The Best GBA RPG Games I Have Ever Played

RPG (Role Playing Game) is a game where a player undertake the role of a fictional character in the game, or through a process of structured decision-making or character development. GBA itself is a 32-bit handheld video game console developed by nintendo

GBA offers numerous RPG genre, but not all of them is good, here is 10 of the best gba games that I have played.

Boktai Series

You play as Django a vampire hunter, armed with a solar gun called Gun Del Sol, What interesting about this game is that this game has a very unique game play, you must use real solar energy to charge up your weapon, so you will need a solar sensor attached to your GBA.

There are two Boktai series released in GBA, #1 Boktai: The Sun Is in Your Hand and #2 Boktai 2: Solar Boy Django, The first one is a stealth RPG game, (a bit like the metal gear series) where you can catch your enemy off guard if they do not see you, while the 2nd one change its game play to more of an action RPG

Breath of Fire Series

This is a remake of a SNES game, but still it is a good game, in Breath of Fire (BoF) you played as Ryu an adventurer who can shape-shift into different types of dragonsand took place in a medieval-style fictional world, although the main character in BoF 1 and 2 has the same name and characteristic, the two game has its own story.

BoF gameplay is that of a standard Japanese RPG type, exploring dungeon, encountering enemies and turn based battle, other feature in this game is hunting and fishing.

Overall the animation, and sound effect did not change much from the SNES version which is quite average if I must say, what makes this game still worth on my BEST GBA RPG game list is the storyline.

Final Fantasy Series

If you are an RPG genre fans then Final Fantasy is a must, although all the Final Fantasy (FF) series in GBA is only a remake from the SNES version, the remake is better from the original, the GBA version has more CG and animation as well as added bosses.GBA release from FF I through FF VI minus FF III which is currently a remake for Nintendo DS.

Each of the FF series is an independent stories with different setting, and different playable character, so it does not matter which series to play first, nonetheless the Final Fantasy always have great story plot, well apart from FF I which is rather linear.

The best FF series for GBA is FF VI besides of the great story plot, FF VI offers slightly different battle system, where each character have special abilities to use and not just slash or cast which would be rather boring if used too repetitively.

Golden Sun Series

Golden Sun is a bit different then most RPGs, while in other RPG games magic is only used frequently within battle, in Golden Sun, you will used magic (the game called it “psynergy” / “Energy” in the Japanese version) outside battlefield, mostly to solve puzzles within dungeon. besides the existence of psynergy.

Golden Sun also present you with other special game elements called “Djinn” which can be used to strengthen your character.

There are two release for Golden Sun, “Golden Sun” and continues to “Golden Sun: The Lost Age” which tell the stories from the Antagonist point of view.

Lunar Legend

Actually Lunar Legend does not differentiate much from most RPG genre, and I must say the difficulty does not offers much challenge either, what makes Lunar Legend stays on my lists is the story plot and strong character development.

Lunar Legend story plot offers quite a number of twists, which will often make you curious about what would happen next, apart from that, the animation is also cool and there are lots of comic relief.

In my opinion this game is worthy.

Megaman Battle Network Series

OK Megaman is back, this time on GBA, but what is this? RPG? Megaman used to be a great platform game, well apparently yes, Megaman Battle Network (Battle Network Rockman EXE in Japanese version) is a spinoff from the original Megaman series, he is not a robot anymore but more of an AI used for various tasks in network, from checking email to busting malicious softwares (virus).

The year is 20XX where humankind has entered the network era, in this era every person need to carry a PET (PErsonal Terminal) used to interact with many digital object found in the game. Every PET contain one NetNavi an AI who act as a personal assistant for exploring the internet.

In this game you play as Lan Hikari, a 5th grader who has magnificent skill in virus busting, together with his NetNavi Megaman. You will play Lan in the real world, where you can plugin your PET to almost every digital devices found in the game, after you plugin (the game used the term Jack In), you can navigate the cyber world using your NetNavi (Megaman), the cyber world is where every battle take place.

Megaman Battle Network is rather refreshing for RPG genre, since most of RPG setup in a medieval fantasy world with swords and magic, this one lets you check your email, visit other websites, or even visit Bulletin Board forum.

The battle system is also very original for this kind of genre, where skill is absolutely a factor when winning or losing a match, well besides other equipment. The enemies in Megaman Battle Network follows the original megaman series, where every enemy has a random attack pattern, so using the right equipment and skill is definetely the way.

Like the original Megaman series, every bosses has a certain weakness and if you managed to defeat the boss, you will gain their power.

Riviera: The Promised Land

Riviera The Promised Land, an RPG where its strong point is the story plot, you wont get side tracked to an endless dungeon exploring and fighting random enemies, in this game every encounter has its own dialog, and every action you make will affect the story.

Riviera exploring style is different than most RPG, rather than going around within dungeon and facing random encounter, you are given a turn based exploring system, where you must decide what to do, on each event.

The Battle system also a bit different than typical RPG, in Riviera the battle system challenge you to take more strategic consideration to win each battle, since in this game you can break your weapon if you use it all the time. other than that Riviera sure gives you excellent graphic, animation and sound effect for a GBA games.

Summon Night Series

You play as a Craftknight, a warrior / fighter who have to craft their own weapon to achieve perfection, you can fight with your preferred weapon, like axe, spear, knuckle, or swords, what makes this game unique from other RPG games, is that you would not found your weapon on a treasure chest, or dropping from monsters, you will have to craft your own weapons.

To craft a weapon you will need to have all the materials needed and the skill to make it (shapestone in Summon Night Swordcraft Story 2), you can gain materials from loot drops from monster, buy on local shop, or from treasure chest, while skill / shapestone can be earnedbut mostly your masters, or by breaking enemy weapon without knocking them out.

You will also accompanied by your summon creature, they are useful to help you craft weapon or assist you in battle. Exploring in Summon night, is simple, the dungeon is pretty straight forward, while the battle system is real time with side scrolling interface, you can switch weapons during fight, and also ask your summon to support you with their magic.

Tales of Phantasia

Another remake from SNES console, Tales of Phantasia is the first RPG of Tales series and is an action RPG genre, where you battle in an action-oriented side-scrolling style, moving the main character while managing your party member, the battle system feels like Summon Night Series for GBA with a more slow pace but can be difficult when surrounded.

Tales of Phantasia art is quite good, but what better is the sound effect, the character is well voiced for a GBA platform, you can hear them when performing skills, casting magic, even the narration is voiced.

The Legend Of Zelda

You play as Link as always, the main character in Legend of Zelda Series, in The Minish Cap, Link must save the land of Hyrule from Vaati who breaks the legendary Picori blade and releasing many evil monsters once sealed by the blade.

In His journey, Link is accompanied by Ezlo, a Picori cursed by Vaati, Ezlo ride Links head as a cap, helping him to shrink link into a thumb-sized person, in order to gain access to the Picori is settlement.

The exploring and battling is done in the same way, no random encounter, like the old style, link is able to slash grass, break pot and perform skills. if you like the Zelda series, the you will like this one.