GBA | Advance Guardian Heroes | 2004 | Action | Treasure | Sequel to Guardian Heroes, with similar beat-em-up gameplay but more platforming and characters |
GBA | Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django | 2004 | Action | KCEJ | They done did it again, but now the sunlight also works as a form of currency! |
GBA | Boktai: The Sun Is In Your Hand | 2003 | Action | KCEJ | That crazy Kojima made an ARPG where you have to use actual UV rays to power your weapons! |
GBA | Bomberman Tournament | 2001 | Action | Amble | A Bomberman ARPG where you level Pokemon-like creatures that give you abilities |
GBA | Breath of Fire | 2001 | Turn-Based | Capcom | It's Ryu, but on a tinier screen! |
GBA | Breath of Fire II | 2002 | Turn-Based | Capcom | More polished than the SNES version, but gives up graphically in the process |
GBA | Car Battler Joe | 2002 | Action | Ancient | Exactly as the title implies - you level up your car in demolition derby-style matches |
GBA | Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow | 2003 | Action-Platform | KCET | Metroidvania with the addition of collecting enemy souls to augment abilities |
GBA | Castlevania: Circle of the Moon | 2001 | Action-Platform | KCEK | Metroidvania with a dual card system to customize abilities |
GBA | Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance | 2002 | Action-Platform | KCET | Metroidvania with room decorating and traveling between dimensions to progress |
GBA | CIMA: The Enemy | 2003 | Action | Neverland | ARPG of sorts- can level up weapons and armor while controlling Lemmings-like civilians |
GBA | DemiKids: Light/Dark | 2003 | Monster Collecting | Multimedia Intelligence Transfer | Pokemon-like demon collecting and fusion, but each version has a separate plot/protagonist! |
GBA | Dokapon: Monster Hunter | 2001 | Monster Collecting | Tycoon/Asmik Ace Entertainment | Battle system is literally rock-paper-scissors, also contains monster collecting elements |
GBA | Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure | 2005 | Action | Dimps | Included due to the story mode, which follows a majority of the original DragonBall arcs, featuring side-scrolling beat-em-up (with findable health/ki/weapon length upgrades), flying, and fighting-game-like stages |
JP GBA | Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart | 2003 | Monster Collecting | Tose | Stars a young Prince Keifer from DQVII, where you recruit humans and monsters for your growing caravan |
GBA | Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls | 2004 | Turn-Based | Square Enix/Tose | Adds dungeons and tweaks the translation of the originals |
GBA | Final Fantasy IV Advance | 2005 | Turn-Based | Square Enix/Tose | Revised translation and plot polish of the original, as well as graphical improvements |
GBA | Final Fantasy Tactics Advance | 2003 | Strategy | Square Enix | Far lighter tone than the original FFT, many battles have tricky restrictions due to judges |
GBA | Final Fantasy V Advance | 2006 | Turn-Based | Square Enix/Tose | Updated graphics, new jobs, and a new boss battle compared to the original |
GBA | Final Fantasy VI Advance | 2007 | Turn-Based | Square Enix/Tose | Added bonus dungeons, Espers, and some graphical polish |
GBA | Fire Emblem | 2003 | Strategy | Intelligent Systems | Technically Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade, the 7th game in the series (but first brought to the west) |
JP GBA | Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade | 2002 | Strategy | Intelligent Systems | AKA FE6 - Roy's our boy, and here's where you play as him! |
GBA | Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones | 2005 | Strategy | Intelligent Systems | Actually FE8, set in a separate continuity to the previous games |
GBA | Golden Sun | 2001 | Turn-Based | Camelot | Lots of exploration puzzles, character/class customization using creature allocation |
GBA | Golden Sun: The Lost Age | 2003 | Turn-Based | Camelot | Plays similar to the first, but from the villain's perspective |
JP GBA | Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Meisou no Rinbukyoku | 2004 | Turn-Based | Tom Create | Based on the anime, no real levels to gain, but turn-based combat utilizing alchemy combinations |
JP GBA | Hagane no Renkinjutsushi: Omoide no Sonata | 2004 | Turn-Based | Tom Create | Original story, sequel to Stray Rondo, adds a leveling system but otherwise similar mechanics |
GBA | Harvest Moon: Friends of Mineral Town | 2003 | Simulation | Marvelous | Level up your tools and grow your farm (and find a nice girl to settle down with) |
GBA | Harvest Moon: More Friends of Mineral Town | 2005 | Simulation | Marvelous | Female protagonist version of Friends of Mineral town with a few added QoL changes |
JP GBA | Keitai Denjuu Telefang 2: Power | 2002 | Monster Collecting | Smilesoft | One version of a Pokemon-like clone that features sharing your phone number with monsters to befriend them |
GBA | Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories | 2004 | Action | Jupiter | The first of many, many side stories- takes place between KH I and II, uses a card battling system |
JP GBA | Klonoa Heroes: Densetsu no Star Medal | 2002 | Action | Namco | Top-down ARPG gameplay, and cute to boot! |
GBA | Lufia: The Ruins of Lore | 2003 | Turn-Based | Atelier Double/Taito | Side story to the main series, has a basic job system, characters can fuse with monsters in battle |
GBA | Lunar Legend | 2002 | Turn-Based | Japan Art Media | Translation closer to the intended Japanese than the previous versions, but lacks cinematic feel |
JP GBA | Magical Vacation | 2001 | Turn-Based | Brownie Brown | Turn-based combat, gorgeous sprites; love/heart isn't just an element in Captain Planet anymore! |
GBA | Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga | 2003 | Timed Turn-Based | AlphaDream | Comedic RPG with exploration puzzles and a timing-based combat system |
GBA | Mario Golf: Advance Tour | 2004 | Sports | Camelot | Story mode and leveling, now with even more strange human characters to beat Mario's crew in golf! |
GBA | Mario Tennis: Power Tour | 2005 | Sports | Camelot | Another jaunt through tennis school with Mario and friends, with EXP to gain and stats to improve! |
GBA | Medabots AX: Metabee/Rokusho | 2003 | Fighting | Natsume | Much more of a fighting game, but you do level your robots to fight them in real-time |
GBA | Mega Man Battle Network | 2001 | Strategy | Capcom | Tactical real-time combat, learning skills from enemies, and memeable spritework |
GBA | Mega Man Battle Network 2 | 2002 | Strategy | Capcom | More or less the same as the first, but a bit more customizable, and no auto-healing after every battle |
GBA | Mega Man Battle Network 3: Blue/White | 2003 | Strategy | Capcom | More customizable than its predecessors, each version has different chips available |
GBA | Mega Man Battle Network 4: Blue Moon/Red Sun | 2004 | Strategy | Capcom | Now emotions must be controlled during battle, and fusion (like traditional MM) is available |
GBA | Mega Man Battle Network 5: Team Colonel/Team Protoman | 2005 | Strategy | Capcom | You've seen it before, but now there are powerful Dark Chips! |
GBA | Mega Man Battle Network 6: Cybeast Falzar/Cybeast Gregar | 2006 | Strategy | Capcom | Final game in the series, a bit more limitations on chip arrangement, stronger fusions |
GBA | Monster Rancher Advance | 2001 | Monster Collecting | Tecmo | Similar to the PSX games, but using words to summon monsters rather than CDs |
GBA | Monster Rancher Advance 2 | 2002 | Monster Collecting | Tecmo/Graphic Research | See above! |
JP GBA | Mother 1 + 2 | 2003 | Turn-Based | Ape/HAL Laboratory/Nintendo | Ports of Mother 1 and 2, with an extended ending for the former |
JP GBA | Mother 3 | 2006 | Turn-Based | Brownie Brown/HAL Laboratory | (LOCALIZE IT NINTENDO) Musical combo system in combat, still as offbeat as ever |
JP GBA | Napoleon | 2001 | Strategy | Genki | RTSRPG starring Napoleon Bonaparte doing some very not-historically-accurate things |
GBA | Onimusha Tactics | 2003 | Strategy | Capcom | Technically an SRPG side story to the main series, but has a similar plot |
JP GBA | Oriental Blue: Ao no Tengai | 2003 | Turn-Based | Hudson Soft/RED Entertainment | A gaiden of the Tengai Makyo series, has a free scenario system influenced by real-time passage |
GBA | Phantasy Star Collection | 2002 | Turn-Based | Digital Eclipse/Sega | Ports of the first 3 Phantasy Star games |
GBA | Pokemon Emerald | 2005 | Monster Collecting | Game Freak | Superior third version of Pokemon Gen 3 |
GBA | Pokemon FireRed/LeafGreen | 2004 | Monster Collecting | Game Freak | Remakes of Red/Green versions |
GBA | Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red Rescue Team | 2006 | Dungeon Crawler | Chunsoft | Third-person randomized dungeon crawler with Pokemon, sister Blue version was a DS game |
GBA | Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire | 2003 | Monster Collecting | Game Freak | 7/10, too much water; not possible to collect all Pokemon in these versions |
GBA | River City Ransom EX | 2004 | Action | Million | Removes co-op and replaces it with an AI partner and more game customizability |
GBA | Riviera: The Promised Land | 2005 | Turn-Based | Sting | First in the Dept. Heaven series, with nonconventional dungeon exploration and item-based battles |
GBA | Robopon 2: Cross/Ring Version | 2002 | Monster Collecting | RED Entertainment | Introduces 4-on-4 battles, but otherwise is more of the same robot collecting and customizing |
JP GBA | Rockman EXE 4.5: Real Operation | 2004 | Strategy | Capcom | Not part of the MMBN story, gives you the ability to control multiple Navis |
GBA | Shaman King: Legacy of the Spirits Soaring Hawk/Sprinting Wolf | 2002 | Monster Collecting | KCEJ | Based on the manga, basically Pokemon-type battles with spirits |
GBA | Shaman King: Master of Spirits | 2004 | Action-Platform | KCEJ | Metroidvania based on the anime |
GBA | Shaman King: Master of Spirits II | 2005 | Action-Platform | KCEJ | Another Metroidvania based on the anime but with more attacks and abilities |
GBA | Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon | 2004 | Strategy | Amusement Vision | Remake of the first Shining Force with new plot and characters |
GBA | Shining Soul | 2003 | Action | Nextech/Grasshopper Manufacture | Isometric ARPG that serves as a reboot of sorts to the Shining series |
GBA | Shining Soul II | 2004 | Action | Nextech/Grasshopper Manufacture | Similar to the first, with more classes to choose from |
JP GBA | Shin Megami Tensei | 2003 | Turn-Based | Atlus | Keeps the visuals from the Playstation version, makes a few balance changes and adds some unlockable story scenes |
GBA | Summon Night: Swordcraft Story | 2006 | Action | Flight-Plan | Combat reminiscent of earlier Tales games, but with weapon swapping available |
GBA | Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2 | 2006 | Action | Flight-Plan | Like the first, but with more crafting |
GBA | Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation | 2006 | Strategy | Banpresto | Contains only original characters (no licensed mechs), gameplay is otherwise SRPG as always |
GBA | Super Robot Taisen: Original Generation 2 | 2006 | Strategy | Banpresto | Differs from the first game by featuring a branching storyline |
JP GBA | Super Robot Taisen J | 2005 | Strategy | Banpresto | Contains licensed mechs, which is why localization didn't otherwise occur |
GBA | Sword of Mana | 2003 | Action | Brownie Brown | Incorporates elements from later games and 2 story paths |
GBA | Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis | 2002 | Strategy | Quest | Plays like Tactics Ogre- SRPG format, set before both Ogre Battle games |
GBA | Tales of Phantasia | 2006 | Action | Namco Tales Studio | First time released in English, with lots of slowdown and heavily compressed voice clips |
JP GBA | Tomato Adventure | 2002 | Turn-Based | AlphaDream | You say "tomato," I say "a silly RPG with toy-based gimmicks in combat, humor throughout, and lots of lycopene!" |
GBA | Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone | 2006 | Strategy | Sting | Second Dept. Heaven game, an SRPG with card-based movement and skills as well as some real-time elements |
GBA | Yu-Gi-Oh!: Reshef of Destruction | 2004 | Card-Based | Konami | You will be judged by many for playing this game and even more for enjoying it- be warned |
GBA | Yu-Gi-Oh!: The Sacred Cards | 2003 | Card-Based | Konami | Surprisingly, there's a story surrounding the gameplay of a children's card game. You level by dueling. Shrug. |
GBA | Yu-Gi-Oh! GX Duel Academy | 2006 | Card-Based | Konami | Want to be the King of Games? Then you better study up on your dueling skills and card knowledge! Both successful duels and passing exams help to increase your duelist rank |
GBA | Zelda II: The Adventure of Link | 2004 | Action | Nintendo | See NES |
GBA | Zoids: Legacy | 2004 | Turn-Based | Amedio | In Japan, known as Zoids Saga II; standard turn-based combat, based on the anime |
GBA | Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars | 2002 | Strategy | Winkysoft | Mecha SRPG with some first-person elements in targeting enemies and attack dodging |