The 10 Best Game Boy Advance & Nintendo DS Games on Nintendo Switch – SwitchArcade Special

In the latest look at retro game offerings on the Nintendo Switch, I’ve opted to take a different approach. You see, there aren’t quite so many distinct Game Boy Advance and Nintendo DS ports on the Switch as some other consoles. I know, it surprised me too!

So they’re going to be sharing a list, much like how they shared a few years on retail shelves. While you can find plenty of great games from the Game Boy Advance in the Nintendo Switch Online app, we’re instead looking at those games that dare to exist in the wilds of the Switch eShop. We’ve got ten of our favorites here, four from the Game Boy Advance and six from the Nintendo DS.

No particular order, of course. On with the show! 99) We’ll start off with a decent little shoot ’em up, Steel Empire .

While the original Genesis/Mega Drive version is the better game in my opinion, this isn’t a bad take at all. Worth playing just to compare with the other version, and it’s certainly a breezier experience in some ways. Steel Empire is a pretty cool game no matter how you play it, and it’s one that even those who don’t normally get into shooters tend to enjoy.

99) While the Mega Man X series started to flounder on home consoles, the true successor to the Mega Man crown was rising up on the Game Boy Advance. Mega Man Zero is the start of an excellent series of side-scrolling action games, and one that perhaps didn’t figure out how to present what it wanted to do in the smoothest way. Those rough edges would get sanded off as the series went on, but the first game is where you want to start.

Feel free to continue on from there. 99) Yes, I’m double-dipping on Mega Man here. But I think it’s warranted here, because Mega Man Zero and Mega Man Battle Network are very different kinds of games, and both are very good at what they do.

This one is an RPG with a unique battle system that manages to incorporate a bit of action to go with the more strategic elements. The core concept of this whole virtual world existing inside of electronic devices is a clever one, and the game doesn’t do things halfway with it. The returns diminished harder on this series than they did with Zero, but there’s plenty of fun to be had here.

99) Another collection where you’ll probably just want to run the whole board, but if I have to pick one best one it’s clearly Aria of Sorrow. When I’m in the right mood, I’d rather play this than even the amazing Symphony of the Night . The soul collecting system encourages grinding, and the gameplay is so fun that I don’t even mind that.