One of the Best Game Boy Advance Games Released on February 9 (And It’s Free on Nintendo Switch Online)

One of the best Game Boy Advance games was released on this day, 22 years ago, in 2004. It was an exclusive for the handheld, and it is currently free with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription on both Nintendo Switch and Nintendo Switch 2. And technically, the same game is also one of the great NES games because it is a remake of one of the great NES games of all time.

For those who have not connected the dots, it is Metroid: Zero Mission, a Game Boy Advance remake of the first-ever Metroid game, that turns 22 years old today. Despite being 90-rated, it is actually not the best Metroid game on Game Boy Advance. This honor belongs to the fourth mainline installment released two years prior in 2002: Metroid Fusion, which ranks alongside Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 and The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past & Four Swords as the top three Game Boy Advance games.

Playing in 2025 via Nintendo Switch Online

So, Metroid: Zero Mission turns 22 years old today, but does it hold up? The answer is yes, it holds up pretty well, like many Game Boy Advance games, which were designed for the platform, and thus age well compared to games designed for home consoles from this era. Like many Metroid games, its core gameplay and its atmosphere are almost as good as they were in 2002. That said, the game had some difficulty spikes back in 2002, which have not gotten any easier. In fact, they feel a bit harder as games were generally more difficult and less accessible in 2002 compared to now.

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That said, it is worth noting that not only do you need a Nintendo Switch Online subscription to access this classic, but you need the Expansion Pack, which costs $50 per year versus the normal $20 per year of the vanilla version of the subscription service.

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If you want to play Metroid: Zero Mission in 2026, you really have no other choice but to subscribe to Nintendo Switch Online and get the Expansion Pack. The only other way, unless you are going to go the ROM and emulation route, is to have a Game Boy Advance sitting around and a copy of the original game.

All of that said, and as always, feel free to leave a comment or two letting us know what you think, or join the conversation over on the ComicBook Forum.