Forgotten GBA RPGs

[@artbwoydarien3040]

I seriously had no idea that Klonoa had an RPG title - and it's on the GBA!? This is why I value this channel. 👍

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Such a great little rpg as well. Thanks for watching Artbwoy 🙂

[@megaben99]

Do you know where I can get a English translation cartridge of Klonoa heroes?

[@Pridetoons]

I did and I waited for over a decade in order to play it.

[@artbwoydarien3040]

@@megaben99 Nope. From what I've seen on the internet so far, it's only in Japanese. However, there's an English patch available for emulation.

[@blackenedheart9592]

I didn't either. I love the Klonoa series but had no idea that game existed. This man is amazing! I love his channel.

[@AMetalWorld]

Good god the 2D sprites and pixel art were so damn beautiful and age fantastically. GBA really was the golden age wasn’t it? Here I thought it might just be confirmation bias growing up with stuff like golden sun haha

[@OldGenGamersNation]

Except for the sound chip

[@vitorfranca7510]

Pixel art never gets old when well done. The only downside on GBA games nowadays is the sound

[@OldGenGamersNation]

@@vitorfranca7510 that and some of the colors of early gba games are weird

[@Josuh]

the GBA was essentially the second run for SNES games and they went all out on it

[@johnbuscher]

Strongly recommend some Saturn titles if you like Camelot’s stuff, since they used to be a studio for Sega and worked on the Shining series of games.

[@CoolMorz]

So glad to see Summon Knight Swordcraft Story 2 included! Played it first almost ten years ago but it holds a special place for me. The music is also amazing!

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Such an awesome series! Would love to see it make a comeback!

[@kevinmorad2563]

@@thatvideogamesshow Also shoutout to chrono trigger but I got stuck on the elevator section & couldn't progress past the laser area it is stressful to try it let alone complete it.

[@shinichikudo5351]

Played that game as well like 10 years ago using an emulator cause i never had a gba console before. It was an awesome game! I dont think it should be here, it isnt forgotten. But i could be wrong.

[@NeoNinjaX87]

GBA was such an awesome little handheld.

[@thatvideogamesshow]

I’ll second that! Still finding great new games for it to this day!

[@goatintuxedo2206]

@That Video Games Show Have you tried some of the prototypes like The Haunted Mansion ? I wish it got finished. Looks amazing. There's also Open Lara which is a port of original Tomb Raider(incomplete though). GBA really is an incredible system.

[@raymondlumenario257]

Summon Night 1 & 2 are always my go-to whenever I need to repeat playing gba games. The sword crafting mechanics and collection is a must experience. Definitely one of my favourite.

[@StomachPlug]

Shame the third never left Japan.

[@Smilley85]

Crafting the Fire Ladle? Smashing all the boxes in the entire Labyrinth to get that last elusive weapon blueprint? Yeah, nothing can beat that. Though the fishing minigame in 2 got kinda tedious even cheesing it with Save States. Also, getting all weapons to max percentage in 1 got old real fast after finishing everything else.

[@nintyjulius]

You gotta try the third one!!! I think there’s a fan translation patch somewhere lol

[@ungenbunyon5548]

Sigma star saga still holds up today its great dumb fun and the story is actually quite refreshing and interesting

[@CeceliPS3]

Finally a good GBA video that actually shows forgotten games instead of well known and stablished franchises that only the youtuber didn't know they existed and thought everyone else didn't either lol

[@Silverman160Zero]

You showcasing Sigma Star Saga - no joke - unlocked a memory that has been logged in my head for about 6 years now. I remember seeing some side-scrolling ship shooter game back then, tried but failed to emulate it, and then forgot all about it, only vaguely remembering it. If anything, thank you for shedding light on this. I would've never found it again.

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Glad the video helped out! :)

[@frds_skce]

Honestly, I only keep playing Sigma Star Saga because of *alien booba* but I still continue on because the battle sections

[@ProfDragonite]

I love that you mentioned SRW OG2. Really wish this had taken off more in the US. Especially given the next game in the series, SRW J, is one of the best RPGs on the GBA.

[@adrian_veidt]

I love the RPG elements on SRW A, D, R, J, Og 1 and 2. Played J multiple times and managed upgrade all the mechs and pilots to max. Sucks that J didn't have UC gundam or when they removed God gundam's Fuunsaiki. Lots of broken mechs like Granteed, the freedom and justice with meteor, Vorlent and so on.

[@MH_Zard]

Both Summon Night Swordcraft Story 1 and 2, and Sigma Star Saga are super underrated gems. Glad to see them featured here.

[@Smilley85]

When I saw Tomato Adventure, my very first thought was "Huh, looks a lot like Mario and Luigi RPG", especially the enemy design and color palette. Alpha Dream has a style, it seems.

[@indumatipngtuber2790]

I remember that GBA Shining Force. If you defeat certain bad guys with certain characters, you can get cards that give ya crazy moves and there are super secret characters too.

[@retrokid6446]

This channel really is one of the best for hidden gem titles

[@SilentZed]

Came into this video hoping Sigma Star Saga would be in the list and love that it was the first mentioned. One of my all time favorite GBA games because it was one of the first times an RPG had been blended with a sidescrolling shooter in my experience and I was blown away by how much I liked it.

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Same here was such an interesting take on the genre!

[@ThomastheDankEngine8900]

Any chance for a rerelease?

[@guyvizard549]

I remember, while working at a small Mom & Pop Game store in Austin, back in 2001-03, we had a very limited selection of GBA titles. Klonoa Heroes was one of them. basically, anything that wasn't recognizable ended up at our store. But, I also got the Alienators game, and Dynasty Warriors Advance. I might have to go back and check out a few of these.

[@twosoulfox]

Amazing selection. Mirror World was great and also the Beyblade "Platformer" (VForce).

[@AronGKatz]

I hate how much you make keep looking for more and more roms I mean games...love these videos!!!

[@GameCubeGalaxy]

I never realized Klonoa had an action RPG installment on the GBA. Also, Sigma Star Saga looks awesome! I need to play that one! Awesome video as always man!

[@thatvideogamesshow]

The Klonoa RPG is so good man, if you get the chance defo give it a go!

[@ren.batista]

I don't know if any Medabots games are "forgotten" in GBA library, but I loved playing those.

[@worldsboss]

I'll never know how you find the time to play so many games lol. Love the work that you do though, particularly for the GBA and DS.

[@stevesteve0521]

They may or may not have been forgotten but getting remakes/reimagining/ports of lunar legend, sword of mana and tales of phantasia were also pretty good

[@SweetSour96]

Thanks for making this. I love all of your GBA videos. I hope to see more in the future.

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Plenty more on the way, thanks for watching! 🙂

[@aikou2886]

I loved MR Advance 2! I bought a copy a couple of years ago.

[@NeroZenith]

me and my brother both got a GBA advance for Christmas when I was 13 (27 almost 28) now. I remember that Christmas day I got a big ass bean bag too and I just laid in it playing the incredibles on it for so many weeks, then my brother bought me a little game called final fantasy advanced tactics, still adore the snowball fight to this day and that was my first introduction to JRPG'S. Love this channel so much

[@Tenpouin]

I honestly enjoyed Onimusha Tactics quite a lot. It's what I'd call a "FFT for beginners", but still very fun in its own right

[@guyvizard549]

So... if one is, say, not very good at most tactical strategy games... yet wanted a decent little adventure to play, and was open to learning... this would be good?

[@Tenpouin]

@@guyvizard549 yeah, pretty much. It won't overwhelm you but will give you a taste of the genre

[@RayShadow278]

SRWOG2 represent, hell yeah! For anyone else interested in the Super Robot Wars series (who somehow isn't already deep down into the hole) I would also recommend Super Robot Wars J on the GBA! While it officially only ever released in Japan, it received a really good English fan translation quite a few years back and is a really good jumping in point for the franchise

[@ProfDragonite]

Couldn't agree more! Some of the best sprite work on the system.

[@DoCKathos]

Onimusha tactics looks pretty good, I plan on getting that for my Wii U before the store shuts down. There's only been a couple of decent shining games since force/darkness on the genesis, and shining soul was 1 of them with some pretty fun gameplay. The GBA rerelease of shining force was also really well done, definitely the best iteration of the shining force series.

[@pyrotictiger9930]

Onimusha looks like it's inspired more by Tactics Ogre Knight of Lodis than FFT, but I can see why more people know the inferior Matsuno series and reference it more often in these videos. (Granted, I don't think the Matsuno team worked on KoL specifically, as they were already working with Square at the time of its release.)

[@grinbrothers]

Hovering over the video and I already see one RPG that I shall always remember; Tomato Adventure! Not because I've played it, but because of what I've seen and learned of it is so absurd and charming that it shall forever stick in my memory. A shame we never got it and that this original Alpha Dream IP was effectively replaced by Mario & Luigi (which seemed unneeded at the time, given Paper Mario already covered turn based RPG Mario). 2:00 - Funny enough, just read a small snippet about Klonoa Heroes in my Retro Gamer magazine. Nice to hear what little I knew of it expanded upon. 8:55 - The visuals of Summon Knight Swordcraft Story 2 have a lovely pop to them. Shame this game never came out in PAL territories, which is a typical problem for both older RPGs and older Atlus games. Gameplay reminds me of the original Tales game formula, which as I type that comment, you just so happen to mention it. Funny that. 14:22 - Ah, Shining Soul 2; one of my younger brother's favourite games. It's certainly his favourite GBA game. An absolutely gem of a game here. Charming visuals and a lovely selection of characters with a straight forward but energetic adventure.

[@Ancient_Ys]

For me a mostly forgotten and obscure rpg would be boktai: the sun is in your hands because of its weird mechanic. Like the solar sensor.

[@aliceinmansonland448]

I loved Boktai so much that I made a coffin wagon that you pulled around with a chain just like the game! It had a segmented lid so my kids could ride in it sitting up while I dragged them around the neighborhood.

[@merman1974]

Rebelstar is heavily influenced by earlier games from Julian Gollop - Rebelstar, Laser Squad and the original X-COM/Enemy Unknown series.

[@guruthosamarthruin4459]

What makes Shining Force stand out against 99% of other SRPGs, is the fact that you can actually explore towns and the world like other types of RPGs.

[@xion8900]

That's exactly why I could never get into the Fire Emblem series. I just wish Shining force CD had exploration in it.

[@BaoZakeruga]

Glad to see love for Super Robot Wars OG

[@tibby-san]

Shining soul 2 is one of my absolute favorite gba games, I've made a ton of art for it, perlers, drawings etc. My hubby got me into it back in 2004, when we where dating, it was my 1st dungeon crawl and simultaneous multiplayer, I've sunk a good amount of time playing SS2 especially when not playing Pokémon. I also got 2 of my best friends to get into the game and they loved it. I only dream one day that it will get a nice remake or at the least a port on Switch. 💖🤗

[@the-engneer]

I would throw money at a switch port and/or remake! Truly an underrated game

[@jimmy_20xx]

Rebelstar technically is a XCOM game on the GBA. It was made by the author of the old PC games. He had sold the franchise rights to EA, so he used the name of other, older game made by him. But the gameplay is very similar. It had a sequel in development, that planned to continue the story where it stopped in the GBA game, but it was cancelled midway through.

[@Kurosu963]

Last year I found a sealed copy of Sigma Star Saga online for a decent price, the box is a bit damaged but still a great find.

[@WhatAboutZoidberg]

Great list, Monster Rancher is still such a fun series, glad to see it alive again. GBA was such a great system!

[@aizenparzival7882]

The negative luck bug was the best way to farm items in shining soul, the special character in 2 was also dope with his skill, just running and let the sword do its thing was fun.

[@paperoverflow]

Hell yeah, actual games I never played! Great video!

[@commandercringe7901]

The mario&sonic music in the background is so nostalgic♥️

[@seyproductions]

Swordcraft Story 2 is one of my top favourite GBA games.

[@alvarooverlay5405]

Summon Night Swordcraft Story 2 is easily one of my all time favorite games, I'm really happy to see it here

[@zenderas1434]

For people interested in Super Robot Taisen OG, you should instead play Super Robot Taisen J, it has an english patch and is the peak of what SRW games on the GBA are.

[@nobalkain624]

I had both the Super Robots back in the day, even imported a bunch and got 30 on Steam. Did not know there was a Shining Force on the GBA, sucks I missed that one.

[@londobellace]

It's a remake of Shining Force 1 with a more involved story and 3 new secret characters. You should check out Shining Force Gaiden: Final Conflict on the Sega Game Gear. It's actually a direct sequel to Shining Force 1. Emulation is the way to go.

[@geraldperez2768]

I liked Bulder's Gate (one of those games) on the GBA. It was cool and very satisfying as far as an RPG goes.

[@wirlogx]

A video for old games stuck on PC like Big Red racing, Terminal Velocity, Jazz Jack Rabbit or Goblins saga would be amazing

[@ledah1363]

Shining Soul 2 multiplayer was so fun. I had a buddy that played it with me all the way through every time we went home from school and it was one of the fondest gaming memories I have.

[@williammartinez-gs8036]

10:28 ese juego nunca lo pude terminar y vi muchos gameplays y guias que no lo finalizan tampoco. Es muy dificil!

[@newageBoundhippie]

I played Tomato Adventure on emulator ages ago....man I love that game. I had no clue wtf was happening as it was still in Japanese and I needed a walkthrough ready so I could understand what to do & where to go but I loved every second of it. Amazing soundtrack too ( seriously the final boss theme should be in Smash! ....so should the game's protagonist Demille as a fighter ). Shame Nintendo couldn't be bothered to localize it...AlphaDream deserved better, man. another somewhat forgotten GBA RPG I love is Magical Vacation. We got the DS sequel Magical StarSign but the original had some really cool features the sequel lacked....namely, there's roughly 15 or so types of magic and you can literally have your main character learn every last one. The customization therein offers up so much potential...and you could even trade elements with friends via the link cable which was interesting.

[@malictory]

Vacation is hecka fun, especially if you're into collectathons cause there's just so much to get!

[@lutfimakarim8258]

I'm surprised you didn't name drop X Com during Rebel Star

[@Tasuke]

One of my work friends spoke pretty highly about Sigma Star Saga. Onimusha Tactics I have some experience with, though I never finished it. Still hoping for the Onimusha series to make a comeback lol! One of my childhood friends had either Monster Rancher 1 or 2 on his GBA but I don't remember which one. I played a little bit of it at a sleepover. Shining Soul 2 I actually recently got for my collection lol! Probably the most expensive GBA game in my collection though thankfully most likely the last so I can save more money lol!

[@ajmohawk2993]

Sure are a lot of RPGs I missed out on growing up. Thank you for the list!

[@Pentaghast]

Amazing content, thanks! Cheers from Brazil!

[@thatvideogamesshow]

My pleasure!

[@elgeniomaestro]

Rebelstar Tactical Command is also designed by Julian Gollop, the designer of the original XCOM, Laser Squad and the older Rebelstar games

[@brunobuono4056]

Nice list man! i Downloded great part of this list to playing for myself. Thanks for this recomendations.

[@gilgatex]

Eragon is definitely a deep-cut RPG that I enjoyed a lot. Has a lot of fun and unique mechanics. My only complaint is that it just kind of abruptly ends before you can really get all the mechanics working.

[@Graptor91]

AKA what to get on your gba emulator today

[@TheRoninteam]

always great to see your videos!!

[@thatvideogamesshow]

I appreciate that!

[@guitaraobscura8802]

One of my favorites is Black Matrix 0. It also weirdly got a remake on the PS1 of all things in 2004 which is wild to me since that was decently into the PS2 life and only two years before the PS3.

[@lolcat]

I love swordcraft story it's just a shame the actual summon night series isn't in english only the spinoff

[@adrian_veidt]

SRW OG 2 had better difficulty than SRW J. while it removed all the mechs from previous mecha animes, it made up for great og mechs like the Alteisen Reise, SRX, Ash Saber, Angelg, Various huckebein variants and other mechs. I really, really wished we can recruit Axel or have the option to play as him with SoulGain. Just like in SRW advance/A Portable which OG 2's story took huge inspiration.

[@timmer919hep]

Have fun getting a copy of either Summon Night game on the GBA. They aren't cheap.

[@PikaLink91]

Speaking of not buying items, I long for an rpg where you don't just get everything handed to you from monster drops and chests, but actually HAVE to buy items, weapons etc and cleverly manage your money. I mean in every j-rpg I always end up with way more money than I know what to do with.

[@londobellace]

The Legend of Heroes: Trails of Cold Steel is the jrpg you are looking for. You never have enough money and you will never be able to get all the best weapons in one playthrough. The combat system is different because of special attacks and the ability to interrupt your enemies and stop them from attacking. Also the music is pretty great. There are 4 games in the Trails of Cold Steel games, but the Legend of Heroes has a ton of games. Trails in the Sky came out on PSP and PC. If you can hang, play it on hard mode.

[@doha057]

Only game I would add to this list is the Robopon 2, or may be its in the 2nd part. Great list already btw

[@riz3778]

Yes! Another video containing Summon Night Swordcraft Stories game, its a very very good game but the game is actually a trilogy but the 3rd game is currently being translated by the community (they had a beta for the 1st day/act in english and the game is much more polished than the 2nd game)

[@stupid_punker]

Been waiting this video with a spicy curry, now I'm ready to have a great meal with this bloody awesome video of forgotten gba rpgs, btw as soon as the video ends I will have new gba rooms 4 sure

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Enjoy your curry and the video man! 🙂

[@reygamingchannel1505]

You are the best video game Channel out there! I love your videos and recommendations thanks!

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Thanks Rey!

[@bobafett4265]

Honestly I didn't know that there is a Shining Force remake on the GBA, but now I do, might have to check it out at some point.

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Well worth trying it out! :)

[@bryanstarlord7422]

There’s some Dragonball rpgs for gamebiy advanced that are good no one ever talks about. I’m no Dragonball fan, never even seen the show, but I got “Dragonball Z, Legend of Goku 2” in a lot once, and I actually really liked it, but I’ve never heard anyone talk about it

[@EvertvanIngen]

12:24 *Using Guardian's Crusade Battle Music on the Playstation 1 Groovey ;)

[@clarafedde8674]

If you going with fan translation, Oriental Blue (which is part of the far east of Eden series) and is great. 2nd is magical vacation (prequel to nds on we got). AND my top choice Super Robot Wars J. Dragon quest monsters caravan hearts is a game I would not recommend. Basically connects dragon quest 7 and 2 in a great story, but mechanic are so bad it never appeared ever again.

[@88Spint]

OMG Rebelstar! I totally forgot that one! :D Thanks for reminding me of that awesome xcom-like :D

[@fuzzylogic3017]

Onimusha Tactics can be purchased via the Wii U e-shop. (Other GBA TRPGs there include two Fire Emblem titles and Final Fantasy Tactics Advance).

[@yuriyutani7907]

Super robot taisen blew me away for a GBA title. OG saga was a gateway for me. Fell in love with the SRW series from then but OG2 remains my favourite. Balls hard though

[@truthiskey8625]

Yes i remember onimusha tactics i used to play that game on gba in early 2000s

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Such a great little srpg!

[@OGM_OriginalGameMusic]

Excellent vid again!

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Glad you enjoyed it 🙂

[@killerkite333]

I just discovered SS2 this year and was amazed gba had a diablo type of game you can play anywhere back in 06.

[@allekid]

I am in need of more gba rpg games. I do however need to get started on golden sun first

[@FriendlyNeighborhoodGeek99]

Great list!

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Thanks Hellish!

[@FultonRecovery]

Great video! Anybody know the first song playing ??

[@STs_Durandal]

anybody know the music track starting at 3:38?

[@Alola_love7119]

What's the song from the Shining Souls 2 section?

[@Satiator123]

Onimusha Tactics ❤. Passed on Fire Emblem back in the day but definitely played this one.

[@faizonemix3033]

Swordcraft story is my favourite childhood game especially season 2 😍

[@marcoschukerberga1418]

Shining Soul 2 is one of my all time favorite, glad to see this on the list, more people should play it is simple and yet addictive by the way you showing beast mountain with snow, that's pretty far lol you must be really good in this game.

[@goatintuxedo2206]

The stages aren't always in the same order. Look at his HP.. he's not high lv.

[@marcoschukerberga1418]

well, I mean in a normal game, beast mountain is only available after pass demon's tower the number 8 of the 10 story stages not counting all the sidequest stages, if you play all in order then is pretty far.

[@2BooG]

What music is playin in the background for Klonoa Heroes?

[@Rihcterwilker]

Oriental Blue deserves a shoutout. It's the rpg with most content and replayability on the system, easily.

[@Zero_Tester]

Oriental Blue,Medabots as well(loved that Medabots game on GBA)

[@cuiff62]

2:13 is there a good translation of klonoa heroes now?

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Yes there is now 🙂

[@cuiff62]

@@thatvideogamesshow Cool, i'll try it again. Yuyu hakusho tournament tactics is a fun one too, it's ugly but ok, maybe it'll be in part 2. I'll be there!

[@R.Williams]

I took a look at a couple of these that I don't have on Ebay. Klonoa Heros (saw only Japanese versions for sale) and Shining Force. OMG the prices! I guess I'll have to go the emulation route if I want to play them. I have always been for original carts and no emulation unless you owned the game already but with prices so outrageous these games are lost to regular (as in not rich!) people if they have to buy them. I used to joke about my pretty decent game collection being my kids inheritance but I think it now will be true! I love the GBA and this video. Thank you!

[@NintenDub]

Gotta get the ez flash omega. That and an ips screen...it's makes the gba a brand new system and experience. I love this shit

[@ultrabosh6427]

funny enough I started up Onimusha Tactics last night. Within the first 5 minutes there's dialogue between Onimaru and his sister. The sister says "If you weren't my brother, I could really go for you". :P

[@thatvideogamesshow]

😂

[@ultrabosh6427]

@@thatvideogamesshow I posted it in my IG stories if you need to see it. Same name as the YT handle. 😎

[@Opebin]

awesome list, i swear you can't run out of gba games to play

[@thatvideogamesshow]

I know, right?

[@PsychadelicoDuck]

Wow, what a collection. An Earthbound-like from the makers of Mario and Luigi? A Japanese GBA X-Com clone? A Klanoa game??? And that's not even half of them.

[@nicholasr8951]

Rebel Star looks very inspired by the original X-COM.

[@fernandesh.m.5504]

It was made by Julian Gollop, the creator of X-COM.

[@ShadowDarknessBlackh]

I have the Rebelstar Tactical Command and I can confirm that it is really hard and it has a lot of strategy, it's supper

[@postapocalypse0763]

Nice to see some love given to Sigma Star Saga

[@ericp1803]

That Tomato Adventure game looks pretty awesome. Is that a Japan only?

[@Satiator123]

I knew the GBA version of Shining Force had a few new characters but never knew it for harder. I would have been all over that if I had known.

[@kingfirestorm4047]

Sigma Star saga deserves a RPG remake and been know to all gamers I play that game when I was a kid and dame I 100 % recommend it

[@PabloEnver]

Summon Night 1 & 2 are really good and fun to play. I love the battle system, and is one the very few rpg's that feel good having random battles, because they give good rewards and are super fast. Onimusha on the other hand is not extremely good, very short of content and has a few absurd things through the game. But the story is nice and the art is really cool.

[@danieleduardoavila5021]

Anyone knows where i can find Tomato adventure in English? Is one of my favorite games of all time.

[@shaolinsnake9650]

isnt Klonoa Heroes Japan exclusive?