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[Theslammer]

"Game Boy Advance. More Games. More Fun."

Previous threads:

Sega Genesis/Mega Drive (1989)
Super NES (1991)
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Microsoft Xbox (2001)
Nintendo DS (2004)
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Microsoft Xbox 360 (2005)
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Some launches produce classic games. Some launches produce a lot of good games. Some launches, you look back and think, "There really wasn't much, was there?" I've put together the launches at the bottom of the post for the US, Europe and Asia.


My experience:

I didn't get to buy anything until I owned a DS (hurray for backwards compatibility!). So on one hand, I regretted not buying the GBA because it was a great system. On the other hand, I was able to catch up when I owned a DS.

The thing is.... geez, was it a short-lived system! It released in 2001 and its successor, the Nintendo DS, releases in 2004? Damn. Kind of a pity considering it was a good system; I don't remember what the reaction to the short lifespan was back in the day.

Overall, I think the launch, while not the best launch I've seen for a Nintendo system, wasn't a bad one either. Some good games there and the first of the Advance series of 2D Mario games.

Army Men Advance

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
ChuChu Rocket!
Earthworm Jim

Fire Pro Wrestling
GT Advance Championship Racing
Iridion 3D
Konami Krazy Racers
Namco Museum
Pinobee: Wings of Adventure
Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure

Rayman Advance
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
Super Dodge Ball Advance

Super Mario Advance
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

Japanese launch: March 21, 2001

Boku wa Koukuu Kanseikan
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
ChuChu Rocket!
ESPN Final Round Golf 2002
EZ-Talk Shokyuuhen 1-6 Kan Set
Fire Pro Wrestling
GT Advance Championship Racing
J. League Pocket
Konami Krazy Racers
Kuru Kuru Kururin
Mega Man Battle Network
Momotaru Matsuri
Monster Guardians
Mr. Driller 2
Napoleon
Pinobee: Wings of Adventure
Play Novel: Silent Hill
Power Pro Kun Pocket 3
Super Dodge Ball Advance
Super Mario Advance
Top Gear GT Championship
Tweety & the Magic Gems
Winning Post
Yu-Gi-Oh! Dungeon Dice Monsters


European launch: June 22, 2001

Army Men Advance
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
Fire Pro Wrestling
GT Advance Championship Racing
Konami Krazy Racers
Kuru Kuru Kururin
Rayman Advance
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
Super Mario Advance
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Top Gear GT Championship
Total Soccer Manager
Tweety & the Magic Gems

 

[Newline]

I absolutely loved the european launch lineup. I was always fascinated by Kuru Kuru Kururin too but I never actually purchased it. Seems like such a unique game though, I don't know if theres anything else like it out there. I was still playing Super Mario Advance and Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 half a decade after they came out, that says something about the system to me. I also still remember the boot jingle so vividly, GOAT jingle.

 

[kami_sama]

I was a kid without money when it released so I remember very little about the lauch lol
But when the sp released, I got it and boy, so many great games.
But I think the launch lineup is a little lacking tbh

 

[Putosaure]

Got the console launch day with THPS2 and Konami Kazy Racers... Damn this console was insane. I have so much fond memories :'(

 

[Chittagong]

One of the best launch titles ever

 

[Craft]

Just finished playing through Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 again this weekend, still a really fun game.
Had Mario and Castlevania at launch remember that Castlevania was so dark that I could only really play it in a certain spot in my living room with enough light to see what was going on.
Probably one of my all time favourite consoles, launch model not having any of it's own lighting really makes them impossible to use these days though..

 

[Videospel]

European launch: June 22, 2001

Army Men Advance
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
Fire Pro Wrestling
GT Advance Championship Racing
Konami Krazy Racers
Kuru Kuru Kururin
Rayman Advance
Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
Super Mario Advance
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
Top Gear GT Championship
Total Soccer Manager
Tweety & the Magic Gems

Were all of these really European launch titles? If I remember correctly, only a few of these were available at launch in Sweden. From that list I'd say Castlevania, F-Zero, Kuru, Rayman, Mario and possibly Tony Hawk. In the beginning I only used it to play GB/GBC titles because there was nothing I wanted to play.

 

[Spukc]

Rayman Advance
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

the holy launch trilogy

Were all of these really European launch titles? If I remember correctly, only a few of these were available at launch in Sweden. From that list I'd say Castlevania, F-Zero, Kuru, Rayman, Mario and possibly Tony Hawk. In the beginning I only used it to play GB/GBC titles because there was nothing I wanted to play.

i think you are right tho all i could pick was rayman here.
I remember playing zelda ooa on my gba it even had an extra shop !
took a couple of weeks before i got tony and castlevania

 

[SeppOCE]

Got this console with a super mario bros game for christmas. Probably launch year ? I remember at the time wanting a gameboy colour not even knowing this existed. I was hella young too.


Best handheld ever made

 

[Nintenleo]

DS and 3DS have a better line up, but it was a fantastic system with A LOT of good games. The launch was very nice, even if the first version of the system was awful to play...that freaking dark screen. On the other hand, the SP revision was like the definitive handheld.

 

[Videospel]

DS and 3DS have a better line up, but it was a fantastic system with A LOT of good games. The launch was very nice, even if the first version of the system was awful to play...that freaking dark screen. On the other hand, the SP revision was like the definitive handheld.

The SP might have had a better screen, but I really preferred the form factor of the original GBA. Felt so much better in your hands.

 

[Alex Anderson]

Got one launch day with thps2, mario advance, castlevania, and fire pro wrestling. I doubt I spent even 20 hours with it until the SP came out and it became easy to see what I was playing.

 

[omgwtfbentime]

Got one launch day with Tony Hawks Pro Skater 2. It was such a moment to have a tony hawk handheld game that felt like 80% of the home console experience and I loved the hardware. Fond memories of renting Fzero Maximum Velocity and Super Mario Advance.

 

[SinCityAssassin]

Being a kid back then I never anticipated launch days and often learned or gotten games and systems months or years after they been establish.

That NA launch is pretty light though.

 

[Craft]

DS and 3DS have a better line up, but it was a fantastic system with A LOT of good games. The launch was very nice, even if the first version of the system was awful to play...that freaking dark screen. On the other hand, the SP revision was like the definitive handheld.

I dunno if there really was a definitive version of the GBA each version had it's pro's and cons.

Original Release:
Pro's:
Great to hold really comfortable

Con's:
No form of lighting built into the system.

SP AGS-001:
Pro's:
Great clamshell design to save the screen getting scratched to hell.
front lit screen is a massive improvement over the original.

Con's:
Lack of headphone jack.
Once you've gone back lit it's really hard to go back to this model.

SP AGS-101:
Pro's:
Great clam shell design to save the screen getting scratched to hell.
back lit screen is a massive improvement over the front lit screen.

Con's:
Lack of headphone jack.
Not released in the UK
Screen refresh rate is lower than all other models

Micro:
Pro's:
Really portable
Great screen
Headphone Jack is back.

Con's:
No GB backwards compatibility
A little too small for people with bigger hands
Merging of the Link cable and Charger ports.

 

[pixelpatr0n]

Spent WAY too much money and time trying to "fix" my original GBA with an afterburner. My friend was kinda a techy so I let him handle the install and....well it kinda didn't turn out that great. He got Glue and a ton of dust under the screen on the inside...and he hooked it up where the screen brightness used the volume wheel spot (stacked); adjusting the volume always was a pain cause it'd mean messing up the brightness level. This eventually lead me to purchase another brand new GBA (no afterburner). If memory serves I sent my 2nd one to some website that was doing the afterburner installs for $150, had to live without my system for three months but when I got it back this thing was flawless and pretty damn amazing as I finally felt I had a truly portable gaming system. I was both elated and furious when Nintendo announced the GBAsp about a month later.....thought I could live with my front lit afterburner modded GBA, but as soon as I held a SP and saw that beautiful screen (at the time) I was hooked.

Then don't even get me started on the damn SP. I think I must have purchased about 5 of them lol. Different case colors...the super bright screen version....one was stolen at one point WITH my fully unlocked 1000 hours of Advance Wars inside. 😖😡 (screw you Canada!!)

In all honesty these little systems consumed days of my life experiencing some of the best 16-bit games ever created. Advance Wars and its follow-ups are some of my favorite gaming experiences in life.
Still love Advance wars, and I still would love to finish my tribute game Iridium Soldiers one day....

Anyway I loved that little system(s) as well as the DS and it was a dream come true from a kid who fantasized about owning a turbo express during his youth. Loved that little system. 😍❤️

 

[CassSept]

The thing is.... geez, was it a short-lived system! It released in 2001 and its successor, the Nintendo DS, releases in 2004? Damn. Kind of a pity considering it was a good system; I don't remember what the reaction to the short lifespan was back in the day.

I guess everyone kind of expected it with PSP on the horizon? 2004 was crazy, PSP was hyped to the roof and everyone expected it to mop the floor with GBA and DS was seen as a rushed effort to retain some part of the market before PSP does to Nintendo in the handheld market what they did previously in console market. Between the bizarre and seemingly gimmicky idea of Nintendo's two-screen game system and PSP's technical prowess most on the gaming boards simply forgot about GBA while the console wars heated up.

Even in 2005 when they announced GB Micro everyone went kind of 'eh, but why, just let it die already' even though the ecosystem was barely 4 years old.

E: Crazy that it sold 80 million, it was a pretty sweet system but Jesus Christ was the screen dark. It was really comfortable to hold though.

 

[Mr-Joker]

Ah the Gameboy Advance or as my dad would call it Gameboy express for some reason. :|

I didn't get mine till 2002 for my 15th birthday and I mainly got it so I could play Sonic Advance, though I did get Spider-Man 1 with the system which isn't bad game.

For awhile I just had those two games and it wasn't until November I got another game for the systems, Pokémon Silver the game that got me back into the Pokémon world and I was excited to get the upcoming Pokémon Ruby though waiting for the European release was torture and from there I later got the other gen 3 Pokémon games. I also brought Sonic Advance 2 and 3, with Sonic Advance 2 being the most played.

But I didn't really have a big library of Gameboy Advance games as I didn't have much money and once I started getting money coming in I brought a DS Lite and started building libary of GBA games which at the times was easy and cheap to do.

I also managed avoid getting fake copies, with only one game being fake which I ended up getting a refund for.

 

[Theslammer]

I guess everyone kind of expected it with PSP on the horizon? 2004 was crazy, PSP was hyped to the roof and everyone expected it to mop the floor with GBA and DS was seen as a rushed effort to retain some part of the market before PSP does to Nintendo in the handheld market what they did previously in console market. Between the bizarre and seemingly gimmicky idea of Nintendo's two-screen game system and PSP's technical prowess most on the gaming boards simply forgot about GBA while the console wars heated up.

Even in 2005 when they announced GB Micro everyone went kind of 'eh, but why, just let it die already' even though the ecosystem was barely 4 years old.

E: Crazy that it sold 80 million, it was a pretty sweet system but Jesus Christ was the screen dark. It was really comfortable to hold though.

The lack of a light on the screen is so weird to think about now, but I don't think anything except the Game Gear(?) had a light. That's one critique I remember more than any other.

 

[dci260]

Aside from the initial lack of a back-light, the GBA was the pinnacle of Nintendo handhelds and handheld gaming in general.

Worm lights sucked, but the games were great!

Spoiler

Never did get an SP :'(

 

[sixteen-bit]

Of the launch games I think the only ones I own are ChuChu Rocket and Circle of the Moon. Both were awesome.

I didn't get my own GBA until the SP launched in 2003, but those 2 games were mad cheap by then!

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

Nuts to think the system launched for $99 in the US. Imagine if Nintendo made a handheld system today that retailed for that much at launch.

http://m.ign.com/articles/2001/03/08/the-us-price-and-launch-titles-for-gba

 

[MBS]

I still have the original AGB-001 in transparent color. Best handheld ever with the best GB platformer ever

 

[Comet]

I went all in on this system launch. I remember at GameStop I had preordered:

- Game Boy Advance (glacier color)
- Super Mario Advance (SMB2)
- F-Zero Maximum Velocity
- Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
- THPS2

And it came with a rechargeable battery pack thing.

God I loved that launch so much. The only way it could have been better was if we got a backlit version of the handheld from day one, though I do remember the modding community installing after-market backlit components. I've done lots of day one launches for systems, but this one for some reason stands as one of my favorites. I was young too, but I remember working (mowing the neighborhood lawns) for months to have everything paid off.

 

[emag]

I picked up two on launch day (one purple, one transparent) along with Castlevania Circle of the Moon and Chu Chu Rocket (which I already had on Dreamcast). Only console I've ever bought day one, and in many ways my favorite.

GBA Classic/Mini when, Nintendo?

 

[peanutbutterlatte]

Aside from the initial lack of a back-light, the GBA was the pinnacle of Nintendo handhelds and handheld gaming in general.

Worm lights sucked, but the games were great!

Spoiler

Never did get an SP :'(

Ahhhhhhh this shit did not work

Light on glass creates reflection

 

[hardcastlemccormick]

Ahhhhhhh this shit did not work

Light on glass creates reflection

It wasn't perfect but I played many a game in the car with that thing. I distinctly remember Metroid Fusion with it, cursing the reflection.

 

[Mr-Joker]

Aside from the initial lack of a back-light, the GBA was the pinnacle of Nintendo handhelds and handheld gaming in general.

Worm lights sucked, but the games were great!

Spoiler

Never did get an SP :'(

That reminds me of the terrible light/charger unit that my mother brought for me to with my Gameboy Advance, it was bulky, uncomfortable to hold, got in the way of the L/R button and the light unit had a magnifying lens.

I just chucked it in the drawer and never touched it till like years later when I want to use the GBA for Pokémon trading.

 

[sleazefrenzy]

SP AGS-101:

Con's:

Screen refresh rate is lower than all other models

This was a myth. If the screen was 50Hz there would be obvious frame pacing issues, but there is none.

It does have a lower pixel response time however that causes some motion blur, but not that noticeable.

 

[Shiggy]

Aside from the initial lack of a back-light, the GBA was the pinnacle of Nintendo handhelds and handheld gaming in general.

Worm lights sucked, but the games were great!

Spoiler

Never did get an SP :'(

This one was slightly better:

 

[Comet]

This one was slightly better:

I distinctly remember having this thing. I played and beat through Sword of Mana and Fire Emblem with it. It sort of magnified everything while adding light, so it was not too bad.

 

[BGBW]

"Just what I needed!"

 

[Jayveer]

One of my favourite consoles, got it on launch day with Konami Krazy Racers then bought THPS2 shortly after, the platform had so many great games both originals and ports. and also has my favourite Mario Kart as I was competing for time trial record spots globally on this one, something I didn't do with others. It's also the console that made me join my first online forum (GBAcentral) where I also met a lot of nice people. Such a great time around this era I'll always cherish the GBA.

 

[Fiendcode]

Amazing launch lineup, probably the best ever for a handheld just edging out PSP. I splurged and got one with Castlevania COTM, F-Zero MV, Chu-Chu Rocket, Mario Advance, Bomberman Tournament and Konami Krazy Racers.

 

[Goro Majima]

The GBA was great but in retrospect it felt like a system that came out three or four years too late to really have time to breathe. The super cheap price tells you that the tech had been mature for a while. I guess Pokémon kept the GBC going for ages and Nintendo was still making money.

 

[Scanna]

Nostalgia talking, my favorite console of all times. Although I would have sworn it lasted more than 3 years in the spotlight! Best game: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

 

[Sesuadra]

I really loved tony hawk on my GBA

 

[Theslammer]

The GBA was great but in retrospect it felt like a system that came out three or four years too late to really have time to breathe. The super cheap price tells you that the tech had been mature for a while. I guess Pokémon kept the GBC going for ages and Nintendo was still making money.

I think you're right. Graphically, the Game Boy lasted way longer than it should have, as the Game Boy Color wasn't a jump in tech besides simply adding color to games or new games taking better use of it.

GBA seems like something that would have been great in 1996/1997, but maybe it was too expensive to be worth it? I guess a 1998/1999 release would have made more sense. If the DS wasn't rushed, then it could have released in 2005 and that would have been a nice, long generation.

Nostalgia talking, my favorite console of all times. Although I would have sworn it lasted more than 3 years in the spotlight! Best game: Final Fantasy Tactics Advance.

Even at that point in my life, time felt like it moved really freaking fast, yet I thought the same thing: wtf, only three years?

 

[Fiendcode]

The GBA was great but in retrospect it felt like a system that came out three or four years too late to really have time to breathe. The super cheap price tells you that the tech had been mature for a while. I guess Pokémon kept the GBC going for ages and Nintendo was still making money.

That's exactly what happened. GBA was suppossed to be a 1999 launch but the surprise success of the GBC had Nintendo continually push it back.

DS was sort of the opposite in that it was rushed to market to meet PSP. In the end GBA got caught in the middle although it still had a pretty solid 5 years of support from Nintendo.

 

[Tal Shiar Agent]

I played more GBC games on my GBA than GBA games. Pokémon Crystal specifically. I only owned two GBA games until the last few years, SMA4: Super Mario Bros 3 and Godzilla Domination.


I do own a Micro now and a bunch of other GBA games.

 

[noquarter]

This was the first handheld system i really played. Bought the Indigo on launch day, so it would match the GC.

Picked up Circle of the Moon and the snake light accessory, along with a case and Super Mario Advance. Played the he'll out of CotM, unlocked all of the classes and enjoyed it very much, though I never got 100%, always only got 99.9.

Ended up owning every revision the released since I loved the system so much and it went pretty much everywhere with me.

 

[Baron_Calamity]

Still upset my GBA was stolen. Such a great system.

 

[Theslammer]

Still upset my GBA was stolen. Such a great system.

I know the feeling. My DS was more extreme: it burned down at my friend's house due to a fire.

Never bought a new one. =(

 

[Stairouais]

One of the best launch titles ever

myman.gif

What a great game. It needs to come back.

 

[bjork]

Got an import milky pink one, because that wasn't one of the colors originally slated for release here. Picked it up a little early of the US release, because I got the US Circle of the Moon with it, so that was already in stores at any rate. I remember taking it out to my car and powering it up, and my friend and I were initially like "ooh, the graphics" and then I realized it was a pain to actually see it. I still used it a lot, but mostly at very odd angles to get the light just right. Then I moved on to an SP and never looked back.

 

[The ๖ۜBronx]

One of the best launch titles ever

This guy knows what's up.

 

[Vlaphor]

Bought it the day it launched, then didn't play too much of it due to the lack-of-light situation....until I discovered that playing it on the toilet provided the perfect amount of light for the screen. Since then, I always take a portable console with me to the can when I need to poop. Just dropped a load not 45 minutes ago while playing Crypt Of The Necrodancer on my Vita...I will never beat all chapters mode, but I'll keep trying.

Amazing lineup, not just at launch, but in general...in fact, I don't think it'd be far-fetched to say that the GBA and all of it's incarnations is the best 2d system of all time in terms of games available.

 

[i HeaR MusiC]

Circle of Moon was my shit. Remember being thoroughly shocked by how good that game was.

 

[dead souls]

All I remember about when I got mine is literally having to hold it directly under a lamp to play Castlevania. I'm not sure how something with such a massive flaw got released.

It was so much better once the SP came out.

 

[Red Liquorice]

I had an original GBA but I couldn't jump ship fast enough to the SP, I thought the launch GBA was hideous and looked like a toy. In terms of games though, phew what a line-up! <3