Has anyone had something like this happen to them? Any solutions?

Recently, I decided to play Metroid Zero Mission, a game I had not played for a long time. I remember having a save file where I had completed the game several times and had most of the items and expansions collected. When I loaded the game, I got a message saying my save files were corrupted, and the game proceeded to wis every one of them. I managed to shrug it off and started a new game. When I got to Crateria and went to collect the unknown item, the game crashed. I reloaded the game, and it has not worked properly since. The graphics distort and turn into a code-like mess, and the game crashes at random. I do not remember doing anything to the patroon, cartridge that may have caused something like this; it had been kept in a bag along with my other GBA games. Has anything like this happened to anyone else? Is there a way to fix this, of will I simply have to buy a new Metroid Zero Mission cartridge?