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The Game Boy Advance family of video game systems (abbreviated as GBA) was a line of handheld systems manufactured by Nintendo, and the descendant of the original Game Boy line. The original Game Boy Advance was released in 2001 as a 32-bit handheld belonging to the sixth-generation era. GBA units used shorter cartridges with more capacity than either the Game Boy or Game Boy Color, but most hardware designs were compatible with both prior units.

In 2003, a redesigned version was released under the name Game Boy Advance SP (Special[1]) The SP was designed to fold; and when collapsed, it was roughly half the size of the original Game Boy Advance. In 2005, the AGS-101 model of the SP featured a backlit screen, the first such feature for a Nintendo handheld in worldwide release. The GBA SP was also Nintendo's first handheld with an integrated rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack, replacing the alkaline batteries used in prior Game Boy models. At its launch, Nintendo claimed the SP's battery life as being 10 hours with the backlight on, or 18 with it off.

In 2005, Nintendo issued a second GBA redesign in an ultracompact form factor, the Game Boy Micro, the last model in the Game Boy line. This variant had interchangeable faceplates in an array of colors and custom designs, but dropped the earlier models' backward compatibility to achieve its size and could only play GBA games. It did not sell well as it was overshadowed by its successor, the DS (which also played GBA games).

Within the lifetime of the Game Boy Advance, an optional attachment was made for the Nintendo GameCube called the Game Boy Player, which consisted of a Game Boy hardware deck and a GameCube program disc. With the add-on, all Game Boy games could be played through the GameCube.

The Game Boy Advance line was succeeded by the Nintendo DS line in 2004.

Final Fantasy titles for Game Boy Advance[]

Related titles for Game Boy Advance[]

Special editions[]

Final Fantasy IV Advance was released in Japan with a special edition Game Boy Micro console. Final Fantasy Tactics Advance also had a special pre-order version with a white Game Boy Advance SP included.


References[]

  1. Nintendo, "Game Boy Advance SP FAQ" at the Wayback Machine, as of 27 Sep 2016

External links[]

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