DS Daily: Remembering our old friend, the GBA

The GBA was a truly great system. I still bring my Micro with me in case I need to get in some King of Fighters EX2. Minish Cap is one of my favorite Zelda games. My all-time favorite strategy games are on the GBA, as well - Advance Wars (the first one) and Zone of the Enders: Fist of Mars were both fantastic.

I still have my blue GBA SP. I use it typically to bring to work so I can play it in the lab when it's boring, or at lunch, since it's more portable and convenient to hide in a pocket than the DS.

For games, usually I carry around one of the Fire Emblems, or Tales of Phantasia.

A memory I have of my GBA, oddly enough, is not one related to gaming. I remember dismantling my original GBA and installing the afterburner frontlight kit. Man that thing was great. $30 and I could play all my GBA games in the darkest of dark rooms. It was an epic moment. The SP was barely a twinkle in Nintendo's eye at that point, prior to that one could never play a GBA game (or just a GB game) without a direct light source, or at least one of those ridiculous worm light thingies that didn't work very well. I never got an SP or a micro after that. Since I had a lighting device built into my GBA, I didn't see the point.

I have all three versions of the console (GBA, GBA SP, GB Micro) and I love all of them. Even though the screen brightness isn't perfect, the GBA SP is probably my favourite. I have many fond memories of playing it whilste lying on my bed with my head resting against the propped-up pillow. It was so comfortable and relaxing.

I always thought it was a bit of a shame that much of Nintendo's output on it were just ports of old SNES games. Even though they are amazing, I would have preferred more new games. I think my favourite original GBA game is actually Wario Ware Inc. It was so fresh and so much fun, pure genius. Strange really, considering my current feelings on minigame compilations. But back then they weren't saturating Nintendo's consoles.

I still have my silver GBA SP, like the one displayed on the post. I do like it better than my DS lite to play GBA games. I still walk through Metroid Fusion and Zero Mission sometimes. I SO wish Nintendo would make a 2D Metroid title for the DS...

Traded it in as soon as the DS came out and never looked back.

...Nah, actually, that's wrong—I do kinda miss the less mushy GBA d-pad.

Kept all my games. Actually, I've more than doubled my GBA game count since upgrading.

Funny story, though. I bought a silver SP close to launch because I wanted a GBA, but found the color really typical and boring. Several years later, I went to college and met a rather subdued friend who complained about his blue SP being a little too loud and fancy-looking.

(Guess what happened.)

I still have my blue GBA SP. Still works fine and I still use it for GB and GBC games. Metroid 2 is priceless when played on a lit-up screen the GBA SP offers.

My wife got me a black GBA SP because she was tired of me constantly borrowing her pink original GBA. I loved the SP. The size and clamshell case were a great idea. It could fit in my pocket and come with me to work. It was so much better designed than the old clunky GameBoys.

Unfortunately, barely a year after that point, the DS came out and replaced my SP.

Now you all are making me want to dig my GBA out of my drawer and pick it back up, and probably toss in my copy of Alien Hominid, or my as-of-yet-unopened copy of Final Fantasy VI.

I used to play my GBmicro in breaks at work, which was teaching a bunch of kids how to play cello. One day another teacher walked in on me at it and said he hoped it was mine, and not one I had confiscated from one of the kids. Pity I never thought of that before I bought it, I could have saved myself a few bucks.

well, the games I played the most and enjoyed were probably:

Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories
Warioware (both)
Payback
GTA Advance (not sooo much tough, liked payback better)
Sims bustin out
Urbz sims in the city

I have the original GBA & three Micros..
I still love to play the micro in work as its smaller than many phones and can easily be kept out of sight.
When things come to a crashing halt due to poor planning by those who claim to know better my work micros save my sanity of hours of waiting on the dockside (usually in the rain).
Long like the GBA (even if it is with old titles).
The reason for 3 micros is that they're really cheap and I can then share.

I bought an SP and a handful of old SNES games to help me waste time on the bus (For some reason, I can't read or write on a moving bus. Probably something to do with me being huge and bus seats being tiny.....).

I sold my SP, though, and got a DS. I loved the SP, but the DS can handle all of my GBA needs.

I had 'em all. Started out with the GB. Then upgraded to the GBA. Then I got the SP. My favorite game was probably Pokemon or Spyro. I played those games all the time. I traded in my SP for a DS fatty, along with all my GBA games. *shrugs* Gotta' move with the times, I suppose.

I still have every GBA I ever owned. My path was Glacier GBA -> NES Edition GBA SP -> Famicom Edition Micro (although the Micro was just a novelty purchase. I ended up actually liking it, though.) I credit the GBA with introducing me to the wider world of handheld gaming, as my GBC collection consisted of nothing but Pokemon games.

The GBA was, of course, home to some of my favorite games. Coming to mind are Minish Cap, Metroid Fusion, and my second-favorite game of all time, Fire Emblem. It really turned me on to SRPGs, yet, having since played many, I've never enjoyed one as much as FE.

The GBA wasn't without its disappointments, though. Nintendo seemed content to churn out updated remakes of its first-party titles, giving us four Super Mario Advances but never one actually made for the system (Mario vs. Donkey Kong and Mario and Luigi don't count.) Three Donkey Kong Countries but no new DK, and one of the two Metroid games was an updated remake. Quality third-party releases were scarce, with Square-Enix and Atlus giving good, albeit sporadic support to the GBA. I honestly never understood why the GBA kept such a sterling reputation while the Gamecube was mercilessly mocked--the space between quality releases was fairly even.

But yes, good times for the most part, and I feel that the Game Boy legacy is in good hands with the DS. Funny thing was, as a GBA loyalist, I absolutely hated the DS when it was first announced and denounced it as a useless gimmick cobbled together to be a thorn in the PSP's side. Nintendo had trained me a little too well to accept the GBA as the standard in handheld design. Of course, that's all different now.

I still use my GBA Micro during my commute everyday because it fits well in one hand. I actually don't usually play games on it though.
For years I've been using the GBA Movie Player to listen to music while reading ebooks during my commute.

That little wonder has saved the lives of many-a-slob I'm crammed onto the 7 train with. If it wasn't for the GBAMP, I would've started stabbing those dbags a long time ago.

The Golden Sun series was definitely my favorite thing to play. Who'd have guessed.

I still have my crimson SP, but the video no longer works.

Still love my GBA, I had the clear purple original first but I had to trade it in eventually when I had no money to buy my brother a birthday present. Thankfully, I'd gotten a black SP from my older brother before I did this but I still feel nostalgia whenever I see one. I still use my GBA so I can play GBC games. I also just bought FFV for it but I've not gotten through much since I got FFIV on DS a week later.

I bought a white GBA with my hard earned part timer wages back in college, and mostly played Street Fighter Alpha 3 Upper during commutes and tried ending Metroid Fusion at home. Apart from that I tried to hook my friends to the GBA with Wario Ware, Inc., but unfortunately I left my GBA in my apartment during holidays and it mysteriously vanished. Sniff.

Got me a Black DS though, and a Pink DS for my girlfriend. Loved the 2D stuff on the Game Boy Advance, I did.

I got a used white GBA in 2003. When I got my silver Phat two years later I gave it to my younger brother. My favorite GBA games are the sonic advanced games and the minish cap.

Still rocking the GBA Micro, love replaying castlevania and metroid games, and maybe a zelda game or two...

Still have my black GBA SP. I break it out whenever I want to play any of my GBA carts. I don't seem to like the DS for that...

I played a ton of Minish Cap, Golden Sun 1 & 2, Metroid Fusion & Zero Mission, all the Final Fantasy remakes and the Super Mario Advance series.

I have the original, and 2 SP's... One front lit and one back... The original is white and it's stuffed away in a box with several old consoles like my Saturn... The front lit SP is in a case next to my microwave... don't know why... And I keep the Back lit SP charged and ready... although it's kinda become a Pokemon only SP... but whatever...

The GBA is very close to my heart. The original marked my triumphant return to gaming (the only system I had before that was my SNES which I hadn't played for a few years at the time). I've been an avid gamer ever since. I've owned all three versions, but always with gaps in between selling and buying. I actually bought the micro within the last few months, and I prefer it over the DS lite because (1) I'm tired of stylus games (2) it fits better in my pocket (3) the face buttons are better (4) I love GBA games but hate when they stick out of the DS (5) GBA games are cheap.

I really like both the SP and micro designs, but micro wins out for me just because it's so portable. Having had a DS, I do miss the sleep function (though some games have it), and the Wifi connectivity, that's really it.

The one GBA game I really wish they would port to the DS is Zelda Four Swords. I never got a chance to take advantage of the multiplayer. I also hope that when Nintendo released the inevitable third iteration of DS, that they take a page out of the micro's book and cut way down on the size.

my memories were times of hunting down batteries then luckily i managed to persuade my parents to get me one of them rechargeable battery packs. Then there was the lighting problem if I was to play "after hours" it was difficult I had one of those magnifiers with a light built in boy did it suck will all the glare and reflection of the light only wroked if held at a certain angle and that required batteries too.

The kids of today have it easy i say lol

Still loving my black GBA SP, it's the perfect size and weight.

At one point I had all the accessories for it but I started getting more into consoles and it got set to the side for awhile :(

I initially stayed away from the DS because of the touchscreen being an old-fashioned button person. For that reason, I went with a Sony PSP. I'm still not a fan of the touchscreen and see it as more of a gimmick than anything.

But the PSP doesn't have Pokemon and the system, while good, was way over powered for the kinds of games I liked playing. If I'm going to invest that much time in playing a PS2 "like" game, I might as well play my PS2 from the comfort of my couch.

Ergo, the return of the GBA SP and I sold my PSP. I actually like the ease of use and quality of the GBA SP for the types of games I like to play.

Now, I'll finally be getting the DS for Pokemon Diamond and the upcoming Pokemon Platinum. I also have a Wii and want to be able to play Pokemon Battle Revolutions and take advantage of the WiFi connect features the GBA SP doesn't offer.

I'm going to miss my little GBA SP, it was the best designed portable gaming system I've ever had.

**sniffle, sniffle***

the gba provided my wife and I hours and hours of fun with Four Swords adventure on the gamecube, so much so that we held onto the GBAs and the gamecube so we could still revisit it. I got rid of my gameboy color and held onto the GBA to play those old gameboy classics.

Ah, the GBA was a fantastic system. Some of the games available still beat some of the modern games on the DS. I loved both GBA Metroids, Castlevania, both Zeldas, the e-reader, and so many more... I'm still convinced that the GBA SP was the pinnacle of Nintendo's handheld design. Great buttons, great form factor, the only negative was the absurd headphone jack problem.

Still play my SP & micro...Zero Mission, Mega Man Zero, Swordcraft Story, Minish Cap, Advance Wars et al.

Ahh, I still have the original GBA. That system revitalized my love of classic games such as Castlevania, Metroid and Zelda. I bought up those, but unfortunately I didn't buy any games from new (to me) franchises...I'm looking at you Astro Boy.

I still have my Glacier GBA. It's lasted me a good 5-6 years and

I had a GBC once upon a time and i gave it to my cousin when I bought my GBA SP.. Then I had 2 GBA's and i sold it to my friends (Because I only use the original model of GBA in trading pokemons).

Right now, I still have my GBASP.
Eventhough I have a DSLite now, I still play my GBASP. Its still in perfect condition, w/ few scratches and no scratches in the screen, its already 4 years old..

I'm slightly ashamed to say I still have my original Gameboy with the green screen, my silver Gameboy Pocket, my purple Gameboy Colour, my purple Gameboy Advance AND my black foldy Gameboy Advance SP... in a bag in my cupboard... I can't bring myself to get rid of them!

I actually just went out and bought an old, used GBA last week. Why? Because it is the only game system I can use outdoors and I still had all my old GBA games. Game on and I was not disappointed. Wish I had never given my original, indigo GBA (or my SP) away. My girlfriend still clings to her Micro like there is no tomorrow. It is pretty swank and convenient, I think, and it holds a charge like no one's business. We both have DS Lites, of course, but the GBAs do come in handy.

I'm still playing with my NES Styled- Gameboy Advance SP. Its my official replacement for my original gameboy, since it died on me a couple years ago, for the Gameboy and Gameboy Color games. I sometimes play Gameboy Advance on it but i move it to the DS lite cause of the brighter coloring.

I do have a Gameboy Micro as well, the Famicolm edition....got it for 30 bucks, i figure thats a good price to pay for it....barely used it since i bought it.

I still have my glacier GBA, but I never play it anymore, because it doesn't have a lit screen like the DS. If I am ever in the mood to play GB or GBC games I play them on my brother GBA SP, while I just play my old GBA games on the DS.

My favourite games were: Golden Sun (both) and Fire Emblem (both).

Never had an original GBA, but I had the red clamshell which I enjoyed alot, however I ended up giving it to my sister when i got the special aniversary edition of the GBA Micro. Now this thing I love, and I still use to play pokemon ruby, and final fantasy 6.

one of my sister's friends got the GBA when it came out - i took a look and decided against it because of the dim screen. It was the GBA SP NES Edition that I wound up buying when it came out.

my fondest memory with it was staying up all night playing Harvest Moon.

What do you mean the GBA has "departed"?? I have my micro in my pocket still, as I do every day! It is the DS that I carry occasionally...

I didn't think the GBA was gone because I still have 12+ games to finish on that platform that have not been matched by anything on the DS. And I'd rather carry them on a micro than on the 4 times bulkier DS Lite!

Does anyone remember Nintendo saying that the DS would be like the 3rd pillar in their console line-up. In otherwords, weren't they planning on if co-existing with the GBA?

the gba rocked! still got them all artic white the most comfortable only let down by no internal light, 8 bit nes styled gba sp, and two gba micros silver and jap famicom picked up for cheap around £30. Top games both metroids fusion and zero mission, advanced wars many hours with Nell!, wario ware and twisted insane glitch games, mario kart and golf.
unmissable gba japanese imports were bit generations digidrive, sound voyager, dot stream, orbital, and rhythm tengoku, also the box art and packaging for the japanese titles were the best imo where less is more with clean art direction, and compact boxes that matched the product. not like the excessive sizes of the UK/US boxes with the cart sitting in the huge carboard frame so wastefull. it still happens with ds cases packaging today. will it ever come back who know's but it was and still is a big favourite of mine

At first I hated the GBA, the games were kinda fun, but i didn't like the look or design of the GBA. It really put me off playing. I was tough thing to accept since I've loved GB's for so long and owning nearly every update, GB, GB pocket, GB Color. Then came the GBA SP, and I was converted back to the church on nintendo. I had the famicon version and it was with me during at every bus/train ride. I will always remember the enjoyment it bought me, during what would normally be drery ride on bus/trains.

I still have my GBA. I've had all 3 models; original, SP(both brighter and the less-bright model), and a GBMicro. In fact... I've had all GB(minus GBLight) models. The original brick, the pocket, the color... all versions in America. Also had BOTH a DS and a DS Lite. So... you could call me a Gameboy Fan :)

Favorite game... oh, probably Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga and the Pokemon games, Firered(also had Leafgreen before), Ruby(also had Sapphire once) and Emerald. I played through all of them several times. Yet... I've never had a LEGIT level 100 Pikachu. The only level 100s I've ever had are Zapdos and Mewtwo(was INCREDIBLY hard). Got close to 100 with a Pikachu, like level 95 close, but then... my game poofed. It WAS EPIC PHAIL...

I've also had the original American Pokemons; Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal. I've played EVERY Pokemon game... except Pokemon Box, which is almost IMPOSSIBLE to obtain without spending upwards of 100 dollars.

That was a big rant. I've ranted lots lately.