Pokemon
One of the most popular games for more than a decade, Pokemon remains one of the most-played GameBoy advance games on emulators today. Because there are new versions of Pokemon coming out every year (Silver, Gold, Emerald and Diamond versions, etc.), the Pokemon game will never die if it keep up with the way it's been going, especially because of its almost religious followers.
Super Mario
Super Mario, the game about an Italian plumber running around smashing poopas and rescuing Princess Peach, is also a very popular GameBoy advance download for an emulator. Super Mario, just like Pokemon, has new versions coming out all the time. However, the older 2D versions of Super Mario, with the exception of Mario Cart, are much more popular than the newer versions that Nintendo is making.
Zelda
Zelda is very sought after for the GameBoy advance emulator today. However, because the emulators are not made to support the newer versions of Zelda, namely Twilight Princess and Phantom Hourglass, people that use emulators can't play those games and have to play them on the Nintendo Wii. Although Zelda games have moved on to the world of better graphics, the older games are still popular for emulators.
Tony Hawk
Tony Hawk was a major hit in the '90s and has only been gaining fans as skateboarding grows more and more popular. Sequels are made every once in a while for all the newest gaming systems (PS3, Xbox 360, PCs and the Wii). But because GameBoy advance emulators can't handle the amazing graphics of the latest Tony Hawk games, people using emulators play those that are made just for the GameBoy advance.
Yugi-Oh
The Pokemon spin-off that became a gigantic hit is also one of the most popular games made for the GameBoy advance. Like all of the previous games, it became popular somewhere from the early to late '90s and has stayed cutting-edge to this day, with newer games coming out for other gaming systems. One of the reasons Yugi-Oh, Pokemon, Zelda and Super Mario have stayed on top is that they have never-ending story lines. The Tony Hawks skateboarding game launched when skateboarding was a growing sport and progressed into what it is today.