Nintendo has finally brought Game Boy Advance games to Nintendo Switch Online! My first introduction to video games was actually with the GBA. Whether it was late night Pokemon Sapphire sessions with that swirly spaghetti light. Being very confused by the strange CDs collected in Wario Land 4 (look them up, some trippy shit). Or, challenging my brother to Mario Kart, and losing every time, I had some great memories with this system. Now that Nintendo has brought these back, I'm excited to revisit these classics. Let's see how these hold up in 2023.
Mario Kart Advance
Out of all the games brought to NSO, Mario Kart Advance was the one I played the most. I had all the tracks and shortcuts memorized. Even those tricky “invisible” shortcuts on Boo’s squeaky-ass wooden courses. There are so many great courses on here plus a bunch of SNES tracks which is a neat addition. Some of my favorites include ribbon road, cheese land and cheap cheap beach. Not only do I have many of these courses memorized, a bunch of the sounds, voice clips and soundtrack is still ingrained in my brain. Wario’s “BINGOO!” or Yoshi’s “WOAAAHHH” will just randomly pop up in my brain from time to time.
Clearly my nostalgia for this game is super high. You already know that ya boy was playing this one first when they brought these to NSO. Does it still hold up though? I think that really depends.
If you’re familiar with the older Mario Karts and how they handle, it’s a great time. If it’s been a while since playing this or even Mario Kart 64, you kind of forget how tricky it can be to handle and maneuver.
It feels very slide-y. A lot of the tracks can feel like you’re racing on ice. It does not take too long to adjust and get \used to the gameplay, but I could see if this could turn off first time players of this version of Mario Kart. I personally love the pixel art graphics and think it holds up really well. However, when my girlfriend was watching me play this on the big screen she said she had a hard time seeing where the turns were due to the almost messy pixel art background. Overall, I think the game holds up fine, but with the improvements to the Mario Kart gameplay in the most recent entries, this can be difficult to go back to for some.
It would be awesome to see more GBA racing games get added to NSO. We’ve got F-Zero slated for later this year, but I’d love to see some other titles too. Maybe Konami Krazy Racers, V-Rally or GT Advance. I grew up a big NASCAR fan. Any NASCAR heat fans out there? Just me? Welp. I've waited 20+ years to talk about this game, now is my time to shine. This top down racer kind of reminded me of micro machines but NASCAR. There was a career mode and tracks that weren't just ovals. To be honest, boring as hell. But damn, I’d love to take some left turns with Terry Labonte's #5 car one afternoon. Come on Nintendo, make it happen!!
WarioWare inc., Mega Microgames!
Wario had some absolute bangers on the GBA. Wario land 4, WarioWare inc Mega Micro, and WarioWare Twisted. Okay, maybe not twisted. The motion sensor was a neat gimmick, but most of the microgames were pretty mid.
For those who have not played any WarioWare games you're missing out. Get your shit together. It's a mix of short mini games that get faster and increase in difficulty as you progress through each stage.
These mini games are hilarious, fun and goofy as hell. You might be picking a dude’s nose or bouncing a watermelon off of a Japanese businessman. Replay value is really high here as well. You can challenge yourself to beat your high scores or spend time playing Dr. Wario. What’s great too is that the main story mode only takes about 2-3 hours to finish. I think if you’re going to play any game on the NSO, this would be a great one to start with. You don’t need to invest a lot of time into this and can finish it in an evening. Plus, it’ll be sure to make you laugh and smile with its awesome cast of side characters only found in this Wario universe.
Gotta shoot my shot here in case Nintendo is reading this. Forget about NASCAR Heat, please add Wario Land 4 instead.
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
No cap, this one of the best Zelda games out there. Do people still say no cap? Link once again needs to save the Princess. This time, he gets a talking bird hat that allows him to shrink down in size and visit the tiny people of Hyrule. This is such a neat twist to the game. You are often able to access new areas which otherwise would not be possible to reach, which makes you want to explore all the nooks and crannies of Hyrule. If you’ve played a Zelda game you’ll be doing the typical Zelda things. Tackling dungeons, solving puzzles, looking up how to beat the dungeon on youtube, collecting rupees, etc.
What makes this one stand out so much is the atmosphere, colorful graphics, snappy controls and of course shrinking down to Pikmin size. Brid hat man is also a great companion who adds some nice humor throughout your journey. To be perfectly honest here, I haven't replayed this all the way through on NSO since I just recently replayed it a few years ago. Visuals, gameplay and all other aspects of the game hold up so well.
Can’t recommend this one enough.
Mario and Luigi: Superstar Saga
Superstar Saga is a perfect introduction for someone new to turn based RPGs. It doesn’t have an over-whelming combat system, complex menus or stat screens to navigate. If you’re familiar with the older Paper Mario games, you’ll be right at home. Unlike some other turn based RPGs, Superstar Saga allows you to actively participate in the combat. For example, there are button prompts for certain attacks. If you nail the timing of the prompts, you get a couple extra damage points tacked onto your attacks. This also applies to defense as well. Timing your defense can save you some HP. You know what they say, "Defense wins championships." I added this in here that so when SJ read this he steps up his defense in NBA 2k.
One of my favorite things about this game was how expressive Mario and Luigi are. They speak this Italian-gibberish language and talk with their hands like a true Italian which makes me chuckle every time. Plus, they also talk with their hands like a true Italian. This along with funny dialogue from the other side characters adds to this game’s great sense of humor. Superstar saga is quirky and goofy. My kind of game! This should only take roughly 20 hours to complete, I’d say it’s worth the investment of time to play, especially if you enjoy Paper Mario or Super Mario RPG.
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
I only had the opportunity to play Super Mario World and Super Mario Advance growing up, so this is the first time I get to give Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 a shot. Just like any 2D Mario game, you’ve got snappy controls, fun level design and catchy music. Some of the other powerups here are the Tanooki Suit, the Hammer suit and even a Frog Suit. The only slight gripe I have with this game is that some of the levels feel super short. It’s pretty nit-picky but just something that was a let down for certain levels. I’d say everything else here is a blast though.
Super Mario Advance is probably one of my favorite Mario Games of all time. I don’t think that Super Mario Bros 3 will be taking that spot any time soon.Still an awesome game that I highly recommend for everyone to play through.
Kurukuru Kururin
This was a really neat addition to NSO since this is the first time Kurukuru is making it’s appearance in North America. This is a puzzle game with a simple concept. Get the spinny stick through the maze without hitting the walls. Turns out that there actually is a story here! Kinda? Essentially you play as a frog in a spinny spaceship trying to bring back the other frog things.
Sure spinning alien frogs in a spaceship sounds cool, but is it any fun?
I’m personally 50/50 on it. Love the concept and there is some enjoyment here. Like any puzzle game, it’s satisfying to complete a level. But it’s also kind of like trying to thread a needle. Makes me anxious and frustrated at the same time if I mess up. I still would say that it is worth giving Kurukuru a spin.
Final thoughts
While it’s a short list of games, the selection here is awesome. In a weird way it’s kind of nice to have a small selection, it really lets these gems shine. Also, it’s nice not having to overpay for these games on ebay. More games are on its way too like Golden Sun, Metroid Fusion and Fire Emblem. Getting the chance to replay some of these classics on the GBA in 2023 is a treat. While nostalgia certainly is a powerful drug, I think the GBA holds up well and it is still worth playing many of these amazing titles.
Which GBA games would you like to see brought to NSO?
Superstar Saga is a perfect introduction for someone new to turn based RPGs. It doesn’t have an over-whelming combat system, complex menus or stat screens to navigate. If you’re familiar with the older Paper Mario games, you’ll be right at home. Unlike some other turn based RPGs, Superstar Saga allows you to actively participate in the combat. For example, there are button prompts for certain attacks. If you nail the timing of the prompts, you get a couple extra damage points tacked onto your attacks. This also applies to defense as well. Timing your defense can save you some HP. You know what they say, "Defense wins championships." I added this in here that so when SJ read this he steps up his defense in NBA 2k.
One of my favorite things about this game was how expressive Mario and Luigi are. They speak this Italian-gibberish language and talk with their hands like a true Italian which makes me chuckle every time. Plus, they also talk with their hands like a true Italian. This along with funny dialogue from the other side characters adds to this game’s great sense of humor. Superstar saga is quirky and goofy. My kind of game! This should only take roughly 20 hours to complete, I’d say it’s worth the investment of time to play, especially if you enjoy Paper Mario or Super Mario RPG.
Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3
I only had the opportunity to play Super Mario World and Super Mario Advance growing up, so this is the first time I get to give Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 a shot. Just like any 2D Mario game, you’ve got snappy controls, fun level design and catchy music. Some of the other powerups here are the Tanooki Suit, the Hammer suit and even a Frog Suit. The only slight gripe I have with this game is that some of the levels feel super short. It’s pretty nit-picky but just something that was a let down for certain levels. I’d say everything else here is a blast though.
Super Mario Advance is probably one of my favorite Mario Games of all time. I don’t think that Super Mario Bros 3 will be taking that spot any time soon.Still an awesome game that I highly recommend for everyone to play through.
Kurukuru Kururin
This was a really neat addition to NSO since this is the first time Kurukuru is making it’s appearance in North America. This is a puzzle game with a simple concept. Get the spinny stick through the maze without hitting the walls. Turns out that there actually is a story here! Kinda? Essentially you play as a frog in a spinny spaceship trying to bring back the other frog things.
Sure spinning alien frogs in a spaceship sounds cool, but is it any fun?
I’m personally 50/50 on it. Love the concept and there is some enjoyment here. Like any puzzle game, it’s satisfying to complete a level. But it’s also kind of like trying to thread a needle. Makes me anxious and frustrated at the same time if I mess up. I still would say that it is worth giving Kurukuru a spin.
Final thoughts
While it’s a short list of games, the selection here is awesome. In a weird way it’s kind of nice to have a small selection, it really lets these gems shine. Also, it’s nice not having to overpay for these games on ebay. More games are on its way too like Golden Sun, Metroid Fusion and Fire Emblem. Getting the chance to replay some of these classics on the GBA in 2023 is a treat. While nostalgia certainly is a powerful drug, I think the GBA holds up well and it is still worth playing many of these amazing titles.
Which GBA games would you like to see brought to NSO?
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