Are there any educational games for Gameboy Advance?

Question

My son is 5 and although he's REALLY smart, he does not like schoolwork. I would really like to get him some games that he can play and learn at the same time. Does anyone know of any?

Answer 1

dont listen to these ppl almost all of them dont know a THING about video games. if u want an educational game then try golden sun, aside from being the best game EVER it also happens to be very educational and stimulating. note that it wasnt actually designed to be educational it was just designed as a nomal video game but it has a lot of very complicated, challenging and extremely fun puzzles.
for example in one part of the game u reach an area thats blocked by rocks. the only way around them is to drain a nearby lake (that has some logs floating in it) go down to the lakebed, and roll the logs around so that when u undam the lake they form a bridge for the character to hop on to and reach the other side. the game is pretty dated now (the original came out in 2001 and the sequel in 2003) so it might be hard to find but it is one of the funnest and most challenging games i have ever played (u can take my word for it, im a major computer geek/game freak ;))
also please note that to play the whole story through u hav to get the 2nd game. the 2nd isnt a sequel as such, its just that the developers couldnt fit the game onto a single cartridge so they had to release it in 2 parts (u transfer ur data from one to the other with either a GBA link cable or a written password) still considering the gameboy advance's limitations in terms of processing power, they did a masterful job. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED


"Originally, Camelot planned to create one single title instead of a series, but due to both the hardware limitations of putting it on a single Game Boy Advance cartridge and the developers' own desire for what they wanted to do with the game, it was expanded to become two successive games, Golden Sun and Golden Sun: The Lost Age. Scenario writer Hiroyuki Takahashi and director Shugo Takahashi had previously designed Shining Force 3, whose story involved playing through the perspectives of both the "good" side and the "bad" side of the characters, and they thought that was an effective way of conveying the full story of a fictional game world, so they incorporated elements of this storytelling methodology into the two-game setup of the Golden Sun series, having the player control the "good guys" in Golden Sun and members of the antagonistic party in The Lost Age.



Golden Sun met with generally strong reviews, of which many were emphatically glowing. Many praised the game's vibrant graphics, high-quality sound, and varied, refined RPG gameplay, with particular optimism on the Djinn-based gameplay system and Battle aspect.[21] It was also praised for being graphically stunning for the limitations of the 8-bit cartridge, with gamespot.com noting "Golden Sun is a throwback to some of the SNES' best."[22] G4 TV stated "It's the best original (nonport) GBA RPG to date", while GamePro raved Golden Sun was "A huge, fantastic, creative, and wickedly fun RPG that doesn’t seem to care that it’s 'just' on a GBA."

Complaints about the game generally revolved around the overuse of text dialogue in the numerous cutscenes throughout the game, especially in the prologue, causing the game to get off to a rather cumbersome start. In addition, some faulted Golden Sun for still relying on the "wander around, get into a random battle, win battle, wander around, random battle, etc." theme in many role-playing games. At IGN, Golden Sun has a ranking of 9.7 out of 10 ("Incredible"), a 9.2/10 on MobyGames, an 8.6/10 on Gamespot.com,[22] and a 8.5/10 on GameInformer.com (the main complaint being low replay value, it was still titled "GBA's Golden Child").

In 2001 Golden Sun won the Nintendo Power Award for best overall game of the year for the Game Boy Advance.

Golden Sun was ranked 94 on IGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games ever."

"Golden Sun: The Lost Age generally received the same optimism as its forerunner, with most calling it both an improvement and a more hefty challenge. It won the 2003 Nintendo Power award for best graphics on the GBA. It was ranked 78 on IGN's Readers Choice Top 100 games ever, higher than its predecessor Golden Sun.

Answer 2

Top 100 Gameboy Advance Games

Answer 3

Like many said many of the RPGs are the closest to "educational."

But I know of a very strategic game, Advance Wars. It engages you into really thinking up strategic war tactics. There are many factors that will contribute to the decisions you make in the game, such as terrain, enemy position, enemy's numbers, weather, fuel, etc(x10). It may be too advance of a game for your son, but considering the fact that you claim he is smart, I think he could handle it. Also, the game was made wee back in 2000, so the graphics are a bit dated.

In my opinion though, you shouldn't use the gameboy to make him learn and have fun. Leapfrog does the job well done. Not to mention books! Balance his amount of playing with the amount of reading. Also get him motivated to do his schoolwork. Limit his playing time so that he may have time to do his homework and still have free time. If you don't, in the near future, he would be struggling in school, and major problems would arise.

Answer 4

My little brother is 12. He is very smart and even skipped a grade he is going to a private high school soon and getting letters that he has been accepted to participate in scholarships but all he does is play video games but he does all his school work first though. Games should be a reward for doing a good job. If you go to your local store ask the sales assistant which games are educational. Chess games are the best, brainage, puzzle solving games are great. Since your son if 5 he will enjoy the educational games that have cartoon or disney characters which are easy to find.

Also if see if your son is bored with the school work. Maybe he is too advanced for it. Children like a challenge. Talk to his teacher.

Answer 5

Teaching our kids self-discipline requires that we make them do the tough stuff, even when they don't feel like it. I've learned this the hard way. I discovered my son, who is also really smart , putting his smarts to work manipulating me into thinking he was having problems with his schoolwork. His purpose was to avoid the schoolwork, which he didn't like. He much prefers the computer, or video games.

Since you have such a smart one yourself, it might be a good idea to see if he may be doing the same thing to you in the schoolwork arena. Because your son is only 5 and you are still in the habit forming phase of his schoolwork, I bring this up in case you may be dealing with a similar issue.

I wish you the best!

Answer 6

Sorry- Only for the Nintendo DS or DS Lite. Some educational games are:

Brain Age
Big Brain Academy
Pokemon Trozei! (puzzle)
Advance Wars: Dual Strike I-II (strategy)
The Sims 2 (Hotel management)

Some challenging games are:

Final Fantasy III (puzzle and reading skills)
Pokemon Diamond/Pearl (collecting, puzzle, reading skills)
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon (puzzle skills)
Animal Crossing: Wild World (reading, business and money skill)

Also, if you have the cash, get a wii! there is a pro-active game out there called wii sports. YOU have to move with the remote in order for the character to do the same thing on-screen. Some other games will be coming out soon for that, too. As for the GBA, I'm sorry to say, it's life is coming to an end. Nintendo has stated that in 2007 they will discontinue their GBA franchise. DS isa great system, complete with 3-D graphics, touch screen, microphone, and internet gaming (optional, but the receiving end MUST have your 'friend code').

Answer 7

I have a GBA and have a few games like that-- I wouldn't really call them educational but. . . . I have Monopoly, Risk, Scrabble, Connect Four, Mouse Trap, (pretty much all of the board game ones) and also my favorite is the I Spy one (really fun to play especially for younger kids). If you already have the Gameboy Advance system, I would definitely check out games on ebay rather than buying a new system.

Answer 8

Ok Grand Theft Auto isn't that educational and no where near age apprpriate. Second to the whining teacher it isn't always about the games. Some students are too smart for school. School has to go at the pace of the dumbest kids usually making it rough on the smart ones. The smart ones get bored. As to good games things like Advance Wars are good. Basically any strategy game is educational.

Answer 9

My son is 5 too, and he loves his Leapster. It is a handheld gaming system geared to kids 4-10, and all of the games are educational. Also, try board games geared toward younger kids. There are a lot of educational board games, flash cards, etc.

As far as schoolwork is concerned, you need to help him be motivated. With my son, I offer him a small reward at the end of the week if he gets "smiley faces" on all his homework. I make a huge deal of it every time he brings home a smiley face homework, and I also make a huge deal about any other schoolwork he brings home. I ask him about his day in school every day when he gets home, and again at bedtime. I make sure he knows that he makes me proud when he does well in school. Even though my son is not a huge fan of schoolwork, it means a lot to him that I am proud of something he does.

Answer 10

Its called your the parent hes the child .You have the right to say you have 30 mins a day on this game.If he choses to not listen he loses the 30 mins that day .You can unplug it ,put the game where he doesnt know .When he throws a hissy fit which he will then you say when your ready to listen you can play a game .My son has done this for years .He is a game freak.If I allow him to play games non stop he doesnt speak all day and is in game moad after he turns it off .He freaks out after 2 to 4 hours playing when you tell him to turn it off .I try and allow the weekends for play time and 30 mins through the week .Its all about teaching them whats right for them .What works for him .I new a boy that was real smart and played games all day,but he also had a good start in preschool.Just use his game time as a fun time and dont push the learning games .I had my son play the learning games on the computer jump start kindergarden for your son and sit with him and help him .Good luck!

Answer 11

ing in it) go down to the lakebed, and roll the logs around so that when u undam the lake they form a bridge for the character to hop on to and reach the other side. the game is pretty dated now (the original came out in 2001 and the sequel in 2003) so it might be hard to find but it is one of the funnest and most challenging games i have ever played (u can take my word for it, im a major computer geek/game freak ;))
also please note that to play the whole story through u hav to get the 2nd game. the 2nd isnt a sequel as such, its just that the developers couldnt fit the game onto a single cartridge so they had to release it in 2 parts (u transfer ur data from one to the other with either a GBA link cable or a written password) still considering the gameboy advance's limitations in terms of processing power, they d