Happy birthday, GBA; the Game Boy Advance turns 20 today
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)
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