Nintendo is the one true king of handheld consoles. People love playing different games on portable consoles, like the Game Boy and the Nintendo DS. But one handheld that took the world by storm was the Game Boy Advance, a more powerful version of the original Game Boy that had a new design and was more powerful. The games available on the Game Boy Advance were the equivalent of Super Nintendo titles, but playable while on the go. Because of that, the system was massively successful and had a ton of fantastic games released for it, including many beloved classics that are still talked about to this day.

Within the library of games that were made for the Game Boy Advance are a select number of gems that are very rare. Unlike many other games that are elusive, some of the GBA games that are considered gems to collectors are incredibly difficult to find, let alone purchase for a private collection. Here are the five rarest Game Boy Advance games that you may never get to own.

5 Ninja Five-O

Pocket ninja action

Some of the coolest concepts for video games involve ninjas in some way. There's just something about them that is intriguing and action-packed when in the context of a game. One ninja game for the GBA is Ninja Five-O. The game was made by Hudson Soft in 2003, and is also known under the title Ninja Cop in PAL regions. The game follows a ninja named Joe Osugi and his mission to stop a group of terrorists from causing havoc while under the influence of demonic masks.

Gameplay in Ninja Five-O is similar to other action games, where Joe can take down enemies across five different missions. Each mission has three stages that end with a boss battle, with a ton of magic powers and ninja clashing taking place. The game had a limited release and little marketing, making it rare among GBA games. A loose copy of Ninja Five-O is worth around $280, while a complete-in-box copy is more valuable, often being priced at $780 or more. Some auctions have seen the game sell for more than $1,500 at the time of sale.

4 Drill Dozer (Not For Resale edition)

Drilling into the wallet

Most people would know the developer Game Freak from their work on the Pokemon series. But that isn't the only games they have made over the years, with Drill Dozer being among the other titles the company has made for Nintendo platforms. The game was released in 2006 for the Game Boy Advance, and was later ported over to the Wii U Virtual Console in 2016. Drill Dozer is one of a few GBA games that has a rumble feature called "force feedback" built into the cartridge, which was carried over to the Virtual Console port for the Wii U.

The game is an action-platformer where players control Jill and her handy Drill Dozer. Jill needs to traverse stages and use her drill to overcome obstacles and enemies that block her path. Each stage has a boss fight at the end, which requires some finesse to defeat. While a standard version of the game is easy to find, a much rarer "Not For Resale" edition is a lot more valuable to collectors. It was given to stores as a preview prior to the official release, which allowed people to play the game early. This edition of the game is worth over $400 and is difficult to find.

3 DemiKids Dark Version

The devil children adventures

After the Pokémon series became very popular, there were a number of other series that tried to emulate the formula of Pokémon to find success. One of those series includes a Shin Megami Tensei spin-off title called DemiKids, which is also known as Shin Megami Tensei: Devil Children in Japan. The game was developed by Multimedia Intelligence Transfer and published by Atlus for the Game Boy Advance in 2003, and has dual releases with different versions of the game, titled Dark Version and Light Version. The story of both versions is the same, even if demons and other specific things you can find in each one are a little different.

Gameplay is very similar to the Shin Megami Tensei games, with battles being done in a first-person perspective, but exploring environments is done in third-person. Players can fight and capture demons to use in combat, with certain demons only being found in specific versions of the game. A loose copy of DemiKids is worth $172 in most auctions. But a complete copy of the game skyrockets in price and can be valued at around $650.

2 Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen (Not For Resale edition)

Remaking a classic

It can't be understated just how massive the release of the first Pokémon games was on the video game industry. It was a major success commercially and caused many companies to release games that had a similar premise. In 2004, the original Pokémon Red and Blue titles got remade for the Game Boy Advance, and were retitled Pokémon FireRed and LeafGreen. The plot and gameplay of both games are very similar to the original releases, but with a few changes that expand upon them, and include elements from later Pokémon games as well. New areas like the Sevii Islands were added for late-game content, and quality-of-life changes were added to make the experience better. Both games could also communicate with Pokémon Ruby and Saphire to trade Honenn Region Pokémon with other players.

The "Not for Resale" variants of these Pokémon remakes are very valuable to collectors. They weren't made with boxes like normal Game Boy Advance games, and were given to stores for previews. For Pokémon FireRed, a copy of this edition of the game can be worth over $700 if you can find it. While the same edition for Pokémon LeafGreen is valued at over $500 alone. Both games are beloved by fans of the series, so it's understandable that they would fetch higher prices than most other GBA titles.

1 Pokémon Emerald (Plays on DS edition)

A very expensive variant

One of the most expensive Game Boy Advance games you can find is a version of Pokémon Emerald. The game is part of the third-generation of Pokémon, featuring Pokémon from the Hoenn region. It was released for the Game Boy Advance in 2005, but was also playable on the Nintendo DS. This was part of Nintendo's approach to promoting Pokémon games across different platforms, since the Nintendo DS was backwards compatible with GBA titles. However, the game is the same regardless of what platform it's played on.

While the core gameplay is the same as previous Pokémon titles, Pokémon Emerald also adds certain Pokémon from Gold and Silver into the region, allowing players to capture and trade them like others. The packaging of Pokémon Emerald is a little different to the "Plays on DS" edition, with a foil box that features Rayquaza on the cover and a label that says it can be played on the DS. A loose copy of this edition of Pokémon Emerald is worth over $1,300 alone, but a complete-in-box version of it is worth much more, being valued at over $3,000. Some auctions for this version of the game can be found being sold for over $4,500 in some cases, and possibly more in others.

Rare GBA gems you may never own

The Game Boy Advance was a great handheld console with a ton of great games to play on it. Within the GBA library are games that have become incredibly rare collectibles that most retro game collectors struggle to find. Because of how prohibitively expensive some of these games can be, chances are you'll never get to find and own them, even if you're willing to pay top dollar for them. Unless you managed to pick up such games back when they first released, then you may have some certified valuable gems in your hands that are worth looking up.