When the Game Boy Advance launched 2001, over twenty years ago now, it was compared and scrutinized to the original Game Boy from 1989, but thankfully it passed the test and superseded it in many ways.
Gone were the block pixel characters straining to be seen on a green fluorescent background, this time the animations were in full color and with much greater processing power taking full advantage of the technology increases in the ten years between the handheld consoles.
Some games were just meant to be played on a TV with hand controllers, but there are so many games that really lend themselves to be played on a handheld device.
The genres that tend to work better on handhelds are the ones you want to pick up and play wherever and whenever, and where you aren’t straining to read all the little details.
This is why fighting games work so well on the GBA!
Controls are instinctive, and pulling off any type of special move or combo works just as well on a handheld GBA than playing in any other way.
Fortunately there was no shortage of games released on this Nintendo gem.
From Street Fighter 2 to Mortal Kambat, and even Sonic Battle(!),there was an option for everyone back in the day and from some of the most popular fighting franchises that existed at the time.
Here are the best GBA fighting games, tried, tested and rated.
The King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood

The King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood GBA Review
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The King of Fighters franchise started its roots way back in 1994 with the imaginatively named title, The King of Fighters ‘94.
It was later followed up the following year with, yes you guessed it, The King of Fighters ‘95.
The titles followed this sequence year after year until the spin-offs happened in the 2000s.
The King of Fighters EX2: Howling Blood was a GBA (and NEO Geo) spin off of The King of Fighters 2000 which was also released for the GBA, and later went on to win the award of Best Gameboy Game of 2004.
By 2004 there was no shortage of amazing games on the GBA, so it gives you an idea of how incredible this game is.
The King of Fighters EX2 gives no fewer than 21 fighters to choose from including Kyo, Moe and Reiji, and also includes the random character option if the choice becomes too overwhelming.
Once the three characters are chosen it’s time to fight!
The King of Fighters certainly has a Street Fighter 2 look and feel about it, and even characters such as Athena bear a striking resemblance to Chun Li from the Street Fighter series.
The gameplay is fun and fast, with multi combo moves happening often, and the unique feature of playing with three characters against the three characters of your opponent until ultimately there is a winner – unsurprisingly.
The three character game feature adds a nice unique touch, and something not often found in other fighting games.
The controls are decent too and very responsive.
My preferred character is Reiji but probably because of the impressive foot stomps he lays someone down with. A multi-combo foot stop certainly has a satisfying feel to it.
The King of Fighters EX2 won the GBA 2004 award for a reason. It’s a cracker of a game and stands up even today, 20 years later, as a solid fighting title.
Sonic Battles

Sonic Battles GBA Review
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If there wasn’t already a wide genre of titles featuring Sony’s mascot Sonic in a wide number of spin-offs, they decided to go one further and create a fighting game based on the blue hedgehog.
It isn’t your typical fighting game of course, this is fighting done Sonic style!
This isn’t the type of game to switch on if you want to choose a character and fight, Sonic Battles has a storyline behind it.
The game starts with Eggman throwing out a robot as he feels it’s malfunctioned which is later found by Sonic on the beach.
After taking the robot to Tails things become a little heated, refuse Tails from wanting to destroy the robot and you’ll find yourself fighting Tails on what appears to be some kind of cargo trailer on the sea – where only moments before you were at his house in town.
Very strange but it’s surprising how back in the day we just went with gameplay like this.
A very unique trait is the 3D fighting world.
Unlike most 2D side-on views found on many fighting games in the 1990’s and 2000’s, this fighting arena becomes 3D in nature and means players can run around the cargo ship, and using ledgers and cargo containers to their advantage.
It’s not the most polished fighting game, the controls are slightly awkward at times and there are very few fighting moves and combos available.
After each battle the player needs to continue with the story and make interactive decisions before the next fight begins.
It isn’t the best fighting game, but Sega should be applauded for the imaginative fighting styles and unique storytelling twist.
Any Sonic fan should try out this title, you probably won’t be disappointed.
Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition

Mortal Kombat: Tournament Edition GBA Review
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It’s astonishing to think that the first Mortal Kombat game, which began in the arcades as most popular titles did back in the day, launched over 30 years ago now.
The first game that made parents sit up and take vigilant notice of titles they were buying for their kids which started the introduction of age certifications on game titles which are commonplace today.
The content was so graphic at the time that Midway and Acclaim were almost forced to bring out a special toned down version of the game which eliminated the blood and reduced the severity of the fatalities.
No kid in the 90’s wanted that version of course.
I grew up with Mortal Kombat in the arcade and also on the SNES when it launched, I played for hours until I finally managed to defeat Goro (which gave a lot of kids nightmares) and Shang Tsung who sat patiently in his chair during some of the fight sequences, even clapping, before attempting to destroy you at the end.
What a mentor!
This was my first try of playing Mortal Kombat on the GBA, and I truly felt anticipation on how it would stand up against the beloved almost immortal SNES version.
Realistically these should be on par.
The GBA was actually cited as being a 32-bit machine, although reality is it played more like a 16-bit, but this is the same processor size as a SNES.
Opening graphics are a little lacklustre, but then alternative versions didn’t exactly dazzle either.
The single player option allows multiple different gameplays including an Arcade mode, Survival, Tag team and a Practise mode to work on special moves and combos.
We have old faithful characters like the, rather beefed up, Johnny Cage as well as Raiden, but equally the game features newer characters such as Bo Rai Cho.
Mortal Kombat on the GBA has some good points but quite a few bad points.
The controls are quick enough, and backdrops and scenes more creative than the original versions. The gameplay is fast and there are plenty of features available.
Unlike the more traditional Mortal Kombat games, the arena has a 3D aspect to it. No longer do you need to duck or jump, you can simply side step as the world moves around you.
Personally I didn’t like this, and felt the rendering time meant substandard graphics instead of polished detail and a fixed side on view.
The graphics are very poor compared to other ports. I’d even hasten to add the graphics on the original Game Boy were probably better.
Without Johnny Cage’s name appearing above my opponent I could barely tell it was him.
So, why is Mortal Kombat in this list?
Well, it’s Mortal Kombat!
The franchise was such a big player in the 1990s, and still has a legion of new fans to this day on recent ports such as the Playstation 5.
It’s worth a play today just to experience the extra features and 6-bit spinning world arena.
It doesn’t compare in the slightest to the beloved Arcade or SNES version, but it has it’s place in retro history now.
Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Revival

Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Revival GBA Review
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Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat were heavy rivals in the 1990s and dominated until the introduction of the Tekken franchise.
The original Street Fighter is best remembered as forgotten, but Street Fighter 2 really was the start of this amazing franchise on almost all conceivable ports.
Having just played Mortal Kombat, and its disappointing gameplay, I wasn’t too hopeful for Street Fighter 2 Turbo: Revival on the GBA.
The opening sequence changed my opinion instantly.
Recognisable characters, great graphics and fast gameplay.
Was the opening just a gimmick, or would the gameplay be as surprising.
Arcade mode allows you to choose Normal Mode as well as three Turbo modes for ultra quick gameplay.
Normal mode is good despite being a touch slow, but Turbo Mode 3 is frantic but real fun.
I think the best way to tell how responsive controls are when playing Street Fighter is to play as Ryu and see how easy a Hadoken is to pull off.
We all know the d-pad and key combination but some ports make this quite tricky to pull off at times, fortunately the GBA port makes this a breeze.
There is really little here to criticize. It plays almost as good as the SNES port, and certainly stands up there on handheld conversions.
Very much recommended!
WWE Road to Wrestlemania

WWE Road to Wrestlemania GBA Review
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Having grown up with WWF, as it was back in the 1980s until it was later renamed to WWE after the animal charity organization known by the same initials requested the wrestling company to rebrand, the nostalgia of playing games with Hulk Hogan, Ultimate Warrior, Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, Kane and The Undertaker is quite intense.
Many Friday and Saturday nights were spent watching Raw and Smackdown.
The golden era of the 1980s with Andre, Macho Man, Hulk and Warrior were the start of what was to become a real wrestling legacy under Vince McMahon, but the Attitude era of the late 1990’s with Mankind, Undertaker, Kane, Rock and Austin will never ever be beaten.
The first memorable game launched by the WWE was Wrestlefest back in the 1980s which could be found in many arcade halls back in the day with its familiar four person layout.
It still stands today as an amazing game to play despite being nearly forty years old now!
Many games came and went for the WWE franchise, some memorable and some best forgotten, but how does WWE Road to Wrestlemania compare against other ports and also other fighting games on the GBA?
Well to start with, let’s go through all the match types available to play, which are quite extensive for a handheld.
A player can go through a whole season (just like on Smackdown on the PS1), can run the Gauntlet or can play a straight forward Exhibition bout.
They can also compete in the King of the Ring, an Iron Man match, the very popular over the top Royal Rumble and also play in a Pay Per View, which is a real nice touch.
There are 24 superstars to choose from including the big stars of the day Stone Cold Steve Austin, The Rock, The Undertaker, HHH and Kane but also includes Tazz, Hardy Boys, Dudley Boys, Kurt Angle, William Regal and more.
Opting for Stone Cold in a Royal Rumble I started the game.
The wrestlers entrances were only a few static images, but the players in the ring were at least semi recognizable.
Unfortunately though this is not Wrestlefest, and despite the may game options there was certainly an anti-climax felt.
Options were few, special moves were limited and a player can’t even run against the ropes or run at all, which severely limits the gameplay, especially during a Royal Rumble.
The graphics are good enough, and controls are ok for what they are, but it does lack a certain quality. Perhaps I expected too much.
This is still a good wrestling game per say, especially for the nostalgia of seeing the names from 1990’s grapple it out again.
Suggested Reading: Best GBA RPG Games
Guilty Gear X: Advance Edition

Guilty Gear X: Advance Edition GBA Review
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This Arc System classic from 2002 has a range of different gaming modes right off the bat.
An Arcade mode to experience as close to the arcade gameplay as you’ll see, a VS battle mode, a Surival mode, Tag Match and 3 on 3.
All of this in addition to a Training mode to help you fully get to grips with your chosen fighter.
There are fourteen fighters to choose from including Potemkin, May and Chipp Zanuff, and if the player simply can’t decide there’s an option for a random fighter to play.
The characters are a touch small, there is a lot of unused real estate on screen, although the fighters make use of this with exceptional jumping ability and off the charts powerups.
A 5 attack combo is also possible.
The build up between the fights is handled well, and adds to the intensity of the bouts.
Controls are ok, although they could be more responsive at times but the graphics are pretty decent.
Guilty Gear X didn’t win many awards, and isn’t particularly remembered, but those who did develop a taste for this type of fighting style became really immersed in the storyline and player’s underlying abilities and reasons to fight.
It’s a great fighting game for the GBA and one that should be added to any top ten list.
Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku 2

Dragon Ball Z: Legacy of Goku 2 GBA Review
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The original Dragon Ball was released as an anime mini series way back in the mid 1980’s, and then was released as Dragon Ball Z in 1989 as a follow up TV anime series.
This paved the way for many home console releases on various ports which follows the lead character, Son Goku, protecting Earth against the various villains seemingly lurking behind every bush, mountain, town and cloud.
Dragon Ball Z: The Legacy of Goku 2, a sequel from the first Legacy of Goku release, debuted in 2003 on the GBA.
It tells the story of 16 years prior to the day where two impossibly strong androids landed on Earth and began vanquishing all the heroes of the day and created a world of darkness.
Here we focus on Son Goku’s son Gohan, one of the last survivors of the Saiyans warrior race, who of course as many hero stories go, has stepped forward to return Earth to its former state.
Dragon Ball Z isn’t a typical fighting game like Street Fighter 2 or Mortal Kombat, but instead plays more like a fighting based RPG game like Pokemon or Zelda.
It’s a good combination plus the RPG storyline behind the game is really immersive, particularly the dual time periods and vengeance.
For those who enjoy fighting games as well as RPGs, this could be a real treat.
The graphics are good, and very typical of the Pokemon style graphics we have seen time and time again on handheld consoles, the controls are equally as responsive too.
Some RPGs are very easy to put down, but Dragon Ball Z keeps you engaged as the character and story continues to build.
A solid fighting RPG game from a classic anime franchise.
Rocky

Rocky GBA Review
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‘Yo Adrian!’
Who hasn’t hollered this with a Brooklyn type accent after a few beers!
Rocky continues to thrive as a franchise with the recent release of Creed 3, the son of the late Apollo Creed from the first four Rocky films in the franchise.
Rocky is a staple classic film that sits in the top ten film collection of many guys, myself included.
Those who think Rocky is simply about boxing become very educated after a watch of the first film, but particularly the second film.
True classics!
We all know of Rocky’s main opponents Apollo Creed, Clubber Lang, Ivan Drago and Tommy Gunn from the often overlooked Rocky V film – even Thunder Lips would be great as an opponent in a game, an opponent often overlooked in gaming conversions.
Has the GBA the ability to turn a beloved boxing franchise into an addictive immersive game?
Well, they had a go!
The nostalgia is certainly there but there are missing elements of the gameplay like no ability to undercut!
Undercutting an opponent in boxing is almost like the ability to header a ball in soccer, it really needs to be there.
That said, the developers did a really good job adding in all the rustic nostalgic charm by featuring the underscore fighters from as far back as Rocky I, like Spider Rico, as well as top tier boxers like Ivan Drago.
The graphics are good enough, controls are ok but the game can get a little repetitive after a while, especially when the weakest boxers such as Spider Rico get up twice after being knocked down by the formidable Rocky Balboa.
It has a certain charm and energy that shouldn’t be overlooked in the fighting genre of the GBA.
Tekken Advance

Tekken Advance GBA Review
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Tekken first hit the arcades in 1994, well after Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter 2 hit the arcades and home console systems.
It combined block based characters in sometimes less than fluid movements but delivered on finesse, addictiveness and characters people remember.
It resembled Virtual Fighter in many ways with the character build, look and appeal but whereas both were popular in the 1990’s, only Tekken went on to create the huge franchise it has and is still going strong today.
As Tekken evolved, so did the fighting styles, players and ultimately the way the player interacted with the game.
This can be a good thing when games need to keep up with current standards being set, but not so good for those looking for that nostalgic charm as much of the original game’s hooks are long forgotten.
Launching the game as King (who wouldn’t want to play as a beefed up leopard headed male) the familiar settings and camera zooms were a nostalgic treat.
The camera panning in and out depending on how the players ventured from each other was a nice touch to see on the GBA.
The graphics are really decent and although the gameplay is a little slow compared to the other fighting games it’s synonymous with the Tekken style of old.
The controls are still responsive too.
For those who enjoyed the Tekken, or even Virtual Fighter, games back in the day, this is a real good treat to boot up and play today!