Take a look back at Engadget's favorite Game Boy Advance games

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Take a look back at Engadget's favorite Game Boy Advance games

The Game Boy Advance turns 20 this weekend, and man, what a legacy. It was the third generation of Game Boy hardware, bringing SNES-level graphics to a handheld that could go anywhere. Well, anywhere that was well-lit, that is, as the original GBA unit lacked a backlight. Regardless of that flaw, a lot of us here at Engadget remember the handheld fondly, mostly due to its stellar library of titles. Join us as we reminiscence about our favorite Game Boy Advance games, as well as some related stories of our long-ago youths. (Yes, we're old.)

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Before I played the Fire Emblem series, let alone newer tactical titles like Into The Breach or Mario + Rabbids, it all started with Advance Wars. With cute infantry icons and tanks that squished around grid-based skirmishes, this was Game Boy Does War. Intelligent Systems' Advance Wars series is the perfect first turn-based strategy game.

With initially simple rules of what each unit does, contrasting human soldiers to tanks, then bigger tanks, artillery, ships and planes, the game holds your hand throughout. No, you can't just order your units toward the enemy — you have to think it out. The first few levels demonstrate the benefits of fortified structures, high mobility units and setting up your base before pitting you against more capable generals and threats. It's easy to pick up and play, and forgiving enough for beginners to make their first tentative steps into the hugely satisfying tactics genre. Unlike games like Wargroove, which acts as a spiritual successor of sorts for Advance Wars, each move wasn't necessarily make-or-break either. The original Advance Wars knows you're only human, or at least not old enough to drink alcohol.

A lot of games were constrained by the limits of the Game Boy Advance, which is a meandering way of saying it had a small screen and not many buttons. Advance Wars didn't really suffer, though. The unit icons and split-screen battles were more than adequate, and you didn't need many buttons to bark orders to your forces. It was streamlined to perfection.

I haven't played the original for years (more than a decade, if I'm honest), but it prepared me for the more complicated, richer sequels that came after it, with their increased challenges. Advance Wars is probably why I'm still contending with Into The Breach. — Mat Smith, UK Bureau Chief

SOURCE - https://www.engadget.com/nintendo-game-boy-advance-20th-anniversary-150023359.html