Game Boy Advance

Game Boy Advance
	; An original, white Game Boy Advance model
Type	Handheld
Release dates	March 21, 2001 ; June 11, 2001 ; June 22, 2001 ; June 8, 2004 ;

The Game Boy Advance is a 32-bit handheld console released by Nintendo in 2001. It is the successor of the Game Boy Color. The Game Boy Advance is backward compatible with both Game Boy and Game Boy Color games. In 2003, it received an upgraded version with a clamshell design and backlit screen, the Game Boy Advance SP. In 2005, another model was released, the Game Boy Micro, which dropped the clamshell design for a brick-like shape and does not feature backward compatibility with Game Boy and Game Boy Color games.

The Nintendo GameCube has a peripheral titled the Game Boy Player that allows Game Boy Advance games to be played on the GameCube. This can be done by inserting a Game Boy Advance cartridge into the Game Boy Player's cartridge slot. Just like the Game Boy Advance's original and SP variants, the Game Boy Player also supports Game Boy and Game Boy Color cartridges.

Games

Most The Legend of Zelda games for the Game Boy Advance consist of re-releases of earlier games. The two Nintendo Entertainment System games, The Legend of Zelda and Zelda II: The Adventure of Link were directly ported as individual releases for the Classic NES Series. The Super Nintendo Entertainment System title, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, was also ported but was only released on a compilation that also includes the exclusive multiplayer game, The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords. The compilation, titled The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past/Four Swords, was the first The Legend of Zelda-related release for the Game Boy Advance.

The Nintendo GameCube title The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords Adventures has the Game Boy Advance as a controller option, by connecting it using the Nintendo GameCube–Game Boy Advance Link Cable. In this mode, gameplay for interior locations are displayed on the Game Boy Advance screen rather than the GameCube.

Aside from The Legend of Zelda: Four Swords, the only other original The Legend of Zelda game for the handheld is The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap, which released around the end of the system's lifespan.