FEATURES .: THE GBA WISHLIST
December 2001
By Jae Lurman

INTRODUCTION .: PART 1 .: PART 2

INTRODUCING...

From the initial March 21st 2001 release in Japan to the June 11th North American release and later for the remainder of the globe, Nintendo has sold millions of its revolutionary handheld console known as the Gameboy Advance. Nintendo's stranglehold on the handheld gaming market has kept the original Gameboy and Gameboy Color systems in circulation for as long as possible, with over 100 million in the world today. The time and technology was right for an evolution and thus with the 32bit GBA, Nintendo has effectively brought mobile gaming into this side of the millenium. Sure, the late Atari Lynx, Sega Gamegear and NeoGeo Pocket had all taken brave first steps towards a similar feat, but fell remarkably short of their vision. The GBA rectifies just about every problem these other full colour handhelds suffered from, including unit size, battery life and extensive development support. Never before have we seen such gaming innovation delivered in such a small package. With further integration with Nintendo's Gamecube home console and online capabilities, we really have the future of mobile gaming right here and now.

THE POCKET SNES

On an evolutionary scale of gaming, the GBA appears to be at least a step backward. The humble GBA cannot graphically achieve what the latest home consoles can, nor does it intend to. Rather than getting mixed up with the tired and irrelevant "bit wars", it's simple to look at the GBA compared to the Super Nintendo (SNES) like the Gameboy Color was to the NES. The similarities between the GBA and the SNES are striking and if you're anything like me you will agree that the SNES is the greatest game console to grace the earth. So it's good news for GBA owners who fondly remember the days of simpler, mostly 2D gaming, because the GBA has already received stunning ports of SNES classics. F-Zero, Street Fighter 2 Turbo and Super Mario Kart have been ported brilliantly (with extra features), despite early skepticism about the GBA's tiny screen resolution. As the potential of the handheld has become clearer, we'll likely see new life breathed into some of our all-time favourite games.

RETRO FETISH

Recently we've seen a resurgence of classic gaming, helped largely by emulators and faster internet speeds which effectively allow us to download and play older console games on our home computer. While there is no question about it, it is an illegal practice, yet emulation has a rightful place in the bigger picture. I believe it is fair to obtain and play OLDER console games on our computers. The games themselves (in cartridge format) are no longer manufactured or sold so there is seemingly no harm done in simple personal collecting. Besides, what's best for the legacy of a game - to collect dust in an attic ? - or to live on forever in pure digital form ? I think game development companies have a certain responsibility / obligation to preserve their classics for future generations of gamers and game consoles alike. Many have followed through before such as Nintendo's Mario Allstars collection and Sega's Smash Pack series, and recent GBA releases like ID Software's PC classic Doom are becoming suprisinigly frequent...

Still, so many all-time greats from the console generations of late last century have not been included in the growing list of GBA reprisals on the horizon. Here in the GBA Wishlist, we give you the scoop on some games in particular we think would make excellent ports for our most loved handheld. On with the show!

The Gameboy Advance Wishlist - Part 1