I love RPGs, and I also have a fondness for the GBA. The sprite work still holds up today, and with all these clamshells that have been releasing, it is nice to live that nostalgia of the GBA SP. One of my favorite parts of emulation is playing translated games that never got an English patch. Here are 5 of my favorite GBA RPGs that have English translations.
Tomato Adventure
As someone who doesn’t like tomatoes, but does enjoy action-timed combat, this game is perfect. Tomato Adventure is created by AlphaDream, the same team that made the Mario and Luigi RPGs. You can see a lot of that influence in this game with similar combat, simple puzzle solving, and funny dialogue.Â
You control DeMille, who is an outcast in Ketchup Kingdom because of his dislike of tomatoes. He lives in a sort of rundown town where other tomato haters live. His girlfriend is then kidnapped, and he must save her and the whole kingdom. If you like an RPG that does not take itself too seriously with colorful graphics and funny dialogue, this one could be for you.
Tomato Adventure English Patch
Magical Vacation
This is one of the most beautiful-looking games on the GBA. Not just translated games, but of all games. It looks absolutely stunning, and you can see the love that went into creating this game. It is a pretty basic RPG, but it is still a very enjoyable one as well.
I would describe this game as a mix of Harry Potter meets Golden Sun. You are sent to a magical summer school with the goal of finding missing students. You also have the ability to see and use spirits that help you use different magic in combat. The spirits remind me quite a bit of the creatures from the Golden Sun games. This is a great game to play for a classic RPG lover and someone who really wants to see some great GBA art.
Magical Vacation English Patch
Oriental Blue: Ao No Tengai
This game is huge! Oriental Blue has so much world-building and character development that it is amazing this is a GBA game and was able to be translated. The story starts off pretty basic as you are a chosen hero to protect the kingdoms from darkness, but there is so much lore to be discovered throughout your playthrough.
This is a huge game, though, and you could easily sink dozens of hours into it. It is also related to the Far East of Eden series, so there can be different things to experience in every playthrough. If you want a fun time-sink of a game for your GBA, this one is for you!
Oriental Blue: Ao No Tengai English Patch
Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart
My favorite JRPG series is easily Dragon Quest. I always love the art, humor, and tone of the games. Luckily, Dragon Quest has a ton of spinoff games, and a lot of them are actually pretty good. The Monster series held up pretty well against the Pokémon craze on Game Boy, and it is great that the GBA entry got an English patch to be enjoyed.Â
This is a classic monster-collecting game in the Dragon Quest universe. The game has a mechanic of having to ration your food for your monsters, which is a little annoying. This does get better later, but still adds a bit of annoyance to the early game, making it more difficult than it needs to be. Still, a fan of the series will enjoy this entry!
Dragon Quest Monsters: Caravan Heart English Patch
Mother 3
I almost didn’t include this one because everyone knows about it by now, but it’s just so good that I couldn’t. Mother 3 is the game that fans have been begging Nintendo to acknowledge and give a legitimate way to play. This game started off as an N64 title, but over time, it got switched to GBA.
The graphics in this game are just so great. The animation of the sprites, the characters, and the environment is just all so unique and has so much care put into it. It is hard to explain the story without spoiling anything, but it is a quirky and unique JRPG that has you controlling multiple characters. This one is a treat and a great finale to the Mother trilogy.
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