A new Game Boy Advance game will be launching a Kickstarter soon, and Goodboy Galaxy has somehow managed to already put together one of 2021's prettiest teaser trailers despite its obvious retro emphasis. The Game Boy Advance, popularly known as the GBA, is a 32-bit handheld from Nitnendo that first released in 2001 before being succeeded by the Nintendo DS in 2004. The GBA represented some serious progress for handhelds in its day, with graphics that were comparable to the SNES, making its aesthetics, combined with its portability, a major selling point.
The GBA is also home to a number of handheld classics. The device helped launch Pokemon Ruby & Sapphire, which in turn innovated on the series' existing formula by introducing concepts like double battles and a more solid foundation for what became commonplace IV and EV systems. Metroid Fusion, another GBA release, was a strong indicator that game depth and quality didn't need to be sacrificed just to obtain the graphics capabilities that made the GBA turn heads in the early 2000s. Throughout its lifespan, the GBA's charming graphics - which challenged developers to do as much as they could with very little - and compelling gameplay made it a fan favorite.
In 2021, though, any sort of Game Boy Advance news is rare - especially a fully-fledged new release, which is what the Goodboy Galaxy Kickstarter launch will be aiming to support. Goodboy Galaxy started out as a jam game but has since been worked on as a full release, and it's aiming to arrive on GBA to help celebrate the device's 20th birthday. As the developer states itself in the game's press section, the last commercial GBA game was The Bee Game in 2007. The impressive graphics and charm in what little is shown in the Goodboy Galaxy trailer, however, suggests there's still something to be gained from working on a GBA release.
The game is "coming soon to Kickstarter," where fans will be able to provide support for the project. The gameplay looks solid and the graphics are impressive for the presumed hardware restraints on the game's aesthetics, though it's worth noting that Goodboy Galaxy will also release on other platforms, though exactly which ones aren't known yet.
Releasing a new GBA game in 2021 is ambitious, not just because it's such an incredibly niche market. The restrictions on development that ensuring a game functions on GBA are pretty significant in 2021, but it appears Goodboy Galaxy isn't suffering under those added complications, with a compelling presentation that looks polished even in its infancy. It's a project worth keeping an eye on - retro gaming certainly has a niche, and the Game Boy Advance is a historically significant handheld that many older players still feel strongly about to this day.
Source: HotPengu/YouTube