Revisiting Some Not-So-Classic Game Boy Advance Games

Nintendo’s iconic handheld is home to many hidden gems

The Game Boy. Originally released on April 21st, 1989, this little handheld console took the world by storm with its impressive 8-bit graphics and powerful 8kB internal RAM. The original Game Boy used a dot matrix screen, similar to what many construction companies use for road signs, on a spectacular 3.5in x 5.8in (90mm x 148mm) display. In all honesty, the Game Boy was actually pretty underpowered on arrival, but the novelty of being able to take your games on the go in a reliable and compact little handheld was too great to be denied.

Games like Metroid II: Return of Samus, Space Invaders, Mega Man 5, Super Mario Land, and Tetris made this console a force to be reckoned with. The Pokemon series, which is the second highest-grossing gaming franchise in the world, got its birthplace on the Game Boy. The absolute success of the Game Boy guaranteed that Nintendo would be developing predecessors in the form of the Game Boy Color, which released in November 1998, and the final iteration of the little handheld that could, the Game Boy Advance, which released in June 2001.

This particular console eventually came in three flavors: the standard Game Boy Advance, the backlit Game Boy Advance SP, and the last Game Boy…