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Forums - Nintendo Discussion - Announced GBA games coming to Wii U (Japan)

We can play gba games on the big screen?!



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wow. Golden sun and Zelda are great additions!



BraveNewWorld said:
I've always wanted to play GBA games on my HD TV! /sarcasm

I don't get you Nintendo. Either have two separate Virtual Consoles for handheld and console libraries, or pool them together. Oh, and release games people actually want. This GBA lineup is good about having games people care about, but the other libraries are terrible. One more thing - CAN WE GET POKEMON GAMES?!

Ummm...I picked up a cheap Gamecube along with a Gameboy player, just so I could play my GBA games on the big screen.

Xxain said:

We can play gba games on the big screen?!

Pick up a Gamecube and Gameboy player!




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Me since the games were revealed, the fanboys since E3."

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smbu2000 said:
BraveNewWorld said:
I've always wanted to play GBA games on my HD TV! /sarcasm

I don't get you Nintendo. Either have two separate Virtual Consoles for handheld and console libraries, or pool them together. Oh, and release games people actually want. This GBA lineup is good about having games people care about, but the other libraries are terrible. One more thing - CAN WE GET POKEMON GAMES?!

Ummm...I picked up a cheap Gamecube along with a Gameboy player, just so I could play my GBA games on the big screen.

Xxain said:

We can play gba games on the big screen?!

Pick up a Gamecube and Gameboy player!

We are aware this has been done before but im positive no one wants hook their GC's up again. I love GBA and bing able to have a reason to turn Wii U on would be great. GBA on Wii U is a great substitute untill the real stuff comes. 



KylieDog said:

Do they think nthis will sell WiiUs or something?

Why they not releasing any of these on 3DS?  (I know some are ambassador games.


This is not attempt to sell Wii U's. Just to keep owners active. GBA has a superb library 



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RavenXtra said:
Wii U Virtual Console has 100+ titles already in Japan. I doubt we'll be seeing any of these in a timely manner in the west.

106 to be exact.

NA is 69 and PAL is 66.



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KylieDog said:
Xxain said:
KylieDog said:

Do they think nthis will sell WiiUs or something?

Why they not releasing any of these on 3DS?  (I know some are ambassador games.


This is not attempt to sell Wii U's. Just to keep owners active. GBA has a superb library 


Not really, a lot of it was just NES/SNES ports.  The two Metroids and Minish Cap probably the highlights.


Throw in Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire/Emerald and you're right, a lot of ports/enhanced versions.



"On my business card I am a corporate president. In my mind I am a game developer. But in my heart I am a gamer." - Satoru Iwata

KylieDog said:
Xxain said:
KylieDog said:

Do they think nthis will sell WiiUs or something?

Why they not releasing any of these on 3DS?  (I know some are ambassador games.


This is not attempt to sell Wii U's. Just to keep owners active. GBA has a superb library 


Not really, a lot of it was just NES/SNES ports.  The two Metroids and Minish Cap probably the highlights.

How dare you.



osed125 said:
leedlelee said:
The GBA remake of Super Mario World...
Isn't that a bit redundant???
Or does that version have extra content???

If I remember correctly, it's the exact same game. 

The only difference is that it has a slight remix of the classic Mario Bros. for the arcades...which is something that has been done countless times already.

List of changes

  • There is a new intro to the game. In it, MarioLuigi and the princess are shown arriving in a hot air balloon. When they land, Luigi wears a cape and presents a Cape Feather to Mario, turning him into Cape Mario. After seeing Mario have fun with it, they fly around Yoshi's Island together. When they return to the landing spot where they left the princess behind, they find her missing and become puzzled as title appears on the overworld. However, they still begin the game small.
  • The autumn changes return in the GBA version; however, there are some differences in the GBA autumn:
    • In the SNES version, the changes occur after the player completes the Special courses. The player must clear all 96 exits to make the changes occur in the GBA version.
    • After the player unlocks the autumn changes in the GBA version, a cut scene is shown where Luigi is in his balloon tossing out the masks for the Koopas to wear.
    • In addition to the Koopas, Bullet Bills, and Piranha Plants, the Galoombas and Pokeys have different appearances as well.
    • In the GBA ending credits, although the alternate enemies are displayed, their original names remain. The alternate forms are not given names as they are in the English SNES version.
  • If the player manages to collect all five Yoshi Coins in every single level, all the Yoshi Coins will change into Peach Coins (after watching a cutscene where this happens).
  • By pressing SELECT on the world map, the player can access a status menu, allowing them to see total play time, score, how many exits they have found as each brother, and whether they have saved the princess and collected all the Dragon Coins or not. Below is a list of levels the player has found and their exits, as well as an indication of which brother the player found each one as, and whether they have obtained all the Dragon Coins in a given stage or not. Additionally, by scrolling through the list of levels and pressing , the player is automatically taken to whichever level they have selected.
  • At the end of the bonus game, Mario and Luigi do their victory pose regardless of whether or not they had won any extra lives in the SNES version. In the GBA version, if Mario (or Luigi) did not win, he turns his head down in disappointment.
  • Voices have been added to Boos, the Koopalings, and Mario and Luigi. Some of Mario and Luigi's voices have been ripped from the first Super Mario Advance, while others are new.

[edit]Gameplay changes

  • Players can have up to 999 lives and save the number of lives for the next time the player plays the game.
  • The player can also save half-way through a level once the player has past the half-way gate and quit. When the player comes back to that level, the player will start from the half-way gate and it is not affected by playing another level after doing this process.
  • Players now start out with the power up they last had, instead of Small Mario or Small Luigi.
  • When the player gets hurt with Cape or Fire power, they won't become small and need to use the item in reserve (if any); instead, they will become Super Mario/Luigi and keep the reserve item.
  • Because there is only one run button on the GBA, it is impossible for Mario to turn around while flying with the cape, or release fireballs while holding an object.
  • Luigi is an optional character for player 1 and he has some differences:
    • Luigi is updated to resemble his current look: tall and skinny.
    • Luigi jumps more slowly than Mario.
    • When Luigi flies using the Cape, he doesn't fly as fast as Mario.
    • When hurled, Fire Luigi's fireballs bounce higher than Fire Mario's.
    • Unlike Mario, when Luigi rides Yoshi, he does not instantly swallow any enemy. Instead, Yoshi can spit them out and use them to attack other enemies. If Yoshi has an enemy in his mouth for about eight seconds, he will swallow it.
    • If Luigi hits a Coin Block, all the coins will spill out of the block instead of collecting them one by one.
  • The player can get the colored Yoshis in ? Blocks: a Blue Yoshi if the player is Cape Mario/Cape Luigi, a Red Yoshi if the player is Fire Mario/Fire Luigi and a Green Yoshi or Yellow Yoshi if the player is Small Mario/Small Luigi or Super Mario/Super Luigi. This only happens after the Mario Bros. have used the Yoshis in Star World.
  • When Yoshi eats ten berries consecutively in the SNES version, he will produce an egg containing a mushroom. In the GBA version, the egg contains a different item depending on the color Yoshi. If it is a green Yoshi, the egg produces a mushroom like the SNES version, however, a blue Yoshi will produce an egg containing a feather, Red Yoshi's egg produces a Fire Flower, and Yellow Yoshi's egg produces a Starman.
  • If Yoshi lands on a moving platform, he will no longer fall through it like he did in the original game.
  • Yoshi can no longer spit out the key after activating a keyhole.
  • The point values for defeating the Chargin' Chucks are higher in the GBA version, and coins are awarded for defeating them with fireballs.
  • Players now gain 400 Points after punching a Climbing Koopa. In the original, they only gain 100 Points.
  • After completing a castle or fortress, in the SNES version, the player could replay the castle by pressing L and R simultaneously. The player cannot reenter completed castles and fortresses in the GBA version until Bowser is defeated, after which they can be reentered anytime without the use of special button combinations.
  • In the SNES Japanese version, Yoshi could swallow the Dolphins, but it was removed in localized versions. In the GBA version, Yoshi can swallow them.

[edit]Level design changes

  • There are more Message Blocks throughout the game than the SNES version. Messages in the SNES version featured the heading "Point of Advice", while the heading in the GBA version is "Tourist Tips."
  • Dragon Coins are now found in Fortresses and Ghost Houses, with some areas of the fortresses reconfigured to accommodate them.
  • The Top Secret Area has a timer in the Advance remake, whereas there was no time limit there in the SNES version.
  • When fighting Bowser, there was no time limit in the SNES version. In the Advance remake, however, the timer stays intact.
    • Because of this, the time limit in Bowser's Castle was extended from 400 to 800 (or 600 if entering via Back Door).
  • In the seventh room of Bowser's Castle which features the Bowser Statues that spit out flames, the Game Boy Advance remake didn't have the first statue spitting out flames, thereby making the first part of the room much easier.
  • In #3 Lemmy's Castle, a powerup found lying around in the last room is a feather in the GBA version instead of a Super Mushroom.
  • The keyhole exit from Star World 2 is slightly different.

[edit]Graphical changes

In-game logo of Super Mario Advance 2
  • On the map screen, the icon for Top Secret Area is now a smiling bush. It was the only yellow circle in the SNES version.
  • Princess Peach has a slightly different appearance. Most notably, the color of her dress is lighter, her hair is now blonde when she is rescued (in the SNES version, it would appear brunette when she is rescued and blond when crying out for help and on the ending screen) and she has a widow's peak.
  • Bowser's arms were green in the SNES version, while they are the correct orange-yellow in the GBA version.
  • Instead of Yoshi having orange hands and arms, they were changed to the main color of the Yoshi (for example, a Blue Yoshi would have blue arms instead of green). This is due to the fact that later games featuring Yoshi are like that, and it become a staple for Yoshi's coloring. The artwork for Super Mario World even featured it, so reasons in-game for the arms to be orange are unknown.
  • The rescued Yoshi Egg dots are different colors, instead of being a dull yellow-brown color as in the original.
  • Mario's Fire Flower suit has a lighter shade of red in the Game Boy Advance remake than in the original.
  • The boss door in Chocolate Fortress is now colored red like every other boss door. It was the only brown door in the SNES version.

[edit]Textual changes

  • In the SNES version, when a new game is started, Mario is shown as well as a message box stating he is in Dinosaur Land and Bowser has kidnapped Peach. In the GBA version, both Mario and Luigi are shown, and Luigi is seen pacing back and forth while Mario is looking up at the message box.
  • In the GBA version, when the Mario Bros find a non-green Yoshi in the Star World, and grows it to full size, a message is displayed where the Yoshi thanks the player for rescuing it and tells the player what happens when that Yoshi eats any color shell.
  • Some text is slightly changed after a Koopaling's defeat, for example:
    • The SNES version states that Mario has defeated the Koopaling, whereas the GBA version states both Mario and Luigi have done so.
    • Iggy Koopa is described as "crazed" in the GBA version, rather than "demented".
    • Chocolate Island is described in the SNES version as "dangerous (but tasty)" while the GBA version describes it as "deliciously dangerous."
    • Wendy O. Koopa was said to have "sung her swan song" rather than her "last song" as in the SNES version.
    • After defeating Bowser, when the player returns to the finished save file, the text after the Koopaling's defeat is shortened, only saying that Mario and Luigi have defeated the Koopaling.
  • After completing all 96 goals in the game, most of the message blocks will be changed to congratulate the player on finding the secret world and clearing all the levels.
  • Some details of the ending sequence were changed for the GBA version:
    • After Bowser is defeated, the text in the SNES version states that Mario's adventure is over, even if Luigi was the one who beat Bowser. In both cases, the GBA version states that both Mario and Luigi's adventure is over, and the text also refers to the princess by her current name, Peach, whereas the SNES text referred to her as simply "the princess." After the first time Bowser is defeated, whenever the player replays the level and beats Bowser, the text no longer states that Mario, Luigi, and the others are going to take a vacation, only stating Mario and Luigi's adventure is over.
    • If Luigi beats Bowser in the SNES version, he would replace Mario in the ending sequence, leading Yoshi, Peach, and the eggs back to Yoshi's house. In the GBA version, if Mario has beaten Bowser, he is shown leading Yoshi, Peach, and the eggs back during the credits, with Luigi trailing right behind the last egg. They swap places if Luigi has beaten Bowser. At Yoshi's house, both Mario and Luigi are seen arriving, and both do their victory pose after the eggs hatch.
    • After the enemies' names are displayed in the SNES version, Mario, Peach, and Luigi stand in front of a black background with the text "THE END" above them, and the player must reset the system. In the GBA version, Mario and Luigi have updated appearances, the text is a different style, and the background is initially white, but then a camera is heard and the image becomes a photo of the three standing on a grass hill. If the player presses a button, the game returns to the title screen.
  • As the GBA version is an enhanced port, the credits are a bit different. Some roles are taken by new or different staff members, while some who had assumed those roles in the original have handled other roles. Also, as is the case with most, if not all remakes, the GBA version credits the original SNES game staff under "Special Thanks."


Nintendo better get their act together and offer these GBA titles as cross-platform (3DS & WiiU).