since getting my analogue pocket i've been trying out a lot of gba games i've never gotten to play, plus it's sooo gratifying being able to actually play my already frankly large gba collection on hardware that supports the nice modern stuff like taking screenshots and save states. i got the eragon gba cartridge from a friend a few months ago and it's a turn based rpg??? that uses button combos to pull of certain moves??? it's pretty neat actually for a licensed game, but apparently sierra helped develop it so it exceeds the normal shovelware bar.
one thing that i didn't anticipate myself coming back to frequently is pokemon pinball ruby & sapphire. it kind of is the perfect kind of short form gameloop that activates that part of my brain that loves roguelikes, with the very short "runs" that i just have to shrug and admit defeat before trying again, but then also the really long runs where i can feel myself getting more excited at how long i'm able to keep playing, being able to see more things, do more things, catch more pokemon... all while playing a silly little pinball game. it also satisfies that kind of rougelike progression where there's actually no carry over between runs, but because you're getting more familiar with the small amount of mechanics of the game, your progression becomes more about your own skills at the game improving.
something else i didn't anticipate is that dokapon: monster hunter is actually a mystery dungeon type game that also uses rock-paper-scissors turn based combat. it's a bit clunky since the combat does not take place on the dungeon map like literally all other mystery dungeon games so there's some weird stop and go gameplay, but it is still pretty neat and i'd like to play it more.
