Topic: Gameboy advance - the best handheld ever?

No game library comes close to that of the GBA, except of course the PS2. I judge the system by it's game library, and the GBA was second to none. I still play mine to this date. Love it! Also still play my PS2!

Don't forget about Pokémon FireRed/LeafGreen.

*Except for the DS

Yes, I agree, the GBA was/is a wonderful system with some fantastic games, but when they do a DS game right and utilize both screens perfectly, then baby, you've got a MASTERPIECE.

GBA is great, I have the classic NES version and a stack of games that I wont be trading in or selling at any time soon! Good ports of OutRun, Double Dragon and Doom I still play quite a lot.

I just recently bought a Game Boy Micro for £15 from a friend which is an absolute bargain. Anyway, I already have an advance and a DS lite but that's the appeal of the GBA library. There are so many games that I missed out on. (Golden Sun 1+2, Minish Cap, etc). From the ones I played, my favourites have to be A link to the Past, M&L: Superstar Saga (the sequels were never quite as good) and Pokemon Ruby. Just in that short list there is so much variety. It is a testament to the GBA that people are still going back to its vast library and finding gems that they missed out on in its lifetime. However, the DS is damned good too.

GBA, the remake central.

Yes, one of my favorites on the GBA.

Still Sitting boxed up in my room. The Fortune Cookie keeps begging me to play it, but I wanna finish Swordcraft Story 1 first, but that's kinda impossible since that game is so GOSH DARN REPETITIVE!

I definitely agree that the GBA is one of the best handheld systems of all time, in fact I prefer it over many home consoles. However, I still believe that the DS is THE handheld system to own, even though the GBA is almost as good.

I'm still trying to hunt down the original Mario Vs. Donkey Kong. The play different play style looks good.

No, the original GBA is not the greatest handheld, it's the greatest console ever made. It has a catalogue of 15 years worth of games, including remakes of some of the greatest games of all time, RPGs galore, and historically significant stuff, like Pokémon. For anyone new to gaming and wants to do it right (non of that Wii Fit crap), I'd easily recommend a GBA SP as their first console, especially considering how cheap games for it can be had now (but don't buy from Asia, you’re guaranteed to get a fake).

I remember when I got that game. I must have been 9 or 10 years old. I mean, Mario vs. Donkey Kong for god sake! At the time, that seemed like the greatest idea ever.

I know, but I'm already a good way through the first one (semi-finals already)...I kinda have to finish it.

Sort of skipped the GBA gen. I think things would have been different if we had gotten a backlit SP. The games just couldn't shine in the dark.

I think that the Game Boy Advance is the best portable system, it had number of legendary titles such as Advance wars, Wario ware, Mario and Luigi, Zelda four sword and the Minish cap, and others.

I am playing a couple of GBA games right now that I never got to before. I really like the GBA but I think the DS is better. The reason is that the DS games I have played tend to be more innovative than the GBA ones, many of which were designed with 16-bit gaming principles in mind. I also think that the GBA library, while containing a lot of original gems, also had a lot of ports of SNES games and compilations of even older games, almost to the point that it was the original Virtual Console. While I like some of these ports (think A Link to the Past) I find myself wishing companies had released more original content with innovative ideas like WarioWare.

Best ever? That'd be the DS, has a much larger library. Plus, most models can ALSO play GBA games.

Hah! Just when I say that I start enjoying it again. The story is very charming, which is why I always dug it way back when. The gameplay is also very good, and now the enemies and scenery has changed. If the sequel is better in every way, it must be amazing!

Well, if you look at it in sales, then the DS wins because it's the best selling handheld ever. I, however, think the GBA has a way better library. There are just too many puzzle games on the DS.