helps explore Samus' past and tread new ground for a character who had become much more iconic in the interim between the two releases. Beyond the story beats, Metroid: Zero Mission also features additional areas, mini-bosses, and new items, and also adds difficulty levels to help diversify the content available for players who may be enjoying it for the first time or returning after a history with the original Metroid.

One of the most important contributions Metroid: Zero Mission made to gaming was its rock-solid performance as a noteworthy remake for a handheld device. The Game Boy Advance was enough of a leap forward technologically that Nintendo was able to revamp an old classic, which proved two things: there's a market for well-made remakes, and handheld devices were perfect homes for them, allowing them to be taken on the go. Metroid: Zero Mission is also one of the best GBA games - and games in general - of all time, having found critical and commercial success in its life cycle.

9 Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Metascore: 90

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga was originally released in 2003 for Game Boy Advance and immediately represented a new spin on the Super Mario RPG formula. Rather than lean too heavily into a fantasy-inspired narrative or take itself too seriously, Superstar Saga was immediately humorous and never strayed away from that conceit. The result was a raucous good time that didn't detract from its surprisingly deep gameplay, and it helped provide a blueprint for the potential of Super Mario spin-offs that were funny-first endeavors.

As much as the humor was a major selling point, however, that's not what makes Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga one of the best GBA games ever. Controlling Mario and Luigi simultaneously, players must perform elaborate battle maneuvers that focus much more on timing than anything turn-based. It's a system that would be revisited multiple times for Super Mario RPGs - at least in concept if not in exact function - and it helped make the game's home on the Game Boy Advance feel justified, since the simplified combat felt more appropriate for a title on that platform.

8 Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

Metascore: 91

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow is an interesting discussion. The third instalment of the series to arrive on Game Boy Advance, it's perhaps the most ambitious, introducing new systems and a storyline set in 2035 that featured protagonist Soma attempting to stymie a prophecy about Dracula's resurrection in his castle. The game features a few fun plot twists and visuals that place it right at home in the Castlevania franchise, but it sold quite poorly in Japan initially, with sales in the West helping make up some of that disappointment but positioning it more as a cult classic.

Critical reception, though, was quite another story. Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow's introduction of the Tactical Soul ability was near-universally praised as a breath of fresh air that stayed true to the franchise's identity, allowing Soma to absorb the souls of defeated enemies to gain additional abilities. Audio engineering and excellent enemy sprites highlighted other areas of praise, but it was truly the gameplay that solidified Aria of Sorrow as one of the best Castlevania games of all time, rivaling even Symphony of the Night.

7 Final Fantasy VI

Metascore: 92

While most of this list stays away from ports, there's one well worth mentioning: Final Fantasy VI. Its original release in 1994 saw it praised as another Square classic, a timeless JRPG with a sweeping, spectacular story and turn-based gameplay that made the genre continue to churn out hit after hit thanks to its strategic depth. When this version released in 2007 - at the tail end of the Game Boy Advance's lifespan - everything that was previously said about FF6 remained true, even if there had been many leaps in technology since.

What Final Fantasy VI did in 2007 - besides add a quick-save function in its Game Boy Advance release that was a lifesaver - was reintroduce a new generation of RPG fans to a fundamental classic, an influence on the genre that's still felt in modern gaming. Final Fantasy VI is one of the best JRPGs ever made and it became infinitely more accessible to people once it arrived as a fully realized port that sacrificed nothing to also become one of the best GBA games ever released.

6 Metroid Fusion

Metascore: 92

Metroid Fusion's 2002 release was as important as it was heavily anticipated - it was the first Metroid title for the Game Boy Advance and the series' longstanding reputation would be affected by how it was received. It's good for everyone, then, that Samus' adventure here is considered one of her better ones - it won a slew of "Best of" awards for GBA in its release year, and retrospectives have identified it as an excellent Metroid title even absent consideration for the platform it released on.

Metroid Fusion did mark a few departures from the series' norm that were controversial, however, with an increased focus on linearity and a shorter playtime as a result. While this was a point of contention for many critics, the game ultimately won most of them over in spite of these qualms - if they existed in the first place for the critic - thanks to stellar gameplay and environmental design, with particular praise given to the secret areas that were notably fun to find.