Like, way too many to list? One of the first things I do when trying to get into a certain console's library is look up top 50 or top 100 lists online, even better if it has several people's input. You can also look at top selling games for the system on Wikipedia for a general idea.
EDIT: I don't understand if you're asking for Mario/Kirby/Pokemon titles to know which is the best, OR if you want to know about other titles / hidden gems.
In the first case, sorry for my misundertsanding.
In the second case, here's my humble list.
...
If you're looking for other titles along the classic ones you mentioned, I'll list the very few I've played and totally enjoyed on GBA (or better, the emulator because unluckily I've never owned a gba)
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance
Riviera The Promised Land
Final Fantasy V
Summon Night SwordCraft Story 2
FFTA: for me it's dear memories and better than the one on DS (FFTA2)
Riviera: I can't say why but I liked everything of this game, the graphics, the battle gameplay, the equipment/skills system, the story, the characters, the CG art
FF5: well, it's FF, I enjoyed the jobs system
Summon Night: one of my first gaming experience, I don't remember how I found about it but I think I played it (almost?) to the end
The Mother 3 English translation is a MUST if you like story-driven games/RPGs. Donkey Kong '94 on Game Boy is also a personal favorite, man, I would love to see a DX hack of that one soon.
One potentially off the wall choice is Cave Noire for Game Boy, a traditional roguelike that received a fan translation—great for some quick and dirty dungeon crawling on the go
- Advance Guardian Heroes
- Advance Wars 1&2
- Golden Sun
- Zelda the Minish Cap
- (I know you said no Mario, but Superstar Saga is awesome!)
- Mother 3 (Earthbound 3)
- Ninja Five-0
- Summon Night
im pretty new to using emulators and im tryna find another entertaining game. all i have rn is tomodachi collection, animal crossing wild world, shinseiki evangelion, and pokemon fire red. any similar game recs?
What was some of your favorite GBA games? I would say mine were Pokemon Ruby, Sapphire and Emerald, Cartoon Network Speedway and Cartoon Network Block Party.
Back in the day when I looked for decent games for GBA I looked for games that had "quick fun" aspects so I found these video games. This won't be "dude everyone should be play it" games but rather "interesting games" you may like enough to play outside to just pass time:
- Sword of Mana: The only decent RPG I've played on the whole GBA lol.
- Mega Man Battle Network series: Unlike platformer Mega Man games this series is RPG. You play as a kid and doing stuff by injecting Mega Man into the system to battle with virus and stuff as a "grid-based tactical action game".
- Mother series: Crazy RPG lol.
- Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow: Never cared about Castlevania until this game. It somewhat resembles a Persona game and Metroid. In its own context it has enough depth as an RPG gameplay.
- Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban: Harry Potter RPG. I was so surprised lol.
- American Idol: It's fun to listen to music and intentionally fail singing lol.
- Grand Theft Auto Advance: Better than GTA 5!!! *duun duun duuuuuuun* lol
- Dragonball Advanced Adventure: Kid Goku platforming fun.
- Metal Slug Advance
- Driv3r: Like 3D GTA but you play as a criminal cop lol.
- The Urbz: Sims in the City: Unlike how Sims games are, even unlike how the PS2 port of this game is, it has a quest system to make its supernatural story progress lol.
EDIT: I don't understand if you're asking for Mario/Kirby/Pokemon titles to know which is the best, OR if you want to know about other titles / hidden gems.
Pocket Billiards: Funk The 9-Ball (GBC) (It's pool with cute animal characters, every ball has a different effect on the game. It's like adding extra rules to make things more fun and challenging!)
3D Pool (GBC) (super impressive graphics!)
Ninja Gaiden Shadow (GB) (About Ryu's father. there's also the romhack Ninja Gaiden Shadow Black)
Return of The Ninja (GBC) (Part of the same series as Ninja Gaiden Shadow, which both are from the Shadow of The Ninja series)
Bionic Commando Elite Force (GBC) (unlike the Game Boy title, this one is unique by Nintendo)
Perfect Dark (GBC)
Metal Gear Solid (GBC) (also the "gray" hack)
The Grinch (GBC) (yes, really. It's by Konami and in the same vein as MGS)
Mickey's Racing Adventure (GBC)
Mickey's Speedway USA (GBC)
Super Mario Bros. Mini (GBC, it's a homebrew over on Itchio)
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (GBC)
Rhino Rumble (GBC)
Dexter's Lab Robot Rampage (GBC) (It's Elevator Action with Dexter)
Warlocked (GBC) (Like Warcraft? This is like that)
Loony Tunes Twouble (GBC) (A Slyvester and Tweety game that plays like Solstice and Equinox)
Sakura Wars GB (GBC) (same as the Saturn game. But now in 8-bit!)
South Park (Prototype for the Game Boy Color. You play as the kids and solve puzzles while also fighting bosses from throughout the early episodes. The dialogue is funny!)
Top Gear 2 (GBC) (solid racing game! Good graphics!)
Halloween Racer (same deal. Great racing title!)
Toki Tori (GBC) (Really awesome puzzle platformer game with a ton of levels!)
Shantae (GBC) (Need I say more? get the new GBA sequel too!)
Trip World DX (this colorization was actually officially released! It's like Kirby sorta.)
Crystalis (GBC) (Same as the NES game, not bad for a Zelda clone)
Ninja Five-0 (Like Bionic Commando but wish there was better controls? This game is for you!)
Spider-Man Homecoming (rom hack of Ninja Five-0. Uses the web to swing like the grappling hook)
Kirby's Dreamland DX and 2 DX, also Kirby's Pinball Land DX, also Tilt n Tumble (get the hacked version without the accelerometer unless you can track down the original cart. All of them are GBC)
Donkey Kong Land New Colors Mode
Donkey Kong Land 2 GBC Edition
Donkey Kong GB: Dinky Kong and Dixie Kong (English translation, Japan got it in color)
Donkey Kong Country (GBC)
Donkey Kong Country 1-3 (GBA)
Donkey Kong (94) (for Game Boy. This is the game that inspired the Mario VS. Donkey Kong series. Also there's acrobatic moves that were later used in Super Mario 64. Tons of levels. Best Game Boy game, bar none.)
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (Get the Redux hack if you like)
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages (GBC) (play in any order. tons of content)
Pokemon Red/Blue Version Full Color hacks (Vanilla uses original sprites, Gen 2 uses Gold/Silver/Crystal sprites)
Pokemon Yellow Version 98 hack (It's Pokemon Yellow with Gen 2 battle sprites. I think it has surfing Pikachu mini game? There's other hacks for just that one too.)
Pokemon Gold/silver 97 Reforged (these are hacks of Crystal that mimic what could have been a complete version of the beta for Pokemon Gold including unused Pokemon)
Super Mario Land DX, 2DX, 3DX: Wario Land plus the rom hacks that improve stuff
Wario Land 2 enhanced, remixed, uncensored
Metroid 2: Ejrtq plus canon samus
Metroid Zero Mission, Fusion
Mega Man World 1-5 DX (World 5 DX is in Game Boy on this site while World 1-4 DX are listed under Game Boy Color)
Mole Mania (Miyamoto's little project for the Game Boy. Not many know about this one)
Kid Icarus of Myths and Monsters (direct sequel to the NES game)
Pokemon Pinball, Pokemon Pinball Generations (rom hack of Pinball that has Gold and Silver version Pokemon), and Pokemon Pinball Ruby and Sapphire
Pokemon Emerald
Pokemon Crystal Clear (OPEN WORLD POKEMON. START ANYWHERE. PICK ANY STARTER!)
Pokemon Prism (play as a trainer but you also get to play as your Larvitar sometimes and it's like Mystery Dungeon)
Joel's Bizarre Pokeventure (you play as Vargskelethor Joel from Vinesauce and try to save your friends who were turned into Pokemon by the rom hacker, it's only an hour long or so. Super short adventure)
Golden Sun and Golden Sun The Lost Age for GBA. There's also Golden Sun Dark Dawn for DS. That's the whole trilogy so far.
Phantasy Star Collection (Phantasy Star 1-3 for the GBA. There's no 4 in the collection because Sega wanted it to be a separate release but they never got to do it in time)
Gunstar Super Heroes (sequel to Gunstar Heroes)
Advance Guardian Heroes (sequel to Guardian Heroes)
Tiny Toon Adventures Buster's Bad Dream (a beat em up based on the Tiny Toons movie, How I spent My Summer Vacation)
Astro Boy Omega Factor (An Astro Boy beat em up based on the 2003 4kids dubbed anime)
Kirby Nightmare in Dreamland (A GBA remake of the NES game Kirby's Adventure)
Kirby and The Amazing Mirror (split between different colored Kirbys as they work together, good multiplayer)
Zelda A Link To The Past/Four Swords (It's A Link To The Past and there's extra stuff like a bonus dungeon but it can't be unlocked unless you clear Four Swords with some friends, I think you unlock a new beam sword that way too. Honestly you should check over on GameFaqs for game saves that might have it so it can save you all that time and effort)
Super Mario Advance 1-4 (get the ereader levels hack for Advance 4, it has the bonus levels unlocked that used to require scanning a bunch of ereader cards.)
Wario Land 3 (GBC)
Wario Land 4 (GBA) (Where Pizza Tower got all it's inspiration from!)
Mario Kart Super Circuit (get the remaster hack)
F-Zero Maximum Velocity, F-Zero GP Legend, F-Zero Climax
Zelda Minish Cap (It's great. PLAY IT!)
CASTLEVANIA: CIRCLE OF THE MOON, HARMONY OF DISSONANCE, ARIA OF SORROW (GBA)
CASTLEVANIA: DAWN OF SORROW (sequel to Aria of Sorrow) (for the DS)
Mega Man and Bass (GBA) (tough as nails but fun)
Mega Man Zero 1-4 (EPIC, EVEN HARDER BUT SO WORTH IT!!!)
Mother 1 and 2, Mother 3 (GBA) (fan translated)
Car Battler Joe (a super unique action RPG)
Wade Hixton's Boxing (like a Newgrounds version of Punchout)
Punch King (Same deal with this one!)
URBAN YETI (like the first two GTA games? This is like those but you play as a Sasquatch looking for a girlfriend. lol)
Iridion 3D and Iridion 2 (graphically impressive shmups on the GBA)
Star X (literally a clone of the SNES Star Fox games)
ChuChu Rocket (GBA) (yep, it's the same as the Dreamcast with tiny differences. It also has a bunch of bonus levels made by fans)
Pinball of The Dead (House of The Dead 2 Pinball pretty much. )
Sonic Advance 1-3 (unique Sonic games in 2D. Nothing like Sonic 4. This is when Dimps actually knew what they were doing.)
Sonic Battle (SO GOOD. SO STINKING GOOD!)
Alien Hominid (This was actually from Newgrounds. lol But seriously it's a great run n gun game with a cartoon yellow alien bug dude)
Sigma Star Saga (it's a hybrid of a shmup and a rpg)
Sword of Mana (GBA remake of Final Fantasy Adventure)
Final Fantasy Adventure DX (GBC)
Kingdom Hearts Chain of Memories (GBA)
Final Fantasy 1 and 2: Dawn of Souls (get the rebalanced hack) (GBA)
Final Fantasy 4 (GBA)
Final Fantasy 5 (GBA)
Final Fantasy 6 (GBA) (Make sure to get the color correction and sound restoration hacks for all of these)
Final Fantasy Tactics Advance (GBA)
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: Grimmore of The Rift (DS)
Mario and Luigi Superstar Saga (GBA)
Mario and Luigi Partners in Time (DS)
Mario and Luigi Bowser's Inside Story (DS)
Dr. Mario DX (GBC)
Dr. Garfield DX (Yes really) (GBC)
Space Marauder (Burai Fighter from the NES but on GBC)
Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days (DS)
Kingdom Hearts RE:Coded (DS)
Final Fantasy 3 (DS)
Final Fantasy 4 (DS) (both of these are 3D games in the vein of the PS-One FF games, they have voice acting too!)
Metroid Prime Hunters, Metroid Prime Pinball (DS)
Super Mario 64 DS
Mario Kart DS
Ermii Kart DS (rom hack of Mario Kart DS, full of memes. It has Shrek)
I have really got into Pokemon Trading Card games for GBC, though not being a big fan of Pokemon in general, but this card sort-of-RPG is so charming.
Of course I should recommend Star Ocean Blue Sphere, but you have to play the Second Story to enjoy it in full scale.
Thumbs up for GBA Sword of Mana. May be obvious that I love games with weapon crafting and altering systems (can spend hours lurking guides and trying combinations), and later Mana titles don’t have it.
I'm the one and only person to defend Castlevania: Circle of the Moon. Has its issues but honestly if you don't mind grinding and a very toxic (literally) section of the game, you'll have a blast. DSS is my favourite system in any castlevania game hands down and I wish it came back. Would have said Golden Sun for some rpg but someone already got me covered.
I have really got into Pokemon Trading Card games for GBC, though not being a big fan of Pokemon in general, but this card sort-of-RPG is so charming.
Of course I should recommend Star Ocean Blue Sphere, but you have to play the Second Story to enjoy it in full scale.
Thumbs up for GBA Sword of Mana. May be obvious that I love games with weapon crafting and altering systems (can spend hours lurking guides and trying combinations), and later Mana titles don’t have it.
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