GBA game for 8 year old girl?

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My mom took one of the "ornaments" of the church xmas tree and has to buy an 8 year old girl a GBA game. I have no idea what I should tell her, anyone have any suggestions? Thanks
 
I would definitely think one of the Super Mario Advance games. Probably the best one is Super Mario Advance--the first one, which is really Super Mario Bros. 2 because that one lets you pick Princess Peach as a playable character. It is cute (you throw vegetables at the bad guys) and is easy to find as Player's Choice for only $20. Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World is also a fun game, but you can't be the Princess. Instead you have Yoshi, who is cute. This one is also $20, but harder to find in my experience. Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island is also fun, and you can be Yoshi who has to carry around Baby Mario. $20. Difficulty-wise, I would also say that the original Super Mario Advance is probably the easiest.

I would say stay away from the Barbie type games because they don't have the replay value. Pokemon may also be popular, but not every kid likes that (girls?) and those games require lots of reading to enjoy so it might be tough for an 8-year-old. Sonic is a fun game, but the character is not as recognizable as Mario and there is no "girl" character to play.
 
I think I'd echo the Mario Kart recommendation. Fun, lots of replay value, you have the Peach character option (as soonersfan mentioned in his Mario Advance recommendation), and it's just a plain good game. Only $20 too, if I'm not mistaken.
 
[quote name='soonersfan60']Sonic is a fun game, but the character is not as recognizable as Mario and there is no "girl" character to play.[/QUOTE]

My 8 year old sister loved that game is why I suggested it, and it wasn't as frusterating as mario. And ummm theres a pink hedgehog named Amy....shes a girl...
 
Has to be a GBA game? Also, why is it these threads never mention what kinds of games or interests the subject has?
 
[quote name='gunm']Has to be a GBA game? Also, why is it these threads never mention what kinds of games or interests the subject has?[/quote]
I think it's a Secret Santa type thing. They don't know who the gift is going to, basically.

Um, Super Mario Advance seems like a good choice to me.
Perhaps Yoshi Topsy Turvy... (Which is actually in my tradelist. ;))
 
[quote name='yukine']I think it's a Secret Santa type thing. They don't know who the gift is going to, basically.

Um, Super Mario Advance seems like a good choice to me.
Perhaps Yoshi Topsy Turvy... (Which is actually in my tradelist. ;))[/quote]what a sneaky CAGer :)
 
I'd recommend Sonic Advance or any of the Super Mario Advance games. I'm a big RPG fan now, but I really did not have the patience when I was 8--I'll take a long shot and suggest this might be more typical for an 8-year-old than not.

I'd lean toward Super Mario Advance 2 (Super Mario World) out of the SM Advances. As a young'n, I loved both SMB2 and SMB3 dearly and they certainly hold more nostalgia value for me, but IMO, Super Mario World simply has more in it.

I can't comment on the Advance which is Yoshi's Island, since I--tragically--have never played it. The only thing I'm qualified to say is that it looks to be a pretty game. (For, y'know, SNES era).
 
The FIRST Sonic Advance was pretty good, but not as good as the Super Mario Bros. games (and the later Sonic Advance games are crazy hard).

I agree that Super Mario Bros. 3 and Super Mario World would be nice choices. Mario & Luigi was a little beyond a 6 year old I was helping play the game (although she did have some fun messing around with it). I'd think an 8 year old would be okay with it probably.

Yoshi's Topsy Turvy was really fun, so I agree with that suggestion too. Maybe Wario Ware, though it's a bit weird :D (and plus something like Super Mario World would probably have more depth to it, get more out of it).

There's all kinds of great games, but it's hard to know for sure since we can't know what she likes-or what she might already own for that matter.
 
My step daughter is 7 years old and first of all, do not choose any game that takes a lot of reading because at this age, most kids can read but it is time consuming and their comprehension isn't the best.

And do not choose a crappy licensed game either (I got her Disney Princess and she has barely touched it at all).

She likes to play Super Mario World (Super Mario Advance 2) although she gets frustrated by it pretty easily. But she keeps going back to it so I would try that or Super Mario Advance 1.
 
Wario Ware will give the girl attention-deficit-disorder in no time. It's already hard enough for kids to sit still and stay focused on a task in school without the "constant" stimulation they are used to from games and TV... This will make that stimulation window even shorter before the kids expect more sensory input and stimulation. I refuse to get those games for my son. (He's 11 now, but would have started them at 8 or 9.)

EDIT: In case the OP doesn't know, Wario Ware is a collection of mini games that are played in under 5 seconds each, and they keep introducing a new one right after the other.
 
[quote name='soonersfan60']Wario Ware will give the girl attention-deficit-disorder in no time. It's already hard enough for kids to sit still and stay focused on a task in school without the "constant" stimulation they are used to from games and TV... This will make that stimulation window even shorter before the kids expect more sensory input and stimulation. I refuse to get those games for my son. (He's 11 now, but would have started them at 8 or 9.)

EDIT: In case the OP doesn't know, Wario Ware is a collection of mini games that are played in under 5 seconds each, and they keep introducing a new one right after the other.[/quote]
I don't know, that seems rather ridiculous to me.

You're not going to get ADD/ADHD from playing WarioWare once in a while. Just like you're not going to go on a murder spree after playing Grand Theft Auto.
 
[quote name='yukine']I don't know, that seems rather ridiculous to me.

You're not going to get ADD/ADHD from playing WarioWare once in a while. Just like you're not going to go on a murder spree after playing Grand Theft Auto.[/quote]

That's not the same comparison. For one thing, the age difference comes greatly into play. We are talking about giving Wario Ware to a still developing child who may have limited exposure to alternative activities and experiences with different life settings, whereas Grand Theft Auto would be played (presumably) by a well adjusted Teen who can recognize it as a diversion and no when to intersperse other experiences or simply take a break. Wario Ware causes you to become conditioned to expect sensory input rapidly and respond, and it becomes almost like an addiction to see if you can keep doing it faster and better. In Grand Theft Auto, you are actually planning your mission and objectives for part of the game play, then "mashing buttons" for part of the game play time. It's true that once in awhile wouldn't hurt, but you don't know how many other games this child may or may not have, so Wario Ware could be the only game she can play. Besides, there is a frustration factor with Wario Ware for little kids with some of the games. Again, if it is one game out of many, it probably isn't that alarming, but a gift given to a child for a church gift program implies that the family is of limited means so she may not have many other games to play to balance out the frantic pace of Wario Ware.
 
Winx Club for GBA..

It's Zelda lite with Winx Club characters

For a licensed game it plays VERY well.

Also, the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red, very little reading and cute sprites, plus she can choose to be a girl
 
[quote name='soonersfan60']That's not the same comparison. For one thing, the age difference comes greatly into play. We are talking about giving Wario Ware to a still developing child who may have limited exposure to alternative activities and experiences with different life settings, whereas Grand Theft Auto would be played (presumably) by a well adjusted Teen who can recognize it as a diversion and no when to intersperse other experiences or simply take a break. Wario Ware causes you to become conditioned to expect sensory input rapidly and respond, and it becomes almost like an addiction to see if you can keep doing it faster and better. In Grand Theft Auto, you are actually planning your mission and objectives for part of the game play, then "mashing buttons" for part of the game play time. It's true that once in awhile wouldn't hurt, but you don't know how many other games this child may or may not have, so Wario Ware could be the only game she can play. Besides, there is a frustration factor with Wario Ware for little kids with some of the games. Again, if it is one game out of many, it probably isn't that alarming, but a gift given to a child for a church gift program implies that the family is of limited means so she may not have many other games to play to balance out the frantic pace of Wario Ware.[/quote]You're also talking about ADD/ADHD, which is an actual medical condition, and not something which is "learnable." Leave child psychology to the professionals, chief, the kid just wants a game. :gba:
 
[quote name='soonersfan60']That's not the same comparison. For one thing, the age difference comes greatly into play. We are talking about giving Wario Ware to a still developing child who may have limited exposure to alternative activities and experiences with different life settings, whereas Grand Theft Auto would be played (presumably) by a well adjusted Teen who can recognize it as a diversion and no when to intersperse other experiences or simply take a break. Wario Ware causes you to become conditioned to expect sensory input rapidly and respond, and it becomes almost like an addiction to see if you can keep doing it faster and better. In Grand Theft Auto, you are actually planning your mission and objectives for part of the game play, then "mashing buttons" for part of the game play time. It's true that once in awhile wouldn't hurt, but you don't know how many other games this child may or may not have, so Wario Ware could be the only game she can play. Besides, there is a frustration factor with Wario Ware for little kids with some of the games. Again, if it is one game out of many, it probably isn't that alarming, but a gift given to a child for a church gift program implies that the family is of limited means so she may not have many other games to play to balance out the frantic pace of Wario Ware.[/quote]

Yes, of course they are both completely different games. My point is, it's still a game. I just don't think a kid playing WarioWare is enough to give someone a neurological disorder like ADD/ADHD.

It's true I don't know how many games she has, but games aren't the only things kids do. They go outside and play, watch a movie, read a book, what have you.

Like you said, kids don't have much of a attention span to begin with. If he ends up getting WarioWare for this girl, it'll most likely end up in the closet within a few weeks.

Anyway, how about Super Mario Advance then? :)
 
My personal opinion is that Super Mario Advance would be much more enjoyable for an 8-year-old... especially a girl. It is cute and colorful, has a story she can enjoy (throwing vegetables at bad guys!), and has a girl character that is playable.
 
[quote name='sarausagi']Winx Club for GBA..

It's Zelda lite with Winx Club characters

For a licensed game it plays VERY well.

Also, the Pokemon Mystery Dungeon Red, very little reading and cute sprites, plus she can choose to be a girl[/QUOTE]

Pokemon Mystery Dungeon has gotten mostly bad reviews, and is really hard core from what I've seen of it. I don't think it would be the best choice (she might love it, but I think there's a better chance she wouldn't than with something like Super Mario World).

I still think Super Mario World is a great choice because there's a lot of game there, and most people love it. You can still get something out of it even if you're not too great (though it's not overly hard).

Warioware is a much shorter game, so that's why it wouldn't be as high on my suggestion list.
 
Sonic or Mario. But when I was a kid Mario games drived me crazy how they got so hard sometimes, and my stepsister whos 8 does the same compared to Sonic.
 
[quote name='PhreQuencYViii']Sonic or Mario. But when I was a kid Mario games drived me crazy how they got so hard sometimes, and my stepsister whos 8 does the same compared to Sonic.[/quote]Yeah, I remember that. :)Some SMB3 levels really killed me. I could never beat the third world and had to whistle-skip it (and I still can't beat the pirhanna plant levels in world 7).

I stand by my prior recommendation--I lean toward Mario, though that's probably bias.
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']Pokemon Mystery Dungeon has gotten mostly bad reviews, and is really hard core from what I've seen of it. I don't think it would be the best choice (she might love it, but I think there's a better chance she wouldn't than with something like Super Mario World).
[/QUOTE]

Well, the reason I suggested is because the Pokemon are REALLY REALLY cute

but mostly because the D/C/B missions are easy enough and are the biggest part of the game, the command menu is easy enough, and she might really enjoy the quiz [finding out what pokemon she is]

Once she gets near end game, she'll either be good enough for the huge dungeons or just need some help from her parents or an older gamer.

Plus what little story there is in it has a much better chance of amusing an 8 year old. Even I found it fun...[personally I liked Pokemon Mystery Dungeon way better than FF XII...PMD is a good ol fashioned dungeon crawl, most gamers today can't really find the fun in that]
 
[quote name='sarausagi']Plus what little story there is in it has a much better chance of amusing an 8 year old. Even I found it fun...[personally I liked Pokemon Mystery Dungeon way better than FF XII...PMD is a good ol fashioned dungeon crawl, most gamers today can't really find the fun in that][/QUOTE]

Err...dungeon crawls are incredibly popular. There's tons that come out every year for almost every system. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon in particular has just gotten terrible reviews. I haven't played it yet, so I can't comment personally, but I'd have a hard time recommending a game that's supposed to be hard and frustrating and kind of has a narrow market for an 8 year old (over something like Super Mario World that everyone likes).
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']Err...dungeon crawls are incredibly popular. There's tons that come out every year for almost every system. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon in particular has just gotten terrible reviews. I haven't played it yet, so I can't comment personally, but I'd have a hard time recommending a game that's supposed to be hard and frustrating and kind of has a narrow market for an 8 year old (over something like Super Mario World that everyone likes).[/quote]I personally wouldn't pick it over the others, either, but is it really supposed to be hard? I power-leveled all the way up to and through the credits, entirely by accident, without noticing--I just thought it was a FF:MQ-style "beginner's" pokemon game. Then I found some dungeons where I was on-level or underleveled for the terrain.

I'm going to have to look up some reviews now--come to think of it, I only read E3 impressions and 'previews.'
 
[quote name='Wolfpup']Err...dungeon crawls are incredibly popular. There's tons that come out every year for almost every system. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon in particular has just gotten terrible reviews. I haven't played it yet, so I can't comment personally, but I'd have a hard time recommending a game that's supposed to be hard and frustrating and kind of has a narrow market for an 8 year old (over something like Super Mario World that everyone likes).[/QUOTE]

Well, precisely, I kind of hate the idea of yet another generation plagued by nostalgia.

When I was 8 I was hammering my way through Dungeon Explorer on Turbografx, PMD is NO WHERE near as hard as Dungeon Explorer, plus it has a silly story and cute cuddly pokemon. I think it'd be a hit, and there's a good chance if she has a GBA, she has at least one Mario game, but little to no chance she has PMD.

I realize the reviews are horrible, but having played the DS version [with GBA style controls] and being thrown back to my youth and actually enjoying going through the 30 plus foot dungeons, I can't see why anyone wouldn't enjoy PMD. It does get kind of easy, when you beat a huge boss and say "Oh, that's it?" but it's still a good game and she is the true target audience
 
Yes, any Wario Ware for the GBA is great. But, i know someone who is 8years old and 15 year old. both brothers played yoshi topsy turdvy. they both said it sucks. 8year old kid went with his mom to get it. turned out that they didnt like it. they beat the game though. i really recommend u to get wario ware.
 
[quote name='trunks982']Yes, any Wario Ware for the GBA is great. But, i know someone who is 8years old and 15 year old. both brothers played yoshi topsy turdvy. they both said it sucks. 8year old kid went with his mom to get it. turned out that they didnt like it. they beat the game though. i really recommend u to get wario ware.[/quote]
He/she doesn't know what they are talking about.

Get Yoshi Topsy Turvy, it's an excellent game. Don't forget that it's in my tradelist! :D
 
Yeah, Yoshi Topsy Turvy is great. One of the best platformers in recent years IMO. I like DK: King of Swing too, although probably not as much. I liked Topsy Turvy better than Wario Ware: Twisted also (both used that gyro sensor thing).
 
[quote name='yukine']He/she doesn't know what they are talking about.

Get Yoshi Topsy Turvy, it's an excellent game. Don't forget that it's in my tradelist! :D[/quote]No ulterior motives here, eh? >:p

::sidles over to casually look at tradelist::
 
[quote name='afedock']My mom took one of the "ornaments" of the church xmas tree and has to buy an 8 year old girl a GBA game. I have no idea what I should tell her, anyone have any suggestions? Thanks[/quote]

Personally, i am not sure myself. It really depends on what the person actually plays., likes.
Mario, Pokemon should be always a good choice.
But most people buy Raven, Montana, Bratz, Dogz, Catz, Horsez etc. for girls.
If she would be having a DS, maybe Cooking Mama might be a good choice too.
 
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