FEATURES .: THE GBA WISHLIST - Part 2
May 2002
By Jae Lurman

INTRODUCTION .: PART 1 .: PART 2

Welcome to the long awaited Part 2 in our GBA Wishlist series! The cliche "they don't make them like they used to" holds significant relevance to the video game. Think back. When developers had to work around the severe hardware, graphical and sound limitations to produce some of the finest and most defining moments in gaming history. Playability and uniqueness were key points in creating a successful and enjoyable game - key points which are often neglected in today's overly flashy games for casual consumption. The games, though primitive they may seem compared to the likes of today's beasts, each played an important part in shaping the role of video gaming in our lives - and in shaping the genres we now classify all games within. Think back. Read on. Here we document more worthy contenders for the GBA Wishlist. They SHOULD make them like you used to!

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating
To see the full description of the GLR rating system, click here.

POP 'N TWINBEE - RAINBOW BELL ADVENTURES
SNES
Platform / Action
Konami
1993

Konami kicked off this sequel to the popular cutesy shoot 'em up Pop 'N Twinbee in an unconventional manner, a platform game. The Twinbee series, a close relative of Parodius, dates back to the mid-eighties where it first appeared in the arcades and on the NES. Rainbow Bell Adventures plays and feels very much like Sonic, where you can speed through a level incredibly fast or take your time to explore the vast and colourfully detailed areas. The ideal game to port to the Gameboy Advance.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Good
Pop 'N Twinbee remains one of Konami's most tresured franchises. It's almost certain that we will see the twins back in action in some form on the GBA. Konami Krazy Racers is already proof of this.

SANRIO WORLD SMASHBALL
SNES (Super Famicom)
Arcade Action
Sanrio
1993

Combine Pong, Breakout, tennis, pinball and dodgeball with Sanrio's cuteness and you might just have something which resembles Sanrio World Smashball. Hold onto your masculinity, because underneath the cheerful colours and cuteness was an intense and violently competitive game. As per usual, it's almost even more fun to smash it out against a friend than through the difficult single player mode. It would certainly be great to do so via a GBA link cable.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Fair
It would be pleasantly surprising to see this game on the GBA. Maybe a similar game but without the Sanrio characters is more of a possibility. Although Hello Kitty has an established worldwide presence, its highly unlikely that such a game would go any further than a Japanese only release. Still, it's very worthy of revival.

THE SECRET OF MANA
SNES
Action RPG
Square
1993

This game goes without saying really. It seems to be a top candidate on the lists any respectable GBA gamer over the age of 18. Remembered for its engrossing story, captivating flourescent graphics and simultaneous multiplayer fun, SOM just grows sweeter with age.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Unknown
With Square's relationship with Nintendo in ruins after they abandoned the big N for Sony's Playstation, there won't be any SOM on the GBA unless their differences can be resolved. If things were different this game would probably have already been released. We will have to wait and see how things turn out.

UPDATE
April 28 2002 - Lookout for the GBA Wishlist - Part 3, which will be a special feature regarding the rekindled alliance between Square and Nintendo. Things are changing, and we could very well see this and other Square games on our favourite portable system.

SHADOWRUN
SNES
RPG / Action
Data East
1993

OK, so Shadowrun was a bit rough around the edges with ugly early PC styled bland graphics, sluggish controls and dire 'what the hell do I do next?' wandering. Topped off with blatant Blade Runner-isms and utter silliness ( the cheesey Vampire and that weird juggling jester / mime boss spring to mind ) the game somehow redeems itself with a unique take on the RPG Adventure genre. This gritty cyberpunk-cum-techno gangster triller originated as a popular book series, and is actually pretty awesome if you excercise some patience.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Extremely low
There's nothing to indicate a return of this game, and it would need to be greatly improved upon to meet today's standards. Still it could do some justice on the GBA and would certainly carve a niche next to the cutesy anime fantasy RPGs going Advanced.

SIMCITY
SNES
Strategy
Nintendo
1991

SimCity's effect on simulation games is similar in magnitude to that of Tetris' effect on puzzle games. In the universe of its genre, SimCity is like the Big Bang. What was one individual's idea became a mega-hit multiplatform addiction that spread further than just home based computers. Nintendo realised the potential of the game and here on the SNES, in my opinion, they presented the most user-friendly, accessible and enjoyable version of the game to date. You built your villiage into a metropolis with your own hands, and you still wanted more. Your megalomaniac tendencies shined through when you put the tax rate sky high and demolished all of the police departments, simply because you could. This game needs to come back. Don't you think it would be the perfect game to play on a long commute?

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Good
Demand isn't strong for this game, particularly because of the younger GBA gamer's more action oriented needs. Still, I think it's a potential major seller if they can get around the restrictive GBA screen size. I hear The Sims has been in development so surely if that's possible then this is too!

SNOW BROS. - NICK & TOM
Arcade
Arcade Action
Toaplan
1990

Taito's Bubble Bobble turned alot of gaming heads with its cute simplicity and original and addictive gameplay. Following it's success came Rainbow Islands (also by Taito), Rodland and Snowbros. Instead of trapping your enemies in bubbles and popping them, Snow Bros involved throwing snowballs at your opponents until they became trapped and then rolling them to their demise, taking out others along the way if possible. A Gameboy Advance version could feature great multiple player capabilities through use of a linkcable, wether it be co-operative or versus style. As well as more characters, enemies, levels, modes of play and extra unlockable secrets.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Average
Toaplan were professionally linked to Taito, and developed some of their first games (Tiger Heli for instance) for Taito. The Snow Bros license should be up for grabs especially considering it was only ported once to a home console, the Sega Genesis.

SPACE HARRIER
Arcade
Shooter
Sega
1985

Space Harrier is by all definitions a Sega classic, even though it isn't as easily remembered as Golden Axe or even Outrun. The game put you in control of a running / flying hero gunning down hordes of strange futuristic / primitive beasts with bulky weaponry. Yeah, it had that sprite based railway track game engine capable of inducing motion sickness and 3D shoot em ups have come a long way since (Starfox, SNES / N64), but Space Harrier still rocked the old-school.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Fair
Space Harrier did get an update with Planet Harriers which showed Sega's re-interest in the game. Cutely enough Sega also included the entire fully playable game within the Dreamcast hit Shenmue. With titles like Iridion 3D on the GBA showing promise in the realm of 3D blasting, we could see this and others of its kind (Sega take note : Afterburner) satisfying our trigger finger in future.

SPIKE MCFANG, THE TWISTED TALES OF
SNES
Action RPG
Bullet-Proof Software
1994

Japanese culture has a distinct way with all things cute, as shown in this colourful SNES product, which at times feels like Pocky & Rocky meets A Link To The Past. You play a young vampire junior (ala Kid Dracula) as he ventures on a journey of discovery, mystery, and of course cuteness! No moonlit bloodthirst quenching here, but a pleasant, solid and accessible little Action RPG game indeed.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Low
While the game has 'handheld' written all over it, Spike McFang may not get pocket-sized on our GBA's for a number of reasons. Despite a valiant move by Bullet Proof Software to distribute it outside of Japan, the game was largely overlooked as a simplified "kiddie's Zelda", and was far too short and easy for most critics to praise.

SUPER BUSTER BROS. / SUPER PANG
SNES
Arcade Action
Capcom
1992

Once again Capcom delivered pure coin-eating arcade action with Super Buster Bros (aka Super Pang). Like a puzzle game, it had simplistic control and play mechanics that you can get to grips with very quickly, but requires incredible skill and reflexes to get you through. The game found it's way onto the SNES and cemented itself as a Capcom classic. A conversion to the GBA could bring with it a host of bonuses, like muliplayer linkup and unlockable bonus modes (arcade, story, time attack, puzzle, versus, etc). The action on a small screen may get hectic but i'm sure it would be an incredibly playable addition to the GBA game library.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Good
After all these years Capcom are still a very strong force in the world of gaming. They are actively working on new titles as we speak for just about all consoles and handhelds on the market. Perhaps Capcom feel the game would be too small to fit the action onto a single screen. A scrollable screen version would still be a worthy compromise.

SUPER CONTRA III / SUPER PROBOTECTOR - ALIEN REBELS
SNES
Shooter / Platform
Konami
1992

In the late eighties/early nineties the SNES presented the first significant step forward in terms of home console versus arcade gaming, bridging the gap between and opening up a whole new area for game developers to explore. Konami took advantage of this powerful new hardware and created hit after hit. Like Axelay, Super Contra 3 wasn't an arcade conversion, but contained all the frantic bullet dodging, destructive pyrotechnics and weapon powerups of a popular coin cruncher. I never knew why they changed the name to "Probotector" and altered the Rambo-ish marines to robots for the European release, but the game remains the same. Set in a post-apocalyptic world brought to life through dazzling mode 7 effects, this was a shooter to remember. A testament to the 16-bit era of gaming, and surely one that made Megadrive/Genesis fanatics green with envy.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - High
In an effort to keep the series alive, Konami added an extra dimension with a Playstation release. But like Castlevania, hardened fans were a little unenthusiastic with the results. There are some games that just aren't cut out for 3D, precisely why a GBA remake or new installment of this series would kick some serious alien butt.

SUPER GHOULS 'N GHOSTS
SNES
Platform / Action
Capcom
1991

I was going to put this game here, but since it has already been announced... WISH GRANTED! I'm very much looking forward to seeing what Capcom can come up with this come July 19, no doubt it will be a perfect conversion with a whole lot of extra features. It seems that the recent popularity of Maximo on the Playstation 2 has given Capcom the incentive for this upcomming GBA classic!

Click here for screenshots

SUPER MARIO RPG - LEGEND OF THE SEVEN STARS
SNES
RPG / Action
Nintendo / Square
1996

At the bitter-sweet end of the SNES' reign came this marriage of Nintendo's lovable Mario series and Square's RPG design ethics, which left us all jaw gapped. Sadly, Square's fallout with Nintendo saw Square jump ship to Sony's Playstation console leaving behind this testament of what was once a flourishing relationship between the two respected companies. We can only live in hope that a unity between Nintendo and Square is once again achieved and this game makes a complete and utter comeback success.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Unknown
It's really anyone's guess what happens to the fate of this game's future because of the Nintendo / Square debate. Perhaps Nintendo could remake it without Squares intervention. The good news is that Paper Mario on the N64 is known as Super Mario RPG 2 in Japan and Nintendo certainly are aware of the games popularity.

UPDATE
April 28 2001 - Lookout for the GBA Wishlist - Part 3, which will be a special feature regarding the rekindled alliance between Square and Nintendo. Things are changing, and we could very well see this and other Square games on our favourite portable system.

SUPER METROID
SNES
Platform / Adventure
Nintendo
1994

Voted by a large majority as simply the greatest game of all time, Nintendo took the series to new heights with Super Metroid. The respectful lead Samus didn't need to show any leg or back-breaking breast sizes to kick ass in this platform shooter adventure. She has since spent awhile out of the spotlight, making great appearances in the popular Super Smash Brothers fighting games on the N64 and GCN.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Average
Rather than just settle for a remake of this game, Nintendo will probably satisfy all Metroid fans with all new sequels. Metroid 4 has publicly been in development for some time so expect great things.

TALES OF PHANTASIA
SNES ( Super Famicom )
RPG
Namco
1994

Dig into the Super Nintendo era's treasure trove of Japanese RPG's and among the best you will find Tales of Phantasia. A simply spectacular game that failed to show up anywhere else but to the lucky Japanese, where Super Famicom owners were treated to an enormous, beautiful Role Playing Game right up there with the top Squaresoft games of its day. Thankfully, it was translated into english by a 3rd party and can be enjoyed with any good SNES emulator. But why should we have to break copyright protection laws just to experience Tales of Phantasia? Bring it to the GBA already!

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Good
Well, a Tales of Phantasia game did come out for the Gameboy Color in November 2000 in Japan under the name of Tales of Phantasia : Narikiri Dungeon, once again not reaching the rest of the world. There is still alot of buzz with this game and RPG's are becoming very popular all over the world now so I think it would be a great idea if Namco gave this game the Advanced treatment (and the English treatment also!).

UPDATE
May 10 2002 - In a shocking, yet wonderful turn of events - Namco has officially announced not only a GBA Tales of Phantasia but an all-new Nintendo Gamecube RPG of the series to boot. Tales of Phantasia GBA is slotted for a December 2002 release with the Gamecube title coming in July 2003, while the GBA will also see a sequel to the Gameboy Color's Narikiri Dungeon this October! This is great news for Nintendo fans, and hopefully Enix will follow suit with their ever-popular Dragon Warrior series. See the impressive news here.

TETRIS ATTACK
SNES
Puzzle
Nintendo

I can admit that the GB conversion was near perfect and that Pokemon Puzzle League on GBC was a further realised "shell" of the game. However, nothing tops the original SNES Tetris Attack. Possibly the most fun, addictive and challenging puzzle game since well... the original Tetris. It goes without saying that Nintendo made the game even more enjoyable with adorable visuals of Yoshi and Co. plus various modes of play (stage clear, endless, puzzle, vs, etc) to keep you and your girlfriend/boyfriend hooked.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Average
The GBLR would be High, but the likely scenario is that Nintendo will probably bring Pokemon Puzzle League to the GBA instead of Tetris Attack. PPL is essentially Tetris Attack so it will be no great loss.

TINY TOON ADVENTURES - BUSTER BUSTS LOOSE
SNES
Platform / Action
Konami

Take an extremely popular cartoon series, give it the SNES / Konami treament and you can be assured the results will be nothing short of brilliance. As shown in this impressive platformer - which puts you in control of Buster Bunny in a variety of unique levels throughout Acme Acres, featuring cameo appearances by most of the Tiny Toon crew. The graphics, sound and playability were of high quality. Definitely a great choice for the GBA.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Fair
Tiny Toon Adventures is by no-means a forgotten franchise - still much of the younger generation wouldn't be familiar with the Warner Bro's classic. I guess the chances of this game making a comeback rely solely on the popularity of the cartoon series. Since everything is either Pokemon, Dragon Ball Z or Disney these days, who knows. But Konami would be foolish to overlook this title in their back catalogue when considering GBA remakes.

UNIRACERS / UNIRALLY
SNES
Racer
Nintendo
1994

You know Super Mario Bros, you know Zelda, you know Donkey Kong, but do you know Uniracers? From out of nowhere came this brilliant sleeper hit from Nintendo. Uniracers had frantic speed, crazy tricks and one hell of an intense competetive nature. Laying somewhere between Motorcross Maniacs and Tony Hawks Pro Skater, Uniracers put you up against fierce opponents in an all out battle for the finishing line. Spin, twist, and flip your way through loops, jumps and other obstacles to thrash the opponent (computer or player controlled), get a huge score or beat the fastest time. A highly original concept and definitely one for the Gameboy Advance.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Average
Uniracers is another one of those "grey area" titles in Nintendo's history. An impressive game which Nintendo may no longer hold any interest in. They may focus on their more well known games, but it would still be awesome to see Uniracers on the GBA and you never know it might just happen.

VIOLINIST OF HAMELN
Super Famicom
Platform / Puzzle
Enix

Have you ever heard the storytale about the Pied Piper of Hamelin? The grim story entails a mysterious piper who saves the village from a rat infestation by leading the rodents to a watery grave using his magical flute. Requesting his just reward, the king refuses to pay. So the piper puts all the town's children under his flute's spell and leads them into the side of a mountain - which closes and the children are never seen again. And the moral of the story? Reward the deserving. Enix deserve reward for this excellent Super Famicom game, which thanks to a certain translation group, can now be enjoyed by english speakers alike. You take control of Hamel, a hero who plays a violin that looks like some kind of bass, driving away monsters as you progress. A girl named Flute comes along to help you out, and under your violin's spell, you can control her with various items and objects in order to solve puzzles (ala Mario & Wario). All in all, it's a damn fine and unique platformer with RPG and puzzle elements. Enix should be proud of this one.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Low
We can only dream that Enix take a break from Dragon Warrior and focus on re-releasing some of their 16-bit classics on the GBA. With Brainlord, Illusion of Gaia, and Actraiser among them, the Violinist of Hameln would be a colourful stand-out title.

WHIRLO / XANDRA'S BIG ADVENTURE
SNES ( Super Famicom )
Platform Adventure
Namco
1992

OK. The graphics aren't bad, the controls can be a little frustrating at times, and the one-hit-and-die system is atrocious - but still this game is nothing short of spectacular. With some patience, you really do find an enormous, cute and detailed adventure in Whirlo. Helped largely by a great password setup and a unique central character, Whirlo is a hark back to the days of great 8-bit platform adventures (Alex Kidd, Wonder Boy, etc) and you can almost get lost in its charm - then you lose a life and have to do it all over again. A great game that would be even greater on the GBA.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Low
Whirlo is a rare game indeed. But researching into it, you can find it has quite a colourful history, beginning on the ill-fated Turbo Grafx-16 system. The odds against its return are high.

WILDGUNS
SNES
Arcade / Shooter
Natsume
1994

Wild Guns is one of those hidden gems among in the mountain of SNES titles. Anyone who ever remembers the Cabal / Bloodbrothers arcade game will understand where this game is coming from. Standing at the bottom, your character (your choice between Clint and Annie) blasts up and into the screen by use of a handy target. The Wild Guns world takes place in a crazy dimension where the the past meets the future, and wild west cowboys fight alongside futuristic mech/robot contraptions (way before that dorky Will Smith film!). The game had slick graphics that probably induced envy in Konami and Capcom, and was overall a very intriguing blaster. Having 2 players jumping, ducking and shooting while all hell breaks loose on screen is a total blast.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Low
I like to be optimistic, but I highly doubt Wild Guns will return on the GBA or any other system. One can only hope it will though.

WONDER BOY III - THE DRAGON'S TRAP
Sega Master System
Platform Adventure
Sega
1989

When you look at the 2 Wonder Boys before 'the Dragon's Trap', particularly Wonderboy in Monsterland, you can see a transition from a straight forward side-scrolling arcade platformer towards more of an adventure/RPG. Wonder Boy III is this transition further realised. But unlike the others, this title could never have been an arcade hit because the sheer size and depth of the game demanded a more at-home gamer. There just isn't enough space here to explain its intricacies. The 'Dragon's Trap' expanded upon the linear Wonder Boy setting into a vast, lushly detailed world full of imagination waiting for you to exlpore and conquer. Sega made special use of different characters which Wonder Boy could transform into, including Mouse Man who could climb up and around walls, Bird Man who could take to the skies, and Fish Man who could venture into the depths of the sea. Each transformation also had their own special sets of weapons and armour, which were highly collectable. This game would have to be among my top 5 of all-time. An absolute must have.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Good
Like Alex Kidd, I really don't know what happened to the Wonderboy series and why it never made it past the Sega Genesis / Megadrive era. Perhaps it lay dormant because Sega felt it wouldn't translate easily into a more "modern" 3D game on the Saturn and Dreamcast systems. But now that Sega and Nintendo have joined force and the GBA is the ultimate 2D machine, it seems only natural that we will hear from Wonder Boy once again.

Ys - THE VANISHED OMENS
Sega Master System
RPG
Sega / Falcom
1988

I'll never forget being 10 years old one summer holiday, hiring this game out with my best friend, stocking up on food and cola, and literally locking ourselves in his bedroom to play this all weekend. Obsessed with the game, when the time came to return it to the video rental store, we concocted a number of excuses just so we could have it for 2 extra nights. Those were the days. So whatever happened to this shining piece of gaming history? Who knows. Sadly, if you don't remember it now, you may never know it. Come on, bring it back to GBA, you know you want to!

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Fair
Impressively, Falcom are still around and in 1997 they released Falcom Classics on the Sega Saturn which contained this game. There is also an official 'Y's I & II Complete' website and mention of Y's Eternal (and a whole set of remakes that appear to be for PC) but it is all in Japanese, thus unreadable to me. A definite market is there for this series to fully return, especially in Japan where great RPG's are truely remembered.

ZILLION
Sega Master System
Adventure / Puzzle
Sega
1987

Zillion was originally based on an anime by Tatsunoko Production, credited with a string of hits over more than 2 decades from as early as Speed Racer to as recent as Generator Gawl. While not much can be said about its sequel, Tri-Formation, Zillion was probably one of only a few games that a young bright-eyed expert like myself never sat through until the end. This was entirely to blame because the game had no save function, no passwords, extremely limited continues and man was it tough. As difficult as games were back then, this was still one hell of a great game. Breaking open the cylinders, jotting down the passcodes to disable the next laserbeam door, roaming the bland corridors and blasting 'Terminator' lookin' robots to junk was all part of it. I guess it didn't hurt either that the underground area theme music was so completely hummable.

Gameboyee Likelyhood Rating - Low
Platform explorative / puzzle solving game fans needn't worry, because the upcomming Metroid for GBA will more than satisfy your cravings. But for fans of the Zillion games and anime series, it looks bleak that this game will ever make a return. Wouldn't it be great though?

Well that concludes Part 2 of the GBA Wishlist, look out for a special feature Part 3 in future. Feel free to send us your GBA Wishlist suggestions to gameboyee@yahoo.com !! you may also discuss your wishlist on the Gameboyee Message Forum

Most screenshots were taken from the Video Game Museum or EdgeGamez. Support these deserving websites!