PLAYING EVERY GAME BOY ADVANCE (GBA) LAUNCH GAME

Join Ben as he looks back at the US Game Boy Advance launch line up of games. IT'S BEEN OVER 20 YEARS. God you're old. We're all SO old now. BUY YOURSELF A SPORTS TIME SCARF/JACKET! triplejumpshop.com/
Released across multiple regions in March and June of 2001, the Game Boy Advance was Nintendo's next step in their quest for handheld domination. Boasting 2.9 inches of LCD perfection, a screen resolution of 240 by 160 pixels, and 15-bit RGB colour support, the GBA would go on to sell a combined 81.51 million units. Naturally there were a few variations of the handheld released in this time, including the SP, and Micro, but with a rechargeable battery and backlit screen, Nintendo were here to play.
#GameBoyAdvance #GBA #GameBoy
Games covered in this Nintendo Game Boy Advance launch games video:
• Army Men Advance
• Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
• ChuChu Rocket!
• Earthworm Jim
• Fire Pro Wrestling
• Fortress
• F-Zero: Maximum Velocity
• GT Advance Championship Racing
• High Heat Baseball 2002
• Iridion 3D
• Konami Krazy Racers
• Namco Museum
• Pinobee: Wings of Adventure
• Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure
• Rayman Advance
• Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2
• Super Dodge Ball Advance
• Super Mario Advance
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
• Top Gear GT Championship
• Tweety and the Magic Jewel
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TripleJump provides video coverage of video games - including top ten lists featuring current gen platforms (PS4 & PS5, Xbox One & Xbox Series X/Xbox Series S, Nintendo Switch and PC), retro consoles (PlayStation, Nintendo, Xbox and Sega), as well as Worst Games Ever, video game challenges, launch games videos, first impressions, podcasts, livestreams and much, much more.
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[@TeamTripleJump]

BUY YOURSELF A SPORTS TIME SCARF/TRACK JACKET! triplejumpshop.com/

[@eviljigglypuff2254]

Is this based on the European release? Because it's very different than what we got in America

[@karlsmith4270]

OH YEAH! HERE WE GO! SPORTS TIME!! 11:16 Wait a sec? That's Newcastle!! My home!

[@oldmanonyoutube]

I was amazed by the Game Boy Advance when it first launched. It was like having a Super Nintendo in your pocket. The Castlevania, Metroid and Zelda games were awesome. Golden Sun was probably my favorite JRPG on the system.

[@jamieoiler5690]

no it wasnt

[@alucard624]

Absolutely loved Golden Sun. Played the hell out of that when I was deployed overseas and had a lot of downtime. Wish Nintendo would revive that series someday.

[@johfunut2529]

Agreed man. I was blown away seeing things like Mario kart playing on it and looking just as good as the SNES version. Good times.

[@weston407]

i remember taking mine back to EB Games and asking if it was broken because it was SO hard to see Circle of the Moon on the dark screen and they said….no, that’s just how it is…. i loved it though! mike actually got stolen while on vacation in mexico so I bought an SP when i got back home and all of my problems were solved 🙂

[@chinchilla2302]

It was the opposite for me. I’ve never been more disappointed with a games console. I was expecting N64/PS1 graphics (based on what I’d seen in magazines) and was given something that looked more like NES/SNES with a screen so dim that was practically unplayable unless you were in direct bright light/had that stupid light attachment thing. After the GBA I didn’t own another Nintendo product until the Switch. To this day just thinking about the GBA pisses me off.

[@jeffgreen5429]

Bought one of these right around launch, first system bought with my own money. Castlevania was an amazing experience, but you needed perfect lighting to see anything. Rayman was excellent.

[@thunderchild1083]

The first system I ever bought with my own money was the SNES, got it for £80 from the FreeAds (a type of newspaper but specifically for selling things) i had to use money I got from my birthday and money saved from not spending lunch money

[@jamieoiler5690]

are you blind buddy

[@thunderchild1083]

@@jamieoiler5690 who are you replying to

[@jamieoiler5690]

@@thunderchild1083 people say they couldnt see the GBA so i said that

[@jeffgreen5429]

@@jamieoiler5690 Did you ever try playing the original (non-SP) GBA? There was no lighting at all! It was hard to see in most lights.

[@alucard624]

Circle of the Moon is indeed one of the best launch titles for the GBA. Biggest complaint about it was the fact that the original GBA hardware made it very hard to see what was going on in the game as the game itself was pretty dark graphic wise. This was remedied thankfully when played on a GBA SP, via emulator, or in the recent Castlevania Advance Collection on console.

[@marcellosilva9286]

Biggest complaint about it is that the game is far too reliant on luck, there is no shop, so in order to get healing items, you have to grind enemies that drop them, and good luck figuring that out without a guide. And the game's main mechanic is also reliant on random drops. Play the Card Mode hack, you'll thank me later.

[@thochaos13]

I bought it with my SP and really enjoyed it.

[@sarthaksingh5480]

That game was so much better than watching Castlevania on Netflix 😅😅

[@therunawaykid6523]

Yeah I really don’t knows how we managed without backlit screens playing anything was pretty much impossible unless you had constant lighting from a lamp

[@joshzumstien6289]

Wow, no idea the GBA had such a robust and strong launch!

[@AquaShibby3000]

So many bangers... games that you'd rank in the top 10 games for the system overall, even. This lineup is wild.

[@mattdubovik3082]

"robust" and "strong" have pretty much the same meaning...

[@AquaShibby3000]

@@mattdubovik3082 uh.... No

[@MeNoSpeakJibberish]

I remember getting this with Tony Hawk 2 on release day. I was so addicted. Mario Kart (which made me swear at my mates in front of the head teacher) and Pokemon Ruby were welcome editions to my little collection once they came out. Great games on a great handheld almost long forgotten

[@greenkoopa]

Super Circuit can eat turtle poop. Hate that game, but I love the art style so I still play it 🙄

[@FigureFarter]

@@greenkoopa You take that back, you sack of-

[@rexation8952]

Once you understood how to do super throws and jumping super throws, Super Dodge Ball Advance was a very fun sports RPG-lite, even if the music did not do well. And Konami Krazy Karts...was great, even after Mario Kart Advance was released.

[@Yungbeck]

Came home with Super Mario Advance, Army Men and Konami Crazy Racers and a purple GBA on launch day! Amazing memories. That upcoming summer was unforgettable.

[@themeanlesbeann]

I remember getting my gba with a copy of Advance Wars. Many many fun hours were had.

[@jckorn9148]

First system I ever got near launch. Many hours shared between Circle of the Moon, Mario Advance, and F-Zero.

[@RustyShacklefordIrishHipHop]

Many hours enjoyed on Fire Pro Wrestling. Damn good for a 2001 handheld wrestling game

[@charliekirkpatrick695]

The GBA is/was brilliant. Didn't have an SP, had an original and now still have my Gamecube GBA player

[@alucard624]

SP is an awesome handheld. The backlight fixed a lot of issues people had with the lack of brightness for some games like Circle of the Moon for instance. The clamshell design was also a precursor for the DS and 3DS as well so that was cool.

[@jazzygeofferz]

Those isometric Tony Hawk games on the GBA were really good. I couldn't do the 3D ones on consoles, but was pretty good at those GBA ones.

[@cellojerms]

love seeing all the new things you’ve been doing with the channel !! you guys are so underrated

[@Bored_Barbarian]

Yay. The series that I subscribed for. I enjoy seeing all the launch games.

[@ztg12356]

Absolutely love this series. Thank you for your hard work.

[@vdfritzz]

tony hawk on the gba was actually really good, i played it on an emulator where i could have played a lot of other things, it's actually a great game

[@dafer44]

Such a well made video. Congratulations on the script, narration and editing. I love this console

[@matthewbraith0411]

I always get a chuckle out of the sports time and the birdman bits.

[@ryanspengler4877]

I still remember that ride home on launch day with a Milky Blue GBA, Mario Advance and Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. I was housesitting and didnt move from the recliner for the entire week. Wow, that was a great gaming memory... 🎮

[@therunawaykid6523]

Pretty funny that we all thought the gba graphics were amazing when they are first came out but now we have handheld pcs 😆

[@valestivale4711]

Wow, great video, honestly. Its my first time on your channel, and it's pretty good!

[@Cornbinks]

I was subscribed to Nintendo Power when the GBA launched, and they sent out a little bonus issue consisting of mini guides to some of these games. They always looked so cool, and Circle of the Moon was the first game I ended up getting. Nice to see the other launch titles turned out cool too!

[@chrisandsamvideos]

I still remember getting my GBA for Christmas and putting in Warioland 4. The first thing I remember thinking was "I can't see a thing" 😑

[@ARIXANDRE]

The Vikki bit with One Winged Angel earned my upvote. And yes, I follow you guys on Facebook. 😉

[@Wolfdragon92584]

Man, I remember when the GBA came out, and hitting up every Target, Walmart, and Best Buy around trying to get one. Finally got one for my birthday during holiday season 2001. That and the PS2 were the last time I was realllllly hyped up for a new game system. Fantastic gaming and times!!!

[@mindphaserxy]

LMAO when mentioned Top Gear you had to show the Reliant Robin clip of Clarkson tipping it over. Excellent.

[@erickavery1]

Ooo I have eagerly been awaiting the next one of these!

[@scriptederror5446]

I picked up 3 games at launch with my GBA and all of them were bangers; Fire Pro Wrestling, FZero Maximum Velocity, and Super Dodge Ball Advance. Instantly fell in love with the system.

[@Allofthenameshavegone]

So I was about to rewatch the video and I thought about how this is probably my favourite series on this channel. I also thought about how there aren’t that many more consoles left, I’m not sure whether you’ll do Atari’s range or such like. I wonder whether you can do a similar series about playing the top fifteen or twenty games for each console that has ceased production?

[@ArkaneStephanie]

Playing Rayman 3 and Scooby Doo 2 on this got me through many days and nights. They still hold up quite well

[@BFYbn]

Super Dodge Ball Advance was my JAM as a kid.

[@billcook4768]

Nampo keeps putting out the Museum titles, and I keep buying them. My most played game of this bunch. Ms Pac Man, full screen, on a GB Micro is, um, challenging.

[@RetroGamer2008]

21:43 Super Mario Advance - The GBA's most well known launch title, eight above F-Zero: Maximum Velocity! Fun Fact: I didn't know that F-Zero: Maximum Velocity was a launch title for the GBA until now!

[@ericthe7177]

I remember hearing about the launch of the GBA on Extended Play. It was a fantastic system. That being said, let's all be thankful for rechargeable batteries and back-lit displays (and on that note, remember that mod that added a back light to the original system, afterburner or something? ) My biggest regret is that I never got to play Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced. I did get to play Final Fantasy 4, though.

[@MarkAltosaar]

Castlevania: Circle of the Moon was incredible ... years later, once GBAs had front or backlighting ... or emulating it on a PSP. It was so unbelievably hard to see on the original GBA hardware.

[@Dwedit]

If you had the GBC Worm Light, you can kinda use it on the GBA. But the GBA outputs 3.5V instead of 5V through the link port, so the Worm Light wasn't nearly as bright. But it was good enough to see the screen for Circle of the Moon.

[@alucard624]

It was definitely meant to be played on an SP versus the original GBA. Glad it got a digital re-release on consoles too with the Advance Collection as well.

[@ProbablyRicky]

hey triplejump, i really love your videos. I really really appreciate you exist.

[@kriscynical]

Why is this channel not closing in on a million rather than 200k? I don't understand you, KZbin algorithm. RECOMMEND THESE GUYS TO PEOPLE.

[@therunawaykid6523]

I agree

[@adamrogers6231]

The Castlevania Advanced collection helps with the difficulty of the games by giving you save states and the ability to rewind. They're completely optional, but gave me the chance to actually finish the games!

[@jamesmeppler6375]

Nice! I always love your content

[@BeardTech]

Tony Hawk 2. A revelation how they ported this. Amazing sound. Amazing animation. Fun as!

[@Denjasaurus]

These are my favourite Double Jump videos

[@NathanielBarlam]

Loved Rayman Advanced growing up, but could only complete it using the 99 lives cheat, quite a hard platformer

[@gerradbarker6803]

Fortress was badass! I forgot about that game. I remember having it back in 2002 or some time around then. Good times.

[@dannyf21]

Always love the 'Oh Yeah Sports time Bit ' lmao keep up the good work guys, my buddies also love watching your videos with your jokes compared to the other spazes in NA here One even told me its good Studying audio 😅

[@SethAurelius94]

The gameboy advance was the system I grew up on along with the DS. It still holds a special place in my heart

[@thomaskuzma4360]

Means a lot to have this video. I want to try fortress

[@ZootedBeaver]

Been waiting for this one!

[@MyloSkeng]

ChuChu Rocket was such a good game!

[@sg4hire]

11:18 Oh yeah, he we go, "Oh Yeah Here We Go Sports Time" shirt time! I've owned a shirt before, but I never owned this particular shirt, so I'm going to give them everything I got!

[@darthboxOriginal]

I still play my GBA. It is such a fantastic little handheld. There are many great games, plus backwards compatibility with the GB and GBC.

[@scotthamilton9515]

Support TripleJump! Give 'em a subscribe and Join the Walrus Clan! Love these Playing Every Launch Title Videos!

[@techwiz81]

Golden Sun 1 & 2 are still my two favourite games of all time, they deserve a Switch remake

[@sonofsol2869]

Fave games of all time is a huge stretch but they definitely deserve a remake and I would be very happy if they did. Golden Sun is probably in my Top 30

[@ericthe7177]

Man, talk about a great series falling off the map. Seriously needs to come back!

[@ridensroom6957]

I got a gameboy colour not too long before this came out so I got one later. What a console. And the sp is my fave revision of any handheld.

[@oscarx-ray3545]

Did you just hit a cricket ball with a baseball bat, Ben Ben Ben Ben?

[@petpolitics]

Nice editing 👍

[@Pacmanfan-po9rn]

Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland is probably my fave GBA game.

[@og87]

I remember this launch like yesterday, still can’t get over why I picked white over sexy purple. 🤤

[@konversion]

Wow, Lords of Shadow was your only experience with Castlevania? That's impressive it took you until the franchise was pretty much out the door. Don't get me wrong, I REALLY liked LoS and it's a shame the franchise has become pachinko machines but I played the original three back in the 80s. Heh, I guess I'm just old :)

[@alucard624]

Castlevania is in such a sad state these days. It's pretty pathetic when fan made games that are homages like the Bloodstained games are the closest we can get to a new Castlevania game now.

[@myfamilyiscrazy]

My older brother had a GBA that he would sometimes let me and my sisters borrow, until my parents got us all GBA SPs one Christmas (one of my favorite Christmases ever). We still had to share games though, but whatever. I have very fond memories of this system.

[@ogemaweyaus4105]

Tony Hawk 2 was pretty damn good for an isometric game. I loved it!

[@carlrygwelski586]

I love the Namco Museum series, I've collected almost every one because each of them ususally have a little bit of exclusive content. The GBA one not so much but gotta admit those tiny sprites are cute.

[@Pacmanfan-po9rn]

What do you think about the GBA 50th Anniversary version

[@carlrygwelski586]

@@Pacmanfan-po9rn I actually was not aware they made 2 versions for the GBA, I only have the original. It looks like the 50th version swaps Galaxian and Pole Position for Pac-Man and Rally X. Rally X is a great game, I'll have to give the tiny version a shot

[@Pacmanfan-po9rn]

@@carlrygwelski586 It's worth picking up, I collect Namco Museum titles too. I picked up 50th anniversary for Gamecube and that has to be one of my favourites, mainly for the arrangement games.

[@carlrygwelski586]

@@Pacmanfan-po9rn Yes that one is great. Namco Museum DS has some awesome features too, particularly the bottom screen guide for treasures in Tower of Druaga. The arrangement games are really great, last summer I picked up Battle Collection on PSP which has the console versions of them

[@Pacmanfan-po9rn]

@@carlrygwelski586 my PSP broke, but I love the Pac-Man arrangement in there and I'm happy to see it rereleased later this year. I wish the + version could be rereleased. What did you think of NAMCOT Collection the other year? I think it was a decent change, but kinda meh

[@Ashura96]

Iridion 3D might have lacked a bit in gameplay, but the music was amazing.

[@tec5x5]

Dang did you really tag Ashton with that hit? also F-Zero was my Launch game buy so much fun to be had

[@pelago_]

The Harry Potter quidditch game was great, graphically a bit rough but the pacing was bang on and the gameplay was great.

[@willstout5988]

Glad this is remembered fondly. I remember really liking that game. Sometimes the snitch chases felt unfair, but I still was super into that game as a kid haha

[@BroskiPlays]

The GBA is still the best handheld of all time imo

[@alexanderluna4598]

Considering the ds had access to the entirety of the gba library until the dsi , I’d say it’s beat it out. It’s own library is great as well.

[@tezzie_]

id say the 3ds arguably. it plays the amazing 3ds library, then runs ds games natively, which means it runs gba games natively which then flows onto gb/gbc. and the form factor is so handy, its quite the remarkable little machine

[@alexanderluna4598]

@@tezzie_ but you can’t play with physical hardware and the 3DS library on its own can’t hand a candle or anywhere close to the DS library. That’s just facts. It’s kind of like the ps2/PS3 debate. Ps2 was the game changer and the same goes for the DS.they are both the highest selling console and handheld of all time and that’s for a reason. They are iconic and changed the landscape of gaming forever. 3DS wouldn’t even be a thing if the DS hadn’t paved the way for it.

[@TC-lk2ev]

Nah, you couldn't see the screen half the time. DS/3DS was better I reckon simply for the backlight screen.

[@alexanderluna4598]

@@TC-lk2ev GBASP had a backlit screen so this argument is kind of invalid.

[@jacobmonks3722]

Circle of the Moon was a great GBA Castlevania. I actually like it a lot more than its follow-up, Harmony of Dissonance. That one felt like it tried too hard to just be Symphony of the Night again, with very little about it feeling unique. And being on the GBA meant it had to make a lot of compromises that the PS1 didn't, due to limited buttons and smaller screen size. I don't think it's that great honestly. Maybe a 7/10 game. Circle of the Moon feels like it fits the GBA much better, and the card system makes it more interesting to go back to since it has more of its own identity.

[@Dwedit]

I thought Harmony of Dissonance had awful music. If I hadn't played Circle of the Moon, I probably wouldn't have minded as much, but with the previous game having such a great soundtrack, HOD felt like a slap in the face. Only many years later did I realize that they were trying for a Konami VRC6 sound, like Japanese Castlevania 3.

[@JayCruz49er]

Aria of Sorrow…

[@bbloomfield6497]

Picture a handheld advertised on Kickstarter like the GBA was, compared to what ended up in the hands of customers. The GBA couldn't possibly launch today they way it did back then. Every print advert and commercial showed a bright and colourful screen.. what everyone got was a low contrast, dull display only usable under the right kind of lighting conditions. Back then no one seemed too bothered by it as the promise of portable Tony Hawk or F-Zero seemed to outweigh the vagrant false advertising.

[@therunawaykid6523]

Yeah totally agree they were definitely lying to customers showing a bright colourful screen, in reality every game was dark af

[@TheJunkerQueenMain]

Oh yeah, here we go, sports time!

[@GotNextVideo]

First system I ever bought at launch. I picked up Castlevania, which I did not love as much as most people and actually found too easy to the point where I accidentally sequence broke without realizing I wasn't supposed to be doing that.

[@michaelb2westgaedu]

I spent WAY too much time on Pitfall on my neon pink GBA, the only one I could find in my area at the time. I didn't stick with GBA all that long between that and the absurdly dim screen on the launch model.

[@bloodywolf9317]

I played a lot of fortress as a kiddo but had completely forgotten about it haha

[@SECONDQUEST]

Bruh that boss at the beginning killed me so MANY times

[@mattyeoman89]

I thought Kuru Kuru Kururin was a launch game, I was looking forward to your take on it! A great launch line up though, it came out on my 12th birthday and I was elated with shredding on THPS2!

[@davidpowell9965]

It was in the uk, cause i had it

[@thevirginmarty9738]

Wow, I would have thought Krazy Racers to be a rom hack of Mario Kart!

[@MrThirst]

I can't believe tweety and the magic gems got a bomb review. I played that game so much.

[@cbennett_12]

Danny loves the Blazing Mods

[@cactusjack9504]

I got the pokemon center gold Gameboy advance for Christmas and it came with tony hawk pro skater 2 lol...best Christmas ever. I actually still have my Gameboy advance but it's it ruff shape.

[@KingBatiatus]

The best thing about Rayman on such limited hardware was that they couldn't make it as brutally hard as the PS1 version.

[@protronix]

Iridion 3d was fun as I remember. It was challenging but made me want to keep trying.

[@dhall888]

Hell yeah thps2!!!! That and castlevania, classics!

[@TheMDXtremeReal]

Oh yeah! Here we go! Review time

[@MrMegaManFan]

I didn’t expect a CM Punk reference, but I’m not mad about it. 💪🏼

[@somethingboss]

My parents bought me this console at launch to use when we went on holiday to Spain for a week when I was 13... the only thing I remember from that holiday was playing this nonstop. Everything else is blank!

[@wilfredynunez5263]

Thanks to the modern modding scene, It's incredibly easy to get an original GBA with a backlight, so you get the best of both worlds. The backlight of the SP, but the more comfortable form factor of the Original. You can get either an IPS which is crisp AF, or my personal preference of an AGS-101 Screen, which gives it the original pixel look.

[@steakcrust558]

thats the castlevania where you can glitch the card system and have any combo you want as soon as you unlock 1 card on each of the 2 rows. good times

[@MrXsuperkoolX]

F zero was awesome once you got the hang of it. Passing another driver on a turn was super rewarding.

[@TC-lk2ev]

Yeah it was. I remember that game being super hard though.

[@phoenixdowner]

I want to say I found many of these launch titles unplayable on the launch GBA because the screen was darker than GameBoy Color. I was only really able to play Tony Hawk 2 somehow along with SMA Mario Bros 2.

[@mrnoodleg6383]

Love the content brothers

[@oscarx-ray3545]

AND SISTER

[@RaccoonHenry]

Circle of the Moon is amazing! I've 100%ed it multiple times, which puts it up there with Ocarina of Time! also thanks for the traumatic flashbacks to the Gran Turismo licenses...

[@BOABModels]

My Advance SP still works - it's a great little system. Sadly the internal clock on Pokémon Sapphire stopped working and Mario Kart had stopped working altogether. I actually didn't own any of these - my first game was Donkey Kong Country and some of my favourites were Pokémon, Final Fantasy Tactics and Mario Kart.

[@GieterHero]

Don't feel too bad about having a hard time with Circle of the Moon, it's by far the hardest of the GBA 'vanias and also the one that aged worst.

[@nellitheretrogamer8666]

I had lots of GBA games but somehow none of these. Golden Sun was my favorite, and Pokemon games of course.

[@JackGD1991]

Oh yeah! Here we go! Rayman port time!

[@marks9082]

I LOVED the dodgeball game as a kid

[@DmitriyK12]

Fortress for the Nintendo GBA, brought to you by Majesco...hmmm, honestly I don't recall that title being a NA release on the first day or week but hey if you say so !? Your videos do help me to find out hidden or often overlooked gems even though they are 15 or 20 + years old at this point.

[@ShowdeQuetzal]

Great video

[@VlogsIWC]

i remember getting this and star wars episode 3 that game was lit

[@ic3cr34m11]

Castlevania brings a tear to my eyes, so damn nostalgic. Circle of the moon is the best Castlevania game ever! Change my mind

[@aipaloovik]

Here we go, GAMEBOY TIME!