Best games
Best Game Boy Advance games of 2001
The 8 best Game Boy Advance games released in 2001, ranked from 1,476 critic and player ratings.
The best Game Boy Advance game of 2001 is Advance Wars, with a critic score of 100/100 — updated September 2026.
How this ranking is built
- Games are ranked on the aggregated critic score out of 100 imported from IGDB and Metacritic, never on Tier's own grades.
- A game only enters the ranking with at least 80 external ratings, so a single enthusiastic review never outranks a proven classic.
- Community grades from F to S are shown next to every game, and only stated as a fact above 5 Tier ratings.
- Release window covered: 2001.
- 8 games are listed on this page, carrying 1,476 ratings between them.
- Rankings are recomputed hourly; this one was last rebuilt on 29 September 2026.
Top 8
01
Advance Wars
Just because this battle fits in the palm of your hand doesn't mean the stakes are small. On the contrary, this all-or-nothing fight will have you accessing guns, grenades, launchers, and weaponry of all sorts. Players assume command of an army that's out to reclaim a world that's been broken up by warring factions. The battle map is essentially a grid, and moving units is like moving chess pieces on a board -- each of the units can move a specific amount of spaces within this grid, and can only attack at a certain distance from specific enemies. Advance Wars features more than 115 maps, a map editor, head-to-head play via link cable, and an easy-to-understand tutorial mode for beginners.
100
/100
02
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is a 2001 skateboarding video game and the third installment in the Tony Hawk's series. Skate as the legendary Tony Hawk or choose from a dream team of 12 top pro skaters, including old favorites like Lasek, Thomas, Muska, and Steamer, as well as new talent like Gilfberg, Caballero, Koston, and Mullen. Travel from L.A. to Tokyo, Suburbia to Skater's Island performing challenges and meeting goals with new moves that include the Revert, which allows you to link vert tricks, and flatland tricks such as Caspers, the Primo, and Handstand Manual.
94
/100
03
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World is a remake of Super Mario World for the Game Boy Advance starring Mario's dinosaur friend Yoshi for the first time. Super Mario Advance is a four-part series for the GBA with Super Mario games of the NES and SNES era. The remakes came with adjusted graphics, sound and additional content. Each game of the series includes additionally the arcade-classic "Mario Bros" which can be played in multiplayer via link cable.
92
/100
Advance Wars
Just because this battle fits in the palm of your hand doesn't mean the stakes are small. On the contrary, this all-or-nothing fight will have you accessing guns, grenades, launchers, and weaponry of all sorts. Players assume command of an army that's out to reclaim a world that's been broken up by warring factions. The battle map is essentially a grid, and moving units is like moving chess pieces on a board -- each of the units can move a specific amount of spaces within this grid, and can only attack at a certain distance from specific enemies. Advance Wars features more than 115 maps, a map editor, head-to-head play via link cable, and an easy-to-understand tutorial mode for beginners.
100
/100
02
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3
Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3 is a 2001 skateboarding video game and the third installment in the Tony Hawk's series. Skate as the legendary Tony Hawk or choose from a dream team of 12 top pro skaters, including old favorites like Lasek, Thomas, Muska, and Steamer, as well as new talent like Gilfberg, Caballero, Koston, and Mullen. Travel from L.A. to Tokyo, Suburbia to Skater's Island performing challenges and meeting goals with new moves that include the Revert, which allows you to link vert tricks, and flatland tricks such as Caspers, the Primo, and Handstand Manual.
94
/100
03
Super Mario World: Super Mario Advance 2
Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World is a remake of Super Mario World for the Game Boy Advance starring Mario's dinosaur friend Yoshi for the first time. Super Mario Advance is a four-part series for the GBA with Super Mario games of the NES and SNES era. The remakes came with adjusted graphics, sound and additional content. Each game of the series includes additionally the arcade-classic "Mario Bros" which can be played in multiplayer via link cable.
92
/100
04
Golden Sun
Evil is slowly covering the world. Forces of darkness are pursuing the lost art of Alchemy, and the fate of mankind hangs in the balance. You and your companions, armed with weapons, Psynergy magic, and a host of elemental creatures, must return peace to the world. Golden Sun is an epic role-playing game with an engrossing story, set in a massive world. Gather the elemental Djinn – fire, water, wind and earth – and combine them in unique ways to produce awesome magical effects.
91
/100
05
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is a revolutionary action adventure with an epic tale of intrigue, fierce alliances, explosive spell effects and highly detailed creatures and environments. Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is a benchmark of technology and gameplay.
85
/100
06
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Gyakuten Saiban is a visual novel adventure game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was released in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance. The story follows Phoenix Wright, a rookie defense attorney who attempts to have his clients declared "not guilty". Among other characters are Phoenix's boss, Mia Fey; his assistant and Mia's sister, Maya; and prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. The player controls Phoenix through two sets of sections: investigations and courtroom trials. During investigations they gather information and evidence. During trials they cross-examine witnesses, and answer questions from the judge, the prosecutor, and the witnesses. The story is split into four cases.
80
/100
07
Worms World Party
Worms World Party is an artillery game, which is a type of Turn-based strategy game. Like its predecessors, Worms World Party involves controlling a team of worms and using a collection of weaponry to eliminate the opposing team(s). The worms can walk and jump around and use tools such as the ninja rope and parachute to move to otherwise unreachable locations. The worms have an arsenal of dozens of weapons, ranging from longbows to bazookas and from fireballs to Holy Hand Grenades.
75
/100
08
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the first Harry Potter video game for the PlayStation, and one of several different games based on the book and movie. This version is a three-dimensional action adventure, where Harry must complete a number of challenges in order to pass his first year of studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Successful completion of the tasks often results in house points for Harry's house Gryffindor and failure in some deducts points, so the race for the House Cup can stay open until the end.
60
/100
Golden Sun
Evil is slowly covering the world. Forces of darkness are pursuing the lost art of Alchemy, and the fate of mankind hangs in the balance. You and your companions, armed with weapons, Psynergy magic, and a host of elemental creatures, must return peace to the world. Golden Sun is an epic role-playing game with an engrossing story, set in a massive world. Gather the elemental Djinn – fire, water, wind and earth – and combine them in unique ways to produce awesome magical effects.
91
/100
05
Baldur's Gate: Dark Alliance
Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is a revolutionary action adventure with an epic tale of intrigue, fierce alliances, explosive spell effects and highly detailed creatures and environments. Baldur’s Gate: Dark Alliance is a benchmark of technology and gameplay.
85
/100
06
Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney
Gyakuten Saiban is a visual novel adventure game developed by Capcom Production Studio 4 and published by Capcom. It was released in 2001 for the Game Boy Advance. The story follows Phoenix Wright, a rookie defense attorney who attempts to have his clients declared "not guilty". Among other characters are Phoenix's boss, Mia Fey; his assistant and Mia's sister, Maya; and prosecutor Miles Edgeworth. The player controls Phoenix through two sets of sections: investigations and courtroom trials. During investigations they gather information and evidence. During trials they cross-examine witnesses, and answer questions from the judge, the prosecutor, and the witnesses. The story is split into four cases.
80
/100
07
Worms World Party
Worms World Party is an artillery game, which is a type of Turn-based strategy game. Like its predecessors, Worms World Party involves controlling a team of worms and using a collection of weaponry to eliminate the opposing team(s). The worms can walk and jump around and use tools such as the ninja rope and parachute to move to otherwise unreachable locations. The worms have an arsenal of dozens of weapons, ranging from longbows to bazookas and from fireballs to Holy Hand Grenades.
75
/100
08
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is the first Harry Potter video game for the PlayStation, and one of several different games based on the book and movie. This version is a three-dimensional action adventure, where Harry must complete a number of challenges in order to pass his first year of studies at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Successful completion of the tasks often results in house points for Harry's house Gryffindor and failure in some deducts points, so the race for the House Cup can stay open until the end.
60
/100
Frequently asked questions
What is the best Game Boy Advance game of 2001?
Advance Wars currently tops the ranking with a score of 100/100 across 82 ratings. Ranking updated September 2026.
How is this ranking built?
Games are ranked on their aggregated critic score out of 100, with a minimum vote threshold so a single glowing review never outranks a proven classic; the Tier community's own F-to-S grades are shown alongside each game.