Nintendo 3DS Ambassador GBA games out Friday

By Tom Phillips Published 14 December, 2011

Zelda: Minish Cap! Fire Emblem! F-Zero!

Nintendo has announced the full list of ten Game Boy Advance titles to be given away in the 3DS Ambassador programme.

The selection of GBA games will be available to download this Friday, 16th December and includes some of the best Nintendo titles available on the handheld.

Zelda adventure The Minish Cap, Mario Kart: Super Circuit, Metroid Fusion and Wario Ware Inc. were all recipients of a coveted Eurogamer 9/10.

The full list lies below:

  • Fire Emblem: The Sacred Stones
  • F-Zero Maximum Velocity
  • Kirby & The Amazing Mirror
  • Mario Kart: Super Circuit
  • Mario vs. Donkey Kong
  • Metroid Fusion
  • The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap
  • Wario Land 4
  • WarioWare, Inc.: Minigame Mania
  • Yoshi's Island: Super Mario Advance 3

Japanese gamers also get the list on Friday - the day before PlayStation Vita launches there.

The 3DS Ambassador programme is open to all 3DS owners who purchased the system before this summer's price drop.

Once the games become available on Friday, you'll need to download them via the 3DS eShop's menus. Here's how.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Phillips

Tom joined Eurogamer in 2010 and has quickly made his mark writing news and columns and coming up with puntastic straplines. Questionable beard. @TomPhillips151 on Twitter.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Phillips archive page.

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Comments (90) Latest comment 5 months ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • melatonin #1 5 months ago

    Amazing list. Thanks, Nintendo!

  • Der_tolle_Emil #2 5 months ago

    Awesome! Have two flights to catch on Saturday and Sunday, perfect timing.

  • Chompee #3 5 months ago

    Nintendo, with these amazing games, you are really spoiling us.

  • Ror1984 #4 5 months ago

    \o/

  • zeroboo #5 5 months ago

    xmas just came early!

  • kinky_mong #6 5 months ago

    Awesome list! Very jealous that I don't qualify as I waited for a price drop.

  • geox30 #7 5 months ago

    Finally!Have played most of them but never Kirby,Fire Emblem and Metroid.Perfectly happy with the list,although Mario Kart and Pullblox got me addicted!

    edit:if no Advance Wars means we will see that in 3D,I am very pleased.
    Edited by geox30 at 14/12/11 @ 11:37

  • bemani247 #8 5 months ago

    F-zero? F-yeah!

  • SlackMaster #9 5 months ago

    Sweet :p

  • Toothball #10 5 months ago

    Pretty good set. I'm most pleased to see Minish Cap in there, as I foolishly let that one slip by on the GBA itself.

  • Buenos_Estente #11 5 months ago

    wish i was an ambassador

  • osh #12 5 months ago

    Now that is a solid list. I've had all of them except Kirby at various points. This is a nice boost for the 3DS (as if Monster Hunter wasn't enough!)

  • golem09 #13 5 months ago

    Oh god, Yoshi's Island, so we meet again for the bazillionth time.
    But I'll gladly acceppt the challenge (again)

  • Kafeen #14 5 months ago

    Very nice selection of games.

  • Der_tolle_Emil #15 5 months ago

    The only downside is that I'll probably not get any 3ds games for quite a while now until I have finished these. I only played Minish Cap so they are all new games to me!

  • dudefella #16 5 months ago

    I feel like a spoilt child for even thinking this, as it's a great selection, but I wish it was Zero Mission instead of Fusion.

  • Whitster #17 5 months ago

    Yay Warioware, I wonder if they'll get Warioware Twisted on the eshop one day as it was never officaly available in the UK and the 3DS accelorometer would be perfect for it.

  • javvyman #18 5 months ago

    YESSSS! I got my wish with Minish Cap!

    Also, this will make it 22 Free games now (20 Ambassador + Excitebike & Four Swords)

    Spoilt! :D

  • henrix #19 5 months ago

    That's a great bunch of games! Been meaning to play The Minish Cap again anyway.

  • MoGamer2006 #20 5 months ago

    That is one amazing list - a lot of 100% classic games there.

  • Joco84 #21 5 months ago

    Minish Cap is the only Zelda game I've never played, finally my prayers have been answered!!!!!!

    Thanks Nintendo!!!!!!!!

  • Joco84 #22 5 months ago

    @EddieMink very much doubt it mate, probably direct replicas of the original games

  • wizlon #23 5 months ago

    Quality list, it's missing a couple of games I would have liked but I'm loath to complain.

    Now just release Advanced Wars, Super Mario Land 3 Advance and Golden Sun 1&2. I will pay a fair price for each.

    Edit: Also worth saying that for people who haven't played Minish cap, play it, it's amazing.
    Edited by wizlon at 14/12/11 @ 12:02

  • BigDannyH #24 5 months ago

    Excellent list.

    Here's a question, do people think Wind Waker will ever make its way onto the 3DS? Never played it but would gladly buy it.

  • penfold_007 #25 5 months ago

    Hats of to Nintendo for a quite brilliant selection of games there.

  • ulikmegee #26 5 months ago

    Sorry Nintendo but this was not enough to keep me from selling my 3ds a few days ago. The Ambassador program would of been a great accompanist if there were more quality games on the console. Mario 3d Land is far too easy, Mario Kart is ok, Zelda is over 10 years old. I am pre ordering a ps Vita. Goodbye.

  • Paulie_P #27 5 months ago

    Wow that list is better than I expected. Looking forward to Fire Emblem, never completed it back in the day.

    Also, I love that the recent update allows me to pay the exact amount for games on the 3DS shop, since that came in, I've made 2 purchases and have my eye on a few more. It's definitely a step in the right direction, I hope MS follow suit and ditch the points system on the next XBox.
    Edited by Paulie_P at 14/12/11 @ 12:13

  • X201 #28 5 months ago

    Would have preferred a box of Ferero Rocher :cry:

  • Donaldthescotishtwin #29 5 months ago

    Great

  • tnman #30 5 months ago

    WHAT A SELECTION! Woot!

  • FuzzyDuck #31 5 months ago

    Nice list!

    Are they for general sale too? I'll gladly splodge out for Zelda, F-Zero and Mario Kart?

  • andywilkie35 #32 5 months ago

    Fuck yeah! Haven't missed a day of gaming on my 3DS since two days before Mario land 3DS came out (thanks shopto for early delivery yet again!), no chance I'll miss a day anytime soon with Tales of the Abyss and all these beauts!

  • redcrayon #33 5 months ago

    @javvyman

    23 games if you've registered for Kid Icarus 3D :)

  • CaptainTrips #34 5 months ago

    16 years after release, and I still rate Yoshi's Island as the best 2D platformer of all time. Can't wait to get dug in and maybe even get 100% this time! :)

  • BearFishPie #35 5 months ago

    Good Lord! That's some list!

  • Monsieur_Blade #36 5 months ago

    When i first saw this story i panicked that it was gonna announce they'd been delayed til 2012. This Friday is great news though!

    I haven't played any of the 10 titles so which would people recommend playing first?

    I fancy metroid fusion and yoshi's island.

    With the ambassador games, Mario 3D land and zen pinball, my 3ds is currently getting more play time tan my xbox 360... Never thought i'd say that!

  • Oli Verified Reviews Editor, Eurogamer.net #37 5 months ago

    All great games, and there are two solid gold classics there, WarioWare and Yoshi's Island.

    Once upon a time, somebody wrote this about Yoshi's Island in Edge magazine: http://www.next-gen.biz/features/time-extend-smw2-yoshis-island

  • BearFishPie #38 5 months ago

    @X201 Weez zees selection of games you are really spoiling uz.

  • deez #39 5 months ago

    @ulikmegee out of interest, did you do all the special mario stages plus collect all the coins? For a lot of us, thats where the fun really lies. Brilliant game.

  • Showmeyomoves #40 5 months ago

    @javvyman If you register at leazst two games from a selection of 3DS games (Mario Kart 7 and SM3DL among them) at Club Nintendo, you'll also get 3D Classics: Kid Icarus for free in January. :)

  • scouserfuller9 #41 5 months ago

    @BigDannyH Can't see it happening. Nintendo said a few months back they're planning a brand new Zelda on the 3DS next, but also mentioned although there's no plans to date, Zelda: MM could well be a future release!

  • lexxx #42 5 months ago

    Loved Minish Cap, can't wait for a re-visit

  • StolenGlory #43 5 months ago

    Fire Emblem and Minish Cap! GET FUCKING IN!

  • Monkeyspoon #44 5 months ago

    Looking forward to these although my home screen is going to look like even more of a mess. I wish they would allow me to put games in folders.

  • javvyman #45 5 months ago

    @Showmeyomoves @redcrayon

    I'm working on it, registered Mario 3DS, just waiting for Mario Kart 3DS to hit the £25 sweet spot! :D

    EDIT: Getting negged because I want to wait for a game to come down in price? ok...
    Edited by javvyman at 14/12/11 @ 13:53

  • benfresh76 #46 5 months ago

    Wow, Nintendo's cup runneth over...That is quite a list! It's interesting how Nintendo harp on about the value of the experience offered by their games over 59p ios apps etc when, despite the various gafs surrounding it, they have given away so much with the 3DS. I for one am not complaining, roll on Friday!

  • CrispyXUK #47 5 months ago

    My 3DS screen is gonna be chocka' with games, cheers Nintendo.

  • Nemesis #48 5 months ago

    Been playing a ton of these games via the Gamecube Player and I must say they still, to this day, look bloody great. I'll be turning the volume down a bit on SMA3, mind..waaaa.

  • Luckyjim #49 5 months ago

    Some great games. Out of interest, did Fire Emblem on the GBA come out in the UK?

    /realises we may get different games.

  • Kami #50 5 months ago

    Yaaaaaaaaaay! Good free games!

    Which is good because Xmas shopping is bloody expensive, nice to get a free (sort of) treat to tide me over the worst of it...

  • Suttieb #51 5 months ago

    @ulikmegee Bye


    Great List! Almost as bad as waiting for Christmas day now!
    Edited by Suttieb at 14/12/11 @ 13:37

  • Zackv4861 #52 5 months ago

    Well done Nintendo. A great list!!!

  • andisart #53 5 months ago

    Nintendo, you are so good to us! Thank you, what a nice Xmas treat :-)

    I was really hoping for Zelda Minish Cap, you made my wish come true.

  • qwertymz #54 5 months ago

    Cool..

  • alexbulluk #55 5 months ago

    Nintendo shoots and scores!

    Brilliant list of games, and it comes at a good time (for me) because it's my birthday on the 16th! These games are my present now :D

  • Beano #56 5 months ago

    Very good list - already own most of them on for my GBA but nice to have them on my 3DS :)

  • dhughes147 #57 5 months ago

    Would anybody else be happier if they released these apart, say one a week? I hate having loads of games at once and having to decide which one to play, half the time I dip into a couple of them but never really get into any. Still haven't played the NES games much.
    Edited by dhughes147 at 14/12/11 @ 14:25

  • ulikmegee #58 5 months ago

    @deez yes I did. I'm not denying it's a brilliant game. it's just too easy(as with New Super Mario Bros on DS & Wii).

  • ulikmegee #59 5 months ago

    @Suttieb Go fuck your xmas turkey. It was my opinion on the way 3ds has turned into a turd.

    Good luck with the retarded looking circle peripheral & good luck when the revised 3ds comes out thus making your 3ds worth about a quarter of it's original price.

    Not forgetting the 3d bit is proper shit, graphics are not as good as they should be
    For those hat say the Ds was under powered compared to the PSP yet still trumped it with innovation, I agree. The ads cannot innovate anymore than the DS did as it bar the shite 3d, it uses the same tricks as a Ds.

    The Vita on the other hand has a better touchscreen,more grunt,will have better sports games,fighting games, action games.
    Bioshock Vita, I can't wait, Fifa Vita, I can't wait. Have you played the footie games on 3ds? They are laughable.

    Good luck wanking in a sock over xmas you Nintendo homos

    Neg me you sad cunts
    Edited by ulikmegee at 14/12/11 @ 17:21

  • dhughes147 #60 5 months ago

    Excuse me for going off topic, but in relation to my earlier post, when somebody asks a genuine question because they want to find out what people think, do people neg the comment because they think it is a rubbish post or are they answering no to the question? (i'm starting to suspect where this could lead)

  • CaptainTrips #61 5 months ago

    @Monsieur_Blade - Depends on your gaming preferences really. Yoshi's Island as I said it a top notch platformer, but if you're more into your adventure-type games then you really can't go far wrong with either Zelda or Metroid: Fusion.

    All of these games are soooooo good!

  • rockavitch #62 5 months ago

    Correct me if I'm wrong, as I don't own a 3ds and don't follow the news as much as I could, but with these games being given only to people who paid launch price and not the lower priced units a month or two later doesn't that mean they technically are not free?

    It's a great list of titles (including the NES ones) for sure but if they are not putting them up for resale to other users then calling them "free" is kinda incorrect. Still fair play to Nintendo as they didn't have to give the games away in the first place.

    Expecting a few negs but it's a genuine question.

  • Mr.Spo #63 5 months ago

    Well, they're free to pre-price-cut customers... They're essentially a gift from Nintendo for being an early adopter, and their way of apologising for the massive price cut.

  • DarpaChief #64 5 months ago

    Ulikmegee trolls with confidence and panache, I quite like him

  • roz123 #65 5 months ago

    @DarpaChief I think Nintendo trolled him as he sold his 3DS just a few days ago. It would probably be worth a lot more with these games on it.

  • WadiumArcadium #66 5 months ago

    Surprised the list is actually this good, I've been trying Four Swords recently which I never played when it came out and it's loads of fun. Never had a GBA so can't wait to try these out, especially Yoshi's Island and Fire Emblem.
    Edited by WadiumArcadium at 14/12/11 @ 16:55

  • FenderMaster #67 5 months ago

    Minish Cap and Metroid Fusion are underrated gems, alot of people are really going to enjoy them!

    Mario Kart Super Circuit is also the closest to the SNES original too, which imop is the series best!

    Been playing these on my PSP for over a year now, and on by old GBA SP for the best part of a decade, and still enjoy them!

  • Incarta #68 5 months ago

    Holy cow! That's a great list. I'd pay money for all of those.

  • benfresh76 #69 5 months ago

    @FenderMaster sneaky.

  • pigeon_g4mer #70 5 months ago

    \m/ ^_^ \m/

  • Rack #71 5 months ago

    Ooh, I was just thinking about giving Fire Emblen another go. That entire list is gold in fact, but especially happy about Fire Emblem and Yoshi's Island. I still feel a bit of a tit for buying a 3DS at all, never mind so early but that definitely takes the sting out of it.

  • geox30 #72 5 months ago

    @ulikmegee
    you used to own a 3DS,right?What does this make you,an ex-homo?

  • ulikmegee #73 5 months ago

    @DarpaChief your welcome sir. I just don't like the fact Nintendo think they can get away with complete disregard to early 3ds owners by giving them games at least 10 years old,(regardless of how good they are) also the extra circle pad was one thing but charging for it was the final nail in the coffin.

  • ulikmegee #74 5 months ago

    @geox30 Yeah probably. I don't mind dropping anchor in poo-bay. Piles are a bitch though.

  • deez #75 5 months ago

    @ulikmegee fair enough, probably agree with you that there could have been more of the tougher levels. Love out though, even considering the luigi play through to unlock the final stage..

  • SG #76 5 months ago

    Yoshi's Island: The best 2D platformer ever made. Even better with the 6 extra levels on the GBA version.
    Edited by SG at 14/12/11 @ 20:01

  • HIO #77 5 months ago

    Great list in my opinion and I will be installing and enjoying them all again.

    Hopefully a new F-Zero is on the horizon,I loved Maximum Velocity when it was released and I am still playing GX and the original.

    Still has great gameplay as well as one of the greatest soundtracks of all time.

  • munki83 #78 5 months ago

    Very awesome list much better than the nes ones thanks ninty

  • FenderMaster #79 5 months ago

    @benfresh76 how? I own them all for GBA, Mario Kart i even bought twice! And now i can fit my entire GBA collection on my memory stick and save states too. It's cool that 3DS owners are getting in on theaction though, especially those that missed these games first time around!
    Edited by FenderMaster at 14/12/11 @ 18:11

  • Street89 #80 5 months ago

    ooohh that white 3DS looks tasty!

  • Lankysi #81 5 months ago

    Have they released updates to the free NES games yet so that we can save them? (not kept in touch with the news much!)

    Will these allow us to save our states?

    Fantastic list by the way, can't wait to play some of these :)

  • dr_faulk #82 5 months ago

    ... Welll.... I still would have preferred to have gotten a free copy of Ocarina instead of these old games that I've already bought and played twice, but....

  • wez_316 #83 5 months ago

    Oh man I looked at the list and thought "Oh man I wish they would have put up Sacred Stones instead of the first GBA Fire Emblem" and then I look back at the article to see they are actually giving Sacred Stones. I wish you all could have seen the grin on my face :D

    Not that the GBA one is bad but I played the first GBA Fire Emblem to death but never bought the sequel. Didn't play Metroid Zero Mission, F-Zero GP Legend or WarioWare Twisted either despite playing their first GBA entries to death. You can't get everything though and I am more than happy with this superb list.

  • WeaponXv1 #84 5 months ago

    Top list. There are a couple here I missed out on first time round.

  • benfresh76 #85 5 months ago

    @FenderMaster the ten year thing smacked of stealthy trolling; why don't Ninendo do anything new, I can play that on my psp etc yaddayaddayadda, no offence, I see the love now ;)

  • Kami #86 5 months ago

    I'd like to sell the bridge that ulikmegee is living under. Any takers?

    Besides, the PSP is on it's fourth iteration now? It's not like Sony are any better on that front really...

  • scouserfuller9 #87 5 months ago

    @ulikmegee What the hell made you buy yourself a 3DS in the first place? Makes me wonder if you're just one of those gamers who buy for Mario and Zelda then sell. Buy again for the next Mario and/or Zelda then sell, etc...

  • Shootingstarz #88 5 months ago

    Oldschool!

  • CaptainAckley #89 5 months ago

    Dear Santa,
    I want games localized here in the U.S.
    Europe used to get the short end of Nintendo games but this generation is quite the opposite.

  • Noxia #90 5 months ago

    I'm confused, when is this out for UK?