Topic: GBA is still better than 3DS

In the era of the 3DS, sprite-based games still win out over 3D games.

The Game Boy Advance was a personal experience for me since I got one in 2002-3 (?) Not only was it an experience I could tap into and shut out the world when life's not-too-great moments happened, but it offered such fantastic array of quality games that I treasure to this day and consider better than the new games coming out for 3DS.

To compare, and granted that 3DS is still young in its lifespan, the GBA offered you RPG epics such as:

Final Fantasy's I-thru-VI minus III which was on DS
Golden Sun 1 and 2
The Shining Force remake
Final Fantasy Tactics
Mario Tennis and Golf were fantastic RPGs to play in their own right
Pokémon Ruby, Sapphire, and Emerald (which saw the birth of the endlessly entertaining Battle Frontier which extended the gameplay infinitely)
Fire Emblem and Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

These games showed that the 32-bit handheld console could offer so much depth in its games.

The 3DS is still young but in terms of RPGs I can think of only Fire Emblem: Awakening, Bravely Default, Rune Factory 4, Etrian Odyssey I and IV, and Shin Megami Tensei. I don't know if other fans feel this way, but Fire Emblem: Awakening still leaves me feeling empty even after the loads of content and updated Fire Emblem game design. Is it just me? I do think the stories were better in the GBA FE games. I've held out on getting Bravely Default if only because it looks simply like it is just a 3D version of Final Fantasy: 4 Heroes of Light on DS. I consider the GBA experience far better than DS, personally, for reasons I've previously mentioned and also for reasons I won't share. Please say below which experience was/is your favourite. More great games:

Advance Wars 1 and 2 offered so many hours of strategy and you can't deny the characterization in those games. There is still not an AW game on 3DS.
The four Super Mario remakes - Hey, some of us never played these before.
The Legend of Zelda: A Link To The Past and The Minish Cap - Even A Link to the Past was remade for 3DS.
The four Mega Man Zeros - No Mega Man game yet on 3DS except Azure Striker Gunvolt is announced which is essentially Mega Man Zero 3D.
The three Castlevanias - Castlevania 3DS was not developed by the original dev for the GBA and DS games. Make of that what you will.
Gunstar Super Heroes
The Harvest Moons - How many were there?
The two Kirbys
Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories

I also feel that 3DS games have been streamlined to accommodate a maximum audience which may be good for sales but less so in the experience. Monster Hunter 3 Ultimate is my absolute 3DS favourite and yes, that would never have been able to come from GBA but still, we're talking about experiences here not graphical powerhouses.

Please list the GBA games you had great times with and why.

Comparing a complete handheld to an ongoing handheld. No bias here whatsoever!

Very true! I would argue that my 3DS experience is shaping up quite nicely rather than discounting it. Let's give it time. Some drawbacks include: The axing of the RPG element in Mario Tennis Open and the lack of a fleshed-out batch of true RPGs which will, of course be observed over its lifespan. Certainly, experiences seem better in retrospect and we're not there yet with 3DS but I can say for certain that GBA tops the DS experience where clear, sprite-based graphics beat muddled 3D graphics any day.

Anything is better than the 3DS

The GBA was the epitome of 2D gaming. A Portable snes with many many great games and ports. However the 3DS has everything i could want in a console. Handheld or not.

The 3DS is the best handheld gaming console of all time, in my personal opinion. Especially due to being able to play the massive library of DS games, along with what's out and what's coming for 3DS. Just my two cents! I am a huge GBA fan though.

2013 alone made 3DS the best. GBA doesn't hold a candle to those games.

http://media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mabr3hGetr1rqirvq.gif

And the DS is better than both. So continue the argument over #2.

i honestly dont find the 3ds all that great, yeah i enjoyed all the big titles like 3d land and ALBW but honestly its library isnt much better than the wii us at this point in time.

Personally, my GBA couldn't hold my attention that much. But that's probably due to my poor experience with games at the time so I didn't really know what's good. Same can be said about my experience with DS. But the 3DS has been a whole different story! It's been an absolute blast and I'm sure it already has more time put into it than any other console I've ever played.

It probably helps that my 3DS is full of GBA ambassador games too.

I agree that the GBA has some of the best sprites i've ever seen in games as well as great library of games! But the 3DS also has great games too!

And I really want GBA on 3DS badly instead of Wii U.......
I'm actually kinda missing the pixel art, but luckily games like Fire Emblem and Dream Team are kinda bringing back that pixel art feel. Anyone else knows upcoming Nintendo games that are gonna have that pixel art back?

I agree. Without a Metroid or Advance Wars, 3DS will always remain inferior.

The Monster Hunter experience would've been impossible to replicate on a GBA, it is not only because of graphic prowess. That aside...

The 3DS is superior to the GBA In every aspect, it's not an opinion, it's a fact.

Watching paint dry is better then the 3DS.

Are we REALLY comparing two great handhelds from the SAME company?

Actually, I think the ds was one of the weakest handhelds, being outdone by both the 3DS and GBA. The early games had either complete touch control, or none at all. It took quite a ways into its lifespan to get a balance between the two. The Zelda, Mario, and Fire emblem games were lacking compared to the games on systems before and after.
As for the 3DS v.s. GBA, I think, in 6 years, it will be remembered better. Pixelated graphics age better than polygons, like how the SNES platformers and JRPGs have aged better graphicly than N64 games. When Nintendo handhelds reach vita-level graphics, the 3DS will be graphicly obsolete.

Game and Watch: Cement Factory is the greatest handheld of all time.

My cell phone is the greatest handheld of all time.