Got me a Gameboy SP

[Zagatto]

One of my co-workers gave me his SP yesterday after he picked up the new micro (or whatever it's called). EB only wanted to give him $20 of trade in value for the thing and he felt it would be better in my hands so I'm the proud owner of a slick little silver game unit.

Here's where I need help. I need to figure out what sort of games are available that will keep my brain engaged while I'm working this midnight shift.
I picked up Advance Wars 2 at the Microplay down the street and have been enjoying that so far. I'm afraid to admit that I'm also enjoying the Pokemon Pinball he gave me. It actually has some depth as a pinball machine and makes good use of the fact that it's a video game.

What else should I be looking at?
Has anyone here played Fire Emblem? That was recommended to me by the guy at Microplay.
Do the Final Fantasy games translate well to the GB?

Thanks for any input.

[Elcoholic]

And to think you almost quit

Only game I've ever really played on my gba is 'Zelda, Link to the past' which is the SNES zelda and its great fun even if you played it on the snes already.

There are some excelent Castlevania games on the gba. Batz can probably tell you which is best. And tetris is always a winner as are some of the million other puzzle games on the gba.

[Cidien]

Fire emblam is pretty fun but dont go expecting more than an snes game on a handheld. FF tactics is pretty good but the "laws" in the game are extremely annoying at times and it would be much more fun if some idiot hadn't decided they were a good idea.

If you like super metroid metroid zero is a good game. The megaman zero games are pretty good too - although harder than the average megaman game. Anyone whos played megaman knows just how hard that is lol.

Theres also a fun game you can import if it plays import games (i play it on an emulator) called kururin something. I'll see if I can find the name later. Really addicting puzzle game.

[Cidien]

Also, your coworker is stupid - those micros are completely retarded. It's like an sp only harder to hold and use...

Also FF 1&2 are decent games but i'd suggest the ps1 version if you want to play them as it has several pretty cool cg cutscenes.

[Batz Kage]

The Final Fanasty games are good, er well if you want to paly them, if ya know what I mean, but FF1 is somewhat really easier than the nes version 'cause of the change to the magic (mp) system.

As for Castlevania, I liked all three of them, my favorite was the one that used Tarot Cards, I'll look it up in a moment as I'm horrible with names. But in one you can use swords, knifes, etc. In one you collect enemy souls; but as said my fav uses tarot cards collected by killing certain enemies (dropped by luck).

CotM was my fav.
AoS used the soul collection.
And I strangely don't even remember anything about HoD...:confused:

I'm gonna have to go play it now to refresh my memory.

[cyborgninja828]

I'll put the good games in order by genre. I won't put ports down but I will put remakes in here.

RPG
Final Fantasy I & II: Dawn of Souls
Final Fantasy IV - look for this in December
Lufia: The Ruins Of Lore
Lunar Legend - a remake of the classic lunar game
Sword of Mana - a remake of the original game boy game
Strategy
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Fire Emblem - medieval version of Advance Wars
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis - reminded me of Final Fantasy Tactics for PS1 because of the story, best portable game I have ever played
Adventure
Castlevania: Circle of the Moon
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance
Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow
The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
Metroid: Zero Mission - a remake of the original metroid
Metroid Fusion
Action
Astro Boy: Omega Factor
Gunstar Super Heroes - sequel to the classic Genesis game

There are also Mega Man Zero, Kirby, and Sonic games that are pretty good, but I think that the above games mentioned are the best on the GBA.

[Zagatto]

Thanks for those recommendations folks.
I hadn't even heard of Tactics Ogre and it sounds like something I should hunt down. I've really been getting into Advance Wars 2. Was actually late coming back from dinner because I wanted to finish the level.

Pokemon Pinball is ok but I find that my reflexes while working the night shift aren't up to something action oriented. F-Zero was a bit of a dissapointment. I remember loving that game on my old SNES but it just doesn't seem to translate to the small screen well.

So... turn based action is where it's at for me these days.
I'm thinking about picking up one of the newer Pokemon games. I really enjoyed playing the red version long ago. It was a decent story with a solid game engine and the only reason I played it was because the guy at the store pretty much forced me to play it for 30 minutes. Who knew that something so irritating would be based on a good game?

[Blight]

As for Castlevania, I liked all three of them, my favorite was the one that used Tarot Cards, I'll look it up in a moment as I'm horrible with names. But in one you can use swords, knifes, etc. In one you collect enemy souls; but as said my fav uses tarot cards collected by killing certain enemies (dropped by luck).

All of them are must owns for the system. They are all also in my top ten games of this cycle. I doubt that I could truly express how much I love the games with words.

Golden Sun blew me away with it's graphics, and made me almost cry at times over engrish and just bad lines. But it is really fun and long. I have it and it's sequel (which is better in the text part, a lot better).

Advanced wars is great, but Fire Emblem is more like Shining Soul from the Genesis days.

[-spike-]

Oh man, I cant believe no one mentioned the Golden Sun games besides Blight. Two really great RPG's and prob the best on the system IMO. I suggest beating the first one before you play the second.

[cyborgninja828]

Oh you are right. I completely forgot about the Golden Sun games since it has been so long since I've played them. The gameplay and music were both great and the game was just fun. I personally was disappointed in the story lines though because I found some of the characters a little annoying such as Jenna and Garret. But most people love the story so don't take my opinion. Either way the games are really good.

[Zagatto]

It's looking like it will be a while before I buy any more games for my GBA. Last night they sent me home for the near future. They said I may get called back in to work in two or three weeks for another four day job.

It's a good thing they pay be to just stay at home when I'm not working. Only for half the wage. To satisfy my video game urges I'm going to tackle Burnout Revenge now on my PS2. As much as I enjoy my GB when I'm stuck at work it just doesn't match up to the power of a full screen game in surround sound.

I will keep all these games in mind though. It looks like there are a wealth of games for this little system that I should invest in over the long run to have handy for trips and stuff.

I also was given one of those Pokemon Video carts with with my GBA. When I got home I let my daughter check it out and now it's all that she wants to do. She's absolutely fascinated with that little video screen and she's been an anime junkie pretty much since she was born. Now the question is, do I continue to encourage her addiction or should I steer her away from the habit I have?

[gohan32]

so, how about running these games emulated on the PSP? I'm sad since i updated my firmware, and no one has cracked the version 2.0

[Zagatto]

I have looked at the PSP and it is an impressive machine... for 4X the price of a GBASP it had better be. What I really like about the GBASP though is how solid it is and I don't worry about it being in the pocket of my coveralls while I'm working.

[cyborgninja828]

As of right now, I see no reason to have a PSP, especially if you love to play RPG's. Even though the graphics are so much better, there really aren't any games worth mentioning yet in my opinion. I'm sure there will be some good ones down the road though.

[geo85]

Some one has already cracked the 2.0 firmware, its setup in two pdf photo files that you download, when you attempt to view the first it crashes your psp, then you view the second and it upgrades to ver 1.1.
If you search around online I am sure you could find it, check the g4 site in aots.