The Game Boy Advance was released at a time when Japanese publishers were still not taking the West very seriously. A lot of franchises were left in Japan, and even sequels to popular series sometimes didn’t cross the ocean. Handhelds at the time were region free with no modifications. Unfortunately the import market simply wasn’t very big. It wasn’t until years later that the scene became huge, and the Game Boy Advance is a prime console for it. There are hundreds of titles that publishers slept on. It’s a veritable treasure trove of hits. Some of them however are nearly impossible to play because of the language barrier while others are simple enough to grasp even without being able to read text. You also have fan translations as well and these make a world of difference. Either way, today we’ve decided to highlight the best GBA imports. Let’s-a go!
#15. – Goemon: New Age Shutsudou!
As a huge fan of the Ganbare Goemon franchise I can’t help but feel a little cheated here. Apparently sales in this franchise were becoming a big stagnant at the time. New Age Shutsudou was Konami’s attempt to update the series. It now had more traditional anime elements, and was reworked to be more kid friendly. I’m not a huge fan of this move but it’s undeniable that Goemon: New Age Shutsudou is a fun game. The game originated on the PS1 but was later ported to the GBA. It’s a side scrolling platformer in the same vein as previous installments. You swing weapons at foes, collection coins, and face off against giant boss characters. There are also town areas in which you can buy items, or simply chew the fat with NPCs. New Age Shutsudou is a pretty fun platformer by all measures and this GBA port is impressive.
#14. – F-Zero Climax
Honestly this one makes little sense to me. F-Zero was bigger in the West than it was in Japan, yet Nintendo couldn’t be bothered to bring this one over. It’s a crying shame because this iteration is better than the last in my opinion. F-Zero Climax is a futuristic hovercraft racing game that makes heavy use of mode 7 graphics. Not a lot has changed this time around. You still race against a series of CPU controlled characters at breakneck speeds bouncing off the walls from all the sharp turns that are required of you to make. The ships themselves now have an attack move where they can spin into other foes. There’s also a track editor (a nice nod to F-Zero X on the 64DD). It’s a fun game and I’m still left wondering why Nintendo dropped the ball with it.
#13. – Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Hearts
Dragon Quest Monsters was Enix’s answer to Pokemon. It certainly helped that it used the most popular role playing series at the time as it’s backdrop. I was a huge fan of Dragon Quest, and even the monsters spin-off, so I eagerly awaited an updated version for the GBA. Unfortunately I never heard anything on it, and learned years later it was a Japan-only exclusive. Given how popular Pokemon was at the time it’s surprising to say the least. Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Hearts fits in the series canon as a prequel to the seventh mainline entry. You play as Prince Kiefer who is one day whisked away to a new world. Here he recruits monsters to do battle with on his quest to collect a variety of orbs which will grant him one wish. It’s a classic turn based Japanese style RPG, and it’s still fun to this day.
#12. – Oriental Blue: Ao no Tengai
In the West RPGs it seemed like only the big name RPGs made it over in the early days. One such title that was never localized is Oriental Blue: Ao no Tengai. What’s interesting about this one is that it’s a spin-off of sorts. Despite sharing some themes and names this is a much darker approach to the RPG format than the foundation on which it’s built. At its core Oriental Blue is a very traditional role playing game for better or worse. The best element is the fact that some decisions you make directly affect the story. It has the visual style of a late generation 16-bit RPG with a very simple battle system with few bells and whistles. That’s just how I like them though! It doesn’t push any boundaries in terms of gameplay, but Oriental Blue is good simple fun.
#11. Slime MoriMori Dragon Quest
Most people will recognize this game from the Nintendo DS sequel which was localized as Dragon Quest Heroes: Rocket Slime. Unfortunately this original entry never made it out West. This is another Dragon Quest spin-off for the GBA, and it’s a bit different from the other games on this list. Because the slime character you control doesn’t have any weapons (or even hands, for that matter) he has to sling himself into enemies. This is a great use of the GBA’s hardware with the scaling effect. It’s a simple overhead action title, and not what you would regularly expect a Dragon Quest title (even a spin-off) to be. Regardless it’s a fun romp, and Slime MoriMori is easily one of the best GBA imports.
#10. – Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade
It’s not tough to see why this one didn’t make it over. Fire Emblem was never localized up to this point. It wasn’t until the next installment that any entry in the franchise was translated at all. Fire Emblem: The Binding Blade began life on to the Nintendo 64 but due to that platform’s failure in Japan Nintendo completely remade it as a GBA title. It’s a strategy RPG game, but luckily is more forgiving than the more hardcore installments. It’s basically a good jumping in point for anyone interested in this series. The graphics in particular are a huge step up from the Super Famicom installments. The way characters swing their weapons, or even sheathe their blades has a ton of work put into it. Some simplify the combat system as a complicated version of rock, papers, scissors but this is so much more than that.
#9. – Tomato Adventure
Ever wanted to play an RPG about vegetables? Well, you won’t find that here because a tomato is a fruit! This was made by Alphadream who is better known for the Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga. That’s actually the most comparable game to this one. This is a turn based RPG with an emphasis on timing and control inputs. That sounds familiar, right? The humor is also very off the wall. It’s as bizarre at least as something like Earthbound which I’m a big fan of. The only thing that kind of turned me off was the graphical style. It’s looks a little bit too much like a Saturday morning cartoon for my liking. It’s just not my thing. Tomato Adventure is bizarre, off the wall, and a lot of fun to play.
#8. – Klonoa Heroes: Densetsu no Star Medal
Why Namco thought North America didn’t want more Klonoa is beyond me. In my opinion it’s one of their strongest franchises. Klonoa Heroes is quite a bit different from the typical franchise fare. Instead of being a 2D platforming this is instead a top down action adventure dungeon crawler. Here you play as Klonoa and two new friends (whom you can freely switch between) as you defeat monsters and gain experience points. Each of these guys has different methods of attack as well as varying stats giving them clear advantages in specific situations. There are even underwater segments where you ride in a submarine that shoots missiles. It’s a good game, and is perfectly manageable despite the language barrier.
#7. – Magical Vacation
This was the first Game Boy Advance game I was truly hyped for. It came with the announcement that Nintendo had created a new development studio founded by ex-Squaresoft employees. Role playing games were something that the console was lacking at the time so this seemed like the perfect answer? So what happened? Nintendo never published Magical Vacation outside of Japan. This is a fairly unique turn based role playing game. It’s heavily based on elemental weaknesses with no less than sixteen different types. Honestly it’s kind of a chore to learn the strengths of all of these, but once you do Magical Vacation makes a whole lot more sense. Unfortunately the story and narrative aren’t particularly good, but at least you’ll actually be able to understand it thanks to the fan translation available.
#6. – Densetsu no Starfy
This was actually the first GBA title I imported. I was hungry for 2D platformers and Legendary Starfy did not disappoint. In this whimsical game you play as a sentient cartoon star character that has all of the basic moves. You can walk, jump, and spin around to defeat enemies. There’s a strange emphasis on underwater areas, and while swimming Stafy swims quickly and can push objects around to solve rudimentary puzzles. It’s pretty obvious that this one is aimed primarily at a younger audience. It’s not just the art style and colorful graphics either; Densetsu no Starfy is laughably easy. Anyone looking for any kind of challenge should look elsewhere.
#5. – Metalgun Slinger
One thing I feel is lacking in the domestic Game Boy Advance library are the fast paced action games. For those who aren’t shy about importing we have Metalgun Slinger, and it’s really quite a good one. It’s kind of like a faster paced Mega Man mixed with a little bit of Gunstar Heroes. That’s just fine by me. Metalgun Slinger is a 2D action platformer where your primary weapon is a gun. You can power this up by collecting items dropped by enemies. One thing I really like is just how acrobatic the main character is. In some areas he can flip around, ride zip lines, and there’s even some places where he can ride on a jet ski. The level designs are really good and have enough different moving parts to them to keep things fresh. The graphics are also very pleasant with small sprites and good animations.
#4. – MOTHER 1 & 2
This one is truly a heartbreaker. At this point Western fans had been crying out for a re-release of Earthbound for almost a decade. Nintendo then releases an updated compilation with both the first and second game, but they leave it in Japan only. Thankfully there’s a fan translation out there that covers the first title, but as for Mother 2 you’ll have to follow a guide. If you’re like me you know the game well enough you can play it without being able to read. Both of the games are re-created with quite a bit of care. The graphics and sound aren’t really updated, but there was nothing wrong with them in the first place. It’s really disappointing that Nintendo didn’t port this compilation anywhere else, and that we’d have to wait for the Wii U before we got a re-release of Earthbound.
#3. – Hajime No Ippo: The Fighting
I made the mistake of thinking this game was going to be Punch-Out. It’s not Punch-Out, and I struggled really hard until I stopped trying to play it like that. Hajime No Ippo is based on the anime franchise of the same name. It’s about boxing, and the game follows the same subject material. You view the action from a first person perspective where the only part of your body you can see is the boxing gloves. You throw punches with the B button, and dodge with A. The shoulder buttons in conjunction with the other inputs are used for super moves. It’s a pretty basic system but I love the flow of gameplay here. You can get into a solid rhythm which I assume is just like in real boxing. Hajime no Ippo: The Fighting is worth playing even if you have no interest in anime.
#2. – Ganbare Goemon 1 & 2
As I mentioned earlier Ganbare Goemon is one of my favorite franchises of all time. Rather than making an all new installment the GBA was instead home to a few ports. Rather than nickel and dime gamers Konami opted to include the first two Super Famicom titles in one package. The first of these is one of the greatest side scrolling action adventure/platformers of all time. I love exploring each town area in particular. There are an absolute ton of mini-games all of which are fun. Ganbare Goemon 2 isn’t quite as good but it’s still plenty fun. It’s largely more of the same but with less charm, and less interesting town areas. Konami really messed up by not localizing this one because I certainly would have picked it up.
#1. – MOTHER 3
I’ve talked a lot about Mother 3 in the past. If you haven’t played it by now then I obviously haven’t been mentioning it enough. This game is easily one of the best RPGs of all time. As a longtime fan of the genre I don’t say that lightly. The story is a direct continuation of where Mother 2 (or Earthbound) left off. Despite the zany graphics and strange setting it’s one of the most gut wrenching narratives I’ve ever experienced. The battle system at first appears standard but as you dig in there’s quite a bit more to it. You have a lot of room for strategy with each party member playing a very distinct role. Figuring out their function in some boss battles, or deviating from this with a different strategy altogether to compensate is a huge part of the game. Simply put Mother 3 is absolutely amazing.
