Summary
One of the biggest anime franchises on theGame Boy Advancehad to be the variousPokemonentries. While the series started as RPGs on the Game Boy, a lot of fans by this point associated the series with the anime adaptation. With better pixel art, the character sprites looked more reminiscent of the anime than ever before.
There were even cartridges made for theGame Boy Advancethat played episodes of the anime albeit in grainy forms. There were other anime cartridges too likeYu-Gi-Oh!along with Western cartoons likeSpongeBob SquarePants.Pokemoncontent aside, what were some of the truly best anime games on the system that are still worth getting into today?
8Astro Boy: Omega Factor
Astro Boycan be thanked for creating the anime and manga medium as a whole. Now,Astro Boy: Omega Factorranks among the best game adaptations of the franchise and it was developed by Treasure who was best known for creating harder-than-nails games in the 90s and early 2000s.
Gunstar HeroesandIkarugaare two fine examples andAstro Boy: Omega Factoris like a combination of those two experiences. Players could fight baddies as thetitular herolike a brawler, but then some levels had him fly around like in a typical shoot ‘em up. The gameplay was solid and the graphics are some of the finest on the portable.
7F-Zero: GP Legend
F-Zero: GP Legendis based on the anime series of the same name, which was a way for Nintendo to rebrand their futuristic racer. There’s still not much of a story to follow but fans could dig deeper on characters to get a more robust background on them.Captain Falcon, despitethis, is probably still more known as a guest character inSuper Smash Bros.
Everything played the same inF-Zero: GP Legendalbeit with better controls and more customization from the original on SNES. It ranks up there as one of the best racers on the handheld and that even includesMario Kart: Super Circuit.
6Shaman King: Master Of Spirits
Shaman King: Master of Spiritswas a Konami game that borrowed the formula from theirCastlevaniaseries. While the game didn’t feature one continuous map inside of a castle or anything like that, it was still a Metroidvania connected by smaller areas.
The main character, Yoh, could hack and slash away at enemies, level up, and even gain new powers. It got a sequel as well. Both of them were only released in North America and Europe despite Konami being a Japanese companyandShaman Kingbeing a Japanese IP.
5Fullmetal Alchemist: Stray Rondo
Fullmetal Alchemist: Hagane no Renkinjutsushi Meisou no Rondois a mouthful of a name but it roughly translates down toFullmetal Alchemist: Stray Rondo. It’s based on theFullmetal Alchemistanimewhich was about Ed and Al Elric who used alchemy to try and bring back their dead mom but wound up hurting their bodies instead. The core plot follows the boys as teenagers trying to get their bodies back, but there’s a lot of stuff they encounter along the way, including the embodiment of the Seven Deadly Sins.
This game, only released in Japan, was a turn-based RPG that incorporated alchemy into combat-like spells in other RPGs. It’s a shame it was never been brought over officially but fans have done some minimal work to make it playable in English.
4Super Robot Taisen J
Super Robot Taisenbegan in 1991 on the Game Boy and it was a tactical RPG that crossed over various mech-based anime.Super Robot Taisen: Original Generationwas the first game in the series to reach a Western audience, which was in 2006, and it removed the key feature: anime. The game instead crossed over originally designed mecha from within the series while still featuring tactical gameplay.
It, and its sequel, are okay, but for the true experience players should check outSuper Robot Taisen J. Fans have translated the game into full English and it features various anime likeBrain Powerd,Fullmetal Panic, and variousGundamseries.
3Mega Man Battle Network
Mega Man Battle Networktechnically was a game first as the anime didn’t come out until a year after. However, the anime assuredly was worked on at the same time as the game. It was the most anime the franchise had ever gotten by this point and that includesMega Man Legends.
In this rebranding,Mega Manwas a digital pet that could be used tofight off digital viruses to keep cyberspace clean. The gameplay was a cross between a grid-based RPG and an action RPG. In random battles, players had a small grid they could move Mega Man around in and fire willingly based on a deck of cards players could equip.
2One Piece
One Pieceshared the name of the anime on which it was based when it launched in 2005. It wasn’t a very creative name but it made up for that with a tight action platformer starring the main hero,Monkey D Luffy. He could stretch into various forms and other characters could be summoned to assist like Zoro.
The developer, Dimps, may not be as well-known as Capcom or Konami, but they did good work on the GBA and other platforms. This included a lot of other licensed-based projects and they co-developed bigger titles likeKirby & The Amazing MirrorandSonic Advance.
1Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventure
Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventureis another action platformer that was developed by Dimps. It technically predatesOne Pieceas it was released in 2004 but that was in Japan only. The West didn’t get this game until 2006, which was well into the DS era. It’s not that astounding because the originalDragon Ballanime didn’t do as well as the more action-based sequel series ofDragon Ball Z.
So, Western fans can thank their lucky stars for it coming over at all. As for the game itself,Dragon Ball: Advanced Adventurelooselyfollowed Goku’s exploitsagainst the Red Ribbon Army and ended with his fight against King Piccolo.
