GBA Hidden Gems

[DigitalSpace]

(Inspired by the PS2 hidden gems (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=110847) thread.)

The GBA had one hell of a good lifespan, and of course, there are some fun games that fell under the radar. Let's give them some recognition!

Here's the list - feel free to discuss your favorites, tell us about any games you think should be on it, or why certain games shouldn't be on it.

Baseball Advance
Bookworm
Boulder Dash EX
Car Battler Joe
CIMA: The Enemy
CT Special Forces
CT Special Forces 2
Demon Driver
Denki Blocks
Double Dragon Advance
Drill Dozer
Hardcore Pinball
Hot Potato
Iridion II
Karnaaj Rally
Konami Krazy Racers
Lady Sia
The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night
Lilo & Stitch
Max Payne
Mazes of Fate
Medal of Honor: Infiltrator
Mr. Driller 2
Monster House
Monster Truck Madness
Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition
Muppet Pinball Mayhem
Need For Speed Underground 2
Need For Speed Most Wanted
Ninja Five-O
Polarium Advance
Pocky & Rocky with Becky
Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time
Puyo Pop Advance
Rampage Puzzle Attack
Rayman 3
Rebelstar: Tactical Command
Road Trip: Shifting Gears
Sabre Wulf
Scrabble Blast
Strike Force Hydra
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 1
Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 2
Super Army War
Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis
Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Stackers
TMNT
Top Gear GT Championship
Tron 2.0: Killer App
Turbo Turtle Adventure
Urban Yeti!
Wade Hixton's Counter Punch
Yggdra Union
Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars
Zoocube

[samo]

Ninja 5-0
Astroboy omega something or other

Not only more obscure, the best games on the platform imo.

[DigitalSpace]

Among what I own, here's my picks:

Car Battler Joe - Matt Paprocki's DP review (http://www.digitpress.com/reviews/carbattlerjoe.htm) calls this scarce game "a strange hybrid of Pokemon, Twisted Metal, a dash of Final Fantasy like RPG elements, and open ended gameplay much like the Grand Theft Auto series." It was a pretty unique concept that worked well in execution.

Demon Driver - I'd describe this as a cross between Super Cars (NES) and Rock N' Roll Racing. It does get a little too easy after time and could have used a battery save, though (but it does have a password save).

Drill Dozer - Excellent platformer with a built-in rumble feature in the cart. One of the must-own games on the system. It goes for about $10 new, too.

Hardcore Pinball - If you like pinball sims, don't let the cheap box art fool you - this is the best pinball sim on the GBA that doesn't have "dead" in the title. The game features four tables.

Iridion II - You've probably seen the sequel to this shmup, Iridion III, collecting dust at almost any store that carries used GBA carts. Yeah, it wasn't very good. However, Iridion II is quite the opposite.

Karnaaj Rally - Absolutely stupid name and box art. Gameplay-wise, it's pretty similar to Demon Driver, only with a prehistoric setting (and a battery save), and it's the better of the two.

Konami Krazy Racers - Konami's answer to Mario Kart. The fact that you can play Dracula and race against Goemon and a Moai makes this an instant win.

Lady Sia - Another platformer that can be found on the cheap.

The Legend of Spyro: The Eternal Night - Who thought a Spyro game would be one of the last good releases on the GBA? This has drawn comparisons to Astro Boy, and not just because it's another licensed game that was surprisingly better than its subpar home console version.

Monster Truck Madness - The announcer and horn button are pretty corny, but beyond that, there's a pretty good 3D off-road racer here. Not to be confused with the craptastic Monster Trucks.

Muppet Pinball Mayhem - Don't let the reputation of previous Muppet games (they all sucked) or the publisher's name (NewKidCo) scare you off. This scarce game features three tables.

Need For Speed Underground 2 - 3D racers don't get much respect on the GBA. This is my favorite one on the system.

Need For Speed Most Wanted - Another good 3D racer. The car chases aren't as dramatic as they are on the console version, but if you want to run from the cops while driving a fast car on your GBA, this is your best option.

Ninja Five-O - Like Drill Dozer, this game has received quite a bit of praise on DP in the past, so think of this as a reminder to get this hard to find game as soon as you see it. It's from Konami and you play a Ninja. What else do I need to tell you?

Rayman 3 - Deserves any platformer fan's attention. Also available on the Rayman 10th Anniversary double pack (which also includes Rayman advance, which is an excellent port of the first Rayman game).

Strike Force Hydra - This vertical shmup is a port of a PAL PSX game. It's also pretty uncommon.

Top Gear GT Championship - Another excellent 3D racer, and my second favorite on the system. One of the last excellent Top Gear releases, as the franchise started getting whored out with Dare Devil on the PS2 (which was pretty much a weak open-ended coin collecting spree) and later on, RPM Tuning on the Xbox (one of the worst street racing games ever).

Urban Yeti! - Another hard to find game (if not a top 10 rarity), and it's just as quirky and bizarre as the name suggests. You play a Yeti in the city that's looking for its mate. It's a shame that it had a password save instead of a battery save.

[Oobgarm]

Strike Force Hydra - This vertical shmup is a port of a PAL PSX game. It's also pretty uncommon.

Outside the copies on eBay, which may or may not be pirates, I've NEVER seen this game in a store. Other than the time I saw it in a CD/Game Exchange, which is when I bought mine.

My addition to the list:

BOOKWORM: Legit copies are valuable, but oh so very worth it. Even if you're buying a pirated copy off eBay, get this game. It's incredibly fun.

[DigitalSpace]

Outside the copies on eBay, which may or may not be pirates, I've NEVER seen this game in a store. Other than the time I saw it in a CD/Game Exchange, which is when I bought mine.

I remember seeing it in the wild three times. The first time was when I got my copy at an EB in 2005. It was a brand new copy they had to mark as a used game for whatever reason, but everything was minty. Set me back $3.99.

Since then, I've seen a loose cart at a CD/Game Exchange at some point in 2006, and another loose copy at a GameCrazy last summer, and that's been it.

[Icarus Moonsight]

Super Army War! C'mon it's a Choplifter update. What's not to love about that?

Strike Force Hydra huh? Looks like I need to add that to my GBA want list.

Y'all got my other favorites covered with Drill Dozer and Ninja Five-0. ;)

[ScourDX]

SD Gundam Force
Juka and the Monophonic Menace
Double Dragon Advance
Advance Guardian Heroes
CIMA: The Enemy
Rebelstar Tactical Command
Scurge: Hive

[xfrumx]

Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 1 and 2 too bad 3 never got a proper english release.

[MegaDrive20XX]

Lilo & Stitch (first one based off the movie) it's a clone of Metal Slug and surprisly good.

[koster]

Seconded on Car Battler Joe and Rebelstar: Tactical Command

Another couple of favorites:
Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars - hokey dialogue plus tactics!
Monster House - different from the console versions (in a good way :))

[Jorpho]

Rayman 3 - Deserves any platformer fan's attention. Also available on the Rayman 10th Anniversary double pack (which also includes Rayman advance, which is an excellent port of the first Rayman game).

There's more than one game called Rayman 3, isn't there?

I heard the Nightmare Before Christmas GBA game was pretty good.

[SamuraiSmurfette]

Outside the copies on eBay, which may or may not be pirates, I've NEVER seen this game in a store. Other than the time I saw it in a CD/Game Exchange, which is when I bought mine.


"Strike Force Hydra", Like "It's Mr.Pants" were both very plentiful in Canada

I'd like to add Saber Wulf to my list, just because it was a neat combination of a puzzler/platformer with good graphics.

Also, Dragonball (not 'Z') was a very fun side-scrolling beat em up, until it got painfully cheap in level design and difficulty part way through. But then again, I might be biased because I like the series..

[Princess-Isabela]

for all Amiga fans out there, conversion of ~

Soccer Kid!

not as good as Amiga version, yet still very fun platformer.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

While it's not really a "hidden" one, the GBA version of River City Ransom is so freaking awesome that it deserves a shout-out here for the sake of anybody who never picked it up/knew it existed.

It's a damned shame it doesn't have a system link 2 player mode...but other than that it's damn near perfect on every level, and not at all deserving of some of the middling review scores it got back when it was released.

[PDorr3]

Yggdra Union- a great SRPG with the best colors and details (in battles) that I have seen on the GBA, it is said to be rare/uncommon (it is Atlus) but there are people who report to see it in every Gamestop by them.

Riviera- recently ported to the PSP, this is a port of a wondswan game, and though the GBA version is the only one I have played it is really a love or hate game due to its non direct controlof your character outside of battles. However the characters and dialog are top notch and once again the battles are fun and unique in their use of items.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I've been to many a Gamestop locally and I've never seen a Yggdra Union. In fact I've never seen a copy in any store new or used. I thought it was one of the GBA tougher ones myself...

Super Dodgeball was a good GBA version of a NES classic. Though I wasn't completely happy with the graphical presentation (should have kept the over-sized head Nekketsu characters) the gameplay was 100% intact.

[RCM]

Hajime No Ippo, buy it, play it, love it.

[sirhansirhan]

There might be some confusion on m part about these games' relative popularity, but here's a list of some of my favorite games for the system that may or may not be "hidden":

Astro Boy: Omega Factor
Baseball Advance
Book Worm
Double Dragon Advance
Muppet Pinball Mayhem
Ninja Five-0
The Pinball of the Dead
Rebelstar: Tactical Command
Rhythm Tengoku (Japan import)
River City Ransom EX
Riviera: The Promised Land
Scrabble (UK import)
Sigma Star Saga
TMNT
Yggdra Union

[BydoEmpire]

Karnaaj Rally - Absolutely stupid name and box art. Gameplay-wise, it's pretty similar to Demon Driver, only with a prehistoric setting (and a battery save), and it's the better of the two.Oh, heck yeah - that game is a blast. I also have to mention MK: Tournament Edition. They didn't sell that many copies, but there's a TON of stuff to do in the game (especially if you happen to have people to play with).

[bangtango]

Urban Yeti! - Another hard to find game (if not a top 10 rarity), and it's just as quirky and bizarre as the name suggests. You play a Yeti in the city that's looking for its mate. It's a shame that it had a password save instead of a battery save.

This one was by Telegames, right? They sell that on their web site for $20, so it can apparently be found easily online at least. Assuming Telegames.com still has it in stock and it looks like they do.

Honestly, my GBA library is mostly NES/SNES ports. However, I thought The Incredibles was fairly decent, though, for a movie license. If you like the side scrolling beat-em up genre anyway.

I will object if anyone mentions Sonic Battle as a GBA hidden gem. That game reeked.

[Jorpho]

HG101 has reviews of both Ninja Five-O (http://www.hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/ninjafive/ninjafive.htm) and Urban Yeti (http://www.hg101.classicgaming.gamespy.com/urbanyeti/urbanyeti.htm), and doesn't make either of them sound particularly great. Good reading, at least.

[thetoxicone]

On the import side, I'm a big fan of the domo-kun gba game, lots of minigame fun to be had even if you don't know japanese. Both Kururin (sp?) games are great time wasters, first one was released in japan and europe second one only japan.

On the U.S. side of things I really don't have much to add that hasn't already been mentioned.

[Cmosfm]

Denki Blocks and Turbo Turtle Adventure, both worth owning.

[j_factor]

Medal of Honor Infiltrator was surprisingly good. The "3D" sections aren't the best, but most of the game is top-down shooting at its finest.

I also adored the GBA version of Tron 2.0: Killer App. I like how they didn't try to copy the Xbox/PC game, but instead made a unique isometric action-adventure that really does justice to the Tron universe. Even the plot is separate. I'm a sucker for Tron, though.

Speaking of "same name, different game", Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time turned out to be a very good 2D platformer.

[DJ Daishi]

the King of Fighters series was pretty good on the GBA as well

[snes_collector]

Bookworm
CT Special Forces 1 & 2
Fire Pro Wrestling
Konami Krazy Racers
One Piece
Polarium Advance
Racing Gears Advance
Road Trip: Shifting Gears
Super Street Fighter II: Turbo Revival
Wade Hixton's Counter Punch

[calthaer]

I'm going to second:

Rebelstar: Tactical Command
Sigma Star Saga

There's a strategy guide out there by Bradygames that covers both games in one book.

There's also:

Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis

which was decent and may be somewhat hard to find - I remember that it was tough to get even at the time.

And I'm actually going to "strike down" Lady Sia. Sure, it's cheap, but the gameplay is sort of generic to the point of boredom. Good graphics, though.

[Daria]

CIMA: The Enemy

I love this game. It's my favorite GBA game after Riveria.

Think Lemmings "The RPG".

[j_factor]

Racing Gears Advance

Ah yes, I neglected to mention this game. Definitely in my top 5 favorite GBA games. I guess I forgot that it's hidden.

[josekortez]

Here are my favorite GBA hidden gems:

Astro Boy: Omega Factor
Boulder Dash EX
Car Battler Joe
Chu-Chu Rocket
Denki Blocks
Drill Dozer
Gradius Galaxies
Gunstar Super Heroes
Hot Potato
Iridion II
King of Fighters EX
King of Fighters EX 2
Mazes of Fate
Mr. Driller 2
Pac-Man Pinball Advance
Pocky & Rocky with Becky
Puyo Pop Advance
Rampage Puzzle Attack
Rebelstar: Tactical Command
Road Trip: Shifting Gears
Scrabble Blast
Tiny Toon Adventures: Wacky Stackers
Turbo Turtle Adventure
Urban Yeti

I have to say that Scrabble Blast is my favorite GBA game. I have kept this game in my GBA case consistently since I bought it!

[ssjlance]

Definitely Gunstar Super Heroes. Just picked it up on clearance for $15 sealed/new. Worth every penny.

[Jorpho]

Is there something in particular that the GBA version of Bookworm offers that the PC version does not?

[Leo_A]

This list is making me realize just now disappointed I am with the DS. Look at the racing genre and the awesome games a couple of you have posted, while the DS is pretty much lacking in that department.

Beyond 1st party Nintendo releases, the DS has been a disappointment for me.

Time to pick up some GBA games I've been missing out on.

[KanYozakura]

Fifth on Rebelstar...what a great game.

[Julio III]

KuruKuru Kururin
One of my favourite games regardless of system. Er, you guide a constantly rotating stick through a maze. Simple concept, doesn't sound exciting but is extremely fun, is very much a videogame and does get pretty damn hard and challenging. Not released in the US, but was in Europe. Has a Japan-only sequal that I don't like as much.

Rhythm Tengoku
Japan only music game made by the WarioWare team. Think of a mix of the two and that is what you have. Quirky and brilliant.

Astro Boy: Omega Factor
Great action game made by Sega and Treasure.

Dialhex
Part of the Japan only Bit Generation series. Nice little stylish puzzler that only suffers from not having an endless mode.

Dotstream
Another Bit Generations game. Super stylish and odd racing game where lines race each other. Oh, and you also don't control the speed but your speed is effected by your proximity to other lines racing lines and the amount you turn.

I haven't put that much time into the other Bit Generation games but I believe they are all worth picking up. They are cheap and the packaging and style is supurb.

[Jorpho]

There's some enthusiastic support for Pinball of the Dead, too, but maybe that's not so obscure.

[Icarus Moonsight]

I was playing No More Heroes here and it jogged my memory about Shining Soul 2 a Grasshopper Manufacture GBA game that got marginal attention, at least in my view. I'd stay clear of the first Shining Soul though. It's not horrible (or crafted by GHM), but I can't play it after getting 2.

[RPG_Fanatic]

I still love the Golden Sun games.

[darkhades]

Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 1 & 2. Prob my favorite GBA games.

[Daria]

I'd stay clear of the first Shining Soul though. It's not horrible...

Oh, yes it is.

But I agree Shining Soul 2 is a much improved game.

[xfrumx]

Summon Night: Swordcraft Story 1 & 2. Prob my favorite GBA games.

As I said before in the post. These games are great! Especially the 2nd one. To bad the 3rd one was never released here.

[DigitalSpace]

I finally added a list to the first post. I left out a few games that I felt were a little too well known (notably Pinball of the Dead, Sigma Star Saga, Racing Gears Advance, Gunstar Super Heroes, and Astro Boy, which ended up on a lot of "best of" lists the year it came out).

Let's keep this going!

[retrogarden]

Also, I know Guardian Heroes (or a version of it) was released for this system. Any good?

[Ed Oscuro]

My God, what's Strike Force Hydra doing on ANYBODY'S want list? Have you even played the game?

It's bad.

My votes: Max Payne, all the Klonoa games (although I haven't played them all, it isn't a franchise that's done me wrong).

Also, needs moar Gradius Galaxies. You jokers need to pick games that are actually GOOD and IN DEMAND ;)


Also, I know Guardian Heroes (or a version of it) was released for this system. Any good?
Not especially. Not the worst game on the system by a long shot, of course!

Good thing Astro Boy and Gunstar Super Heroes are both great and common + cheap.

[snes_collector]

Is there something in particular that the GBA version of Bookworm offers that the PC version does not?

I don't believe so, but its just as fun as playing on the PC.

[Eric Dude]

So here's the thing: just about the only type of "classic" game that Gamestop or Game Crazy has left are Game Boy Advance games. The problem for me is I don't know many of the "under the radar" games for this system. I have lucked out with one game, Sabre Wulf, developed by Rare. It's a very cool and stylistic platformer with impressive graphics for the GBA, and a neat stage concept. You have to get to the end of the stage, steal something, and then run all the way back while being chased by the Sabre Wulf. It's definitely a hidden gem, and it only cost me five bucks. Also, I've heard that Spyro: Eternal Night is a great 2D platformer, so I'm gonna keep my eyes out for that.

Any others that you guys can add to my watch list?

[Arctic Feather]

Keep an eye out for Ninja Five-O (Or Ninja Cop in Europe), Astro Boy and Drill Dozer. They are all excellent platformers. Go! Go! Beckham is worth getting too, but it's a European exclusive AFAIK.

[RCM]

if you import and like boxing games pick up Hajime No Ippo. It's probably my favorite game for the system.

[Rob2600]

Gunstar Super Heroes

[Eric Dude]

Thanks guys! I have Gunstar, Ninja Five-O, and Astro Boy (OH MAN that game is good), but I will keep an eye out for Drill Dozer (pretty sure I've seen it, and didn't think much of it). Oh, and doesn't the GBA play games from other regions without a problem? I might check out Go Go Beckham, at least.

[Flashback2012]

Thanks guys! I have Gunstar, Ninja Five-O, and Astro Boy (OH MAN that game is good), but I will keep an eye out for Drill Dozer (pretty sure I've seen it, and didn't think much of it). Oh, and doesn't the GBA play games from other regions without a problem? I might check out Go Go Beckham, at least.

Yeah, there's no region lockouts on the GBA so you can play import GB/GBC/GBA on your US system. :)

Some decent recommendations so far. If you're into Pinball I would suggest Pinball of the Dead, Muppet Pinball Madness, and Sonic Pinball Party. Pac-Man Pinball is decent but leaves a little to be desired.

Other than that, let's see. The Super Robot Wars games might interest you. For puzzle games I would suggest Puyo Pop and Columns Crown. I'll have to peruse my GBA collection to find you some more titles to look out for. ;)

[Sosage]

Add Advanced Guardian Heroes (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Advance_Guardian_Heroes). Some don't like it, but I think it is a great, HARD, game.

Hidden gems though...hrmmm...as in stuff that isn't obviously on everyone's list? You know what game was kind of cool but rarely talked about? The Tower (http://www.gamespot.com/gba/strategy/thetowersp/index.html). It's a sim (well...it's really called SimTower (http://maxissimgames.com/sim-tower-maxis-sim-game.htm)), but was pretty addicting for about a month.

[BydoEmpire]

Karnaaj Rally was really cool.

[DDCecil]

I'd recommend Prehistorik Man, definitely my favorite non-Nintendo action platformer.

[klausien]

I second all of the other games mentioned here. The US version of Astro Boy is one of the greatest video games ever produced. Perfectly balanced, gorgeous graphics & sound, best ever treatment of the revered license, controls like a dream... it really doesn't get any better. It deserved to do much better at retail than it did.

I'm probably in the minority, but I've always liked Super Money Ball Jr. quite a bit. It looks absolutely awesome (especially on an SP2 or DS Lite), and is definitely better than the NGage version. The frame rate is truly a wonder to behold. The lack of analog control makes it a little harder than the console versions, but it is still very cool. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dekzyWI4_i8

All 3 GT Advance games, plus Moto GP, are available in a budget release multicart if you like racing. One of the best values for your money on the system. GT 1 still has passwords though, even though 2 & 3 still save (minor gripe).

Continuing with racing, Colin McRae 2.0 is probably the best rally game on the system, even if it isn't that attractive to the eye. The voice navigation is the real star of the show. The much more common Top Gear Rally is better looking, but CMR plays almost exactly like the PSX version. (The artifacts make it look much worse than it is.) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IkoA839J_yg

Rally is my fave driving game genre, so I also have to recommend V-Rally 3. It has quite possibly the most impressive 3D on the system, and plays well taboot. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_6KbJMJ7NUk&feature=related

If you like video pinball, Pinball of the Dead is excellent. Not quite Devil's Crush, but still very, very good. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3spu9J5fkrE

Finally, in terms of obscure shooting, Darius R is a nice old school trip. It isn't very well reviewed, but I am a huge Darius fan, so I enjoyed it. Hard as nails, and quite faithful to the original Darius. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7RG2x430rI8

[delafro]

I always liked Gradius Generations. It got kind of a bad rap, but I thought that it was pretty good. Should be cheap too.

[j_factor]

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112362

[hellfire]

Pinobee

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1-xW9BpZ50k (this video shows the ps1 version, not much different from gba version)

[Leo_A]

In addition to the racing titles already mentioned, Top Gear Rally is excellent and Racing Gears Advance is a classic.

[Ryaan1234]

I've always felt that Medabots Ax (both Rokusho and Metabee versions) is a REALLY good fighting/RPG game. It's one of the few games that I've played through multiple times. I love the game's fighting mechanic and I was a big fan of the show back in the day.

[Eric Dude]

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=112362

Doh! Yeah, I tried to find a similar thread first, but didn't think to put in "hidden gem". DUH!

Funny that Medabots was mentioned... that's the exact game that inspired me to make this thread. I saw it at Half Price books for 6 bucks, but since I knew nothing of it, couldn't really take the chance. Now, I at least have something to go off of if I see it again.

Time to start reading that other thread, making a list, and then hitting the Gametops/crazies in hopes of getting loads of cheap GBA games. I did this same thing with Game Boy games, worked out pretty well.

[BetaWolf47]

There's two Medabots games for GBA. One is just called "Medabots" and the other is called "Medabots AX". Each has both a Metabee version and a Rokusho version.

The one simply titled "Medabots" is an RPG, which is a turn-based RPG. Turns are done similar to the Final Fantasy titles, though it's quite customizable. Rather than learning moves and spells, you equip parts, and each part has its own attributes. The parts are destructible during battle. Though I personally don't like this game, it's a bit of a cult hit, and is by all means worth checking out. Think Pokemon, but for mechanima fans.

Note: The game has a huge flaw, however. When a Medabot's head is destroyed, the whole Medabot gets destroyed. When you attack, the targeted appendage is chosen randomly. Even if you're winning by a long shot, you can lose in an instant if the opponent scores a Critical against your head. This is the main reason I don't like the game: the game is based on luck, not skill.

Medabots AX is the fighting one.

[Ryaan1234]

There's two Medabots games for GBA. One is just called "Medabots" and the other is called "Medabots AX". Each has both a Metabee version and a Rokusho version.

The one simply titled "Medabots" is an RPG, which is a turn-based RPG. Turns are done similar to the Final Fantasy titles, though it's quite customizable. Rather than learning moves and spells, you equip parts, and each part has its own attributes. The parts are destructible during battle. Though I personally don't like this game, it's a bit of a cult hit, and is by all means worth checking out. Think Pokemon, but for mechanima fans.

Note: The game has a huge flaw, however. When a Medabot's head is destroyed, the whole Medabot gets destroyed. When you attack, the targeted appendage is chosen randomly. Even if you're winning by a long shot, you can lose in an instant if the opponent scores a Critical against your head. This is the main reason I don't like the game: the game is based on luck, not skill.

Medabots AX is the fighting one.

Lol, did you see that I just mentioned Medabots AX? (Yeah, you probably did.)

I've played both "Medabots" and "Medabots AX" and while they're both good, Medabots AX is far superior. Medabots AX takes all of the customization of Medabots and instead of it being turn based, it's fighting a-la Super Smash Bros. (minus the items). It plays more like Custom Robo than SSB now than I think about it. Just like Medabots, you choose 4 parts for your robot (head, legs, right arm, and left arm) and a medal. You also get to have a "helper" medabot, which has mostly stat up/down or healing parts. The medal decides your medaforce powers and it also decides how good your helper is in battle. To win you need to destroy the opponent's main medabot's head part. When you win you receive a random part from one of your opponent's medabots. If you lose you lose a random part from one of your medabots, which sucks extremely if you're just starting the game and your just trying to get the hang of gameplay. The game is a lot more enjoyable and deeper than I just described, as I think it's a hard to describe game and it deserves to be known as more than just a game based off of an anime.

Medabots AX also has the "flaw" of which you speak, only you can use certain parts that have powerups that up your chance of hitting certain body parts. This can be unfair to the computer, because if you know how to exploit the game's mechanics you can 1 hit KO the opponent.

[PresidentLeever]

Lilo & Stitch - Surprisingly (being a licensed Disney game post PS1) fun and challenging run 'n gun game.

Riviera: Promised Land - A jRPG in a faux-norse mythology setting with some innovative mechanics that set it apart from more traditional fare like Golden Sun.

Kuru Kuru Kururin & Kururin Paradise - Excellent maze/puzzle games that start out simple but steadily become more complex and challenging, much like the 80s arcade games.

[GrandAmChandler]

I have merged these threads together so we have all the information in one spot!

-GAC-

[Push Upstairs]

I've always wanted to ask about the "Ty the Tasmanian Tiger" games for the GBA. Are they pretty solid 2D platformers? I've got the 3 games on Xbox and wondered if a 2D version of them would be any good.

[NCN]

I'm a GBA fan, so this thread is awesome for me. Thanks to everyone for some of the suggestions. I'll be looking out for some certain titles because of the overwhelming mention of them in the thread. Here are a few of my humble choices.

-Tak & The Power of Juju: It's a Nickelodeon title, and it's a short game. That aside, I had an absolute BLAST playing through it.

-Drill Dozer: I agree 100% with the others who have suggested this one. It's in my top five GBA titles, and anyone who has played it knows why. It's an incredibly fun game.

-Boktai The Sun Is In Your Hand: Love it or hate it, the use of a solar sensor to strengthen or weaken your game is creative. Beyond it, the game is pretty fun.

-Car Battler Joe: If you haven't tried it, I strongly urge you to do so. Half driving, half sRPG. This game is pretty unique, and it's a HELL of a lot of fun.