Nintendo / 2001 / Handheld / Console feature

Nintendo Game Boy Advance

A new cartridge, with room for the old library.

A wider colour screen and shoulder buttons changed Nintendo’s portable games. Link cables connected players, while revisions changed how the same cartridges could be carried and seen.

Handheld / 2001Game Boy Advance

Game Boy Advance cartridges; older Game Boy compatibility depends on model

Hardware record. A photograph with documented reuse rights has not yet been added.

Controls around a wider screen

The original Game Boy Advance arrived in Japan on 21 March 2001. Its horizontal body placed the directional pad and face buttons either side of the display, with L and R on the shoulders. The layout made the new buttons available without moving a thumb away from the main controls.

The 240 by 160 display used reflected light. A colour screenshot on a modern monitor therefore describes only part of the original experience: the light falling on the physical screen mattered. The first model used two AA batteries, a different arrangement from the rechargeable SP that followed.

Sources for this section2 references

ゲームボーイアドバンス ↗Nintendo · Accessed 2026-10-28
Japanese launch colours dated 21 March 2001; original reflective screen, controls, cartridge compatibility and cable multiplayer. The displayed later price is not treated as a launch price.
Technical data ↗Nintendo UK · Accessed 2026-10-28
Original Game Boy Advance: 240 × 160 screen, two AA batteries and qualified backward compatibility.

Bring the right cable

Supporting GBA games could connect as many as four systems through the dedicated Game Link cable. Some offered a single-cartridge mode; others required a cartridge for every participant. A multiplayer label does not establish which equipment a particular game needs.

The older Game Boy library also remained useful. The original GBA supported most Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, but the cartridge, cable and software still have to match. Compatibility with a library is not a promise that every accessory or multiplayer arrangement transfers with it.

Sources for this section2 references

ゲームボーイアドバンス ↗Nintendo · Accessed 2026-10-28
Japanese launch colours dated 21 March 2001; original reflective screen, controls, cartridge compatibility and cable multiplayer. The displayed later price is not treated as a launch price.
Technical data ↗Nintendo UK · Accessed 2026-10-28
Original Game Boy Advance: 240 × 160 screen, two AA batteries and qualified backward compatibility.

Revisions change the experience

Nintendo’s Japanese SP record dates the AGS-001 to 14 February 2003. Its folding case covered the screen in transit; a frontlight and rechargeable battery addressed practical limits of the first design. The model number matters when describing an SP screen: this specification concerns the original frontlit version.

The SP retained broad Game Boy and Game Boy Color support, with exceptions. Nintendo specifically warns that motion-sensitive cartridges can behave differently because of their orientation. Game Boy micro makes a sharper break: its manual permits GBA cartridges but excludes older Game Boy games and several accessories, including the standard GameCube–GBA cable. Its small case is not a promise of identical compatibility.

Sources for this section2 references

ゲームボーイアドバンスＳＰ ↗Nintendo · Accessed 2026-10-28
Japanese AGS-001: 14 February 2003, frontlight, folding case, rechargeable battery and exceptions to backward compatibility. Does not describe all later SP displays.
Game Boy micro Instruction Booklet ↗Nintendo of America · Accessed 2026-10-28
Compatibility section: GBA cartridges only; older Game Boy games and several GBA accessories are incompatible. Micro link accessories are distinct.

A cartridge slot has limits

An original Nintendo DS or DS Lite can run GBA cartridges in single-player mode. Neither has the GBA link port, and its wireless hardware does not substitute for that port. Nintendo DSi and DSi XL remove GBA cartridge support altogether.

Choose the machine for the game’s actual requirements. A single-player cartridge, a linked session and a game using a special accessory may lead to different choices. The ranked collection below records those requirements alongside each edition.

Sources for this section2 references

Can the Nintendo DS or DS Lite Play Game Boy Games? ↗Nintendo Support · Accessed 2026-10-28
GBA single-player support only; no Game Boy/Color games or GBA link multiplayer.
How to Use Game Cards ↗Nintendo Support · Accessed 2026-10-28
DSi and DSi XL omit support for GBA games and DS software/accessories requiring the GBA slot.

Hardware specifications

The fact sheet.

Hardware type: Handheld
Also known as: GBA · original AGB-001, SP and micro
Japan debut: 21 March 2001
Original display: 240 × 160 pixels · reflective colour TFT
Original power supply: Two AA batteries
Controls: Directional pad, A/B and L/R buttons
Linked play: GBA Game Link cable · up to four players in supporting games
Media: Game Boy Advance cartridges; older Game Boy compatibility depends on model
Successor: Nintendo DS; GBA models continued alongside it

Hardware references2 references

ゲームボーイアドバンス ↗Nintendo · Accessed 2026-10-28
Japanese launch colours dated 21 March 2001; original reflective screen, controls, cartridge compatibility and cable multiplayer. The displayed later price is not treated as a launch price.
Technical data ↗Nintendo UK · Accessed 2026-10-28
Original Game Boy Advance: 240 × 160 screen, two AA batteries and qualified backward compatibility.

The essential collection / Game Boy Advance

The essential ten.

These selections cover the console’s best-known strengths and some less familiar ones. The rankings reflect our judgement, with a reason given for every choice.

Ten selections cover exploration, tactics, role-playing, racing and short timed challenges. Each feature identifies the GBA cartridge edition and separates later playing options from the original release.

Rankings are editorial judgements, not sales or review aggregates. Game logos and cartridge photographs have source credits; other entries use typographic records. Set your status to save each game to your journey.

Box front

2002 / Exploration action / Nintendo

Cartridge

Metroid Fusion

Orders lead Samus through a research station where a familiar silhouette is often the strongest enemy in the room.

Original hardware: GBA cartridge and a Game Boy Advance-family system. Original DS and DS Lite support solo GBA play; DSi does not.

Our choice. Follow a directed mission while the station and its most dangerous inhabitant undermine your sense of safety.

Must playStatusRead the game feature ↗

Box front

2001 / Turn-based strategy / Intelligent Systems

Cartridge

Advance Wars

A few squares of road, forest and city can decide whether a powerful army has anywhere useful to go.

Original hardware: GBA cartridge and a Game Boy Advance-family system. Original DS and DS Lite support solo GBA play; DSi does not.

Our choice. Learn how terrain, income and attack ranges turn a small map into a demanding tactical problem.

Must playStatusRead the game feature ↗

Box front

2004 / Action adventure / Capcom

Cartridge

The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

Shrinking turns an ordinary path into a landscape of obstacles and gives familiar rooms a second geography.

Original hardware: GBA cartridge and a Game Boy Advance-family system. Original DS and DS Lite support solo GBA play; DSi does not.

Our choice. Explore the same landscape at two sizes and watch small details become routes.

Must playStatusRead the game feature ↗

Box front

2003 / Exploration action RPG / Konami

Cartridge

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow

Defeated monsters can leave abilities behind, making the castle’s inhabitants part of the equipment you carry through it.

Original hardware: GBA cartridge and a Game Boy Advance-family system. Original DS and DS Lite support solo GBA play; DSi does not.

Our choice. Build a changing set of monster abilities while finding your way through a connected castle.

Must playStatusRead the game feature ↗

Box front

2003 / Microgame collection / Nintendo

Cartridge

WarioWare, Inc.: Minigame Mania

Recognise the task, press a button and prepare for a different rule before the previous joke has worn off.

Original hardware: GBA cartridge and a Game Boy Advance-family system. Original DS and DS Lite support solo GBA play; DSi does not.

Our choice. See how quickly a game can teach a rule, test it and replace it with another.

Historical milestoneStatusRead the game feature ↗

Box front

2004 / Exploration action / Nintendo

Cartridge

Metroid: Zero Mission

Samus’s first mission returns with a new map, quicker movement and an escape that changes the balance of power.

Original hardware: GBA cartridge and a Game Boy Advance-family system. Original DS and DS Lite support solo GBA play; DSi does not.

Our choice. Compare a guided first journey with the extra routes that confident movement opens on a return visit.

Must playStatusRead the game feature ↗

Box front

2003 / Tactical RPG / Intelligent Systems

Cartridge

Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade

Each square puts a named soldier at risk, so winning a map and bringing everyone home are different achievements.

Original hardware: GBA cartridge and a Game Boy Advance-family system. Original DS and DS Lite support solo GBA play; DSi does not.

Our choice. Plan around individual soldiers whose survival matters beyond the current map.

Must playStatusRead the game feature ↗

Box front

2001 / Role-playing game / Camelot

Cartridge

Golden Sun

Elemental creatures change the party’s classes, while Psynergy turns the landscape into a set of small physical puzzles.

Original hardware: GBA cartridge and a Game Boy Advance-family system. Original DS and DS Lite support solo GBA play; DSi does not.

Our choice. Use magic to solve the environment and experiment with a party shaped by elemental creatures.

Must playStatusRead the game feature ↗

Box front

2003 / Action RPG / AlphaDream

Cartridge

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga

Two brothers share the screen and divide the buttons, making timing part of both a conversation and a fight.

Original hardware: GBA cartridge and a Game Boy Advance-family system. Original DS and DS Lite support solo GBA play; DSi does not.

Our choice. Coordinate two characters through both timed battles and physical comedy.

Must playStatusRead the game feature ↗

Box front

2001 / Kart racing / Intelligent Systems

Cartridge

Mario Kart: Super Circuit

Flat tracks reward an early turn and a clean line, with coins making a safe route worth considering.

Original hardware: GBA cartridge and compatible system for solo play. Original multiplayer uses GBA Game Link cables and compatible systems; single- and multi-cartridge modes differ. DS and DS Lite cannot provide GBA link multiplayer.

Our choice. Learn the handling of a flat-track racer and the practical limits of original cable multiplayer.

Worth samplingStatusRead the game feature ↗

Sources and further reading6 references

ゲームボーイアドバンス ↗Nintendo · Accessed 2026-10-28
Japanese launch colours dated 21 March 2001; original reflective screen, controls, cartridge compatibility and cable multiplayer. The displayed later price is not treated as a launch price.
Technical data ↗Nintendo UK · Accessed 2026-10-28
Original Game Boy Advance: 240 × 160 screen, two AA batteries and qualified backward compatibility.
ゲームボーイアドバンスＳＰ ↗Nintendo · Accessed 2026-10-28
Japanese AGS-001: 14 February 2003, frontlight, folding case, rechargeable battery and exceptions to backward compatibility. Does not describe all later SP displays.
Game Boy micro Instruction Booklet ↗Nintendo of America · Accessed 2026-10-28
Compatibility section: GBA cartridges only; older Game Boy games and several GBA accessories are incompatible. Micro link accessories are distinct.
Can the Nintendo DS or DS Lite Play Game Boy Games? ↗Nintendo Support · Accessed 2026-10-28
GBA single-player support only; no Game Boy/Color games or GBA link multiplayer.
How to Use Game Cards ↗Nintendo Support · Accessed 2026-10-28
DSi and DSi XL omit support for GBA games and DS software/accessories requiring the GBA slot.

Related hardware

The competition.

The bigger picture ↗

Exhibit 01Nintendo DS

Nintendo / 2004The full story

Nintendo DS

The lower screen becomes a control.

Exhibit 02PSP

Sony / 2004The full story

PSP

A widescreen and a disc drive in your hands.