I never had a GBA but I knew a few people who did. I remember being interested in the bright vibrant colors and the fact that the screen lit up. (I now realize that those memories must've been a mandela effect though because google just told me that it never lit up, haha.)
My parents tried to keep me away from video games at all costs but my dad caved with the GBC, so all my handheld memories are tied to that. The games I liked most (besides Pokemon) were games I'm sure most would consider very bad. I loved Mary Kate & Ashley's Horseback Riding. I became so attached to all the horses and still remember some of their names; Dolly, Sparkle, & Sputnik. As a kid you inject so much backstory and personality into what started as a very bare-bones concept. I saw a video of a girl talking about she developed a childhood crush on one of the other dog owners in Nintendogs even though you never see what he looks like and barely interact with him.
Another game I loved playing was 102 Dalmatians. It was very basic but I think I just really liked seeing the dogs from the 101 sequel in actual cartoon form, which we never got. My stepsister borrowed it and took it to her mom's house, then said she lost it, then said she never borrowed it in the first place. Considering the story changes, I'm pretty sure she just straight-up stole it and I never trusted her with my stuff after that.
It wasn't till way later that I discovered all the Hamtaro GBA games and my gosh, they are so fun and cute! I would love more games to look like that now. I know they make retro consoles nowadays, but it's always retro in an intentionally ugly way I don't really care for.