I actually bought a Gameboy advance just to play this game and its sequel in 2003. The game appeared on tv during an advert break on channel 5 and I was absolutely sold on buying the game. I remember having to leave the town of Vale because of what had happened in the sanctum and meeting my very first djin right outside of it. After meeting Ivan, it took me at least a week to level enough to defeat the thieves in the next town over.
Everything is a win when it comes to this game, from the music, to the story, to all the friends, summons and powers you gain along the way. I truly miss this, but refuse to pay a crazy amount for Nintendo's online service just to play games they won't allow me to buy.