GBA turned 20 years old recently

[covfefe2020]

For sure. I was so confused when I saw my cousin playing on his non backlight model. Its kinda cool how the original DS let you toggle it on and off.

[telly]

If I did have one thing to say about the GBA that isn't so great, it's the lackluster sound quality. Some games were able to work around the limitations but a lot of them don't, and it shows, especially with games that were on the SNES or NES.

[covfefe2020]

If you want a game with some really phenomenal music quality I recommend mother 3.

[Flashback2012]

I liked the OG Game Boy and Color but I latched onto the GBA really hard. Years before the GameCube adaptor came out, I dropped $80 on this mod kit that would allow me to use my GBA on a TV. It didn't work as well as I would have liked but it was great at the time.

Interestingly enough, I ran across this post the other day on Reddit...

https://www.reddit.com/r/gamecollecting/comments/mkwqlc/every_na_release_of_super_mario_advance_4_all/

From the looks of it, there's only two of the four versions in the DB. 

[covfefe2020]

that is really bizarre seeing a ds on a gba box. I kind of split them completely apart timeline-wise in my head

[undertakerprime]

The original Game Boy may have been revolutionary, but the GBA is IMO the best portable system ever. The sheer volume of quality software is staggering. The DS also has a lot of good stuff, but I see it more as building on the success of the GBA.

[azure]

Love the GBA, my favorite handheld by far. So many great memories.

[sworddude]

that is really bizarre seeing a ds on a gba box. I kind of split them completely apart timeline-wise in my head

allot of late released gba games had compatibility with ds on the box

it's not really that uncommon

If I did have one thing to say about the GBA that isn't so great, it's the lackluster sound quality. Some games were able to work around the limitations but a lot of them don't, and it shows, especially with games that were on the SNES or NES.

sad but truth.

[covfefe2020]

I know. I just thought it was interesting because, as I said, I segment the consoles into different era´s in my head. My Uno 52 for the GBA even displays the nintendo ds health and saftey screen when it boots up!

[kamikazekeeg]

GBA was the last era of portable gaming I seriously got into.  I had a GBA SP with a rubber controller styled grip, which was sorta the only way I could make it comfortable.  I didn't play it a ton, I mostly had like those NES Mario and Zelda ports, I think I played some of the GBA Zelda stuff, and then played an assortment of other games I'm spacing on.  I actually gave my GBA to my cousin like a decade ago so he had something to play with and I think he still has.  To show how old it really is and what time I got the SP in, at the time there was a website where you could create your own skins to put on, so I designed a Halo skin with Master Chief and I think like the Legendary skull logo to put on my Nintendo system as I was super big into Halo and Halo 2 at the time lol

[chexmixbreath]

I liked the OG Game Boy and Color but I latched onto the GBA really hard. Years before the GameCube adaptor came out, I dropped $80 on this mod kit that would allow me to use my GBA on a TV. It didn't work as well as I would have liked but it was great at the time.

Interestingly enough, I ran across this post the other day on Reddit...

https://www.reddit.com/r/gamecollecting/comments/mkwqlc/every_na_release_of_super_mario_advance_4_all/

From the looks of it, there's only two of the four versions in the DB. 

Really cool find! I could have sworn there was a "Player's Choice" yellow banner version of SMA4, but I'm probably thinking about the other three SMA games. I have never seen that 4th version before ever, with the DS Compatible logo on the front! I know a lot of (maybe all?) GBA games released after late 2004 mention DS compatibility on the back of the box.

[oldgamerz]

If I did have one thing to say about the GBA that isn't so great, it's the lackluster sound quality. Some games were able to work around the limitations but a lot of them don't, and it shows, especially with games that were on the SNES or NES.

Duke Nukem Advance is one of those games on the GBA like that. According to a video by "Game Sack" on YouTube. it was one of those Gameboy Advance games that pushed the hardware to it's limits. It was a first person shooter with early Nintendo 64 type of graphics. it was slow and clunky but it played at least. it used the same graphics as Duke Nukem 64 for the Nintendo 64 and Duke Nukem 3D for the PC released back in 1996.


I know because I used to play it on My GameBoy Advance SP. If the hardware on this handheld was actually designed to play more games like that? I would have still had mine.

here is a complete YouTube Playlist but it's not gamesack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxUi1Y8FOnM&list=PLFBCA60C4A2FD83D3

[undertakerprime]

If I did have one thing to say about the GBA that isn't so great, it's the lackluster sound quality. Some games were able to work around the limitations but a lot of them don't, and it shows, especially with games that were on the SNES or NES.

Duke Nukem Advance is one of those games on the GBA like that. According to a video by "Game Sack" on YouTube. it was one of those Gameboy Advance games that pushed the hardware to it's limits. It was a first person shooter with early Nintendo 64 type of graphics. it was slow and clunky but it played at least. it used the same graphics as Duke Nukem 64 for the Nintendo 64 and Duke Nukem 3D for the PC released back in 1996.


I know because I used to play it on My GameBoy Advance SP. If the hardware on this handheld was actually designed to play more games like that? I would have still had mine.

here is a complete YouTube Playlist but it's not gamesack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxUi1Y8FOnM&list=PLFBCA60C4A2FD83D3

Wolfenstein 3D and Doom on GBA are like that too. Sure, they run choppy, but the fact that they run at all is remarkable.

Another game with surprising 3D gameplay: Tron 2.0. It has some first-person-view levels where you’re riding a tank. It’s untextured for the most part, but runs pretty smooth. The whole game isn’t bad for how cheap it is.

[sworddude]

If I did have one thing to say about the GBA that isn't so great, it's the lackluster sound quality. Some games were able to work around the limitations but a lot of them don't, and it shows, especially with games that were on the SNES or NES.

Duke Nukem Advance is one of those games on the GBA like that. According to a video by "Game Sack" on YouTube. it was one of those Gameboy Advance games that pushed the hardware to it's limits. It was a first person shooter with early Nintendo 64 type of graphics. it was slow and clunky but it played at least. it used the same graphics as Duke Nukem 64 for the Nintendo 64 and Duke Nukem 3D for the PC released back in 1996.


I know because I used to play it on My GameBoy Advance SP. If the hardware on this handheld was actually designed to play more games like that? I would have still had mine.

here is a complete YouTube Playlist but it's not gamesack
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lxUi1Y8FOnM&list=PLFBCA60C4A2FD83D3

Wolfenstein 3D and Doom on GBA are like that too. Sure, they run choppy, but the fact that they run at all is remarkable.

Another game with surprising 3D gameplay: Tron 2.0. It has some first-person-view levels where you’re riding a tank. It’s untextured for the most part, but runs pretty smooth. The whole game isn’t bad for how cheap it is.

I can't believe this actually was possible on gba

Doom and wolfenstein are cute but this in 3D that's quite something

doom and wolfenstein have never been that fully 3d semi 3d especially the lesser ports such as gba for my taste but this game actually is 3d on gba

Asterix and Obelix XXL gba

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=giIJyBSwvK4

[telekill]

I feel the GBA SP is Nintendo's best handheld with the exception that my hands would get a little cramped after more than an hour of play time. The backlit color screen was great. Couple that with the SNES style graphics and various ports and it was an incredible value. I had bought mine during my early college years and even used it as my first MP3 player as there was an accessory you could use for just that purpose. Worked great.