heptapod's Journal: my recent indulgences

I have a Gameboy Advance SP and it's quite good. It's tiny, light, rechargeable and backlit along with a large stable of old and new games. Right now I'm going back and forth between playing Pokemon Ruby, Advance Wars, Super Mario World, Tetris and Metroid Fusion.
Pokemon Ruby has sucked up about two hours of my time and I have already beaten the first gym leader. I'm doing my best to avoid spoilers like when what evolves into which and what learns what either by TMs, breeding or by gaining levels. The Pokemon series is a great strategy game where one develops their army of monsters then tests them in the heat of combat. Even though it has the stigma of a kiddie game it can get really involved considering things like STAB (same type attack bonus), mixing and matching the best types. Since I don't know anyone with the patience or desire to play Pokemon of any sort I challenge myself by beating the game using worst possible pokemon available. The best description I can give to people who aren't familiar with the Pokemon games is they are like Final Fantasy or Chrono Cross to be more apt considering their elemental combat system.
Metroid Fusion is okay, a platformer that has eighties graphics and I assume limited replayability.
I bought Super Mario World because back when I was a kid I was poor and couldn't afford something like a SNES. It's a joy to play those old games on a tiny device. Still, beating the boss on world four is tough and I have yet to go any further.
Advance Wars is an amazing game which is saying a lot since I've only played it for an hour. Since I've only played the training missions. I like it because I'm old and don't have time to have every key bound to some command while I click around the screen in addition to micromanaging the output of my resources for one final push on the enemy. I just click, move and take my time with each maneuver. Plus there's always a greater challenge when resources are limited rather than pumping out zerglings and the like for an overwhelming wave of power to ensure an early win. My friend says every system has the game which makes it a must have item. The PS2 has Grand Theft Auto III. The XBox has.. something.. I guess.. and the Gameboy Advance has Advance Wars. A minor point that made me very pleased with Advance Wars was the fact it was only twenty bucks, ten dollars less than the other offerings for that platform.