Best Tactical JRPGs On The Game Boy Advance

There are two great types of turn-based games on the Game Boy Advance. There are traditional Japanese ones wherein players have to sift through menus and literally take turns between heroes and villains. The Pokemon games are great examples including Pokemon FireRed and Pokemon LeafGreen.

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Other great traditional turn-based hits include Mother 3, Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga, and Golden Sun. The other type of turn-based gameplay can be found in tactical RPGs. Typically, players can amass small armies and move them around a map. It’s like an RPG form of Chess and they do indeed require a lot of strategy. Let’s highlight some great ones today.

8 Super Robot Taisen J

Mechs In High School

• Metacritic Score: N/A

Super Robot Taisen J is one of many iterations of the GBA in this Japan-centric series. They’re all heavily filled with mech from across the anime universe. This one includes characters notably from Gundam SEED and G Gundam along with debuting franchises like Full Metal Panic and Tekkaman Blade for the real hardcore mech fans. This one also has a school theme around it wherein a group of high students get sucked into a bizarre sci-fi plot. Battles are played out on a simple grid but attacks are flashier once executed. While this is an exclusive for Japan, there has been an English fan update.

7 Onimusha Tactics

Fighting Demons In Feudal Japan

• Released: November 11, 2003 (NA)
• Developer: Capcom
• Publisher: Capcom
• Metacritic Score: 64

The Onimusha series started as horror action games akin to Resident Evil. Capcom then tried to make some bizarre spinoffs like Onimusha Blade Warriors which was a Super Smash Bros. Clone and Onimusha Tactics which was a strategy RPG. Even though there are some funky-looking characters, it’s not a grotesque nightmare like the mainline games. It was an odd move from Capcom’s part but it made for a decent RPG on the GBA. Characters could walk around grids, attack, level up, and the usual sort in this fantasy-based version of feudal Japan.

6 Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars

Kojima’s Legacy Continues On Handheld

• Released: February 26, 2002 (NA)
• Developer: Winkysoft
• Publisher: Konami
• Metacritic Score: 71

There were two Zone of the Enders titles on the PS2 which were fast-paced mech games. While not directed by Hideo Kojima of Metal Gear fame, he did have a hand in producing them. The series then got an anime, Zone of the Enders Dolores, I, and Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars looks more in line with that anime universe.

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The map grids are as simple as the Super Robot Taisen games but the attack segments are more involved. Players have control of the cockpit and can aim at enemies for short spans. It’s a hard game to master but a fun one to learn.

5 Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone

Advance Anime Wars

• Metacritic Score: 77

Yggdra Union: We'll Never Fight Alone is kind of like a more anime-inspired version of Advance Wars. Instead of planes, tanks, and other motorized vehicles, players controlled big armies. Each hero on the map conveyed about ten soldiers which varied depending on ranks. Losing soldiers would be like the equivalent of losing HP in other RPGs. It was a clever way to depict the toils of war, but in a more light-hearted way even though the story was also not afraid of getting dark.

4 Shining Force: Resurrection Of The Dark Dragon

Sega’s Tactical Series Comes To Nintendo

• Released: June 8, 2004 (NA)
• Developer: Amusement Vision
• Publisher: Sega
• Metacritic Score: 77

When they discontinued the Dreamcast, Sega brought a lot of their top franchises to Nintendo consoles like Shining. The Shining series began as a dungeon crawler with Shining in the Darkness. Its sequel pivoted the gameplay style and Shining Force: Resurrection of the Dark Dragon is a remake of that game for the GBA. Players moved around units on fairly detailed top-down maps from soldiers to archers to more wild units like centaurs which was a staple of the franchise. This was a good update for the game, allowing Nintendo fans to discover a hidden gem among strategy RPGs.

3 Final Fantasy Tactics Advance

A Tactical Isekai

• Metacritic Score: 87

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance is a wild sequel to the bloody and religious original on the PS1. Like Onimusha Tactics, this was a pivot toward a more kid-friendly audience. It's more clear in the plot as a group of children get warped into the land of Ivalice, making Final Fantasy Tactics Advance an Isekai.

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Players, as the hero Marche, quickly became the leader of a mercenary squad. They could build up their crew, change Jobs, and plot a route around the expanding universe all while taking on side quests. While not as mature, it was still an engaging strategy game.

2 Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis

A Decent Rival To Final Fantasy

• Metacritic Score: 88

In the grand line of Square Enix-owned strategy franchises, Tactics Ogre often gets overlooked. Tactics Ogre: The Knight of Lodis was before Square Enix absorbed the developer, Quest, and this instead was published by Atlus in North America. It was a smooth move on their part as it fit their niche RPG market nicely. Like most tactical games on the GBA, players could recruit a squad of units and play around with their classes and equipment to turn them into an elite battalion. It was harder than most on the GBA though as the accuracy stat was quite vicious.

1 Fire Emblem

This Beloved Nintendo Series Debuts In The West

• Metacritic Score: 88

Fire Emblem is the first entry North America got since the Fire Emblem series began on the NES in 1990. It is the seventh main game that got the cooler title in Japan, Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade. Understandably, Nintendo localizers simplified it since this was a new series to most. The difficulty of this game is infamous since it has permadeath, a feature of most entries. That challenge is what attracted a lot of tactical fans though and the rest is history. It’s a big franchise in the West even though quite several games are still trapped in Japan.