Colors: Black, Silver, Green, Blue, Pink, Red, Lavender, Famicon 20th Anniversary, Final Fantasy IV, Lite blue, Mother 3, Pokemon
MSRP: $99.99
Nintendo’s constant quest to reduce and miniaturize their handhelds has its fans and some detractors I personally think it’s great as we can still keep and own the larger handhelds. The Micro, however, may have been pushing this limit a little too much. The tiny handheld improved on a single feature: We finally got a good screen and a backlight. The Micro has the best screen out of any of the systems, even the Game Boy Advance SP AGS-101.
The system was designed with the idea of putting on your keychain or a lanyard and being able to put it into small pockets and pack it away. The system had interchangeable faceplates (which you can still get new ones made today by third parties), but the tiny design irked a lot of people. It’s about 1/4 the size of the original GBA and to many, the SP was the perfect GBA system. It retained the same button layout, and rechargeable battery and the screen brightness could be further adjusted.
However, all I/O was removed. This meant no multiplayer and any accessories that connected to the GameCube, e-Readers, and backward compatibility was out the window as well. To many, this is just a novelty, especially with the tiny 2″ screen. Does having a really good screen and backlight make up the difference for such a small form factor and cutting every other feature? Probably not. The system is still plenty playable and I have enjoyed many hours on mine.
Sadly, due to the low sales and poor marketing, and lambasted reviews, the Micro didn’t sell well so these systems are expensive, especially in good shape or complete in-box. thankfully the faceplates and rear housing can be replaced by third parties, and mods don’t really exist for this system. They’re not really needed. This system is really only for those who collect Game Boys or just want a really good OEM backlight without any fuss or mods. If you don’t use any accessories such as the ones mentioned above you won’t miss those either. You also must remember that there is no backward compatibility with older Game Boy titles and need to be okay with just Game Boy Advance games.
The system does feel good in the hands despite the size. There are only two face buttons so this can work fine. I would complain about the small screen, but it’s so clear and crisp and high-res for the size that you can see everything clearly. Adjusting the volume and brightness requires a button combo which is unintuitive without the manual and it has its own proprietary charger not compatible with the GBA SP. There is also a headphone jack so keep that in mind as well. This is just a raw GBA playing system.
Overall, the Game Boy Micro is a fun little system that cuts everything out to give us a fantastic OEM backlight and customizable faceplates, but to some that may not be worth the cost of size and accessories. It at least has a rechargeable battery still and comes in really awesome variations.
This is probably the most iconic and memorable handheld system for anyone over the age of 25 today. The Game Boy Advance was an unstoppable juggernaut of a system and one of the most anticipated in video game history. It sold like gangbusters and Nintendo couldn’t keep up in the beginning. The first Nintendo handheld with a horizontal orientation and their first 16-bit handheld system that could create SNES quality titles, and boy did it. The Game Boy Advance has one of the most beloved and expansive handheld libraries out there. It’s also a good middle point of being playable today without any hardware mods.
So, let’s address the elephant in the room. There’s still no backlight on the screen. This was largely criticized back in the day and for a 21st-century handheld, mostly unacceptable. While the LCD is clear and crisp you still need a bright light to see anything. Thankfully many people still held onto their worm lights and got good at hiding under blankets at night by this point. Outside of that, I would say that’s the worst thing about the system.
When it comes to power the GBA delivered. It could re-create SNES-style 2D games and could do rudimentary 3D games which weren’t really seen until later on in its life. The added shoulder buttons helped with the ergonomics and allowed deeper gameplay. We still didn’t get much in I/O outside of the usual Link Cable, and the infrared was gone with this system. Overall, the system feels good in the hands. The slightly rounded back helps fill out your palms and reaching around to the shoulder buttons makes the system sit well in the hands. It’s a great feeling system and many prefer this to other re-releases of the GBA.
In today’s age, the best thing you can do is upgrade the GBA to a modern LCD. It’s a drop-in mod and pretty easy to do, but there are so many mods for this system. Amplifier boards, USB-C upgrades, shells, buttons, silicone pads, lenses, you name it. Many people run shops dedicated to modded GBAs and they can be quite beautiful. I have a nearly one-of-a-kind mod myself. The person who made mine no longer runs a shop and UV printed his own shells. Some people even add speed hacks via a hardware switch too. It’s an amazing system to customize.
We all judge these older systems on their libraries and the GBA is one of the best, some might say the best handheld library to date. While there was a lot of kiddie shovelware, there is something here from every genre including first-person shooters. We got Doom ports, many SNES ports, and games from many favorite franchises like Final Fantasy, Mortal Kombat, Tekken, Pokemon, Mario, Prince of Persia, Tetris, Lord of the Rings, and many more. This was an era where many console games were better on the GBA because developers were forced to redo the game and think outside of the box. Some terrible console games wound up having great GBA ports in the end. There’s something here for everyone. There are hundreds of games to choose from and many are quite good.
Overall, the GBA is a fantastic and iconic piece of hardware. While the internals isn’t impressive today, having a portable SNES was something everyone dreamed of. The GBA library is what most people remember over the hardware anyways. Many people’s childhoods are wrapped around this system. While I never had the original model growing up (my parents couldn’t afford one) I still saw people with them and envied them for it. I love my GBA today and play it at least once a week.
Many people use video game reviews to determine how to spend their hard-earned dollars. While as an adult I don’t take this as seriously and I now make my own money I am more forgiving of games that aren’t perfect. As kids or teens, we have limited money and are usually picked through gaming magazines to determine if that one game was worth the money because we only got a few a year. For me, it was only during Christmas time that my parents bought games. I mostly rented mine throughout my childhood and teen years. Even for rentals, I was picky as I didn’t want to be stuck on my weekend with a dud of a game. Even a 7/10 or 3.5/5 would be considered a waste of time. This was the last generation in which AAA title after AAA title would be considered fantastic and with so many exclusives it was hard to keep up with. The HD era of gaming would see budgets balloon to insane heights and game releases slowed down as a result.
In my eyes, 7/10 or 3.5/5 games are mostly ignored. These aren’t always considered hidden gems either. Some are, but some are just considered forgettable. Not awful or good, but just passes under everyone’s radar. These aren’t the “so bad it’s good” games either. A few of these games have cult followings; a few I had only heard of while compiling this list and some I played myself growing up. I compiled this list from Metacritic with games between 74-70. I feel that’s the true blue 7 range. 79 and 78-rated games usually only have about 25% of the critics giving it a 7 to bring an otherwise 8 score down some. These games are at least rated by half the critics as 7/10. While I know many people don’t listen to critics and some might feel this game should be rated higher or lower is subjective. Like it or not, critic reviews drive sales and it may be the reason why you might find a few games on this list you’ve never heard of, thought was talked about worse than you remember, or something along those lines
Dr. Mario / Puzzle League– 2005
The game is addictive fun. Both games are something you can pick up and play for a few minutes or hours. However, the presentation was rather bland and there wasn’t a lot of content. Your reliance on the formula is what kept you coming back.
Most Recent Entry: Dr. Mario World – 2019 (AND, iOS)
Classic NES Series: Zelda II: The Adventure of Link – 2004 Classic NES Series: Castlevania – 2004
The Classic NES Series on GBA are highly collectible but necessary. Did we really need these games as full physical releases in 2004? Probably not. While the Wiiware store was yet to come, the only other way to play these was through the original consoles or emulators. While the ports are fine, they are just that. There aren’t any extra features or enhancements.
GT Advance 3: Pro Concept Racing – 2003
The third and final game in the racing sim series on GBA. It was an incredibly impressive third outing with even better visuals, smooth framerate, and great physics. The downside was the lack of content. At this point, you can play any of the three games and it would be hard to spot the difference.
Spyro: Season of Ice – 2001 Spyro: Attack of the Rhynocs – 2003
The Spyro Season games were a great attempt to put the purple dragon in a top-down isometric adventure and still capture the charm of the PS1 classics. It did a great job of this but felt a bit tedious and repetitive. Season of Flame would improve on some features a year later. Attack of the Rynocs removed the platforming and made the game more of an RPG which worked for the most part, but felt like a step backward.
A fun and cute puzzle game that gets the job done, but isn’t very addictive and can be really frustrating. A lot of people loved the visuals but didn’t stick around very long to see it through until the end.
Driver 2 Advance – 2002
Trying to make an open-world game on the GBA is pretty much impossible. Driver 2 looks good and has decent missions, but the performance is spotty and it just doesn’t know what it wants to be most of the time. It’s still a decent 3D title on the system.
Most Recent Entry: Driver: Speedboat Paradise – 2015 (AND, iOS)
Lady Sia – 2001
While the gameplay and platforming might be pretty average, the game looks great which is why it got as much attention as it did. Sadly, the sales didn’t pan out, but this is one of the most unique-looking games on the system.
It’s Mr. Pants – 2005
Another unique-looking game for the system with a questionable title. The puzzle elements are very trial and error which brings the experience down some, but the game is better than the sum of its parts. Puzzle fans will get a kick out of this one.
Blender Bros. – 2002
A cute and charming platformer that has a cult following. The gameplay itself might feel too easy at times, but overall gets the job done. Despite the great art direction, the game was also really short. It was later released on Steam in 2020.
Dragon Ball Z: Supersonic Warriors – 2004
Another half-decent DBZ fighting game. This was the first and only outing on the GBA. It looked great but had very simple controls and a fighting system. It was best played with another person. The direct sequel would be released on DS.
A good-looking WWE game that got the job done with simple controls. There wasn’t much content either, but it was a good entry for wrastlin’ fans on the go.
Most Recent Entry: WWE 2K Battlegrounds – 2020 (NS, PS4, XONE, PC)
Fire Pro Wrestling 2 – 2002
While it’s considered the best wrestling game on the GBA it didn’t add much from the original game. It still had a large roster and a fun gameplay system, but that was about it.
Most Recent Entry: Fire Pro Wrestling World – 2017 (PC, PS4)
Sword of Mana – 2003
This was one of only three games I ever bought new for my GBA as a young teen. I picked this up because I wanted a long game to play on my GBA that would take a while to finish. Thankfully, for me at least, the game was rather easy and had a decent length. It looked good and had great music, but many criticized the game for being too simple and easy compared to the SNES game.
Most Recent Entry: Echoes of Mana – 2022 (AND, iOS)
Shaman King: Master of Spirits 2 – 2005
The final game in the GBA franchise, Master of Spirits 2 looked great and had solid gameplay, but for newcomers, it threw you into the middle of the story without any explanation. It was also not well-liked for how repetitive it was. This was mostly for fans of the anime.
Yu-Gi-Oh!: Worldwide Edition – Stairway to the Destined Duel – 2003
It may not look like much and has a steep learning curve, but it has longevity and strategy that will keep you busy. You also really need to like the source material to even bother here. This isn’t for the casual card dueling fan.
The GBA got an exclusive Flash game which is cool and it got the concept right. The Flash’s combat is very fast-paced, but it’s very average and by the numbers beat ’em up.
Most Recent Entry: Justice League VR: The Complete Experience – 2017 (PC, PS4)
Hamtaro: Ham Ham Heartbreak – 2003
Do you remember the Hamtaro anime? I sure do, and it was popular with the nerdy girls at school. The games actually aren’t all that bad. They’re cute, fun, and have nice visuals that complement the show. This game just has a lot of trial and error that irked some players. The series stuck to just the handhelds and would come to an end in 2008.
Most Recent Entry: Hi! Hamtaro: Little Hamsters Big Adventures – Ham-Ham Challenge – 2008 (DS)
Ballistic: Ecks vs. Sever – 2002
The weird choice of putting a movie license exclusively on the GBA is what gives this series a cult following. 3D FPS games on the GBA are a novelty and not much as improved in this sequel. It was praised for the great gunplay and controls, but the muddy visuals brought it down a few pegs.
While it wasn’t a true 3D platformer the isometric gameplay hindered the gameplay overall. I personally found the level design to be confusing and poorly laid out, but it kept the series’ charm we’ve all grown to love. I also found the visuals a bit buddy and so did others.
If you want a deep strategy game on the go this one is great. However, due to the heavy anime-themed story you need to like that or the source material at the very least to enjoy this. The series is incredibly popular and lives on to this day.
Most Recent Entry: Super Robot Wars 30 – 2021 (PC, PS4, NS)
Defender of the Crown – 2002
A rework of the original 80’s PC game. It’s a good strategy game, but you will have to stomach the boring visuals to get through it. It was a good port but didn’t bring anything new from the original and excluded multiplayer which is a real shame here.
Most Recent Entry: Defender of the Crown: Heroes Live Forever – 2007 (PC)
Wings – 2003
Another classic PC game ported to GBA. It looked good and the dog fights were fun, but it lacked variety and felt repetitive after a short time. It’s still a very unique game on the system.
The Scorpion King: Sword of Orsiris – 2002
While the movie is infamous for its terrible effects and acting, the GBA game is actually a rather good platformer. It was just critiqued for being overtly hard and not having a good checkpoint system.
Aero the Acro-Bat – 2002
A fun platformer that was ported from the 16-bit era of consoles. It does the job well, but is too simple and short providing little replay value.
CT Special Forces – 2004
This series has a cult following due to having three solid entries on the GBA and being quite good for what is it. It’s mindless platforming fun with pretty much no story, but it works. It would get one final FPS game in 2005 and then disappear.
Most Recent Entry: Special Forces: Nemesis Strike – 2005 (PS2, PC, Xbox)
Shrek: Hassle the Castle – 2002
Yep, I’m just as surprised as you are. A good Shrek game?! Apparently, this one had multiple difficulty levels so kids and avid gamers could play it with some challenge. It had charming visuals and played well. Overall, you need to be a Shrek fan to really like this, but it’s there. The series struggled to provide a single decent game and ended with a mobile game a few years back.
Most Recent Entry: Shrek Sugar Fever – 2017 (AND, iOS)
Phalanx – 2001
A port of the SNES game with good results. It was simple yet very difficult and it irked players in this regard. If you love your SNES side-scrolling shooters then this should be a fun one for you.
Game & Watch Gallery 4 – 2002
The final game in the long-running series. At this point, it felt like it was being milked to death or could have been a complete collection. The games are solid fun, but you either love these or hate them. They are simple pick-up and play high-score games with a single goal. Many felt it was too dated for the GBA and for the price point.
Rampage: Puzzle Attack – 2001
A fun puzzle game despite the license, however the lack of battery backup saves and addictive gameplay means you will have fun but get bored after a while.
Most Recent Entry: Rampage: Total Destruction – 2006 (GC, PS2, Wii)
Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars – 2002
Going from an action game to a slower strategy game is risky, but it had to be done on the system’s limited hardware. First of Mars had some good strategy elements, plus it looked pretty good but didn’t offer multiplayer to extend replay value.
Most Recent Entry: Zone of the Enders: The 2nd Runner – MVRS – 2018 (PS4, PC)
Ultimate Muscle: The Kinnikuman Legacy – The Path of the Superhero – 2003
This bizarre Saturday morning cartoon wrestling game was quirky and hilarious despite its simple design. Thankfully the multiplayer kept people coming back for more, but the lack of depth kept it from shooting to the stars.
Contra Advance: The Alien Wars EX – 2002
The Contra series has had so many ups and downs. It’s insane. While the SNES port plays and looks good on the system, the hardware itself would bring the overall experience down. The zoomed-in view makes the game even harder than it needs to be and an overall lack of extra content.
Most Recent Entry: Contra Returns – 2021 (AND, iOS)
Wing Commander: Prophecy – 2003
A surprising port of the PC game, Prophecy played surprisingly well but suffered from poor controls and muddy visuals. Many applauded the effort, and it didn’t go to waste. A space sim on the GBA is a daunting task.
Turbo Turtle Adventure – 2002
The GBA was no stranger to puzzle games, and this weird one didn’t stand out. It had some fun elements and addictive nature, but the trial and error really got to people and brought the experience down some.
DK: King of Swing – 2005
While not the only DK game on GBA it was the only unique one. Using the shoulder buttons to swing across vines rather than run was pretty fun. Its downside was its own control gimmick. The game became frustrating fast and many would need a lot of patience to finish it.
Most Recent Entry: Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Tipping Stars – 2015 (3DS, WIIU)
Gekido Advance: Kintar’s Revenge – 2003
A lot of people love this game. It’s one of the few fighting games on the system, but it doesn’t come from a larger franchise. It’s considered one of the best-looking games on the system and plays really well. Sadly, it lacks content and modes.
Sega Arcade Gallery – 2003
Yeah, you can play these on other consoles with better iterations of them, but for the GBA these were four of Sega’s most popular arcade games. They played and ran very well, but that was it. It was just four short arcade games with nothing else to keep you coming back.
Columns Crown – 2002
This was Sega’s last attempt at a unique game in the series without it being a port. The cutesy anime-style graphics won people over, but it didn’t change the overall gameplay formula much. It just felt like a coat of new paint.
CIMA: The Enemy – 2003
Despite the generic-sounding name, this was a good attempt from Natsume to bring a turn-based RPG to the system. It was well-liked but it suffered from a wonky interface and complicated controls.
ESPM Final Round Golf 2002 – 2001
The one and only ESPN-branded golfing game. It was a good attempt on the GBA however it wasn’t very challenging and lacked content compared to the Tiger Woods games.
I’m not a huge Banjo fan. I never was as a kid either. I felt the game was really tedious and easy. The only interesting parts of the game were the platforming and collecting everything, and even that got dull after a while. I personally feel it’s a very much overrated game and is one of the most nostalgia-blind games in existence. I tried out Grunty’s Revenge for GBA, and it’s exactly what I expected. An oversimplified version of an already pretty simple game.
The story is mostly nonsense, but Gruntilda has created a robot form of herself and you need to stop her. The end. Yeah, Banjo was never much for the story. I do have the say the yapping voice samples are incredibly annoying and repeat themselves over and over again. It’s some of the most annoying voices I’ve heard in any game. It’s just irritating noises, they don’t even sound like voices. Never mind that though, your goal is to run around collecting Jiggies, musical notes, honeycombs, and various other odds and ends to acquire abilities to gain access to new areas. The levels in this game are fairly small but well designed. I have to say the level design overall here is great and I never got lost thanks to memorable landmarks which are key to a game with no map. You talk to a mole fellow who will grant you a new ability once you have enough notes. I never ran into an issue with this as exploring alone will give you more than enough notes. Abilities range from smacking enemies with your pack to a roll. Once you acquire Kazooie you can get the ability to fire eggs, batteries, a jump glide, and an aerial attack.
I do like how the abilities keep coming and in quick succession. It was satisfying to get back to the hub world and gain access to new abilities such as ladder climbing and diving. Thankfully just exploring on its own saw me collecting and completing 100% of each level with ease. There are boss fights and these are painfully easy and never change. The boss has an electric field around it and you just run around dodging attacks. Once the field is down you can attack. The life counter will go down with each attack and you are rewarded afterward. Enemy encounters are pretty much the same and enemies constantly respawn. Some enemies require more than one hit, but I found it annoying that they would get in the way of a platforming segment after I’ve killed them and only got knocked down to come back around and have to kill them again. It was hard to judge depth with some platforms and it would lead to cheap falls.
I do have to say that while the game looks decent the pseudo-3D look makes everything look quite bland. While it’s by no means ugly I never cared for the art style of Banjo. Everything is just green and yellow in this game is it gets old after a while. There are only four large levels and the game can be finished in less than four hours. Thankfully you can save anywhere, and dying doesn’t even reset the area. You just start off at the next closest spot or platform so I didn’t see the point in having a life bar if there were no consequences to dying. The only thing that kept me going was the completionist in me wanting to 100% every level and acquiring the next ability was fun.
Overall, Grunty’s Revenge is a decent isometric platformer, but other games did it better such as Spyro. The visuals are kind of muddy and blurry and a bit hard to see when it comes to platforming, but the levels are designed well. The story is nonsense and there’s zero challenge outside of just the platforming. If you want a short and light-hearted pseudo-3D platformer for your GBA then you can’t go wrong here.
Bullet time. While The Matrix made it popular amid pop culture, Max Payne started it all in the video game realm. You play as a cop, Max Payne, who is framed for the murder of another NYPD cop. Your wife and newborn child are also murdered and you are trying to get revenge on the people who did it. The story isn’t anything amazing, but Max Payne’s voice actor, and the well-done writing, keep you hooked long enough to find out what happened behind the scenes. The game is told in a comic noir graphic-novel style and it suits the game well. The cut scenes are imaginative and different and don’t look cheap or like the developers were trying to take shortcuts.
Outside of the story, the gameplay is all about shooting because that’s literally it. Max runs around with various weapons such as Barrettas, Ingrams, shotguns, grenade launchers, Molotov cocktails, grenades, and assault rifles to mow down the Mafia and corrupt cops. Bullet time is the main gameplay element here and when activated Max does a jump dodge in the direction you move and you can see him dodging bullets in real-time. This is actually a mechanic you must master as most situations require you to use it to stay alive. You can’t stand in one spot or you will be dead in a few hits and there’s no cover system. I had to quicksave every 2-3 minutes as well because the game is so difficult. It’s cool to jump dodge around a corner, but once Max lands there’s a delay in him getting up and you are completely vulnerable to gunfire. I had to make sure I jump dodged behind cover or across a hallway so I wouldn’t die the second the bullet time finished. You can also activate bullet time and just run your meter down so you can run and gun with it too.
There are very few scenarios in which you do more than press buttons. One scene has Max driving a crate crane around an area, but it’s nothing special, and there are some interactive objects that trigger comic cut scenes, but 95% of the game is just shooting. The weapons themselves feel good and I felt I had to switch up weapons depending on the situation to make my life easier. The locales are varied, but they are a bit too stale and boring for my taste. They don’t quite capture the noir feeling of the comic cut scenes, but there is one level early on called Ragna Rock which was a gothic cult house that reminded me a lot of Vampire: The Masquerade – Bloodlines, so that’s a good thing. The game really does feel like a first-generation PS2/Xbox game, but it’s very polished. The game flows nicely, but the difficulty is all over the place, you will die dozens and dozens of times in this game.
The visuals are clean and look nice even 20 years later. I installed a texture upgrade patch and some other things to make the game upscale to 4K nicely and play on modern hardware, and it looks pretty good. Even in the original, the facial textures are nice and very realistic, and the aesthetic of the game stands out over most shooters of its time. The voice acting is great, and I finished the game in about 7 hours. After you finish it there’s literally nothing else to do as the multiplayer mode was scrapped. It’s a fantastic single-player game that holds up well even today despite its insane difficulty and unbalanced gameplay. The story isn’t anything special, but Max is a great character to dive into and it makes for a fun evening.
Reboots are usually good for a game franchise as it allows new ideas and advance the series to new heights, but sometimes it’s not successful. Medal of Honor was a hyped-up generic military shooter where you play as Tier 1 specialists in the Afghani war, and it was a bug-ridden mess. The game was also ugly, stale, and just felt like a total Call of Duty rip-off. This was easily the worst game in the entire series.
Rising Sun was riding on the success of Frontline and its newfound glory with console gamers, but what we got was an ugly rushed mess of a game. Rising Sun tried to show us the frontline in Japan, but what we had was just some dated gameplay and some of the worst level design the series has ever seen. I don’t know what happened within a year, but the development rush is obvious here.
The first game in the series to try and reboot it with little success. Using next-generation hardware, the game looked impressive but used a weird multiplayer map style layout and open-ended objectives that just led to the generic level design and frustrating gameplay. The guns were highly inaccurate, and it was ridiculously difficult and plain boring. It’s clear that this series just can’t hit the reboot stride correctly.
Warfighter was a slightly more successful game with the new modern warfare formula with a much more entertaining campaign and better visuals, but overall it still felt generic and pointless in a bloated military shooter scene.
Best Version: PC
9. Medal of Honor: Vanguard – 2007
Vanguard is a much-forgotten game in the series as by the time this came around Modern Warfare was already out and the next generation of consoles was in full swing and no one cared. Using an old engine and gameplay, Vanguard was the last in the series to use the typical Medal of Honor WWII formula. The game wasn’t awful just super generic, boring, and just standard affair that we have seen before.
Frontline was the first game in the series on consoles, and this game is one I have fond memories of. I remember the opening scene just blew my mind and was incredibly cinematic for the time. Sadly, there was no multiplayer, but at the time I didn’t care. It still wasn’t the best game in the series, and it was clear the less powerful consoles held the series back some, but it was a good start.
Best Version: Xbox
7. Medal of Honor: Heroes – 2006
A strange game stuck in a weird time. The next-generation consoles were already here and Heroes stuck to a gameplay style designed for handhelds and the Wii. It was a decent game and felt good on each console it was on, but this was as generic as WWII shooters come. Even the production values were lacking on a dated engine and gameplay.
Best Version: Wii
6. Medal of Honor: European Assault – 2005
European Assault was not so much overlooked but overstepped. Everyone was starting to wane with the WWII shooters and European Assault was a mildly generic form of the genre that played well but didn’t add anything terribly new to wow anyone.
Heroes 2 was a rushed sequel, but somehow improved upon the first game and continued to use the dated engine and gameplay style of its predecessor. This and Vanguard were the last of their kind and were washed away with the new generation of consoles and graphics that just made everyone forget about these games.
Best Version: Wii
4. Medal of Honor – 1999
The original isn’t always the best, but it was really impressive on the PS1 back in the day and helped pave the way for modern FPS games to this day. It was a little clunky and basic, but did its job well and is still fun to play to this day.
3. Medal of Honor: Underground – 2000
It was a much-improved game over the first one, but was released right when the next generation of consoles was out and was kind of overlooked by the PS2, Dreamcast, and GameCube. It looked amazing on the PS1 and added a totally new campaign, but everyone was mostly over this generation of consoles by now.
Best Version: PS1
2. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault – 2002
The game that made Medal of Honor was it was released just before its console debut. It looked fantastic on the PC and was followed by two expansion packs. AA remains many players’ favorite game in the series for its PC-specific greatness such as solid controls, visuals, and scope.
My personal favorite game in the series due to the sheer cinematic quality and visual flair of the game. It was the last PC exclusive game in the series but felt and played amazingly well with a fantastic campaign and fun multiplayer. Medal of Honor, sadly, reached its peak early on, but it did it well and with a bang.
My favorite video game of all time is Mortal Kombat. Something about the characters, violence, lore, and overall atmosphere that the game brings is just so satisfying to me. It was also the first video I ever played at 2 years old which was the original game on Sega Genesis back in 1993. From Fatalities to special moves, stages, and rocking industrial techno music, Mortal Kombat is one of the best, and longest-running, video game franchises of all time. That’s not to say the game went through some ups and downs. I have listed every main Mortal Kombat game from worst to best. I didn’t include various ports as they varied by quality, and discluded any handheld version as they were just dumbed down ports of larger games. I will also list the most superior port or version of that game as every port varied wildly due to various hardware limitations.
16. Mortal Kombat: Special Forces – 2000
Is this really a surprise? Only beating out Mythologies by a fraction, Special Forces was a 3D action game disaster created by co-creator John Tobias and putting a damper in any future Mortal Kombat spin-offs. The game was near unplayable with awful graphics, terrible controls, a lame story, and nothing to really do with Mortal Kombat itself. It’s worth a play just to see how far down Mortal Kombat got, but this is by far its lowest point, but not the lowest timeframe.
15. Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero – 1997
Not much better than Special Forces, but at least the game was somewhat playable and felt more like Mortal Kombat. a 2D side-scrolling platformer, you play as Sub-Zero and run into awful live-action cut-scenes (the N64 version was spared of those) terrible controls, and boring gameplay. This game is probably not even worth touching unless you’re just curious.
Best Version: PlayStation
14. Mortal Kombat Gold – 1999
A direct port of MK4 and Dreamcast exclusive, Gold was too little too late with Soul Calibur and various other fighters pushing the genre into the next generation. It was clunky, tiring, old, and just didn’t feel right on the system this late in the game. It’s very playable, and MK4 fans will enjoy newcomers like Cyrax and Mileena, but it’s probably the worst game in the main fighting series.
13. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon – 2006
While being the next-generation MK Trilogy of sorts, Armageddon was a lazy cop-out for keeping the series at its yearly releases and was the end of this generation of 3D MK games. It featured every single MK character ever made up to Deception and shoved them all in the two-style martial arts that this trilogy of MK titles gave us. By this point, MK was really going downhill and fatigue was setting in with a bloated disc full of weird mini-games and cheap generic Kreate-A-Fatality that was more complicated and irritating than ever. Press certain button combos to create the same gory move for every character and just string them together as quick as you can, yeah what a waste. A few years of development and this could have been a game to remember. The Kreate-A-Fighter mode was the only new and original part. Mortal Kombat Kart racing was awful with shallow race tracks and no thought put into it, the Konquest mode was much better than Deception’s but was still a weird thing to even exist. Overall, it’s very playable and fun, but it’s just the most generic MK game ever made.
Best Version: Xbox
12. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance – 2002
Deadly Alliance shot the series into the next generation with brand new fighters and an all-new realistic martial arts approach to the game. With a story mode that’s really just a giant training mode, a fun Krypt area to unlock extras, and two awesome Fatalities per character, it only beats out Armageddon due to the originality within the game. The new characters are great and mostly untouched throughout the later games, however, the graphics were dated and everyone looked like plastic dolls with blood that looks like Jell-O. It was still gory and fun, but far from the greatness, the 2D games offered.
Best Version: Xbox
11. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe – 2008
This threw fans for a loop as MK mashed with DC to create a weird and forced fighting game no one asked for. The biggest hit was the Teen rating with the DC character performing “Heroic Brutalities” as they never kill and the MK character performing the most basic “Fatalities” that felt more like Wile E. Coyote ACME stunts. The fighting core was a slight departure from the previous games with a 2D plane and seemed pretty solid, but there was something off about the whole game. It’s decent, and quite playable, but very forgettable.
Best Version: PlayStation 3
10. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks – 2005
Shaolin Monks would be the last MK spin-off and actually did it right. Created by another development team, Monks lets you play as Liu-Kang and Kung-Lao with an over-the-top 3D brawler that is set in the MKII storyline. Using assets from that game such as stages and characters and even lore, the game recreated the MK experience with a fantastic fighting system that was fluid and even more fun with a second player. There were many secrets and the game is highly replayable. The only issue was the game was only 4 hours long, had awful voice acting, and a stupid story. Other than that, this is a must-play for MK fans.
Best Version: Xbox
9. Mortal Kombat 4 – 1997
This was the biggest turning point for the entire series. The game went forward into 3D forever and the result was some weird clunky stuff, but it was fast-paced and violent and somehow just worked. Not many games did 3D fighting very well at the time and the great roster and some of the best Fatalities in the series make for an awesome fighting game. The use of weapons was introduced for the first time as well.
Best Version: PlayStation
8. Mortal Kombat 3 – 1995
MK3 had a lot riding on it at this point in time as it had big shoes to fill after MKII. The game was darker, more realistic, and added some mechanics such as running, Brutalities, and a secret code menu. MK3 also had some of the most memorable characters the series will see such as Sheeva, Kabal, and Smoke. The problem was the combos were so difficult to pull off a lot of people were turned off that the game relied on this system, not to mention the cheap ass AI.
Best Version: PlayStation
7. Mortal Kombat – 1992
The original is far down the list due to the fact that so many games in the series improved upon it, but it’s higher than others due to the originality and the fact that it has a one-of-a-kind atmosphere that no other game in the series nailed. The original roster and Test-Your-Might combined with the Fatalities and simple moves make this one of the best video games ever created. There’s quite a story behind this game and the fact the ESRB was created because this game says a lot. It’s a very simple and basic game, but it holds a huge piece of gaming history.
Best Version: Sega CD
6. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 – 1995
An upgrade version of MK3, UMK3 is widely considered the best 2D MK game ever made as it perfected what they were trying to do with MK3. Adding new characters such as Rain, Noob Saibot, and Khameleon, and adding an Aggressor meter as well as making combos much easier, UMK3 was fast, looked good, and was dark with everything the series had to offer up until then.
Best Version: Nintendo DS
5. Mortal Kombat II – 1993
Most people will say MKII is the best game in the series due to the perfect balance and style between MK1 and MK3. It was a little darker, more sinister, and had an imaginative roster of new characters such as Baraka, Kitana, Mileena, and Jax. The stages were amazing and the introduction of Babalities and Friendships helped set the tone for the series from here on out. The controls were tight and the game looked amazing.
Best Version: Sega Saturn
4. Mortal Kombat Trilogy – 1996
MKT was a best-of compilation of the series up until that point. Taking every single character, stage, and mixing several -Alities together, the game was a massive success and was a blast to play. You could also play as the bosses which were completely unheard of back in the day and it was so much fun. Trilogy remains one of my favorite MK games of all time and I spent hundreds of hours perfecting this game.
Best Version: PlayStation
3. Mortal Kombat: Deception – 2004
Deception was the best 3D game up until this point and had a lot to offer. It improved immensely on Deadly Alliance’s realistic martial arts and added new game modes and some amazing characters and stages. The game was just dark, gritty, and hit that perfect style that people loved. While the three martial-arts styles were a bit clunky and memorizing long combos was silly, most people forgave it for the amount of content available. Chess Kombat is still one of my favorite MK game modes of all time. Play chess like normal and then duke it out to take over the square. Puzzle Kombat took the Street Fighter version and added Chibi MK characters duking it out on screen. However, Konquest mode was a nasty ugly chore to unlock stuff in the Krypt. It was also the first online fighting game ever made and was buttery smooth across the board with a lobby room, ranking system, and various other features. I played this game for so many hours I lost count. The Fatalities were amazing and the new Hara Kiris which were “reverse Fatalities” blew my mind away. It was as competitive as it got and holds a special place for me as it was the first game I had ever pre-ordered as well.
Best Version: Xbox
2. Mortal Kombat – 2011
With DC Universe disappointing fans so much we had all lost hope. Thankfully many consider this version to be the best 3D MK game to date and rightfully so. It builds off of MKII’s balancing and uses most characters up through MK3 so it keeps it old school. The X-Ray moves shook the industry and added a whole new meaning to gore and violence to video games. The new Challenge Tower was a blast and it featured the best story mode in any fighting game to date with halfway decent voice acting for once. Sadly, the game was quickly abandoned and only featured 4 DLC characters before being cut loose.
Best Version: PlayStation 3
1.Mortal Kombat X – 2015
MKX not only pushes the entire series in a new direction but shows fighting games a whole new level of production values and content. Taking the best from MK 2011 and the 2D games, MKX feels heavier, chunkier, and more violent than ever and that’s a good thing. Using Unreal Engine 4 and creating some of the sickest Fatalities to date, MKX also introduces some great new characters for the first time since Deception. The stages are awesome, the DLC characters rock, and the story mode is actually quite amazing and pushes the last game in the back corner. The new Krypt mode is more interactive and can almost be a game all on its own, and the new online towers make the game feel like it’s 1992 all over again.
I’m not really big on gaming headsets as I don’t need to use them often as I have my own place, but when I do I want something amazing, something that can deliver the quality and power of large speakers inside some cans. After having the Razer Man O’ War for about 18 months I switched over to some wired headphones and moved brands. Why Kingston? Well, the reviews are great and it’s plug and play, which may say iffy to some, but it works out well in the end.
Some people want fancy software, RGB lighting, and crazy controls, but Kingston went a different route here. Most PC headsets are not compatible with a console, but these are thanks to a proprietary USB 7.1 audio card built in the cable with Dolby. Now the downside is that these are only stereo headphones with the 3.5mm jack adapter, but they still sound amazing. The USB port has a three-part equalizer for flat, bass boost, and vocal. For gaming and movies, you can activate the Dolby 7.1 surround sound with just a button allowing the headphones to control everything and no need for any software.
The mic is completely removable which is a nice feature and works just how you would expect. There’s a button to mute the mic on the control box, but for consoles, you will need to remove it completely to mute it through the hardware. Outside of these features the headset itself is extremely comfortable and feels like a cloud sitting on your head. Instead of adjustable bands, we get a tension-sensitive soft band under a hard outer band. This means the band adjusts to your head shape easily without any fiddling. The ear cups are super soft and no sound escapes. Since these are wired headphones I had to figure out where to clip the control box which wound up going on my keyboard cable to keep it nearby so I can access the controls easily. The cord behind that is rather long which is needed for console use.
Here’s the big question: How does 7.1 audio sound in games and movies? Well, it works surprisingly well. The built-in sound card does a good job decoding the audio and making it sound incredible. I could hear gunshots behind me, people talking next to me, and explosions sounded epic and amazing. Games with 7.1 options sound even better and more realistic, but sadly there aren’t many games with this built-in.
With that said the HyperX Revolver S is a solid wired headset without the flash and fancy software accompanying most headsets these days. They are extremely comfortable, give an amazing sound output that is crisp and clear, and also have great 7.1 audio capabilities. There are a few minor gripes like the control box being in a weird spot on the cable, only three equalizer settings, and missing software for those who like to fine-tune, but what’s here works surprisingly well straight out of the box and is plug-and-play. This is a versatile headset for any gamer, but sadly the 7.1 only works through USB and the 3.5mm jack is strictly stereo. For the price point, you get bang for your buck that you won’t get with most other headsets.
Cover-based third-person shooters weren’t really a thing until the last console generation. Third-person shooters took quite a while to evolve into something truly stunning, and the best example of this is Gears of War which is third-person shooting perfected. Kill Switch was actually a sleeper hit back in the day and was widely talked about due to the great shooting and cover mechanic.
Kill Switch has a story that sees a male protagonist (I can’t even remember his name the story is so lame) trying to stop a dude named Archer from launching a nuke. In the process, you are trying to recover your memory of your wife being murdered by him? I don’t even know. The game is so short that it doesn’t allow any type of story to evolve let alone a bad one. The story is completely forgettable and I skipped all the dialog towards the end because it was a hot confusing mess.
The gameplay is where it’s at here. The controls are simple and the game is run and gun at its finest for the time. Holding R allows you to buckle against a wall or obstacle and you can blind fire over it, or you can pop up and shoot more accurately. I found that blind firing doesn’t quite work well if the obstacle is higher than you can raise your gun. Most of the time it did not work so I stuck to pop-up shooting. You can throw grenades and flashbangs as well as dodge rolling and melee attacks. It’s a pretty standard affair, but at the time it was done so well that there was nothing like it.
I have to say the level design is just plain bad and boring. Every level is a stereotypical military base with boring blank walls, stairs, and rooms. There is absolutely nothing to look at here despite the game being technically quite good-looking. The textures are sharp, the models are nicely made, and the animations are pretty good. It just goes to show that you are literally just coming into this game for the shooting and that’s it.
Maybe it’s a good thing this game is so short. Clocking in at about 4 hours if you don’t die a thousand times over trying to get through the hordes of enemies. There were issues with major difficulty spikes and draw distance. I would have a guy shooting at me accurately beyond where I could see — even with a sniper rifle. The weapons are nothing to write home about either, just your typical military machine guns and your token shotgun.
Overall, Kill Switch is worth a buy for its great gameplay that is fun and addicting. Just don’t expect a story or anything nice to look at. Is there a reason for there to be a sequel? Well, the story somehow manages to say that it hasn’t ended yet, but Kill Switch has no relevance today with better cover shooters like Gears of War. If it were rebooted into something fantastic that’s another story, but I honestly can’t see that happening. Kill Switch belongs in 2003 and should stay there — nice and snug.
F-Zero is a much-loved series, but it doesn’t get much love from Nintendo. With the Gamecube having the last F-Zero game, fans are wondering if the series is completely dead and shelved by the big N. Thankfully, fans who loved the SNES classic can have even more with Maximum Velocity.
Maximum Velocity is pretty much built on the same engine as the SNES using Mode 7 graphics. However, this may not have been the best choice to go as there are other more advanced racing games on the system. There are only four cars to select and I found the controls to be incredibly slippery and the AI to be extremely difficult to beat. The tracks are fun to drive, but the sense of speed is great, but the game is just lacking in overall content and polish.
You could write all that off on the age of the engine, the GBA’s inferior hardware, or lazy design. Maximum Velocity feels more like an expansion pack to the original game than one that can stand on its own two feet. After you have memorized all the hazards and turns in each track it does get easier, but not by much. This game is for players who want a serious challenge with a retro feel.
While the GBA isn’t exactly ideal for racing games, this one really stands out as one of the best, people going back in time may find it nearly impossible to play due to its ancient gameplay ideas and design. However, you are missing a great opportunity to spend a fun afternoon racing on your GBA.
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9. Medal of Honor: Vanguard – 2007
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7. Medal of Honor: Heroes – 2006
6. Medal of Honor: European Assault – 2005
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4. Medal of Honor – 1999
3. Medal of Honor: Underground – 2000
2. Medal of Honor: Allied Assault – 2002
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16. Mortal Kombat: Special Forces – 2000
15. Mortal Kombat Mythologies: Sub-Zero – 1997
14. Mortal Kombat Gold – 1999
13. Mortal Kombat: Armageddon – 2006
12. Mortal Kombat: Deadly Alliance – 2002
11. Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe – 2008
10. Mortal Kombat: Shaolin Monks – 2005
9. Mortal Kombat 4 – 1997
8. Mortal Kombat 3 – 1995
7. Mortal Kombat – 1992
6. Ultimate Mortal Kombat 3 – 1995
5. Mortal Kombat II – 1993
4. Mortal Kombat Trilogy – 1996
3. Mortal Kombat: Deception – 2004
2. Mortal Kombat – 2011
1.Mortal Kombat X – 2015
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