There were many Game Boys throughout the ages: Game Boy, Game Boy Pocket, Game Boy Light, Super Game Boy, Game Boy Micro, and so on. But only three of those Game Boys were proper and distinct platforms in their own right. There was the original Game Boy back in 1989, which I've been exploring through chronological videos since back in 2014, when we all still believed in happiness. Then in 1998 we had Game Boy Color, which some people (incorrectly, ahem) treat as an extension of Game Boy but which in reality was a separate piece of hardware with unique capabilities. I've put together a few Game Boy Color retrospectives lately, as a fun aside once I finished chronicling the weird Game Boy cousin Nintendo never invites 'round to family occasions, Virtual Boy.
And now, here to round out the lot, is Game Boy Advance with Game Boy Works Advance Episode 001:
Folks, Super Mario Advance is weird. I didn't appreciate just how weird until I played through it for this episode, though. It's Super Mario Bros. 2, but it's also got a lot of strange new material tacked on, and it also incorporate ideas from some esoteric corners of Mario history. There's a new boss, and a whole lot of voices. Wow, man, those voices. The voices were so bad and annooying that I bounced off the game back in the day, so recording this episode was an eye-opening (and ear-closing) experience.
And with that, welcome to Game Boy Works Advance! This particular handheld foray is going to be a side project until I can get through NES Works 1987, though, so don't expect me to hit your favorite GBA game any time soon. Unless your favorite GBA game is Castlevania: Circle of the Moon, which will be next week. (Also, why is your favorite GBA game Circle of the Moon!?)