As you may probably know, the early adopters of the 3DS (prior to the price drop) got a very neat compensatory gift from Nintendo: 20 free games! All of them Virtual Console rereleases, originating 10 each from NES and Game Boy Advance. While not only a snazzy gift, this shows a lot of promise for the future of the handheld's retro library, an area where big brother Wii unfortunately lost a lot of momentum in the last few years, especially when they're willing to cover stationary consoles. However, GBA being a part of it is arguably even more interesting. A sixth-generation system largely left in the dust during the last few years, today only represented on the market by the DS Lite's backward compatibility. There's a lot to fetch from its library, and I'm glad to see the system is not too recent or too... advanced to receive retroactive treatment. Sure enough, Nintendo has said they "currently have no plans to release these games to the public", but do we seriously believe that will last?

So the GBA games were made available just last week and impatient buyers such as myself have had the chance to download and test them out. The emulation is flawless and the upscaled resolution feels without significant imperfections, largely a great playing experience. So what about the games themselves? Have we been treated to a treasure of classics or the cheapest, least coveted garbage they could find?

The NES selections weren't at all awful, but the line-up lacked surprises and only contained four titles with any real meat to them. The ten GBA games on the other hand, here's a whole bunch of games filled to the brim with entertainment and replayability, several triple-A quality titles! Personally, I feel spoilt. But without getting all religious, let's have a look at all of the games individually where I'll fill in my personal thoughts and experiences with the lot. Do some games raise the bar more than others, could any of them have been replaced for the better? Read on!

F-Zero: Maximum Velocity

Let's take the bad news first. I love this franchise with a passion, it's really too bad the whole series has been out cold ever since 2004. The Nintendo 64 and GameCube incarnations are two of the very best racing games available, but there's also a whole bunch of 2D games with their own merits, three of which are found on the GBA. Maximum Velocity was the first of these three, and is the only game in the whole series not to feature its most famous characters. For better or for worse, this game takes its inspiration from the original Mode 7 SNES game and makes for a solid enough high-speed racer, but with one glaring problem: controls. The controls are so slippery, so difficult to handle it's a surprise this game made it all the way through testing. It can still be mastered, but the "correct" technique, tapping the accelerator during sharp turns, is too random and unlikely. The second GBA title, F-Zero: GP Legend, was a lot more solid in these aspects and might've been a stronger addition to the list. But considering that game's obscurity, it's no surprise they would stick to this, one of the system's launch titles. Maximum Velocity is quite possibly the weakest link, both within its own franchise and compared to the other GBA Ambassador games, but that's not to say it's so godawful it's not welcome to a position on my 3DS home menu. All things considered, I suppose I'm mostly glad to see new evidence of the best futuristic racing series around (beat it, Wipeout) not being entirely forgotten.

Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones

Well this is a nice treat. Let me start by declaring that I have no previous experience with the Fire Emblem franchise whatsoever, this is the first game to enter my collection. Shock, gasp etc. But don't worry, I'm getting started! Some minor experience with Advance Wars gave me at least an idea of what to expect. What can be said on the whole about this game being selected is the supposedly rather surprising fact that the second western Fire Emblem release was picked over the first, and how any game from this franchise was included to begin with. You're spoiling us, Nintendo! I couldn't compare this game in particular to any of its siblings, nor could I do a fair review of it with only two hours of playtime, But I will say that the first impression is good, very good. While I'm sometimes left wishing for more action and less dialogue (which perhaps changes down the line?), I still get enough satisfaction from the action to want to continue. But why oh why must my defeated units be permanently gone? Either way, I'm looking forward to a continued good time with this game and a good reason to check out the rest of the franchise. This game alone is able to bring home the fact of how top class the whole Ambassador line-up is.

TO BE UPDATED