June 11, 2001.

That was the day the Game Boy Advance launched in the United States, continuing the legacy and line of Game Boy systems. The handheld launched with 15 different titles and in three colors: Glacier, Indigo, and White, all for a mere $99. Back then, there was no backlight, GBA games retailed for around $29.99 to $39.99 at most, and the biggest game it launched with was Super Mario Advance--a port of Super Mario Bros. 2. Even with that kind of lineup, it would go on to have one of the most beloved libraries of all time, and would also become the 10th best-selling game system ever.

GBA launch lineup

• Super Mario Advance (Nintendo)
• F-Zero: Maximum Velocity (Nintendo)
• Army Men Advance (3DO)
• High Heat Baseball 2002 (3DO)
• Tony Hawk Pro Skater (Activision)
• Dodge Ball Advance (Atlus)
• Fire Pro Wrestling (BAM)
• Top Gear GT Championship (Kemco)
• Tweety and the Magic Jewel (Kemco)
• Fortress (Majesco)
• Iridion 3D (Majesco)
• Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure (Majesco)
• Ready 2 Rumble Boxing: Round 2 (Midway)
• ChuChu Rocket! (Sega)
• Rayman (Ubi Soft)

Clearly, the GBA means a lot to people here, given the fact that it's very clearly in the name "GBAtemp"; it's an important part of history, both for gaming and for this site. For many, it was their first handheld, their first experience with video games, their introduction into the world of homebrew, and something that holds many cherished memories. So with this major milestone of an anniversary, let's take some time to remember the GBA and your favorite moments with it.

Top 10 Metacritic GBA game ratings

• The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past
• Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2
• Mario Kart Super Circuit
• Advance Wars
• The Super Mario Advance games
• Metroid Fusion
• Final Fantasy VI Advance
• Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
• Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
• Metroid: Zero Mission

 

[Impossible_Igntiz]

I'd remembered getting my Gameboy Advance on Christmas day right after my cousin having one already ahead of me as always lol.

I had Pitfall: The Mayan Adventure, Super Mario Advance, Monster's Inc and Spiderman Mysterio's Menace plus the fact i still had my Gameboy Color games and could run them without needing my Gameboy Color anymore was a godsend.

 

[hippy dave]

Happy birthday to one of the best handhelds! I remember back in the day getting a GBA pre-fitted with an Afterburner front-light, tho it wasn't fitted particularly well. Later my brother gave me an SP he picked up cheap on his travels. I sold both of those long ago, but last year I finally gave into the urge to get a Game Boy Micro - green, of course. Beautiful little gadget.

It's not too late to get involved with the GBA Jam 2021 - a jam to make your own GBA game, in celebration of the 20th anniversary. The gbatemp thread isn't super busy, but it has a link to the official jam page on itch.io, and from there you can find the discord where the real action is.

 

[Wavy]

As this is the GBA's 20th anniversary do I have permission to plug show off my GBA Doom ROM hack?

 

[zxr750j]

Bought a GBA locally and my first flashcart (ezflash 256mbit) from China. Had to pay via western union, calculated the risks of not ever receiving it but still ordered it. That was the first of many and the start of a new hobby for 20 years now!

 

[assassinz]

A lot of people bought their first flashcarts because of the good ol' GBA.

 

[HarveyHouston]

GBA! Unfortunately, it took me years to finally get a hold of one, and by then, they were already phased out. Fortunately, I have had the pleasure of experiencing a few good GBA titles, and also got the GBA SP, my all-time favorite Game Boy.

God bless the innovators! Who knows what the world would be like if there was no Game Boy...?

 

[duwen]

I bought mine on day 1 of its UK release... unfortunately the indigo model had sold out, so I had to settle for the clear pink. I picked it up with a couple of Japanese imports; Castlevania - Circle of the Moon and Wai Wai Racing (Konami Krazy Racers).
Not only do I still have both games with their boxes and manuals, but I'm still using the same GBA!
I gave it an Afterburner front light mod, but it eventually got shelved in favor of the SP when that came out...
... jump to almost 20yrs later and I've replaced the Afterburner and original screen with an IPS kit, changed the pink shell for a black one, and added a 'Cleanjuice' rechargeable battery mod, and the systems getting as much use now as it did back when I first bought it.
I've amassed a decent collection of titles for it, the majority of which I've owned since new, and still have all packaging and paperwork. I still use a pair of EFA linker carts that I bought a LOOONG time ago (that are technically obsolete due to their function being linked to software that only runs on WINXP), but I hope to get an EZ Flash Omega DE sometime soon.

I've always loved the GBA, and it's the system directly responsible for this site and my first visiting this site.

 

[Payne]

also, gba is my favorite example of just how much one can do with less.

 

[hippy dave]

As this is the GBA's 20th anniversary do I have permission to plug show off my GBA Doom ROM hack?

Yes

 

[Ozito]

Ah man the memories.. For some reason i got mine with Pokemon silver instead of buying a proper GBA game.
Still got mine today along with some micros.

Hipp hipp hooray!

 

[eriol33]

Never had one. I am glad 3DS virtual console could play most of the games flawlessly.

 

[SDA]

I never owned a GBA but I'm having so much fun with its games, and it's all thanks to Visualboyadvance.

 

[FAST6191]

This makes me want to play some Sgt. Pepper, it's very fitting with the very first line being: "It was 20 years ago today!"

If we are doing Beatles songs then anybody remembering the GBA launch is probably more in line with


*remembers playing the original gameboy when that was new*
...
Oh dear.

also, gba is my favorite example of just how much one can do with less.

Was the GBA particularly lesser than other things at the time? Its library still holds up today, though it is not like today offers much in the way of competition other than in reaching into my wallet for effectively cheat codes.



Anyway some friends had original GBAs back when, I think I even still have some. Other than a light bit of emulation though I joined back in later in the day of the GBA-SP (my first own GBA of any flavour then being a NES styled SP, that right now I can reach out and touch). The DS in many ways beat out the GBA library for me (pity the trend was not continued on the 3ds but different gripes for a different day) but I still hold the GBA in very high esteem.

 

[BraveDragonWolf]

Played the crap out of Mario & Luigi Superstar saga. Also Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2K. I still have the Gameboy SP sitting right on my TV stand with a few other games.

 

[Wavy]

Yes

Well in that case, it's Doom GBA: Delta.

Doom GBA: Delta is a "port" of Doom 32x: Delta to GBA. It aims to restore the original PC maps with the original textures back onto the GBA, with some new additions as well. More info on my Doomworld thread:
https://www.doomworld.com/forum/top...ba-delta-a-friendly-cousin-of-doom-32x-delta/

I've also been thinking about making a GBAtemp thread for my hack, should I?

 

[hippy dave]

I've also been thinking about making a GBAtemp thread for my hack, should I?

As a wise man once said: Yes

 

[Bagel Le Stinky]

I feel oooooooooold. And the DS is almost 17 so I feel oooooooooooolder

 

[Joom]

Ah, nostalgia. I got the periwinkle GBA along with Pokémon Crystal for my birthday one year, but traded it off for a stack of Shonen Jump when I got an SP.

No Golden Sun? FML.

One of the most underrated RPGs ever. I still get a wild hair and replay it every other year.

 

[RobXcore]

One of the most underrated RPGs ever. I still get a wild hair and replay it every other year.

Ikr? The first time I completed it, I shed a couple of tears, really nice story and ending.
I also play it every other year, can't let myself forget about that soundtrack and story.

 

[godreborn]

I love my majora's mask sp 3ds with backlight and everdrive. I tried playing my original gba without a backlight, and I couldn't see shit.