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Nintendo Game Boy Advance

Updated 1/4/10

The Game Boy Advance is the successor to the Game Boy Color. It has similar capabilities to the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, and is backwards compatible with Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. 81.49 million units sold worldwide.

Specifications
CPUs: 16.8 MHz 32-bit ARM7TDMI with embedded memory, Zilog Z80 at 4.2MHz or 8.4MHz for Game Boy and Game Boy Color compatibility
System RAM: 256K outside the CPU, 32K in the CPU
Video RAM: 96K
Resolution: 240x160, 512 onscreen colors in character mode, 32,768 onscreen colors in bitmap mode, out of a 15-bit color (32,768 colors) pallete
Graphics: 4 background layers (tile or bitmap based) with 256 or 32,768 colors. 128 sprites with 256 colors from 8x8 to 64x64 in size. Rotation, scaling, alpha blending, fading, and mosaic effects on sprites and background layers.
Sound: 4 channels of sound compatible with Game Boy Color (3 square wave, one noise), plus two 8-bit 32.768KHz DMA digital channels, each channel can be assigned to left, center or right
Screen: 2.9 inches reflective thin-film transistor (TFT) color LCD. The Game Boy Advance SP included a backlight.
Controls: 4-way control pad, 6 buttons Power: Two AA batteries (lasts up to 15 hours), or a power supply. The Game Boy Advance SP had a built-in chargable lithium-ion battery that lasted 10 hours with the backlight on or 18 hours with it off, and took 3 hours to recharge. Price: Originally $99.99, but dropped to $79.99 toward the end of its life.

Chu Chu Rocket
Genre: Action Puzzle
ESRB: E
3 out of 4 stars

This fun game was ported from the Dreamcast. Your goal is to direct mice into rockets by placing arrows on the ground that they follow. You have to keep your mice out of various hazards on the screen.


Disney's Magical Quest Starring Mickey and Minnie
Genre: Platformer
ESRB: E
2 out of 4 stars

We bought this game for the kids, but they hate it because it is too hard. I've tried it myself, and found the difficulty way too high for even myself! It's a nice-looking game, but the high difficulty ruins it.


Drill Dozer
Genre: Platformer
ESRB: E for Cartoon Violence
3 out of 4 stars

This is a fun platform game with a twist. You are piloting a vehicle with a large drill on the front that can drill through certain walls and enemies. The controls are somewhat tricky, you quickly get used to them.


Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Genre: Strategy Role Playing Game
ESRB: E for Alcohol Reference, Mild Violence
4 out of 4 stars

Although this game isn't nearly as deep as the Playstation Final Fantasy Tactics, it is still a fun game. It is very kiddy in its presentation, with your tutorial battle being a snowball fight. The story is a lot easier to follow than the PS1 original. The biggest issue I had was item management. The original game had a Best Fit option, which automatically equipped the best items for your character. That was not included in this game, so managing equipment was a bother. It took a while, but I beat this game, unlike the original, and other than the equipment issues, I enjoyed it.


Klonoa: Empire of Dreams
Genre: Platformer
ESRB: E
4 out of 4 stars

This is a fun 2D take on the 2.5D Klonoa games on PS1 and PS2. It has very similar gameplay. I beat it, and enjoyed every minute of it.


Spyro: Season of Ice
Genre: Isometric platformer
ESRB: E
2 out of 4 stars

I really enjoyed all the PS1 Spyro games, so I thought I would try a GBA one. I was sorely disappointed. The pseduo-3D isometric gameplay made it very difficult to play. I was unable to complete the game due to the high difficulty.


Metroid Fusion
Genre: Platformer
ESRB: E for Violence
4 out of 4 stars

I was very excited to hear about a new 2D Metroid game, since I loved the NES and SNES games. I was not disappointed. This is a very different Metroid game, in that it is fairly linear, and it has a storyline with narration. But it is definitely fun. There are a few bosses in the game that are extremely difficult, but I was able to beat the game. My total time has never been less than 4-5 hours, though.


Metroid: Zero Mission
Genre: Platformer
ESRB: E for Fantasy Violence
4 out of 4 stars

Metroid: Zero Mission is an enhanced remake of the NES Metroid game. It starts off very much like the NES game, but it quickly starts to add surprises. There is much more depth and gameplay than the NES original. The improved graphics and music are very nice.


Ninja Five-O
Genre: Platformer
ESRB: E for Violence
3 out of 4 stars

This oddly-named game (it's called Ninja Cop elsewhere), you play the role of a ninja that must rescue hostages, and find keys to open doors to make your way through a level. You make your way through the levels using a grappling hook, which requires some practice. You start off with an infinite supply of shurikens, but you can upgrade those to triple fireballs, and then a laser-like weapon. It's a fun game, but quite challenging. I have not been able to finish it on normal skill level.