The Game Boy Advance is a wonderful handheld, especially when you consider how few years it was actually around for. Nintendo crammed a lot of quality onto it though, and so not every game really got its due. Hopefully you can find it in your heart to give these GBA gems a go on your nearest “online emporium of shared goods”
Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart
Dragon Quest is possibly the only RPG series comparable to Final Fantasy that’s had a ridiculous amount of both main entries and spin-offs. Maybe Shin Megami Tensei too, but I just shifted a headache and I don’t want another one.
It’s the DQ spin-offs we want to focus on today, specifically Dragon Quest Monsters. Inspired heavily by the monster catching gameplay of Pokemon, Dragon Quest Monsters sees players capturing monsters to fight for them instead of just picking a character class and bonking everyone on the head. At least, that was the formula before the Japan exclusive Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart rocked up anyway, as this third entry in the series allows the player character to fight alongside their monsters instead of sitting back like an old timey general refusing to get their hands dirty.
Players in Caravan Heart control Kiefer, not the guy from 24 but the protagonist of Dragon Quest VII, as they’re transported to the world of Dragon Quest II. Immediately, they become the leader of a caravan led by Luin, someone who’s looking for a cure for their sick parents. As mentioned above, the key addition to Caravan Heart was the fact that players could hire humans alongside monsters to defend their caravan, with 20 character classes giving you plenty of control over your party. When you consider the ability to use monster hearts to evolve your critters, and to turn your caravan into a sort of travelling town complete with resources and shopfronts, there’s an incredible amount of depth here in Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart. Sorry to sound like a broken record.
Broken Sword: The Shadow Of The Templars
Sometimes, a hidden gem isn’t just a game that was an original release for that platform, but instead a new version of a classic that might not have got the love it should’ve earned when it launched. One of those on the Game Boy Advance is Broken Sword: The Shadow Of The Templars. Instead of just being a straight port of the original point and click adventure game, Broken Sword: The Shadow Of The Templars was actually rebuilt from the ground up on a new engine in order to create an authentic experience on a handheld platform. It’s hard to create a proper “point and click” adventure game on the GBA when there isn’t even a mouse you can do that pointing and clicking with, so developers Revolution Software had to get creative.
They gave you a gun!
No, instead of controlling a cursor on a tiny screen, which would have caused too much visual clutter for the GBA, Broken Sword: The Shadow Of The Templars instead puts players in direct control of protagonist George. You’re not just clicking on objects to get George to walk there, but guiding him with the d-pad like a regular adventure game. Another feature that helped make Broken Sword more accessible for the GBA is that players can hold down a button to see every interactable on screen, instead of just clicking on every little detail and hoping it progresses the game. The story is mostly the same, albeit with some instances of cut dialogue, with George investigating a bomb plot in Paris that spirals out into a conspiracy involving the Templars themselves.
Essential stuff as point and clicks go, but the GBA feels like a forgotten but brilliant way to experience a classic that’s kimpossible to not feel impressed by.
Kim Possible 2: Drakken’s Demise
If you were a kid growing up in the early to mid 2000s, the chances are pretty huge that you would have at least watched one episode of Kim Possible. Or, you’ve grown up and are more interested in the villain Shego. We know what you are.
The cartoon about a teenage super spy, Kim Possible felt like a genuine hit for Disney’s TV division, so naturally they tried to milk the franchise for all its worth. That, as is the Disney way, includes video games, with Kim Possible starring in plenty of video games that fleshed out the adventures of the world’s greatest spies. The first game on the GBA didn’t set the world alight, but Kim Possible 2: Drakken’s Demise basically ditched everything about that original release and was much better for it.
While the first game in the series was a straightforward beat ‘em up with hardly any original qualities, Kim Possible 2 takes on the form of an action platformer. Kim comes armed with plenty of gadgets to make her way through the game’s massive levels that offer multiple routes, and while you’ll be using the Bionic Commando-esque grappling hook for most of it, there’s plenty of other tools to play around with too. Throw in four distinct “episodes”; different sections of the game designed to be sequels to various episodes in Season 2 of the show, and Kim Possible 2 is a perfect accompaniment for fans who grew up watching arguably one of the greatest kid’s cartoons. Have no shame in playing this on the bus. You’re an adult. You have free will.
Defender of the Crown
Another example of a remake or reimagining on a handheld platform, Defender of the Crown originally debuted in 1986 for the Commodore Amiga, before being ported to various other platforms over the next few years.
Unfortunately, developers Cinemaware would go out of business in 1991, but in good news for those who love strategy games on handheld platforms, the company was revived in the year 2000 to create new versions of some of their classic games. Don’t worry too much about where they are these days, they’re fine OK? As you’ve no doubt guessed, one of those games was of course Defender of the Crown, and if medieval strategy games feel like a niche that you’re not getting enough of, or you’re tired of playing Advance Wars over and over again, Defender of the Crown deserves your focus.
Set during the dark ages, the King of England has been slain and now the various territorial leaders are fighting for the scraps and to establish their own dominion in a now leaderless land. The player takes over control of one of four different Saxon warriors, each with their own strengths and weaknesses, as they try to defend England from the invading Normans, only to turn their attention inward as the different Saxon leaders vie for control. Players amass armies and take control of territories via different minigames, which include storming the castle or competing in a jousting tournament. It’s a hands-on strategy game, and one that’s worth your time if you’re still waiting for Total War: 1066 or something similar.
Turbo Turtle Adventure
Why do developers love making games about cute animals, or even just marbles, rolling around silly mazes and completing platforming puzzles? Obviously we’re not complaining, the more Super Monkey Ball we can get in this world, the closer we remain to God, but there’s definitely a pattern. Turbo Turtle Adventure follows the same formula with a cutie patootie turtle rolling around some mazes and just living his best life. Well, we’re not actually sure if the turtle on the cover is cute or has been witness to horrors beyond mortal comprehension, but it’s either one or the other. As a game, it follows the same formula as Monkey Ball, but with a top-down perspective instead of 3D, which might explain why Turbo Turtle Adventure was overshadowed by games like Super Monkey Ball Jr.
As a game, Turbo Turtle Adventure couldn’t be simpler, as you’re guiding the turtle in question through dozens of maze-like levels in order to reach the goal before time runs out. A tale as old as time, or as old as gaming anyway. You can move, jump and collect power-ups that give you various abilities to solve the game’s many puzzles, and with a bunch of hidden levels to find by discovering invisible platforms, there’s plenty of solid gameplay here to sink your teeth into.
Admittedly, Turbo Turtle Adventure can get a little bit repetitive before you’ve reached the end, considering it’s the same formula for 50 or so levels, but while it lasts, Turbo Turtle Adventure is brilliant fun. Taters gonna tate.
Hot Potato
The Game Boy Advance is definitely no stranger to housing puzzle games of various quality, with many either aping a Marble Madness or Super Monkey Ball formula, while others go for games like Tetris or Puyo Puyo, matching colours and symbols to score points. Turbo Turtle Adventure was an example of the former, and Hot Potato is definitely an example of the latter, but Hot Potato definitely has enough of its own ideas and charm to make it stand out from the crowd. You know, even if the box art tells you nothing about the game. One look at the cover and you’d have no idea that the game is about lobbing alien potatoes from a moving bus in an attempt to clear a highway.
Clair Obscur is amateur hour stuff.
So yeah, the core gameplay of Hot Potato has the player in control of a bus scrolling up the highway, being blocked by groups of alien potatoes on the road. Fortunately, the bus has six alien potatoes riding along too, which can be launched forward in a row of three in an attempt to colour match with the potatoes on the road. Doing so will wipe them off the road while hitting two potatoes of the same colour will create more obstacles. It’s a match game and a shoot ‘em up in one, which feels like the exact kind of genre mashing you could expect from the Game Boy Advance. With plenty of levels and more challenges as you progress through the game, Hot Potato is definitely one to keep your eyes peeled for.
Boxing Fever
There just so happens to be plenty of cool ass boxing games on retro platforms. Can we get even a crumb of those on modern platforms that aren’t just Punch-Out clones or bad attempts at Fight Night? We’re not asking for much, obviously. Still, it’s not like Boxing Fever doesn’t wear its Punch-Out influence on its sleeve, or, well, gloves. It just so happens to have its own flair and style that makes it quite an impressive little GBA game. In fact, if we include the boxer’s left and right arms as guns, we could even say it’s the best looking first person shooter on the GBA. Unfortunately, the gun show is metaphorical instead of literal, but this is still a gorgeous looking game.
A first person boxing game, players use the d-pad to block and punch, while using the left and right bumpers to properly dodge attacks. It’s simple enough to learn, and there’s only a couple of belts to fight for with a handful of fights each, so it’s not like Boxing Fever is filled to the brim with content, but if you want an example of amazing graphics on the GBA, look no further. The game’s graphical engine uses sprite work and shading to create a pseudo-3D look, which gives each of the game’s characters more of a distinct look. It’s genuinely impressive for the handheld, feeling like a pocket companion to the PS2’s Black and Bruised in terms of art style. Boxing Fever is light arcadey fun, and will definitely entertain you for a few rounds.
A Sound Of Thunder
Video game tie-ins to films and even books are nothing new or even novel. That pun wasn’t intentional, but we’ve already spoken it out loud and we don’t have time to linger, but we do, however, have plenty of time for stories about time travel shenanigans and dinosaurs. A Sound Of Thunder then is the perfect game for us to spotlight.
What’s interesting about this particular film tie-in though is that even though it’s based heavily on the events of the film, it was released on the GBA in Europe about a year and a half before the film’s eventual release, and about six months before the film in the US. It’s not even like the game uses the original Ray Bradbury short story from the 50s, as so much of the plot and threats you face are linked to the film. It’s wild that there was that much of a time gap.
The game version of A Sound Of Thunder sees players controlling Edward Burns’ character Travis Ryer, an expedition guide for Time Safari that lets the ultra rich hunt dinosaurs. Due to one of the rich idiots stepping off the mandated path and squishing a butterfly, time is now distorting to the point where vegetation is overwhelming future Chicago and transforming people into mutants. It’s nothing like the original short story, basically, but it does create an isometric shooter that lets players shoot dinosaurs, which is great. Admittedly, it’s not the greatest reviewed GBA game ever, but it received a warmer reception than the film and included four player deathmatches with just one cartridge and Link Cable.
That’s pretty cool, even if the film was pretty bad. What the blazes were they thinking.
Rescue Heroes: Billy Blazes
Despite the fact that being a firefighter is arguably the most heroic and brave of all the emergency services, it feels like games that let you play as a firefighter are as rare as they come. For every firefighting game, it feels like there’s about 200 where you play as a cop. Apparently literally fighting fire isn’t very cool, but fortunately for us, WayForward didn’t subscribe to that notion. In 2003, they released Rescue Heroes: Billy Blazes, a side scrolling platformer based on the Rescue Heroes line of toys from Fisher Price, that even included TV shows and a direct-to-TV film. You want the best of the best though? WayForward has your back.
Players control another nominative determinism victim in Billy Blazes, a firefighter who rushes to action when a lightning strike causes a forest fire that’s threatening an entire city. Across eight levels, along with bonus levels in between, you use your hose and various tools to put out raging infernoes and rescue the citizens that are in peril. There’s two difficulty modes, with Rookie allowing for infinite resources, while the Advanced mode requires players to find hydrants to refill your water, along with the tools you’ll need to solve all the puzzles.
Again, firefighting games feel like they’re an all too rare occurrence, so one that offers a rare type of gameplay that’s also actually good is worth mentioning. Rescue Heroes: Billy Blazes is that game.
Guru Logi Champ
Usually we like to include one Japan-only release in these videos, but today, you’re getting two. Consider yourself lucky, or cursed? Up to you, I suppose. Anyway, the Champ series of games by Compile are about as hard to nail down as a dust cloud, with the first two games, Bucket Relay Champ and Quiz Tsunahiki Champ, releasing on developer Compile’s Disk Station magazine disks. Both were just minigames, with the second one essentially being a trivia game, while the first one is literally about passing buckets from duck to duck. Those ducks are the so-called Champs, and are the only thing that would make the transition to the eventual third and final release on GBA, Guru Logi Champ.
A variation on the classic Japanese game of Sokoban, Guru Logi Champ sees two heroic Champs trying to fight against a demonic Champ called Boss. That sounds like the premise for a shooter or beat ‘em up, but Guru Logi Champ is actually a puzzle game, with the player trying to add or remove blocks from a board in order to make a shape and solve the puzzle. It sounds like a simple enough premise, but the game throws so many hazards and issues your way across the over 300 levels that you’ll be trying to solve this game’s riddles for a long time indeed. You’ve even got an additional multiplayer mode, where players compete to complete a puzzle as quickly as possible, because puzzles aren’t stressful enough.
READ NEXT: 50 Best Nintendo 3DS Games of All Time
Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made from visiting our site.
