Import GBA Games - Favorites? Stuff to avoid?

[Tanooki]

A nice thing about the GBA to me is that despite it being over a dozen years old now the system was so well made that the quality that it could put out and did in various games still holds up very well today against your usual tablet and indie fare that often shows up. A nice perk Nintendo robbed us with once their handhelds went online was open region support.

Do you have any personal favorites or recommendations from outside where you live, or stuff that's so bad or unplayable (language or crappiness) that it's worth saying to avoid?


To start I'd throw out there that from the UK if you're a pinball fan I can think up 2 packages of games very worth grabbing, and they're cheap. Pinball Challenge Deluxe is a mix of the classic Amiga/DOS era games Pinball Dreams and Pinball Fantasies, each had 4 games so this one has 8. A fantastic blend from the best maker of digital pinball in that period of the first half of the 1990s. The only downer is that the game is built so save scores, the cheapo UbiSoft ditched the battery to save a buck so if you use it on an emulator or a flash cart you have scores to keep, a real game (like I have) will not. The other is much smaller with just a few tables but the designs are solid and that's Pinball Advance which may top out at 3 tables but they handle well and the ball works as it should, and it's definitely no boring or overly generic like a lot of other 'normal' style pinball titles on the system.

Another worth throwing out there but well known, from Japan - F-Zero Climax, the third we were denied and by leaps and bounds the best F-Zero experience on a handheld. The jump in quality with control, track design, audio and visuals are crazy good, a sprite level high detail game closer to the Gamecube than the SNES in style. A nice true gimme is the 64DD track editor makes a return on the cart and allows you to make and save up to 4 courses on there to play.

[Leo_A]

The F-Zero game and the Famicom Mini release for the Japanese Super Mario Brothers 2 are my only two. I'd recommend both if the price is right.

[Spartacus]

I enjoyed all three of the Densetsu no Starfy games.
I also liked Metalgun Slinger and CT Special Forces 3: BioTerror.

[Tanooki]

I've never heard of Metalgun Slinger before, and it uniquely looks interesting despite all the jabbering the characters do and those annoying signs in the first stage. The CT games I heard of, seen the first before at a flea cheap but never snapped it up as I figured this as metal slug clones but I had no idea a third hit the GBA so that's cool to see.


To add a bit more I got another suggestion of a title -- Mr Driller A (Ace) It has the normal modes you would expect but it also has this new mode which is shared with the Gamecube JP title Drill Land. You don't burn air being in the ground, you blow 1% for each block you bust, and a crush loses 20%. It's neat as you dig down using a sword and find all these cool items turning it into this weird puzzling adventure game where you find keys to doors with bosses behind and items that will convert blocks to a color, others that blow up any block of a color, HP restores and more.

[Scissors]

Rhythm Tengoku (the original Rhythm Heaven) is pretty good. I like it better than the DS and Wii ones.

[Mayhem]

Guru Logic Champ. Good luck finding a copy though...

[davidbrit2]

Rhythm Tengoku (the original Rhythm Heaven) is pretty good. I like it better than the DS and Wii ones.

Seconded. Really great game.

Also great:

Kuru Kuru Kururin and Kururin Paradise - These are a little bit like that old Irritating Stick game. You have to navigate a rotating bar through various mazes. Very engaging.

Monster Gate series - Based on an arcade roguelike series from Konami. Very fast paced, though you might need some Japanese knowledge to be successful (especially in the second one, which has more of a legitimate story mode).

[Yorkie]

Steel Empire.

Great port(able) of a north american Genesis game.

There aren't enough shumps for the NA GBA.

[Tanooki]

Wow some nice suggestions there. Monster Gate is that really all that doable with the language? Kurukuru Kururin is fantastic, own the EU version so it's in english, another NOA proving they're morons for skipping much like Doshin for the GC which I got as well in english.

I had no idea Steel Empire hit the GBA, that cool. I think they're redoing that game yet again soon or it's been out for a little while again, think it's a download but could be on a game card of some sort I'd have to go digging.

[SparTonberry]

Yes, I'm sure it is digital-only.

I was quite surprised that was actually the only Japanese game Flying Edge (Acclaim's Sega consoles division) published (the rest were LJN/Acclaim and Ocean ports).

[Tanooki]

Seems there's one Steel Empire up on ebay in the US at the moment, the joker wants like $80 which is not going to happen, ever. It is OBO but you know how those go mostly these days, a 10% discount, 15% if you're lucky. Makes me wish it was a loose cart and more than 1/2 that price off.

[fahlim003]

If you're playing Steel Empire on the actual system, I wouldn't bother. If you've got a Game Boy Player it's actually fun to play. I owned the European version of it and I enjoy shooters but Steel Empire was modified from it's original Genesis form in going to GBA. Namely, the bosses are radically different and as some would say for the worse. It's still well done but I personally couldn't get any enjoyment playing on a GBA and would liked to have had a GBP at the time.

[Tanooki]

Well I'd get it to use on the Retron5, can't find any fun playing shooters on a gb micro as the bullets when there are more than a few are too hard to keep track of within the little view area despite how sharp and clear it is.

There's a Japanese version of it up on ebay, dude wants 68 for it, I tried a 30 and 35 bid which were auto-killed, have one at 40, almost hoping my 40% off offer isn't taken as the jerk wants a bit much for the shipping, but it is CIB so I slightly get his motivation there other than being the only copy.

Also I've never played it before on Genesis, seen it and that's all, so I'm not going to get all purist snotty over it like some would.

[Tanooki]

I'm surprised, I guess since it was about to time out he took it at $40. I was surprised to find looking at online history under its Japanese name and under the EU one (Steel Empire) on various online sales sites the game is a $60-70+shipping title. Seems I got a hell of a discount, total sheer luck.

[Gameguy]

There's a release of Comix Zone for the GBA in Europe, good luck finding it though as the cheapest copy online I can find is about $170 US. I found a bootleg of it years ago at an EB Games for under $10. Not a bad port but the Genesis version is still better.

[Tanooki]

I was thinking about that Elevator Action Old and New game, then I saw what people charge for it on ebay currently since no copies come up and that went right off the list.

[RCM]

Hajime No Ippo and Buster's Bad Dream are both worth playing. Hajime No Ippo is a masterpiece. It's the best boxing game I've ever played. I never thought I'd say that since I love MT: PO for NES so much.

[Tanooki]

Hajime no Ippo looks solid, I had Victorious Boxers so I'm familiar a little. Unlike the Wii game which had 100% broken motion controls rendering it unplayable after a few rounds, that looks tight. I've actually been considering picking up Wade Hixton's Counter Punch as it's very punchout like but adds a layer of goofy story and RPG elements raising cash through training to get new better moves.