Play E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (U)(Mode7) Online

I picked up E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial for the Game Boy Advance back in 2001, a game developed by RFX Interactive and published by NewKidCo. It was part of that early GBA wave, a time when licensed games were everywhere and handhelds were really hitting their stride. This one tried to capture the charm of the film in a portable adventure, though it played quite differently from the infamous Atari version.

You control E.T. himself, navigating screen by screen through neighborhoods and forests, collecting pieces to build an interplanetary communicator. His neck stretches when he gets nervous, which happens a lot, especially when avoiding scientists and government agents. The game moves at a deliberate pace, with some frustrating hit detection and occasional unclear objectives, but there’s a quiet persistence to searching for components and evading capture. It feels like a slow, sometimes clumsy race against time to help E.T. get back home.