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Finishing up my GBA collection

MoioinkMoioink Registered User regular
edited February 2016 in Games and Technology
I thought I should get this done now before prices get any higher and empty DS cases go out of production (I make covers for all of my games). Here is what I currently have:


If anyone has any personal favourites that I am missing please let me know. I am especially interested in opinions regarding the Klonoa games, Sword of Mana, Shining Soul 1&2, Dragonball Advance Adventure and Kirby Amazing Mirror.

Moioink on
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Posts

  • RenzoRenzo Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Rhythm Heaven, but it's an import. It's probably my favorite game on the system. I highly recommend it.

    You already have my other favorites: Drill Dozer and Metroid: Zero Mission

    Have you considered the Final Fantasy re-releases? I & II, IV, V, and VI?

    Renzo on
  • GlalGlal AiredaleRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Astro Boy and Legend of Spyro: Eternal Night are fantastic brawlers.

    Glal on
  • MoioinkMoioink Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Renzo wrote: »
    Rhythm Heaven, but it's an import. It's probably my favorite game on the system. I highly recommend it.

    You already have my other favorites: Drill Dozer and Metroid: Zero Mission

    Have you considered the Final Fantasy re-releases? I & II, IV, V, and VI?

    I used to own Rhythm Heaven but sold it because it was too hard and was sick of the game calling me bad. :(

    I sold FF 1&2 too because I found it too dated. The other ones I have on SNES.

    Moioink on
  • MoioinkMoioink Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Glal wrote: »
    Astro Boy and Legend of Spyro: Eternal Night are fantastic brawlers.

    Will look into both, thanks.

    Moioink on
  • ChenChen Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    My personal favorite import game is Fire Emblem: The Sealed Sword.

    Err, other than that, Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis, which is probably impossible to find that's not a bootleg; Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, a more lighthearted version of Tactics Ogre in terms of both story and difficulty; Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, arguably the best of the portable Castlevanias; and probably my favorite game of all time: Super Mario Bros 3.

    Chen on
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  • THEPAIN73THEPAIN73 Shiny. Real shiny.Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Final Fantasy IV
    Pokemon Fire Red
    The Legend of Zelda (NES Classic)
    Super Mario Bros (NES Classic)

    These are my choices for you.

    THEPAIN73 on
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  • ChenChen Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Aside from the fact Super Mario Bros. is already on the list, why would you ever recommend it over Super Mario Bros. 3?

    Chen on
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  • ShadowfireShadowfire Vermont, in the middle of nowhereRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I'd say all of the Castlevania GBA titles are worth getting a hold of. They're all good, and just different enough from each other to be fun.

    Also, Rebelstar Tactical Command is great if you can get a hold of it. Kind of like X-Com for the GBA, and even has at least one of the same designers.

    Shadowfire on
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  • THEPAIN73THEPAIN73 Shiny. Real shiny.Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I made a mistake.

    Feel free to list SMB3.

    THEPAIN73 on
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  • WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Donkey Kong: King of Swing. A fantastic game but overlooked because it came out shortly after the DS launched.

    Willeth on
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  • CorpekataCorpekata Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    The FF games and Castlevanias seem the biggest missing titles. Even avoiding the remakes, snag Tactics at least. Tactics Ogre but like mentioned, hard to find.

    Ninja Five-o, overlooked game frequently. Bionic Commando plus Ninjas.

    Boktai is that GBA game with the extremely gimmick sunlight mechanic. However, I enjoyed it quite a bit in general.

    Corpekata on
  • apotheosapotheos Registered User, ClubPA regular
    edited June 2011
    Really all you need is the last GBA Castlevania, and the first DS one.

    The rest were more-of-the-same stuff.

    apotheos on


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  • MoioinkMoioink Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Super Mario 3: I would get this if Nintendo hadn't put all the extra levels on e-Reader cards. We didn't even get the e-Reader over here...

    Rebelstar: Sound interesting, all the unboxed ones on ebay seem too cheap to not be bootlegs right now though. :(

    Ninja Cop: This is great but it's too expensive to own a physical copy of.

    King of Swing: I think I will get this, thanks.

    Tactics Ogre: I haven't touched this series. Is it a good one to start with?

    Castlevania: I might look into Aria then.

    Moioink on
  • CorpekataCorpekata Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    If you own a PSP I'd say just get the recent remake of the original Tactics Ogre game. In general, they're all good games, but tend to be a bit hard to find sometimes.

    Corpekata on
  • bobmyknobbobmyknob 3DS Friend Code 4553-9974-2186 Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Mario Golf: Advance Tour

    One of the best RPGs ever, and also a fun golf game.

    bobmyknob on
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  • BullioBullio Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Moioink wrote: »
    Glal wrote: »
    Astro Boy and Legend of Spyro: Eternal Night are fantastic brawlers.

    Will look into both, thanks.

    Add TMNT to the list as well. It's quite possibly the best TMNT brawler ever made, but is at least easily the best TMNT brawler since Turtles in Time for the SNES.

    The two great GBA Castlevanias (Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow) were released in a 2-in-1 cart if you don't want to track down each game separately.

    FFVI, especially if you've never played it before. Ditto for IV, but I'd recommend the DS remake over the GBA port. If you want a more annoying menu system and the classic sprite graphics then go with the GBA port.

    Pokemon Emerald if you want an original GBA entry into the series.

    Bullio on
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  • GuildNavigatorGuildNavigator Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    This thread is relevant to my interests :O

    GuildNavigator on
  • echo 78echo 78 Title Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    I have Klonoa 2: Dream Champ Tournament. Its kind of fun. It plays similar to the console Klonoa's. Slightly easier. It was worth the $5 at Gamestop.

    The Megaman: Battle Network games are pretty fun as well. You already have Advance Wars and Golden Sun, so you've already played the GBA's best games if you ask me.

    echo 78 on
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  • Xenogears of BoreXenogears of Bore Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Mother 3.

    Xenogears of Bore on
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  • Zerozaki IshikiZerozaki Ishiki Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    The two Klonoa games are far and away the best games in the series. The majority of the levels are super tight puzzle platformers, with you using Klonoa's abilities to figure out how to collect everything. They have a really well balanced difficulty curve, and are very satisfying. Each world also has a frustrating auto-scrolling level and a spazzy waveboard level (the second one even tries to make the latter 3D, which looks awful) as well as a terrible boss. I hated all of those levels, but except for the boss, they're optional.

    Zerozaki Ishiki on
  • DarkPrimusDarkPrimus Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    A really nice platformer is Kim Possible 2. Someone recommended it several years ago on the board here and it was definitely worth the $10 or so I paid for it.

    DarkPrimus on
  • ronzoronzo Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    If you enjoyed the fire emblem games, maybe look into getting the two Super Robot Taisen games.

    Edit: Also the Megaman Zero series, but you can get that collection on the DS now

    Edit2: Riveria: The promised land was also pretty good

    ronzo on
  • SmokeStacksSmokeStacks Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Wolfenstein 3D and Doom both had fairly good ports on the GBA, if you're interested in some portable shootan mans/nazis/demons.

    The Sonic Advance games are a lot of fun as well. Basically, there was a preiod of time where the GBA was the only platform getting non-shitty Sonic games.

    Finally, the Tony Hawk's Pro Skater ports to the GBA were awesome. They were isometric top down, and managed to do a pretty decent job of transitioning the pretty complicated control scheme to the GBA's two buttons and two triggers.

    SmokeStacks on
  • WillethWilleth Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Oh, hey, PA forums. We're getting slow, and nobody's lit the Slash signal yet.

    Willeth on
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  • l_gl_g Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    F-Zero Maximum Velocity (the launch title) I enjoyed much more than GP Legend because the vehicles in Maximum Velocity felt like they had a lot more inertia.

    The Boktai games are both interesting and worth playing.

    Car Battler Joe is one of those games that its fans swear by.

    The Summon Night games are not bad, though you really don't need all of them and they're not terribly difficult.

    Yggdra Union is an interesting game, but the PSP version is by accounts the definitive version.

    l_g on
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  • Z0reZ0re Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    My favorites that you don't have,

    Pokemon Emerald- You already have Leaf Green, and this is the best of the Hoenn games

    Megaman Battle Network 3,5,6- These are the best games in the Battle Network series, and I always had a ton of fun with them. Both versions of 5 are available on the DS.

    Megaman Zero- Unless you want to pick up the collection for the DS, these are some really solid action platformers.

    Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced: Is one of my favorite SRPGs, though it is a bit slow and some weird mechanics

    Z0re on
  • ZythonZython Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    If you don't have a PSP, I highly recommend Riviera. Easily one of my favorite games on the system. It starts slow, but uses a unique battle system that I personally liked. Check it out.

    Edit: I don't see Tales of Phantasia having been mentioned here. If you don't have the import for the SNES or Playstation, get it.

    Edit: Sorry for a question distracting from the topic, but would the GBA Advance Wars games be worth getting if I've played and beaten the DS version, or would it feel like too much of a downgrade to enjoy properly?

    Zython on
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  • MoioinkMoioink Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Any and all GBA discussion is welcome. :) The GBA Advance Wars are definitely still worth getting. I don't remember any additions to the DS games that make it difficult to go back to the old ones.

    I have Tales of Phantasia on SNES, one of these days I will get around to playing it. The intro is pretty amazing.

    Moioink on
  • ChenChen Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    The original Advance Wars still has the most balanced rock-paper-scizzors system (no neo or mega tanks), no overpowered super CO powers (suck it, Grit), and the only Advance Wars with a branching story mode (woo replay value). I also like the map designs the most. No stupid pipelines that you can't fly over and Sonja actually poses a real challenge!

    The second Advance Wars, Black Hole Rising, has the aforementioned Super CO Powers, which make some COs stupidly unfair (hello, Grit), but they made Kanbei and Eagle godly, so all's forgiven. I don't like how Black Hole gets free units every turn, those pipelines are obnoxious, Missile Silos are meh and the map design is a little bland near the end, but still not as bland as Dual Strike or Days of Ruin. Still worth getting though, if only for Sturm.

    So if you see Advance Wars more as a chess-like strategy game rather than more is flashier is better, then GOOD GOD YES! It is worth it!

    Chen on
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  • Xenogears of BoreXenogears of Bore Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Days of Ruin has better balance because it attempts (and largely succeeds) at balancing the CO's.

    Xenogears of Bore on
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  • UncleSporkyUncleSporky Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Karnaaj Rally

    UncleSporky on
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  • IceBurnerIceBurner It's cold and there are penguins.Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    My take on Sword of Mana is that it's somewhat enjoyable but does not manage to stand up to Secret of Mana, or even Seiken Densetsu 3. Lack of true system-linked multiplayer is also pretty unforgivable.

    As for my favorites, Aria of Sorrow is an easy choice for a great "Metroidvania" style game. I also enjoyed the Circle of the Moon, but could not stand the art, gameplay, or stage design of Harmony of Dissonance.

    I have to vouch for the two Summon Night games which did get localized (there's a third but it's Japan-only). I consider them to be fun action-RPGs with some light item crafting. The combat system is similar to older Tales titles but you only have one party member actively fighting.

    Speaking of Tales, Tales of Phantasia is a pretty good game but the GBA port is really the poorest version. It's still worth it if you can get one of the other releases.

    The various Final Fantasy ports are good if you have any nostalgia for them, however they have not necessarily aged well for those who were't into them to begin with. Of note is that the North America release of FF IV Advance has some serious game-breaking bugs; if you can, import the less-buggy EU release and read up on the issues.

    Tactics Ogre: Knight of Lodis and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance are both fun strategy games. The former is of the more serious variety and the latter is light-hearted. Both can't quite live up to FFTactics and TO: Let Us Cling Together, but they're not bad.

    Super Robot Taisen Original Generation & SRT OG 2 - Are you in to Japanese robots? Do you like straightforward-but-deceptively-difficult SRPGs? Does silly anime melodrama not get in the way of your desire to curbstomp mooks and smack down ridiculous uber-bosses? If so, Bandai cooked these up just for you.

    IceBurner on
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  • Xenogears of BoreXenogears of Bore Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    The ATB bug in FF IV Advance is hardly game breaking. It is annoying though.

    FF V Advance is easily the best version of the game.

    Xenogears of Bore on
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  • VALVEjunkieVALVEjunkie Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    wario land 4 is

    so

    so good, I know it's already in that list of yours but I had to say that for the rest of these folks

    and also FFV GBA, you said you've got the SNES version but the SNES version only got released in japan so you were probably mistaken and should pick up the GBA one

    VALVEjunkie on
  • IceBurnerIceBurner It's cold and there are penguins.Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    The ATB bug in FF IV Advance is hardly game breaking. It is annoying though.
    Seems I was getting bugs from FFIV DS mixed up with FFIV Advance. In that version there's several ways to permanently get stuck or erase your saves. My mistake.

    IceBurner on
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  • cj iwakuracj iwakura The Rhythm Regent Bears The Name FreedomRegistered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Shin Megami Tensei: DemiKids - Dark Version. Light is not very difficult, and kind of boring.


    Also, consider CIMA: The Enemy and Sigma Star Saga.

    cj iwakura on
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  • hadokenhadoken Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Every megaman battle network.

    hadoken on
  • DrakeDrake Edgelord Trash Below the ecliptic plane.Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Lady Sia is a solid, often overlooked side scroller that has a fun look and plays well.

    Metal Slug Advance is really good.

    Lord of the Rings: The Third Age was a bad attempt at JRPG gameplay on consoles, but on the GBA it's a pretty cool Tactics game that has a Sauron Campaign in addition to the usual Fellowship shenanigans.

    Gradius Galaxies is a pretty cool shmup.

    Riviera and Ygddra Union are both really cool. Ygddra Union is crazy hard but really awesome. I echo these recommendations.

    River City Ransom for side scrolling, beat em up good times.

    Klonoa: Empire of Dreams is a must-have if you can get your hands on a copy. It's just that good.

    Drake on
  • ChenChen Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    Days of Ruin has better balance because it attempts (and largely succeeds) at balancing the CO's.
    Tabitha? She's not banned for online play and gets a huge attack/defense bonus and Meteor Strike, which is not difficult to reach thanks to her high defense bonus. I chose her once for online play on a small map and she still dominated and fired off Meteor Strike to add insult to injury. I never chose her since. AW1 Sturm has its stats reversed in VS mode and a neutered Meteor Strike, and AW2 Sturm is somewhat neutered by a lack of a normal CO power, a long meter and Kanbei who beats Sturm stat for stat. Colin can also give him a run for his money thanks to his ability to just remake everything and swarm him.

    And that's not even mentioning the real final boss of Days of Ruin: Caulder, who is the most broken CO in the history of the series and is allowed for local multiplayer. I remember we had a Days of Ruin tournament on this forum and Waylon was ridiculously good too. His aerial units get a huge boon in defense, rivalling Tabitha. Put him in a B-copter in the early game and he's just ridiculously difficult to deal with. I don't think an AA even kills it. And if you made a bunch of AAs, welp, I just made a bunch of tanks and I'm going to roll you over now. In the late game, a CO'd bomber is just unfair, destroying Mega Tanks without a sweat.

    Play AW1 again and you'll realize that the simplicity has a real charm to it. You're restricted to Andy/Max/Sami who are fair and don't make missions ridiculously easy to S rank. The branching is really, really cool, culminating in a climactic final battle and a bonus mission if you chose the correct route. If Nintendo ever releases AW1 as a downloadable game with online play, I wil give Nintendo my monies. ALL OF IT.

    Chen on
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  • MoioinkMoioink Registered User regular
    edited June 2011
    IceBurner wrote: »
    My take on Sword of Mana is that it's somewhat enjoyable but does not manage to stand up to Secret of Mana, or even Seiken Densetsu 3. Lack of true system-linked multiplayer is also pretty unforgivable.

    How long does it take to finish? Does it drag on or is it decently paced?

    I am definitely going to try to get the two Klonoa games then. The 2nd one seems a lot harder to find than the first. :(

    Moioink on
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