Defender (2002). Play online

Summary

Defender on the Game Boy Advance delivers a surprisingly deep twist on the classic arcade side‑scroll shooter. The cart houses three distinct modes: a faithful "Classic" port of the 1981 original, an updated "XG" version that swaps out the old raster art for digitized sprites, and the more expansive "XGP" mode where you choose from multiple ships, each with unique weapons, shield levels and speed.

In XGP you blaze through six varied levels while protecting ground‑bound humans from alien abduction, and you can even link two systems for cooperative play. The updated graphics and fresh ship roster keep the original’s fast‑paced dogfight alive, even if critics weren’t kind—Metacritic gathered generally unfavorable reviews for this handheld remake.