With the Nintendo Switch having had an amazing year in 2017 in terms of game releases, I was wondering if the system will ever be able to top that. As I was thinking these thoughts, I had the idea to look back at past Nintendo systems and see when they had their "best year" in terms of software releases.

I studied the release lists, made notes and came up with my personal picks.
Please keep in mind, that this is my opinion and that yours might differ.

Also note that I wont include the NES, the original Gameboy or Gameboy Color in this series, as I haven't had enough experience with them to make a proper decision. And to keep things consistent I have decided to focus on the North American release dates of the titles.

Want to check out part 1? Then please follow this link: https://steemit.com/gaming/@iamk/best-year-nintendo-systems-pt-1-snes-and-n64

Now, lets get going with part 2 of this series:

Gameboy Advance

Best year: 2003

Image source: https://www.amazon.de/GameBoy-Advance-SP-Konsole-silver/dp/B0002TB4D6

The return of a legendary developer

In the Nintendo 64/Gameboy Color era, the relationship between Nintendo and Square was somewhat strained. The RPG powerhouse neglected the house of Mario for the majority of the late 90s. All of Squares titles were released exclusively for Playstation systems. That changed in the year 2003 when Square and Nintendo formed a new partnership. The result was Final Fantasy Tactics Advance and Sword of Mana for the Gameboy Advance. With the release of Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, Square brought the series back to a Nintendo system after a 9-year-hiatus. The game is a tactical rpg that borrows heavily from the original Final Fantasy Tactics on PS1, although the title is not a direct sequel. Released in September 2003, it follows the story of four children who are transported to the realm of "Ivalice". The player takes control of one of them and has to accomplish different missions, with the goal of returning to the real world. The game has received praise from critics, resulting in a metacritic score of 87.

Sword of Mana, the other title released by Square that year, is a remake of the Gameboy title Final Fantasy Adventure. The game received a drastic face-lift and looks quite stunning for a GBA-title. The gameplay is similar to the Legend of Zelda series with some RPG elements to spice things up. If you have played Secret of Mana on the Super Nintendo you know what to expect.

Final Fantasy Tactics Advance - The return of the fantasy

Sword of Mana - That must have hurt

Image source: http://www.freegbaroms.com/game/final-fantasy-tactics-advance-europe

Image source: http://www.fantasyanime.com/mana/swordofmana_shots.htm

RPGs and strategy games galore

Square wasn't the only one releasing high-class role playing games that year. Nintendo brought their A-Game as well. The first half of the year alone contained the third generation of Pokemon in the form of Ruby & Sapphire and sequels to Golden Sun and Advance Wars. While none of them could exceed the quality of their predecessors they were still great titles. Nintendo closed out the year with two more role playing/strategy games. Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga brought the famous plumber back into rpg territory. Battling enemies turn-based style, it is the brothers mission to retrieve Peaches voice from the evil Cackletta. The whole adventure is full of humor and the title has spawned its own sub-series. Superstar Saga has recently been re-released on the 3DS with updated visuals and extra content. 2003 also marked the debut of Fire Emblem in the west. After six installments Nintendo finally brought the turn-based strategy game out of Japan. The title was met with critical praise and would garner even more success in later 3DS installments.

Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire - Pika!

Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga - Wait, are we playing Dr. Mario?

Fire Emblem - Roy is getting ready for the West

Image source: https://www.wikihow.com/Get-Pichu-in-Pok%C3%A9mon-Ruby

Image source: http://www.nindb.net/gba/mario-and-luigi-superstar-saga/index.html

Image source: https://gamesrevisited.com/2017/02/20/fire-emblem-intelligent-systems-2004-gameboy-advance/

Ports, ports, ports

Many saw the Gameboy Advance as a portable SNES. And they weren't wrong. The handheld received a lot of titles from the 16-bit era. This trend continued in 2003 with re-releases like Donkey Kong Country, Rock n Roll Racing and The Lost Vikings. The biggest port that year, however, was a former NES game: Super Mario Bros 3. Nintendo made it a habit on the GBA to give new life to old Mario platformers under the Super Mario Advance name. The third installment of the NES series received the same treatment. Added were the original Mario Bros arcade game for up to four players and e-reader (an earlier form of Amiibo :)) support.

Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros 3 - Poor Goombas

Image source: http://nintendonews.com/reviews/super-mario-advance-4-review-wii-u-virtual-console/

Unfaithful mascots

Former mascots of Nintendo's rivals found a new home on the GBA. Sega's superstar, Sonic, returned in 2003 in Sonic Advance 2. While the blue hedgehog didn't star in any high-quality releases on the home consoles during that era, he shined in his handheld outings. The Advance series retained the old-school gameplay that fans loved. Sonic wasn't the only mascot that had gotten unfaithful. Crash Bandicoot and Spyro went multi-platform as well and received new titles in 2003 for the GBA.

Sonic Advance 2 - The blue blur is hungry for rings

Crash Bandicoot 2: N-Tranced - All warped up

Image Source: http://romhustler.net/rom/gba/sonic-advance-2-usa-en-ja-fr-de-es-it

Image Source: https://www.emuparadise.me/Nintendo_Gameboy_Advance_ROMs/Crash_Bandicoot_2_N-Tranced_(U)(Noitami)/44086

Entertainment for mature gamers

2003 wasn't just about cutesy platformers. The GBA also saw more mature releases like Medal of Honor: Infiltrator, Max Payne and Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow. The latter is considered to be one of the best in the series, even rivaling Symphony of the Night. Another, more mature title that was released that year was Ninja Five-O. The action title starred a ninja that battled his way through 18 stages. Even though the game was considered to be of high quality, the sales were lackluster. Ninja Five-O is one of the most expensive used cartridges that you can buy. It currently sells on Amazon for 530 dollars.

Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow - Being knighted

Ninja Five-O - Over 500 dollars of ninja-fun

Image source: https://www.konsolentreff.de/themen/castlevania-aria-of-sorrow-gameboy-advance.25858/

Image source: http://www.ign.com/games/ninja-five-o

Portable innovation

Even though the GBA received a lot of ports and sequels, it also had its share of innovative titles. In 2003 Nintendo released WarioWare, a quirky title starring Wario. The game revolves around microgames that last only a few seconds and require good reflexes or mental skills. Higher levels task you with more difficult challenges and shorter time limits. WarioWare is a fun title that will keep you playing for hours. Another innovative title released in 2003 was Boktai: The Sun is in your Hand. Published and developed by Konami, Boktai casts you in the role of Django, a vampire killer, that uses a solar gun to defeat his enemies. The amazing part is, is that the solar gun only charges when your gameboy is exposed to sunlight. The cartridge includes a light sensor that recognizes and stores the energy of the sun. If it is not charged, you cannot fight enemies. An intriguing concept.

Wario Ware - Instant action and infinite fun

Boktai - Craving for sunlight

Image source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WarioWare,_Inc.:_Mega_Microgames!

Image source: http://www.emulanium.com/espanol/gba/Boktai_the_Sun_is_in_Your_Hands.html

Gamecube

Best year: 2002

The horror, oh, the horror

At the beginning of 2002, Capcom pledged full support for the Gamecube by announcing that every Resident Evil game would come to the purple console. And boy, did they keep their promise. In April of that year, they released a remake of the original Resident Evil. The game received such a drastic visual makeover that it could be mistaken for a brand-new title. Gladly, they didn't stop at the visuals. Resident Evil received new areas to explore, added defensive items and a new threat called the crimson heads. When I think of the last one, I still get the shivers. In the remake it isn't enough to just "kill" a zombie, you have to burn their bodies as well. Otherwise they will return in a faster, more aggressive form called crimson head. All of this make Resident Evil one of the best remakes ever made and that on a console that was deemed to be for kids.

If you craved Resident Evil, there was more to come. In November Capcom released Resident Evil Zero. A prequel to the first game, the title follows Rebecca Chambers and prisoner Billy Coen. Together they have to fend of gigantic bosses and zombies. The title that was once in development for the Nintendo 64 introduced a few new features to the series. One of them was the ability to switch from one playable character to another with the tap of a button. The protagonists had to work together, combining their talents, to solve puzzles. Also a first for the series, was the option of dropping your items wherever you please. Gone were the treasure chests where you could store your items and with it the inventory frustrations.

Another horror title that had been cancelled on the Nintendo 64 and moved to the Gamecube was Eternal Darkness: Sanitys Requiem. This game differed quite a bit from the Resident Evil series. Instead of focusing on jump scares, the Silicon Knights title messed with your mind. The game follows Alex Roivas as she investigates the murder of her grandfather. You guide her through a mansion and uncover pages for a book called the "Tome of Eternal Darkness". Each page represents a chapter that you'll play through with a different character from the past. Making this title unique is the so called "Sanity Meter". Whenever your character encounters enemies or horrific sights his/her sanity depletes. When the sanity meter gets low, it will not just mess with your characters mind, but also yours. I don't want to give away too much, because discovering the sanity effects is part of the fun. A sequel was planned for Wii U, but unfortunately never materialized.

Resident Evil Remake - Snake? Snake? Snaaaaaaakkkkkeeee!!

Eternal Darkness - Check your sanity, he said

Image source: https://www.technobuffalo.com/2013/09/30/resident-evil-creator-explains-why-series-shifted-to-action/

Image source: http://www.dreadcentral.com/news/168021/eternal-darkness-successor-shadow-eternals-back-development/

Mario, Fox McCloud and Samus trying something new

2002 was also the year when Nintendo franchises went off the beaten path and tried something new. In the summer they released Super Mario Sunshine. A new entry in the platformer-series that was set on the tropical Isle Delfino. In the game Mario has to clean up the dirty mess that a doppelganger has left behind. With the help of FLUDD, a backpack that talks and carries water, you clean up dirt, defeat enemies, reach higher areas and collect stars. For many, the game didn't live up to its predecessor Super Mario 64. I, on the other hand, enjoyed this game even more than the N64 masterpiece. It just oozes charm and I love the new setting, even though it might not have as much variety in terms of levels.

Just like Mario, Fox McCloud tried something new that year. He left his Arwing and battled evil dinosaurs on foot. Of course, I am talking about Star Fox Adventures. The title was formerly known as Dinosaur Planet and was another game that was previously in development for the Nintendo 64. With the transition to the Gamecube, Nintendo urged Rare to make it a part of the Star Fox franchise. What we got was a solid action-adventure title akin to the Zelda-series.

The biggest change of direction that year came from Samus Aran. Metroid fans were craving for a new game and had to endure an 8-year-long wait. When they found out that their beloved bounty hunter would go first-person, they were outraged. Fueling that outrage was the fact, that the game wasn't even being developed by Nintendo themselves, but by an unproven second party called Retro Studios. Fortunately, all the worries were smashed into bits, when Metroid Prime released in November of 2002. The game was deemed a masterpiece by critics and fans alike. Retro Studios perfectly captured the feel of the franchise in 3D. The atmosphere of the title was dense, the visuals striking and the controls intuitive.

Super Mario Sunshine - Another day at the beach

Metroid Prime - Nice little puppy

Image source: https://www.blastsoftstudios.com/downloads/smsmulti.html

Image source: http://underratedretro.com/2014/08/how-have-you-not-played-that/

Service Games

If you would have asked gamers in the 90s, how likely it would be that a Sonic title would ever come to a Nintendo console, they would have said that you are insane. Fast forward to 2002 and the picture looks ever so different. In that year Sega offered full support for Nintendo's platform. Yes, they were there at the Gamecubes launch, but 2002 was the year where they kicked into full gear. There were ports of Sonic Adventure 2, 2D Sonic titles in the form of the Sonic Mega Collection, Phantasy Star Online and their sports titles like NBA2K and NFL2K. Sega also delivered new offerings like the funky Sega Soccer Slam, the volleyball title Beach Spikers and Super Monkey Ball 2; which was greatly improved over its predecessor.

Phantasy Star Online - The first game to be online on Gamecube

Super Monkey Ball 2 - A monkey in a ball? What more could you ask for.

Image source: http://www.mobygames.com/game/gamecube/phantasy-star-online-episode-i-ii/screenshots/gameShotId,100719/

Image source: https://www.emuparadise.me/Nintendo_Gamecube_ISOs/Super_Monkey_Ball_2/66411

Shootin' fun

The year 2002 was a great one for first-person-shooter fans on Gamecube. 007 returned in not just one, but two outings. While Agent under Fire was mediocre, the secret agents follow-up, Nightfire, was quite good. The MI6 spy wasn't the only one returning from the N64 days. Turok came back to hunt more dinosaurs in Turok: Evolution. The game was solid, but couldn't live up to the legacy of its predecessors.

Making its Nintendo console debut that year was Medal of Honor. In Frontline you fought the most intense battles of WWII including D-Day. The games missions are varied and range from sneaking levels to storming enemy bases. If you were looking for your World War II shooter fix, Medal of Honor: Frontline had you covered.

While all the previous games mentioned were solid titles, TimeSplitters 2 towered above them all in terms of quality. This FPS was developed by Free Radical Design, a studio that consisted of ex-Rare employees that had previously worked on Goldeneye and Perfect Dark. The background of the team is definitely apparent when you play the game. TimeSplitters 2 borrows a lot from its spiritual predecessors, from its mission structure to its multiplayer. But its not just a simple copycat. TimeSplitters 2 manages to put a unique spin on all of its elements. The cartoony visuals are charming, each one of the missions in single player is unique, the multiplayer has a butt-load of options and different modes and there is even a map editor. Great controls and a framerate that hardly ever dips, top off an already incredible package.

007: Nightfire - I want my game shaken not stirred.

TimeSplitters 2 - Multiplayer perfection

Image source: http://torrentsgames.org/pc/james-bond-007-nightfire-pc.html

Image source: https://www.amazon.com/Time-Splitters-2-Pc/dp/B00006AVB1

Third parties still caring

As a final note, I want to add that in 2002 third parties were still caring about a Nintendo console. They delivered versions that were on par with their PS2 and Xbox counterparts and the output was quite large. Titles in 2002 include Aggressive Inline, Tony Hawks Pro Skater 4, Bloody Roar: Primal Fury, Burnout, Baldurs Gate: Dark Alliance, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, Dead to Rights and Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast.

This concludes the second part of this series. I am looking forward to hearing your thoughts, disagreements, memories and more in the comments below.

I hope you have enjoyed this post and will be back next time, when we will take a look at the best year for Nintendos most successful systems, the DS and the Wii.

Until then have a good one!

Yours

I Am K