Skyler Orton
Nintendo has a long history and most of their consoles have produced incredible libraries of games. This is definitely true for the Game Boy Advance which has produced countless timeless hits. From the peak of the Pokemon series to launching long lasting franchises like WarioWare the GBA truly made an impact on the gaming industry.
However, the greatest games aren’t always the most popular. In fact there were around 1,538 games released on the system. Some of these games are recent with the system receiving a new title Shantae Advance: Risky Revolution in April 2025. Out of these there are many fantastic games that you might not have heard of. Here is Dork Daily’s top 5 ranked.
5. Riviera the Promised land
If you’re a big fan of RPGs you might have heard of this unique early release from Atlus and Sting Entertainment. Riviera is an engaging turn-based rpg with a position-based combat system. The engaging strategy of the game starts with the preparation. You can only bring 3 of your characters and 4 of your items into any given battle. You then have to choose each character’s position on the battlefield which adds more layers to your potential strategy.
All of these systems would be meaningless without an interesting story and world. Fortunately, Riviera delivers. The story follows Ein, a “Grim Angel” who must defend the peaceful land Riviera from the return of mythical demons. While this has the potential to be a stereotypical plot the story is anything but that thanks to the blend of Norse mythology with classic anime tropes. In addition, the game was groundbreaking at the time for being partially voice acted. For anyone who is a fan of JRPGs, strategy games, or Norse myths I highly recommend giving this game a try.
4. Drill Dozer
Drill Dozer flew under the radar for many people since it was released two years into the DS’ life cycle. That is a shame because so many people missed out on one of the most original sidescrolling action games on the platform. The game follows Jill. the daughter of a bandit gang leader, who must retrieve a powerful red diamond that was stolen by a rival gang. What could be a basic setup for a sidescroller like Double Dragon the game gets its unique charm from Jill’s titular Drill Dozer, a large mech suit with a giant drill.
Gameplay wise you go through levels tearing through environments and enemies with Jill’s Drill Dozer. The R and L buttons spin the drill forwards and backwards which allow the player to solve countless puzzles and fight through enemies across 17 unique levels. At the time the game’s destructible environments were very original and inspired countless future games. As a fun bonus the game was developed by Game Freak in one of their few solo outings. Overall this game is highly recommended and is considered a must play by GBA fanatics.
3. Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance
The Castlevania series has had a long history since the NES but most of the love is put towards the most popular games. Castlevania Harmony of Dissonance is unfortunately not one of these. It gets frequently overshadowed by its more famous brother game Aria of Sorrow that gets a lot more attention due to its power collecting gameplay loop and futuristic story. However, for a classic experience along the lines of Symphony of the Night, Harmony of Dissonance is able to stand among the greatest in the series.
Harmony of Dissonance takes much of the basic sidescrolling aspects of the series and iterates on them with many RPG-lite elements. Throughout the game the player acquires countless items such as stat boosting armor, different weapons, relics with game changing abilities, and items that heal and recover magic points. All of this creates a game that is a hybrid of both a classic Metroidvania and the greatest action RPGs. Unfortunately the plot and characters are barebones and treads similar ground to the rest of the series but that’s just a slight downside to an overall great entry in the series.
2. Kuru Kuru Kuruin
This creative puzzle game is one of my personal favorite titles for the system. It also has one of the strangest premises of any puzzle game filled with classic Nintendo charm. You play as Kuruin, a bird who must take up aviation to retrieve his missing siblings. He doesn’t just fly a normal airplane that’d be boring. He flies a stick shaped helicopter with an incredibly slow moving propeller.
This initial concept leads to a puzzle game with a lot of action elements. The player must navigate Kuruin through winding mazes all while the propeller still turns. The game encourages speedrunning with a leaderboard based system that encourages quick times. Hitting the propeller against the wall adds onto your time, encouraging precision perfect movements. To me the greatest endorsement of its quality is that when I first replayed the game on Nintendo Switch Online it captivated the whole house. The speedrunning made it super competitive so even though it’s a single player game this might be a good pick for your next game night.
1. Summon Knight: Swordcraft Story
If not for Minish Cap this would be my favorite game for the system. Swordcraft Story is technically a spinoff to the Summon Knight series which is popular in Japan but Swordcraft Story stands on its own as an incredible game. The story takes place in the town of Wystern which is hosting a grand tournament to find the next Craftlord of Iron or leader of the council. As the name of the role and the name of the game implies crafting is a huge part of the gameplay loop. The player dives into dungeons and explores searching for materials to craft new weapons. Then you return to the surface and combine the materials with new weapon recipes to make devastating combinations.
This gameplay loop is incredibly satisfying and I always felt compelled to explore as much as possible to find new combinations. To make matters better this is only half the game as the player uses their created weapons in a side scrolling action RPG. The gameplay reminds me the most of the Tales of series so if you enjoy those games you will be right at home. There is a lot of depth with the different weapon types and elemental affinities that can be brought into different encounters and easily switched out. Overall this game is a fantastic and unique combination of genres I could recommend to anyone. Plus if you enjoy it there’s a sequel to be loved too.
That’s our list of underrated games but there’s countless other gems out there. Did we miss any of your favorites? Let us know in the comments.
