In the world of video games, there are a million games and always consoles to play them on. One unforgettable console celebrates its birthday today, and that would be the Game Boy Advance, having released in North America on June 11th, 2001.
The Game Boy Advance was always ambitious for its time, having been revealed formally on August 24th, 2000 at Nintendo Space World with ten launch titles and several peripherals such as its link cable with the GameCube, and the e-Reader. The handheld boasted plenty of memorable games in its lineup, and see many different reiterations through its time as the Game Boy Advance SP and the Game Boy Micro.
Nintendo of America decided to celebrate the GBA's birthday by showing it some love on Twitter, with a photo and a question asking for people to share their memories with the handheld. Fans responded with plenty of adoration, sharing old commercials and what their first Game Boy Advance game was, as well as requests for the games to make their way onto the Nintendo Switch.
Titles such as The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap or Mario Kart: Super Circuit haven't seen something like a Virtual Console re-release since the days of the Nintendo 3DS and the Wii U. Other beloved titles, such as the Sonic Advance series or Astro Boy: Omega Factor haven't seen a re-release in a much longer, less accessible timeframe, calling into question if these games will ever see the love of another generation.
It can very much be seen on the post itself that the GBA has left a grand impression on its fans over the years, with the wide variety of responses underneath. With its sleek design, full-color screen, and a wonderful backlog of titles, the Game Boy Advance is not leaving fans' memory anytime soon, even without the lack of recent re-releases.
There is a case to be made about the lack of Game Boy Advance titles on the Switch, as the Wii U had plenty of titles available for the handheld on its Virtual Console lineup. The Nintendo Switch could very easily do the same with no trouble, so the silence on Nintendo's behalf beyond a small little post can be seen as rather deafening. Only time will tell if perhaps one day, Nintendo will just have one more surprise in store, and it would be the chance to own and play these titles once again.