Game Boy Advance Compilations

Some time ago I bought an Analogue Pocket. I mostly wanted it because I have a large collection of Game Gear games and original hardware that is both dying & inconvenient to use as a portable system. Since the Analogue Pocket can take screenshots, today I'm using it to review some Game Boy Advance compilations.

The Game Boy Advance was the dominant handheld system when my kids were very young. This meant we took a lot of trips to Toys 'r Us. I'd always visit the video game section and accumulated a decent library of whatever was cheap that day. Game compilations were usually down to $19.99 or less not long after release. Eventually they would end up in a clearance bin for nearly nothing. That's when I bought many games I was just kinda barely interested in. Of course I'm the target demographic for collections of 80s-90s games so I buy just about all of them.

I suppose I should be a little more specific about that I mean by "compilations". I am referring to collections of emulated (or possibly source code ports) of older games on the Game Boy Advance. A combo pack of two Game Boy Advances games would fit the literal definition of "compilation" but isn't what I'm covering. There are also collections of board games on a single cartridge that I'm not counting. I'm looking at compilations of emulated games only. This leaves out the Final Fantasy I&II remake and some other similar collections.

I do not own everything that fits this criteria. For example there is a Midway collection I know I'm missing. There's a good chance I'll eventually own them and will update this page when it happens. Until then, you're stuck with only...

Activision Anthology

I think these are sorted alphabetically because that's just how it ended up. I put far less planning than it seems into most of these articles. I'll start each entry with a "proof of life" picture to show this isn't all bootleg games being emulated. I suppose they are being emulated though, or FPGA'd at least. I don't think that's an important distinction. I can't say it's always been the case on this site, but going forward I'm only covering games I have a legal copy of. This isn't some moral high horse. I just don't want to run some bootleg games blog.

Activision Anthology - cartridge

Since I don't have the box for this game I must have bought it used. I'm about the only person on earth who saves boxes for Game Boy Advance games based on an informal survey of every time I've seen them at garage sales.


Activision Anthology - title

The splash screen at the beginning reminds me of a JoyStik magazine cover.


Activision Anthology - games list (1)

This is the only one where I won't include screenshots of every game in the compilation. There are just too many games. The selection is amazing. The rest of these collections are tiny by comparison. A lot of these games are shallow of course.


Activision Anthology - games list (2)

Here's the second page of games included in the compilation.


Activision Anthology - games list (3)

At the third page we're only halfway through. There are over 50 games included. Two of my favorites, Keystone Kapers and Pitfall!, are on this page.


Activision Anthology - games list (4)

Even though these are alphabetical, the fourth page has maybe the strongest overall selection of games.


Activision Anthology - games list (5)

The fifth page is a bit weaker. Like Stampede, neat idea, but gets really frustrating quickly.


Activision Anthology - games list (6)

Finally at the last page. I included screenshots of all so the full game selection can be seen. Let's try a couple games.


Activision Anthology - Pitfall!

Pitfall! looks and plays about right. The scaling seems a little bit off but it's otherwise fine.


Activision Anthology - River Raid

River Raid is, I think, one of the most popular games in this collection. It's also emulated well.


Activision Anthology - Skeleton+

Activision Anthology also includes the homebrew Skeleton+. That's a really nice addition.


OK, time to invent a ratings system. Let's go with:

Game Selection     Emulation/Port Quality
4 GBAs     3 GBAs

I don't think we need more than that. This is all that matters for rating these compilations. This one rates well, would recommend.


Arcade Advanced

Next is an assortment of six Konami arcade games. This is purely a guess but I think these were chosen because they translate well to the small screen.

Arcade Advanced - box

The box for my copy is kind of crushed. It also completely disproves a prior statement since I bought this at a garage sale. It only took two entries to prove myself wrong.


Arcade Advanced - title

The title screen matches the box almost perfectly.


Arcade Advanced - menu

The menu screen is nice and simple.


Arcade Advanced - Frogger

Frogger plays great. I'm not a hardcore Frogger fan but I didn't notice anything off about it.


Arcade Advanced - Gyruss

Gyruss is a little difficult to see. Moving the score and life counter to a bar along the top would help. I understand why it's this way though.


Arcade Advanced - Rush 'n Attack

Rush 'n Attack also looks and plays fine. This was a lot easier than I remember.


Arcade Advanced - Scramble

I never played Scramble before and possibly never heard of it. This is a tough game, not my thing.


Arcade Advanced - Time Pilot

I've always enjoyed Time Pilot. This is again emulated well. Like Gyruss I'd prefer it full screen but get why it isn't. This seemed a little more difficult than I remembered the original being. That could be due to the small screen being tough to see well.


Arcade Advanced - Yie Ar Kung-Fu

Is it OK to admit I never played Yie Ar Kung Fu before? If I spent the time to learn the controls I'd probably like it. I did not do well at this.


And the rating on this one is:

Game Selection     Emulation/Port Quality
3 GBAs     3 GBAs

Overall this is a quality collection.


Gauntlet & Rampart

This one has been on my shelf a while. I'm going to break the seal on it right now to play it. I was never in the mood to try these before.

Gauntlet and Rampart - box

So this was obviously a clearance bin game.


Gauntlet and Rampart - title

High effort title screen here, also very simple to navigate.


Gauntlet and Rampart - Gauntlet (1)

I wasn't sure if this would be the arcade version of Gauntlet or the NES one. It's definitely the arcade version and it looks great.


Gauntlet and Rampart - Gauntlet (2)

Although this is a small collection, I could see taking it on a trip for just this game. I've never done a full playthough of Gauntlet and this could be a good way to do it.


Gauntlet and Rampart - Rampart

Rampart I was not familiar with. I mean, I was familiar with it. I never played any version before. I need to go read the manual before trying again.


And the rating on this one is:

Game Selection     Emulation/Port Quality
1 GBA     4 GBAs

Small but done well.


Namco Museum

This is a collection I definitely sought out when it was first released. An arcade version of Ms Pac-Man and Dig Dug were the selling points.

Namco Museum - box

I'm so crazy I own two copies, complete and loose. The latter must have been in a bundle of games at a garage sale.


Namco Museum - Dig Dug menu

The menu has a separate page for each game. It's not apparent why until Ms Pac-Man. If the Activision Anthology worked like this it would take days to navigate.


Namco Museum - Dig Dug

Dig Dug is excellent. It looks like the original and plays well. This has been the game I played the most in this collection.


Namco Museum - Galaga menu

Next up is Galaga.


Namco Museum - Galaga

This is another game that is difficult to see. It's emulated well but like Gyruss and Time Pilot would benefit from being modified to full screen.


Namco Museum - Galaxian menu

I suppose these games are alphabetical and not in release order.


Namco Museum - Galaxian

Having both Galaga and Galaxian makes sense on a large collection. On an abridged version like this I'd prefer swapping it for a different game.


Namco Museum - Ms. Pac-Man menu

OK, so this is why the menu is like this. Although this same function could be accomplished with a menu that listed all the games.


Namco Museum - Ms. Pac-Man full screen

Full screen mode is very hard to see. This mode is really only playable on the GameCube player. I don't have the Analogue Pocket dock but I suppose that would work too.


Namco Museum - Ms. Pac-Man scrolling

Scrolling mode is much easier on the eyes but sneakily difficult. There are many surprise deaths unless you have some super ability to understand what the ghosts offscreen are doing.


Namco Museum - Pole Position menu

Last on this collection, Pole Position.


Namco Museum - Pole Position

This looks perfect and plays fine. I've always been totally awful at this game though.


And the rating on this one is:

Game Selection     Emulation/Port Quality
3 GBA     4 GBAs

Good selection and everything plays great.


Pac-Man Collection

Same story as the last one... I definitely sought this game out when it was new. It's a solid collection even if the Switch has a far superior one now. If you're planning a "Game Boy Advance roadtrip" I'll go ahead and say this is a must include.

Pac-Man Collection - box

Two copies again. The loose copy must be from the same bundle that included the loose Namco Museum.


Pac-Man Collection - title

The title screen is basic and unnecessary.


Pac-Man Collection - Pac-Attack menu

This uses the same menu system as the Namco Museum. First up is Pac-Attack.


Pac-Man Collection - Pac-Attack arcade mode

I didn't get this game when I first tried it. After some time I went back to it and really enjoyed it. It's not my favorite "things falling" game. It's better than Columns but (of course) below Tetris. It's about equal to Puyo Puyo.


Pac-Man Collection - Pac-Attack puzzle mode

The puzzle mode is my preference. Anyway, this is emulated well. More screen space for the main play field would be appreciated. Seems like this is a common bit of feedback for these collections.


Pac-Man Collection - Pac-Man menu

Same as Ms Pac-Man, the original has full screen and scrolling modes.


Pac-Man Collection - Pac-Man full screen

It's the same trade off again. The full screen mode requires great vision.


Pac-Man Collection - Pac-Man scrolling

While the scrolling mode is a constant guessing game.


Pac-Man Collection - Pac-Man Arrangement menu

I have to confess, I am a huge fan of Pac-Man Arrangement. It was something of a therapy game in the early 2000s for me. Back then I was dealing with work + graduate school + being a new parent. It was a game I played often in small doses for a mental break.


Pac-Man Collection - Pac-Man Arrangement (1)

This translates well to the Game Boy Advance. It only has scrolling mode but that's OK because this is the easiest Pac-Man game ever.


Pac-Man Collection - Pac-Man Arrangement (2)

This is probably my favorite game in the collection. Although the next one is close...


Pac-Man Collection - Pac-Mania menu

Pac-Mania is not usually in my top 5 "Pac" games. Something about it on this collection works really well though.


Pac-Man Collection - Pac-Mania

Pac-Mania, any version, is a scrolling game. The sprites and maze are very large on the Game Boy Advance compared to the other games in the collection. This makes Pac-Mania the game that translates best to the handheld.


And the rating on this one is:

Game Selection     Emulation/Port Quality
4 GBA     4 GBAs

I'll go ahead and say this is my favorite collection so far.


Phantasy Star Collection

Something like 99.999% of the traffic to this site is people looking for Phantasy Star III maps. I'm not going to have a tombstone but if I did it would read "That Phantasy Star III map guy". I am a fan of the original series. The later games are OK. Naturally I own the Game Boy Advance collection of the first three games.

Phantasy Star Collection - cartridge

I only have the cartridge though because I didn't buy this new. It was released in November 2002 in the US and I didn't own a Game Boy Advance until a few months later. A PR person from Sega emailed me about this release. I'm not kidding, sent a virtual press kit and everything.


Phantasy Star Collection - title

The title screen looks great. Although the art reminds me most of Phantasy Star IV which is not included in this collection. They could have fit all 4 on a Game Boy Advance cartridge but I assume it would have raised the production cost. Not just for the cartridge itself, but also testing a long RPG.


Phantasy Star Collection - Phantasy Star 1 town

I played every game on this collection roughly 20 years ago. Possibly in order but don't quote me on that. The original Phantasy Star has a major bug where it crashes often when saving. Something like 1 out of 10 saves causes the game to crash. This means you need to save often to minimize the potential time loss. Of course, that means you will experience a lot of crashes. Otherwise this looks and plays well.


Phantasy Star Collection - Phantasy Star 1 dungeon

I am still overwhelmed at how great Phantasy Star looks compared to every other 8-bit RPG.


Phantasy Star Collection - Phantasy Star II town

I had two Phantasy Star II saves, both fairly far into the game but not at the end. I finished this game in the early 1990s because I had a lot of free time and it was an outstanding RPG then. I still think it looks and sounds great. It's too grindy though. It's hard to finish today.


Phantasy Star Collection - Phantasy Star II exploring

The second save game was just Rolf and Shir somewhere on Dezo. I must have been trying to grind up Shir's level here. Apparently I quit.


Phantasy Star Collection - Phantasy Star II fight

This is still a good version of the game. I could see taking it on a daily train commute and grinding for 10-20 minutes every day in-between other games. After a year of commuting the whole party would be maxed out and the late dungeons would be... not easy, but less brutal.


Phantasy Star Collection - Phantasy Star III town

My Phantasy Star III save was near the end of the game. I recall finishing it. Since it lacks an item that allows saving in dungeons your final save game will be a long haul from the last boss.


Phantasy Star Collection - Phantasy Star III fight

This is also a good version. It's not identical to the original. Someday, likely never, I'd like to perform a more detailed analysis of the differences.


And the rating on this one is:

Game Selection     Emulation/Port Quality
4 GBA     3 GBAs

Even without Phantasy Star IV this is a solid collection.


Sega Arcade Gallery

I bought this collection for Out Run. The other games are an OK distraction.

Sega Arcade Gallery - box

I'll say it, the cover is kinda bad. It looks like a variety game for the 2600.


Sega Arcade Gallery - title

The title screen is simple.


Sega Arcade Gallery - After Burner

After Burner is an accurate enough version of the original. Distant enemies are tough to see on the small screen. The music isn't quite perfect but sounds good enough.



Sega Arcade Gallery - Super Hang On

Super Hang On looks perfect from what I can tell. I am awful at this game.


Sega Arcade Gallery - Out Run

Out Run was, again, the reason I bought this. I wasn't disappointed. This is a solid port. They kept the difficultly balanced. It's not hard to finish a complete race. Like After Burner the music is a little off. Despite being a racing game it always feels more like a relaxing scenic drive to me.


Sega Arcade Gallery - Space Harrier

Space Harrier is the same as the others. It's harder to see distant enemies than After Burner and I didn't last long.



And the rating on this one is:

Game Selection     Emulation/Port Quality
2 GBA     3 GBAs

Hang On and Out Run are pretty similar games. Space Harrier and After Burner are pretty similar games. Sega has so many other games they could have included.


Sega Smashpack

This is a smaller version of the collection previously available on Dreamcast and PC.

Sega Smashpack - box

The cover is deceptive. Ecco, fine. Golden Axe, fine. Sonic the Hedgehog... is not on this collection. It includes Sonic Spinball. The art is cropped to not make it immediately obvious it is Sonic Spinball.


Sega Smashpack - title

The color palette on the title screen is not a good sign.


Sega Smashpack - Ecco menu

It uses a menu system like the Namco Museum and Pac-Man Collection. First up is Ecco.


Sega Smashpack - Ecco

Ecco looks fine and plays fine. I haven't played it all that much before but the audio sounds funky. Here's a 30 second clip:


Sega Smashpack - Golden Axe menu

OK, next is Golden Axe.


Sega Smashpack - Golden Axe

You can't tell from a screenshot, since it's screenshot, but it's now apparent the audio is funky. OK, worse than funky. The usually awesome Golden Axe soundtrack is bad. Another 30 second clip:


Sega Smashpack - Sonic Spinball menu

Third and last is Sonic the... Spinball.


Sega Smashpack - Sonic Spinball Axe

This plays like the original but the audio is, oh, it's so bad. You have to turn the volume all the way down. This isn't an issue with the Analogue Pocket. As a sanity check I tried on a Game Boy Advance and same result. I'll dub this a weak collection. The game selection is at best average and the sound quality is much worse. Just give this a listen:


And the rating on this one is:

Game Selection     Emulation/Port Quality
2 GBA     2 GBAs

This is a very meh selection and the sound is awful. The games play fine at least.


Spy Hunter & Super Sprint

I am saving the worst for last. I assume the selling point of this was Spy Hunter. A game everyone remembers looking cool in the 1980s. The execution of this one though...

Spy Hunter and Super Sprint - cartridge

I only have the cartridge. I don't remember buying this. It must have been in a lot.


Spy Hunter and Super Sprint - title

The title screen is OK. The artwork looks very 8-bit but these are games from the 1980s so it's appropriate.


Spy Hunter and Super Sprint - Spy Hunter

Spy Hunter looks fine but controls terribly. From what I can tell they are trying to make the d-pad work like a steering wheel. The up button does nothing from what I can tell. Instead you have to try using left+down+right like this weird little virtual wheel. It's much worse than what I'm describing. After many attempts I gave up. I could never steer without crashing for more than 2 seconds. Sticking the NES ROM in with zero changes would be better.


Spy Hunter and Super Sprint - Super Sprint

Super Sprint controls well but is difficult to see. The cars look even tinier on the screen. This might be OK on the GameCube player.


And the rating on this one is:

Game Selection     Emulation/Port Quality
0 GBA     0 GBAs

This is the only one I would completely not recommend.



Game boy advance icons used for the rating meters were created by Marcus Christensen - Flaticon


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