consequently, ROM hacks of some games can end up being plainly better versions of the official championship .
The GBA is a goldmine for ROM hacks ( and if you don ’ thyroxine have access to hardware, having an copycat makes using hacks a fortune easier – check out our identical own list of the Best GBA Emulators ), particularly if you ’ re a Pokémon fan ; there ’ s countless best Pokémon ROM hacks available .
yet there ’ south enough of early games that get their clock to shine in ROM hack imprint – and the GBA plays host to many absolute masterpieces in its official software library, so the choice of excellent ROM hacks to choose from is very senior high school indeed.
Reading: 10 Best GBA ROM Hacks Of 2021
Let ’ s take a look at some of the best ones, shall we ? Come with us as we check out the 10 Best GBA ROM Hacks !
10. Super Mario Advance 4: All 38 e-Reader Levels (2016)
Nintendo ’ s e-Reader lend on peripheral for the GBA seemed like a good estimate at the time : it allowed for extra message and even fullgames to be loaded onto the GBA just by scanning particular codes on trade cards. Animal .
Crossing characters, designs and music vitamin a well as authoritative NES games such as the original Donkey Kong or Ice Climber, for exercise, were barely a few of the uses for these special cards .
A have that didn ’ t make it out of Japan was the ability to add extra levels into the GBA ’ s bewilderingly titled Super Mario Advance 4 : Super Mario Bros 3 – with 38 new levels available to be added into the game .
This hack is a relatively straightforward, no folderal one that isn ’ t the most imaginative or imaginative mod we could find – but it adds all of the extra levels and items that non-Japanese players would never have been able to access otherwise .
silent, more Mario is never a bad thing, right ?
9. Breath of Fire Improved (2020)
Capcom ’ s beloved RPG series first appeared on the 16-bit SNES cabinet way bet on in 1993 and was an moment murder .
Though there hasn ’ thymine been a new game in the series since personal computer and mobile entitle Breath of Fire 6 in 2016, the series has sold more than 3 million copies in its life and is calm a big name for RPG fans worldwide .
Though this meanly titled mod does indeed improve the basal crippled, it does an atrocious lot more than that excessively .
The color palette is brought more in line with the SNES original, the script has been rewritten and the game has besides been wholly rebalanced for all characters. An excellent hack and one which decidedly belongs on the Best GBA ROM Hacks list !
8. Final Fantasy Tactics Advanced Battle (2020)
One of the more late hacks to make it to our Best GBA ROM Hacks list, this hack – which is based on the fondly remember Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, a game that made it to our Best GBA RPGs list – adds freak taming to the excellent turn-based military action of the basis game .
Players can now capture monsters and teach them abilities as they progress, using a new system that ’ s been implemented in this hack .
Adding monster taming to the original game brings a dash of Pokémon manner gameplay to the deed – and that won ’ deoxythymidine monophosphate be the final time you see Nintendo ’ s Pikachu-starring games franchise mentioned on this list…
7. Castlevania HOD: Revenge of the Findesiecle (2007)
The GBA Castlevania games – of which there are three – are among the very best in the enormously popular, long running serial ( which started way back in 1986 in Japan on the Famicom Disk System before making its way West on the NES in 1987 ) .
After the PlayStation entitle Castlevania : symphony orchestra of the Night in 1997, the series became for its elaborate flat design and more open structure .
This ROM hack uses Castlevania : harmony of Dissonance as its basis, but adds in a crazy sum of subject such as new color palettes, music and sprites – deoxyadenosine monophosphate well as, possibly most interestingly, including Mario, Mega Man and original series protagonist Simon Belmont as playable characters .
6. Final Fight One: Arcade Remix (2020)
In the conclusion weeks of 1989, influential, iconic scrolling beat ’ em up Final Fight was released in arcades, becoming an instantaneous murder and a bona fide authoritative .
The game ’ s massive sprites and grim military action proved such a shoot with gamers that home ports were inevitable, so far the consoles and computers of the day weren ’ t very up to the job .
The 1990 SNES translation didn ’ t even feature all three characters – nor did it feature every stage from the arcade ; it was besides single player entirely .
For some cause, though the more mighty GBA could easily handle the original game in 2001 ( and did feature all of the arcade original ’ s stages, a well as a two player version – albeit via link cable television ), the color palette, some character details and flush the music in some cases weren ’ t the same as the original .
The Arcade Remix ROM hack repair this, however, restoring the game to its arcade aura on Nintendo ’ s 32-bit hand-held .
Though less of an pass to the original cartridge ’ s contents than many other titles on the Best GBA ROM Hacks list, it ’ s however one that ’ randomness necessity for old school beat ’ em up fans .
5. Metroid: Spooky Mission (2018)
Samus Aran is one of gaming ’ second earliest video game heroines – though Samus being female was a ‘ storm ’ ending to the first gear Metroid. silent, not merely is Samus a piece of a pioneer on that front, but besides the games she stars in have even inspired ( at least aboard games such as Castlevania : symphony of the Night ) an entire music genre : Metroidvania .
The GBA Metroid games – Metroid : Zero Mission, a remake and expansion of the first gear ever Metroid game, and Metroid : fusion, an original series title that ’ s single to the GBA – distillery stand tall as some of the best not only in the series, but besides in the Metroidvania music genre.
So it ’ s no surprise to see a hack of Metroid : Zero mission on the Best GBA ROM Hacks List – and this one is a title that ’ s skittish, as the title would suggest .
Metroid : Spooky Mission besides has a sense of humor that ’ s normally missing from the Metroid games, which do tend to have a unplayful, dark sci-fi ambiance .
This hack goes all out in redesigning the look and feel of Zero Mission, with skittish castles and forests, for model .
A NSFW super secret ending ( that ’ s apparently all but impossible to uncover unless you know precisely how to get to it ) tops off the game, which is shorter and less challenging than Zero Mission itself .
It even has pumpkins besides – how can you say no to Metroid with pumpkins and jokes ? So all of that compound makes Metroid Spooky Mission one of our favourites .
4. Pokémon Snakewood (2013)
A machine politician of Pokémon Ruby ( another game on our Best GBA RPGs list ) Snakewood gives the normally charm, cute, kid-friendly antics of the Pokémon series a horror-style spin .
Hoenn has been invaded by zombies – and the musician ’ second brother, along with Professor Birch ’ south daughter, have gone missing while on a mission to find the generator of the invasion .
With lots of new Pokémon -as well as new evolutions for existing creatures – adenine well as newly locations with dark twists and even gyms destroyed by zombies, Pokémon Snakewood is a amply featured, well thought out mod that in truth goes to places that, ahem, Nintendon ’ t .
3. Fire Emblem: The Last Promise (2013)
The fantasy-themed sister series to Advance Wars – which is placid going solid today, thanks to games such as Fire Emblem : Three Houses on Switch and entries on numerous other Nintendo platforms – the Fire Emblem series have always been a compelling blend of twist based action and RPG elements ( true very light, but adequate to see Fire Emblem on our Best GBA RPGs list ) .
Unlike Advance Wars, in Fire Emblem if certain units die they ’ re gone for good – which adds a real number layer of tension, gamble and wages to every struggle .
The end Promise is a fan-created ROM hack of the foremost GBA Fire Emblem game – and was the foremost completed english Fire Emblem hack all in all .
It ’ s a very impressive hack overall, with the feel of an official sequel or spin off of the veridical game – and the history even contains a device or two that demonstrates the high standard of writing .
It ’ second amazing that fans are then dedicate to hacks that they can create such rich experiences – and The last Promise decidedly does feel as if it could be a genuine Fire Emblem sequel. fabulously impressive farce .
2. Doom: PC Doom Total Conversion (2020)
Though they ’ ve become a lot more relax in late years – having moved with the times reasonably – Nintendo have broadly been seen as a family friendly video games party, which has led to quite a bit of censoring of games on their platforms .
The most ill-famed of these changes is probably the blood in SNES Mortal Kombat being replaced with grey ‘ effort ’, but even a recently as the 2001 passing of GBA Doom, red lineage was replaced – in this case with park blood rather .
It ’ s a little odd considering that the game is still equitable as violent ; changing the color of the blood – as is besides the event with Mortal Kombat – doesn ’ triiodothyronine actually change the crimson actions that players are taking separate in. It ’ s not the only change either, with GBA Doom ’ s religious references either toned down or removed all in all – a well as other, more minor changes .
queerly, GBA Doom was based on the Atari Jaguar larboard which, though different in many ways to the personal computer original, was excellent ( there have been an nasty distribute of big Doom games since the beginning in .
even resourceful coders have released the personal computer Doom Total Conversion ROM Hack for the GBA interpretation, which – incredibly impressively – recreates the original PC translation of Doom beautifully ( yep, evening restoring the loss lineage ! ) .
The broad original levels are recreated ( including textures ) sound is improved ( including matching the music to the correct level to ape the original bet on ’ s soundtrack ) and there ’ s even better framerate enabled .
It ’ s an absolute masterclass in mod design and improves upon the ‘ official ’ port in every way .
1. Advance Wars R: Advance Wars Returns (2021)
The GBA Advance Wars games, even close to 20 years after they primitively released, remain about matchless in terms of portable strategy titles .
They have a about arrant balance in terms of their gameplay, with finely tuned units that each side has access to – each with their own strengths and weaknesses that force players to adapt to deal with the enemy ’ second strategy on the fly .
The boldface, colorful visuals and storyline – with excellent, cartoony struggle cutscenes that are adorably entertaining – with tons of campaign missions and even multiplayer to add into the mix, give Advance Wars and its GBA sequel, Advance Wars 2 : black Hole Rising, a authentically dateless timbre .
still, with them being available for so long it ’ s inevitable that you might have exhausted all possible gameplay opportunities in both games by now.
then what do you do if that ’ s the case, but you ’ re hanker for some more capture-the-base, tank-smashing, turn-based carry through ? well, how about this modern ROM hack for Advance Wars 2, which brings a huge 42 modern campaign missions to the table, 30 more War Room missions, reworked command Officers ( COs ) and even an AWBW section for multiplayer ( that ’ s the browser-based, on-line Advance Wars By Web game ) .
It ’ s fully featured, looks and feels like an official expansion – and is more advance Wars. What more is there to say ? in truth a brilliant effort – and decidedly a great entry for the very top of the 10 Best GBA ROM Hacks list !
