GBA Games Nobody Talks About

The Gameboy Advance is one of the greatest consoles of all time, with a ton of incredible overlooked games! Join me as I list and discuss ten games for the GBA nobody talks about. Many lesser known and under appreciated games released for for the Nintendo game boy advance handheld, so let me know your most obscure unknown and forgotten GBA games down below!
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[@daviaugustodeoliveira9047]

I love that harry kane actually has a youtube channel about handhelds

[@thatvideogamesshow]

😉

[@MINI_91]

A good list of games I have not seen before. I also really enjoy your narration style. Calm and pleasant without obnoxious over reacting. Keep it up mate.

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Thanks mate, I appreciate that 🙂

[@erikgarza2589]

Agreed this dude mellows out the day and brings som good stuff to the light

[@awesomeferret]

I only now realized that this channel is basically "budget Game Sack". That's not an insult, since it's hard to live up the that quality.

[@awesomeferret]

@@scott3429 I wouldn't make your bigotry so public if were you, lol. I say this as someone who has a lisp because of a cleft lip and palate. You're treading a similar line to racism here. If it disgusts you in a personal way in a similar way that seeing other people's mucus disgusts me, then I understand, but in general, having visible mucus is avoidable, and having a lisp is not. This is one of those things that you should probably keep to yourself, since it only makes you look bad and only serves to hurt feelings. Or maybe I'm missing the productive purpose of your comment? Feel free to tell me what it is.

[@sarthaksingh5480]

I remember in 2018 i wanted to buy a snes classic but one of my friend recommended me to buy android tv instead of snes classic so that i play gba games on tv. So as an experiment my friend show me gba games on his tv while casting mobile to tv and man i seriously love the sprites animation and graphics. Although it's decade old console i didn't know existence of this console because it is not released in my country and nobodies knows about this. So i ending up buying android tv box and started playing on tv and on my phone. The games i liked so far is Fire emblem sacred stone., Advance wars, Gundam seed fighting game, warioland 4 😀.

[@KarunaSatoriASMR]

I LOVE the fact people are really starting to get back into GBA and GBC again. I recently had mine modded into the look of a GameCube (purple, my favorite!!).. let me tell you how much absolute joy it’s been reliving my favorite games and new ones as a kid. One of my favorite being the original Pokémon Pinball, with the rumble battery pack! Such a simple game but when I tell you how addicted I was as a kid - and now!

[@KarunaSatoriASMR]

PS - thanks for posting this. I knew a handful of these, but not most. Love it!

[@TuxedoMaskMusic]

People? is this a "we" thing where you think you have a fly in your pocket? lol The number of people who play these is by all means and has been for a number of years on the steady DECLINE. nothing has changed here sir. lulz.

[@El_Chuchuca]

When developers put effort, originality and a finished product. Videogames went downhill after the service shit.

[@alexandrebelair4360]

@@TuxedoMaskMusic Any proof?

[@chrisrichfield8906]

@@TuxedoMaskMusic then why did the prices jump so drastically in that last couple years?

[@johannlabertaler6095]

you are like fuel for my recently freshly ablazed passion for GBA games, thank you so much for these titles I'd've never even heard about otherwise

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Haha glad you’ve found some new games!

[@How-To-RC]

I have recently tsken a massive shine to gba games as well. I am on a misson to hunt down as many as i can. My collection grows by the day

[@worldsboss]

I absolutely adore the GBA, but the only one of these I knew about was Magical Vacation. Thank you for all your videos about this amazing system! 😁

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Thanks for watching!

[@frds_skce]

Almost same, except that I know most of the games on this list but only finished Magical Vacations. I even unlocked all types of magi and easter eggs in the game that requires trading and whatnot, really crazy and fun

[@HaplessNerd]

Last time I tried to play magical vacation, the only translation i could find had the music corrupted. Did they fix that? I really want to play it since I'm a big fan of starsigns on the DS

[@ChibiKami]

@@HaplessNerd you may have had a corrupted rom. Try to find a no-intro rom

[@Rottypops]

Maybe people don't talk about them because they were in the Walmart bargain bin from 2 decades ago 🤔

[@SECONDQUEST]

Shining Soul 2 can be brutal if you're a kid, the freedom while leveling can really force you to grind.

[@RBXGames]

I absolutely love this game! Still got it here and I really thought about it lately. Time to check my lvl 100 chars :D

[@Goochbag8]

Beating that first boss felt satisfying. Pretty rewarding experience. Been playing with some comfy scanlines for the past few days.

[@fgxraven]

Shining Soul 1-2 were amazing games! Wish they would make games with that art style

[@thatvideogamesshow]

I’ll second that

[@ChibiKami]

wish they would make more games set in the Shining Force universe

[@Existencerased]

Tang tang really feels like a futuristic version of Solomon’s key, and that’s not a bad thing! Mech Platoon is one I’ll be searching out as well

[@malicekerendu3574]

Something I'd like to add about magical vacation: The music is beautiful, but only when played on original hardware and certain emulators. The game utilizes the gba's sound chip to its fullest extent.

[@thatvideogamesshow]

I’ll second that!

[@diegotszx6693]

What about ds or 3ds?

[@MegaDeox]

What emulators are good for this? mGBA is supposed to be accurate.

[@malicekerendu3574]

@@MegaDeox mgba is the best in fidelity.

[@malicekerendu3574]

@@diegotszx6693 I don't know if works on ds or 3ds. From what I've read it works well, but it's not the best.

[@Nelkhael1]

For some reason I KNEW you were gonna talk about Mech Platoon. I remember sinking hundreds of hours into this game and loving upgrading my units.

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Such a solid RTS!

[@KD-bk7gd]

I just picked up a physical copy of Magical Vacation in English. Obviously an unofficial translation, but the physical copies are out there albeit hard to find. I can’t wait to play it on original hardware.

[@DeltathRiylaan]

Robopon wasn't a Pokemon copycat. It was built with inspiration from the SNES game Robotrek, which undoubtedly was a major influence on Pokemon. In fact, I would say Pokemon itself is more a clone of Robotrek and Dragon Quest V.

[@unagisauce]

I remember seeing pictures of Magical Vacation previewed in Nintendo Power. I was so hyped for that game and was sad we never got it in the States.

[@thatvideogamesshow]

I’ll second that, it was such a shame!

[@KD-bk7gd]

I just picked up a physical copy in English. They’re hard to find but out there, obviously not official releases. Pretty pumped to play it on original hardware.

[@unagisauce]

@@KD-bk7gd That’s awesome. I didn’t know they made fan-translated repros for that one

[@KD-bk7gd]

@@unagisauce yeah I didn’t either, but came across it on E tsy so I snagged it up. I half expected it to still be in JPN but nope, it showed up and it was the ENG rom-hack on a cart. Pretty pumped since I’ve never seen that before and that seller only had one. Plays really good on my iPs modded GBA. Pretty cool thing to pick up for 10 bucks or so. Great video, keep up the good work

[@grinbrothers]

15:06 - Almost went the entire video without seeing a game I own but there we go, Shining Soul 2! My brothers and I adore this game. A ton of fun and tons of replay-ability thanks to it's sheer amount of characters. It was also pleasing to see Magical Vacation get a mention. I've never played the Japan-exclusive GBA game but I have luckily enjoyed it's DS sequel. As always, plenty of fantastic games shown off here that have caught my eye (Blender Bros, Steel Empire, Cina The Enemy, etc) that I shall have to keep a look out for, so thanks for that.

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Glad you enjoyed it! 🙂

[@Marzimus]

Ahh Steel Empire...there's a game I loved more for aesthetics than gameplay. Nick Arcade would feature it. There was a remake for PS3, if memory serves correct, and it was *never* on sale. Hai-yah...

[@jessragan6714]

I wanted to like Karnaag Rally, but they kept making me use the Flintstones' family car, and I could never get out of that caveman class. Also, I liked Tang Tang better back when it was called Solomon's Key.

[@leighdappa3147]

Same here with the Caveman Car so I gave up and played and preferred 'Gadget Racers', also on GBA.

[@NouillesAuCalva]

Waiting for my first retro handheld so these vids are super useful! Keep on with the great content!

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Thanks mate, plenty more on the way! 🙂

[@mo_musashi_284]

I mod 3ds if your interested

[@bobmcbob4399]

Tang Tang works almost like Solomon's Key (Arcade) in the 80's

[@herrpez]

By "almost", I will assume you mean "almost exactly". :)

[@chickenfillets]

Doesn't sound a magical vacation if you get kidnapped straight away haha

[@thatvideogamesshow]

🤣🤣🤣 this got me! 🤣

[@-my4skinwastakeninasickjew426]

Can’t believe more people don’t talk about Mech Platoon. Even modern RTS games can learn from it.

[@shivalah]

Mech Platoon! I played this! I had this! Someone stole it from me and I could never remember the Name of it, but I had those visuals burned into my mind. Seeing it now makes me kinda happy. I really need to track down a copy just for the nostalgia. And this Magical Vacation looks right up my alley... sad it never got a chance.

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Ahh man sorry to hear that! Hope you find a copy!

[@Moshugaani]

Nice to see a list of actually overlooked games, many of which look interesting to boot! I had only heard of Magical Vacation before this video.

[@robertwolfgan]

Man, what you're doing here, your work, is purely amazing. Thank you for doing this, I never thought I would miss soamy games that are as good as the ones you found and I feel like I missed out too much, but also glad and happy you exist and made us realize about these jewels. Keep up the good work, I'm subscribing now.

[@bradallen852]

Is it just me or is “Karnaaj Rally” (Carnage Rally?) just Death Rally with all the Duke Nukem tie ins removed and a less gruesome tone? It looks nearly identical to me:

[@bkcollectorshop9631]

You guys deserve way more subs this channel is amazing

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Thanks mate! It’s a one man band though 😅

[@dapperfan44]

Blender Bros looks very similar in character design to Klonoa. Long eared critter, floating ball creature.

[@tomonemo2992]

I agree, these games are not really talked about. But for a dedicated collector the research for some obscure title is part of the fun! This comes from a guy who has every single cartridge in his collection from the video. :3

[@dragonkid203dracorumregni4]

How many games are getting added to my want list today smh. Great work as always!

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Haha glad you found something new to play!

[@akifrivaldo]

Been waiting for this! 😍 Thanks for the list mate! 🙏

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Thanks for watching Aki! 🙂

[@electricmastro]

Very nice. Yeah, Robopon definitely helps make more distinct by getting you to build your monsters instead of capturing them. I recall Robotrek on SNES was similar.

[@Asobitech]

Some excellent recommendations here. Thank you for highlighting them and giving them the time they deserve.

[@Panfoul]

Karnaaj Rally graphics blew my mind for a gba game, but as soon as I took a glance at it's cover art I could tell why someone would definitely choose any other game over it haha

[@PanTran]

I got tang tang at a garage sale as a kid and had almost completely forgotten about it until this video. So much nostalgia

[@AnthonyRiddle]

I'm still in love with the graphics on the GBA. The special effects that were possible on it are still beautiful and amazing today

[@fistofthesnortstar]

What was that fighting game in the beginning?

[@Lunariant]

Your intro music is an eargasm. Nina from the Tekken 2 intro movie, I remember it vividly.

[@jamesaitchison9478]

I've played Shining Soul, but not part 2 though, and haven't played any of the other games. It's nice to watch a GBA hidden gems video that are actually hidden gems. Cool video 👍

[@brandoom9122]

5:24 Damn, I’ve really been saying Carnage Rally for 20+ years 😔

[@mbrando4403]

the best "hidden gems" style video game show on YT, thanks!

[@smgofdvld]

Megaman battle network music 😎

[@shazmanbound1496]

Drome Racers looks amazing for a GBA game. The 3D engine looks great

[@thatvideogamesshow]

It looks incredible for the handheld!

[@RabidPeanutButter]

@@thatvideogamesshow Have you checked out Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Challenge? It's very similiar!

[@craiganderson7986]

It’s also available on the GameCube.

[@obthree2830]

Great video! You showed me a few that I haven’t played and a few others I’ve never heard of which at this point is really rare. Another if recommend that isn’t talked about enough is penny racers. Great game, tons of customization, tons of replay-ability, etc! But Tang Tang and Cima look great!

[@MetalJody1990]

I'm so glad I clicked on this video. Karnaaj Rally is fricken amazing for a GBA game. Not only is it great to look at, but it's really fun too. I'm gonna see how it plays on my Vita. EDIT: Plays wonderfully on Vita.

[@ajmohawk2993]

Great to see another list you uploaded, man!

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Glad you enjoyed it mate! 🙂

[@jubiladoatope]

As always great selection and discovered new games to play,great video!

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Thanks! Glad you found some new games 🙂

[@grzegorz__]

Karnaaj Rally is great. If you loved ie. Death Rally on PC, then you'll love it :)

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Such a fun little racer!

[@SECONDQUEST]

Was wondering what game it reminded me of! Thanks!

[@johnsabio6278]

Golden Sun ! One of the best game ever created!

[@thatvideogamesshow]

I’ll second that, such a great rpg!

[@sonofkorol]

Summon Night Swordcraft Story 2, Killer 3D Pool, Ultimate Card Games, and Rainbow Six Rogue Spear are a couple other overlooked GBA games you should check out for a Part 2 vid!

[@brandyntillman9575]

Love your vids, they pretty much auto play in the background when doing things in the house. Your voice is chill and it's nice getting snippets of games here and there.

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Glad you enjoy them mate!

[@endymallorn]

Karnaaj Rally is one I’ve definitely heard about - for the box art!

[@daisukegori2112]

I believe a story doesn't need to be super clever or convoluted to be good. The story could be as simple as " a Dog who saves the world". The interactions are what truly matters. And how the adventure plays out.

[@akiradkcn]

This, story is only mandatory in books or movies. Games are *interactive* experiences

[@Tommyskylarr]

Well this title was incredibly accurate l’d say! I didn’t know any of these titles and l’d genuinely like to play most of them. You just gained a new sub, cheers!

[@skRapKlan]

Thanks for the great video! The GBA had so many awesome games, glad people like yourself are shining some light on these lost treasures!

[@RayWearer]

Amazing list! I only knew about one of the games you mentioned and the gba is my favorite console ever :)

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Glad you found something new!

[@megamonstercookies]

Thanks for the upload. I’d love to see a video on game boy color games

[@orBro533]

-blender bros -steel empire -magical vacation -karnaaj rally -tang tang -cima the enemy -drome racers -robopon 2 -shining soul 2

[@esmi483]

Ooh the Echo Ridge background music, nice.

[@freezycastform99]

Bro, you already get a thumbs up for using Mega Man Star Force music. Good taste!

[@ryanmalone1288]

Wow! I was hoping that you would talk about Cima! What a unique and wonderful gem. I loved ordering my companions along the stage while trying to protect them. It's the definition of a hidden gem. Wish it wasn't so expensive these days...

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Such a solid game!

[@lolight2]

I love the fact that you used Road Trip Adventure music during one of the entries :)

[@billydelacey]

Just once I'd like to see Invincible Iron Man in one of these top however-many GBA lists.

[@malictory]

Love hearing more folks talk about Magical Vacation:3

[@rustytoyota]

Great Video. Some Notes : You should try and add a chime or something when you switch games. Cause when you're not looking at the screen ( tbh most if not all viewers aren't) it makes it hard to tell you switched to a different game.

[@diamondunbreakable6717]

I remember Blender Bros. I remember playing a game as a kid where you played as some animal or something with things flying next to him you use. I didn't know the name. Blender Bros. Brings back memories.

[@johannlabertaler6095]

those polygon objects in Karnaaj Rally sure are impressive and beautiful

[@obthree2830]

When people ask me what’s my favorite system I always say the GBA it’s got everything! The games are incredible and so many are exclusive. Yet you still have the classics that were ported like SMB, DKC, ETC.Systems like the NES, SNES, SEGA, ETC. were working on games that already existed and new ones for this handheld all the time! I could talk about this system forever!

[@Straigo]

Really good list. I’m a big fan of the GBA Steel Empire port.

[@mythosinfinite6736]

From the infamous boxart alone, I would have never expected it to look so amazing. The gameplay seems, just sort of alright, but those 3D graphics are insanely impressive. Definitely one of the best-looking games on the system.

[@mumblesslam]

There's an awesome 3d version of Steel Empire on the 3ds.

[@Lizardman]

Thanks for reminding me of the magical series!

[@eledant4528]

Thanks for your hard work! :D

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Thanks for watching!

[@Mr_Darbus]

I haven't heard of a lot of these games, but, apart from that, I want to compliment you on your taste in older video game music! Road Trip Adventure and Guardian's Crusade have absolutely fantastic soundtracks!!

[@Strawhat_Fred]

Cima the Enemy always seemed like a fever dream I had. I'm so glad I finally have a name after all these years

[@Gl1tchDeclined]

Magical Vacation looks like a blueprint for legend of mana. Gui is very similar, and there’s no doubt the same character designer was involved. Looks interesting

[@ChibiKami]

you're not far off; Brownie Brown, the developer, went on to make Sword of Mana on the GBA and the sadly lackluster Heroes of Mana on DS. Two of the founders were artists on the Mana series calling it some kind of blueprint doesn't quite add up, LoM came out two years beforehand they also worked on Mother 3

[@Gl1tchDeclined]

@@ChibiKami ah, that makes sense then. Thanks for the clarification!

[@maycon4948]

Good video bro, I never nobody talking about Mother 3 in GBA

[@kelmkisaragi]

I'd like to mention "Summon Night: Swordcraft Story" 1 & 2, RPGs where you make your own weapons and constantly upgrade them as you progress through the game? Yes please

[@CrunchyTire]

Wow, Tang Tang is basically solomons key. Which is awesome. I need to play that.

[@adrian_veidt]

Super robot wars series, Baldur's gate dark alliance and Zoids legacy are all very underrated games on the handheld

[@nemesisurvivorleon]

credit for including Mech Platoon. One of only 2 RTS' on the system ( the other being Napoleon ) CIMA The Enemy is kind of underrated. Shining Soul 1 and 2 are MASSIVELY underrated. Baldur's Gate Dark Alliance is also a fantastic action rpg... The only 3 diablo-likes on the system. And they're all fantastic.

[@vincenzomottola7778]

Sigma Star Saga in my opinion, is one of my favorite hidden gems for the GBA, and I think it deserves recognition for being the only original WayForward game released on GBA. I'm pretty bummed that Shantae 2: Risky Revolution on GBA never saw a release, it looked really awesome! Oh well, I'm glad Sigma Star Saga exists, since it has that distinct Matt Bozon charm in its writing, character design and art style. I kinda Matt Bozon had the opportunity to make a GBA sequel to Xtreme Sports GBC (Which btw, is a GBC hidden gem.)

[@TheRoninteam]

Great video as usually!

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Thanks mate!

[@ilpastor]

Thanks to you I am finding the games that I used to play while I was a child.

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Glad I could help!

[@ryuudrako86]

that feeling when megaman starforce music shows up is very nice

[@kaji_materia2295]

I remember playing shining soul 2 in 2013 haha such an underrated gem. Great video Im gonna try magical vacation looks nice

[@Kaliscetera]

Never heard of it until this video but Tang Tang is a lot like Troddlers in the way that you place blocks.

[@Nintendude.]

Lovely video. I never heard of these games before.

[@rafaelfigfigueiredo2988]

Thank you man this is actually unknown games to me, an gba rat. You made a great narration and editing, subbed

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Thanks Rafael, glad you enjoyed the video!

[@internziko]

This channel is so wonderful

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Thanks Paul!

[@amoshillmusic]

Steel empire on the Sega genesis as a kid was amazing

[@Marzimus]

Tekken 2 intro music, yeah? Man that takes me back... 😋

[@robertandruw7647]

Wow these are some real hidden gems. Never knew about these games.

[@GameCubeGalaxy]

Another excellent video highlighting many games I haven’t played, but will now try. Karnaaj Rally has such an awful box art in North America that made me avoid the game itself back in the day. However, the game itself looks awesome! Also, Drome Racers looks very impressive for the GBA, so I’ll have to check that out as well. Great video again man!

[@thatvideogamesshow]

Thanks mate! Haha yeah that box art was alarming 😂 glad you found some new games man.

[@KingAges]

Love the use of MegaMan StarForce music in the video.

[@mgamobilegamingamature8684]

Either this is in ur forgotten gba games video that I’ma watch now or it really is a very obscure title no one talks about but this game I hold dear to my heart and play to this day pirates of the Caribbean dead man’s chest how is it no one talks about this

[@kevins8071]

The GBA was one of my favorite systems. I played it as much as my PS2. I actually had the game boy player to play the GBA games on my GameCube. What a great little system. I’m not sure if it gets the love it deserves, but judging by other people’s comments on this video, it sounds like there’s plenty of love for the GBA. Great content as always.

[@goatintuxedo2206]

Tang Tang is literally a 16bit version of Solomon's keys on NES. Count me in !!

[@ogto]

i've never seen ANYONE mention rebelstar tactical command, so i guess there's still more obscure games to uncover

[@ambientsoothingsounds44]

Currently playing crouching tiger hidden dragon on gba and loving it!!!

[@Flipbug_The_Whimsical]

There are some great mods and translations for GBA games out there. Always worth checking out if you're the type to emulate these titles ☺️

[@Llucmenork]

12:05 Ape Escape 3 Snow level OST if anyone interested.

[@1up_chava627]

great list there's 3 there I want to pick up