Ultimate Spider-Man on GBA is one of those rare handheld gems that actually makes you feel like you're swinging through the city. The cel-shaded style pops even on the small screen, and switching between Spidey's acrobatic web-slinging and Venom's brutal, tank-like rampages keeps things interesting.

What surprised me was how much story they packed in—Bendis' writing gives it that proper comic book feel, with cutscenes that don't overstay their welcome. As Spidey, you're zipping between rooftops, webbing up thugs, while Venom's missions lean more into smashing everything in sight. The controls take a minute to get used to (that double-tap web swing still trips me up sometimes), but once it clicks, it's stupidly satisfying.

For a GBA game, the open-ish world feels way bigger than it should. You won’t get the full console experience, but it’s impressive how much they squeezed into that little cartridge.