The 7 Absolute Best Game Boy Advance Survival Games of All Time

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The Game Boy Advance was a big deal, selling over 81 million units worldwide in its lifetime. It had many more great games than its predecessor, the Game Boy Color, and some of our favorite survival games. This list looks back at some of the best survival games for the Game Boy Advance.

Let’s jump right in!

What is a Survival Game?

A survival game is a video game genre that emphasizes the survival of the player character. Survival games typically involve in-game crafting, exploration, and combat with other players.

Survival games are often open-world or sandbox, meaning they do not feature linear gameplay. The main goal of survival games is to survive against all odds and overcome the challenges faced by the player.

A Brief History of the Game Boy Advance

Nintendo released the Game Boy Advance in Japan on March 21, 2001, and in North America on June 11, 2001. It sold over 81 million units worldwide in its lifespan, making it one of the best-selling handheld consoles ever. The GBA was discontinued in March 2007 and replaced by the Nintendo DS.

The Game Boy Advance was designed to play both older versions of the Game Boy and newer titles written specifically for it. It also had an improved CPU and graphics chip compared with previous iterations of the Game Boy line.

As of July 2022, it has sold 81.51 million units worldwide, including over 40 million units in North America.

7 Best Game Boy Advance Survival Games of All Time

There are plenty of great Game Boy Advance titles today, but here are some of the best survival games you can find based on user ratings from Metacritic.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

$65.17

• Take on all-new monster battles and the Tower of Valni, with floor after floor of challenging fights, to gain the experience your soldiers need
• As your soldiers increase in skill, you’ll be able to choose between multiple classes to customize your army — cavaliers, paladins, knighst and more are at your disposal
• Field dozens of new soldiers and units on the field, from pegasus knights to mage knights
• New submaps you’ll be able to enter and leave at will, plus a new class change system for upgrades

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emFire Emblem: The Sacred Stone/em is a GBA game developed by Intelligent Systems and published by Nintendo, and it is the fifth installment in the Fire Emblem series and was released in 2003.

The game’s story focuses on Eirika and Ephraim, twin heirs to the kingdom of Renais, who must save their home from destruction at the hands of an invading host of monsters. The gameplay is similar to previous installments in the series; players must navigate their units across a grid-based map while engaging enemies and taking advantage of terrain features.

Like its predecessors, emFire Emblem: The Sacred Stone/em received positive reviews from critics, who praised its gameplay depth.

Check it out on Amazon here.

PublisherNintendoDeveloperIntelligent SystemsNumber of Players1-4GenreStrategy, SurvivalRelease DateNovember 3, 2003
Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stone is a major classic!

Wario Land 4 – Game Boy Advance

$48.20

• Classic characters
• 20 levels
• plenty of puzzles
• cool graphics
• single-player action

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emWario Land 4/em is a real treat for original Wario Land titles fans — it has some of the best graphics and music of any Game Boy Advance title and an excellent soundtrack. 

The game features over 40 levels, many of which are based on previous Wario games. The main character in this game is Wario, who once again has to save his friends from the evil clutches of Captain Syrup and her pirate crew. This time around, Wario must go through many different worlds.

The controls in emWario Land 4/em are straightforward, and the gameplay will have you glued for hours.

You can find it on Amazon here.

PublisherNintendoDeveloperNintendoNumber of Players1GenreAction, SurvivalRelease DateNovember 18, 2001
Wario Land 4 brings everything you love about the Wario series!

The Legend of Zelda – The Minish Cap (Renewed)

$149.99

• This renewed game will not come with the original case or manual; cartridge only. It has been cleaned, tested, and is in nice condition.

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The Legend of Zelda is a series that has been around for decades — it’s still going strong today — but there is no denying that emThe Minish Cap/em is one of the best games ever made in the series.

You play as Link, but this time he has been shrunk down by a powerful witch named Ezlo. He must travel through Hyrule in miniature form to find out what happened to the princess and restore his size. 

The gameplay is similar to other games in the series, but it adds new features like shrinking and growing your sword so you can get into small places or fight enemies much more prominent than yourself.

emThe Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap/em has some of the best music in any Zelda game, along with excellent graphics and level design that makes it feel just as good as any other entry in the franchise.

Find it on Amazon here.

PublisherNintendoDeveloperFlagshipNumber of Players1GenreStrategy, SurvivalRelease DateJanuary 10, 2005
The Minish Cap is yet another fantastic installment of Zelda.

Metroid: Zero Mission (Renewed)

$168.40

• Authentic Metroid: Zero Mission
• Does not come with original case or manuals. Cartridge only
• Cartridge and label are in nice condition
• Fully tested and guaranteed

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emMetroid: Zero Mission/em is the remake of Metroid for NES. The game was released in 2004, and Nintendo developed it. 

The story takes place after the events of Super Metroid when Samus Aran returns to planet Zebes to destroy a Mother Brain clone built by Space Pirates, and they plan to use it as a weapon against the Galactic Federation.

The game features 13 levels with some new areas added to them. New bosses, weapons, and abilities were also not present in the first version of this game. The graphics are also great, considering this game came out more than 15 years ago. 

You can find it on Amazon here.

PublisherNintendoDeveloperNintendoNumber of Players1-2GenreSurvival, ActionRelease DateFebruary 9, 2004
Metroid Zero Mission adds to the greatness of Metroid!

Golden Sun

$44.50

• Four magic styles
• 1-2 Players; two-player action via link cable
• dozens of characters
• battery saves
• awesome graphics

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emGolden Sun/em is one of the best RPG games for Game Boy Advance, offering you a lot of fun and surprises.

The story is simple, but it’s well-written and exciting to follow. emGolden Sun/em revolves around a group of magic-tuned adepts tasked with preventing the release of alchemy’s destructive power. Players defeat enemies and complete missions assigned to these characters.

The gameplay is also unique, with many features that make it more enjoyable than many other games in the same genre. The battle system is very engaging, with a lot of different options and strategies at your disposal to use during fights.

Find it on Amazon here.

PublisherNintendoDeveloperCamelot Software PlanningNumber of Players1-2GenreSurvival. ActionRelease DateNovember 11, 2001
Golden Sun has fantastic gameplay to keep you entertained for hours!

emCastlevania: Aria of Sorrow/em is a Game Boy Advance game released in 2003. It’s the third installment in the Castlevania series and was published by Konami.

The game follows Soma Cruz, who is a high school student who discovers that he has the power to absorb other people’s souls. With this ability, he fights against Dracula and his army of monsters.

The gameplay focuses on exploration and action-adventure elements as players must find items and solve puzzles to progress through the story. There are also several RPG elements, such as leveling up characters’ stats and skills using experience points gained from defeating enemies.

Check it out on Amazon here.

PublisherKonamiDeveloperKCETNumber of Players1-2GenreSurvival, ActionRelease DateMay 6, 2003
Fight Dracula in Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow!

The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (Includes Four Swords Adventure) (Renewed)

$74.95

• Talk to all sorts of people and creatures to gain information about how to move forward in his quest
• Fight enemies and battle through dangerous and complicated dungeons to recover key objects that open new areas
• Wield swords throw bombs, perform dash attacks, lift and throw, and push and pull objects; acquire items that give additional abilities
• In Four Swords, face puzzles that require the cooperation of two or more players to solve. They can exchange items, but they also will be competing to pick up as many Rupees as they can to increase…

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emThe Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past/em is considered one of the best Game Boy Advance games ever.

It was remade for Nintendo’s 3DS console in 2011 and released as The Legend of Zelda: A Link Between Worlds, but this original version is still worth revisiting.

In emA Link to the Past/em, you play as a young hero named Link who must save Hyrule from an evil wizard named Agahnim. You’ll use your sword and shield to battle enemies, solve puzzles, collect items and find new weapons and armor.

You can take it home from Amazon here.

PublisherNintendoDeveloperCapcomNumber of Players1GenreSurvival, Action, FantasyRelease DateDecember 3, 2002
The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past is one of the best survival games the Game Boy Advance has to offer.

Where to Buy Game Boy Advance Games

GBA games are now more challenging to find. Amazon is your best bet for buying used video GBA games. Just search for “Game Boy Advance games” in the search bar, and you’ll get a list of all available titles.

If you’re looking for a specific title that you can’t find anywhere else, eBay is another good place to check. You’ll have to be cautious, though, about purchasing from an unknown seller because not all of them are trustworthy or reliable and will send their items quickly and safely.

Wrapping Up

The Gameboy Advance is one of the most popular game consoles in history. It’s also one of the most underrated, as it has many great games you can still play today. And, even though there are plenty of excellent new games on newer devices, there’s still something to be said for spending hours playing your favorite old games.

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