I’m a huge fan of creativity within the Retro Gaming and modding scene; it’s something that I talk about continually, and I love discovering new and exciting games for my favorite handhelds from the past. It’s why competitions like GBA Jam 2024 are so important in both bringing the community together and igniting the flame of creativity among fans around the globe.
It’s been two years since the GBA Game Jam has happened, so fans have been chain-chomping at the bit to get making titles for the competition again. The rules – participants had three months to make a GBA game using whatever tools they wanted. Submissions are now over, and there are 16 days left at the time of writing to vote for your favourite title.
There are 54 homebrew GBA games in total for this year’s GBA Jam, and while it would take a good week to talk about them all in-depth in one article, I thought I would talk about a few of my favourites to give you an idea of what the competition is all about.
Discrete Orange
- Submitted by Tardigrade
Discrete Orange is a beautiful little game where players take an Orange through Mario-esque levels, collecting items and avoiding bad guys. If you’ve ever played Hermano, then you’ll instantly fall in love with this game, the difference being that Discrete Orange is in stunning colour with graphics that are crisp and vibrant on the Analogue Pocket.
The thing I love the most about this game is the unique movement style. Each movement takes you one large step to the left or right, so you can’t just rush through the game willy-nilly. You’ve got to think about the fact that there’s a cliff coming up or that you need to alter your step pattern by walking into a cove to be able to come back and grab an item. It’s got a feel of Lode Runner meets Q*bert with a juicy citrus protagonist taking the helm. The expressions on the Orange’s face as it jumps up and down are perfect too; a well-thought-out and well-planned game.
Sleep Paradox
- Submitted by staticlinkage, ReyOruga & Nikku4211
Sleep Paradox kind of feels like Pokémon crossed with Final Fantasy so far in terms of looks. What’s cool about this game is that the room seems to tilt as you move across it; it’s pretty trippy but definitely creates a feel that is in keeping with the game name. Set on a regular school day, players take Fredericko on a mission to discover why his fellow students have fallen into a coma and where all the dream-induced enemies have come from!
So far I’ve been running around what seems like a space base, punching zombies and other aliens with my weapon on my arm. I’ve got to admit that I was drawn in by the striking cover art at first and have really enjoyed just exploring corridors and kicking enemies into Oblivion. It’s got a bit of a Metroidvania vibe about it too, albeit with some different visual elements that add an extra slice of interest.
Zipline Zapper
- Submitted by 3DSage
Zipline Zapper feels a little like a GBA port of Portal, which I’m not going to complain about one bit! When I turned the game on I was taken around a level on the green zipline above, giving me the chance to move my gun using the D-Pad and the trigger buttons. I didn’t quite get what was going on at first, so when the tour had ended, I maneuvered on my own and tracked down all the glowing platforms that were scattered about the level.
Admittedly I’m only just playing the first level of the game, but look at the detail in the still above. It’s so well put together and a real credit to 3DSage. While all three games that I’ve included in this list are brilliant, this is the one that I feel looks the most like a game that I might have found bundled with my GBA back in the day!
As I said at the beginning of this article, time is running out to vote for your favorite game, so get your votes in now and help one budding developer win a tasty cash prize!
