The handheld market wouldn’t exist today if it weren’t for the Game Boy. This brick of a system may have chewed through your batteries like crazy, but it was worth it to play games on the level of the best NES games anywhere you wanted. Sure, its library lacked color like the best Game Boy Color games, but that didn’t stop it from completely dazzling us at the time.
Even all these years since the Game Boy was made obsolete, there are some games that originated on this system that still hold a place as one of the best games of all time. Whether you’ve got the original hardware to play it on, or are taking a break from the best Switch games and diving into the digital versions on Switch Online, these are the best Game Boy games you should revisit.
Bionic Commando
71%
Platforms
Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS
Genre
Platform, Adventure
Developer
Minakuchi Engineering
Publisher
Capcom
Release
July 24, 1992
Like many of the games on this list, Game Boy’s version of Bionic Commando is a port of the NES original. There are a few minor differences: Instead of the contemporary military setting of the NES release, the Game Boy adaptation is futuristic, and — for some reason — your character is named Rad Spencer, not Ladd Spencer. Maybe Game Boy made him cooler? Those tweaks aside, the portable Bionic Commando features all the impressive platformer gameplay of the home-console predecessor. Instead of jumping, Ladd/Rad Spencer gets around using the grappling hook in his bionic arm. This might seem like a small adjustment from the usual script, but it gave the game unique mechanics and set it apart from other similar titles like Contra.
Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge
70%
Platforms
Game Boy
Genre
Platform, Adventure
Developer
Konami
Publisher
Konami
Release
July 12, 1991
The first, and best Castlevania game for the Game Boy, 1989’s Castlevania: The Adventure, was an unoriginal and unimpressive misfire. For Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge, the developers returned a couple of years later with a portable game worthy of sitting alongside the home-console titles in the Castlevania series. Set roughly a hundred years before the events of the original NES Castlevania, you play another member of the Belmont clan, Christopher, as he seeks revenge against Dracula for kidnapping his son and turning him into a demon. To save his son and the rest of humanity, Christopher Belmont jumps and whips his way through four castles, each representing a different element. Unlike Castlevania: The Adventure, Belmont’s Revenge features sub-weapons like holy water and axes. It also boasts improved graphics and a great, atmospheric soundtrack, a staple of the Castlevania franchise. Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge demonstrates that the Belmonts can kick, er, whip ass regardless of console size.
Contra: The Alien Wars
70%
Platforms
Game Boy
Genre
Shooter, Platform
Developer
Factor 5
Publisher
Konami
Release
September 23, 1994
The Contra series began as a coin-op arcade game, then it moved into living rooms worldwide as an influential and infamous (considering its difficulty) run-and-gun title by Konami. Then, it migrated from home to handheld consoles with Contra: The Alien Wars, a Game Boy adaptation of Super Nintendo’s Contra III: The Alien Wars, dropping the Roman numeral somewhere along the way. The developers dropped some other things too, like many of the enemy bosses, an entire level, and the ability to hold two weapons. Don’t let these changes be a buzzkill, though! The game was still loads of run-and-gun fun, and this time you could take it to go.
Donkey Kong Land
66%
Platforms
Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS
Genre
Platform, Adventure
Developer
Rare, Nintendo
Publisher
Nintendo, Playtronic
Release
June 26, 1995
This — the Game Boy translation of Donkey Kong Country for the Super Nintendo console, which was both one of the best Donkey Kong games and best SNES games — looks remarkably good, especially considering that by 1995 the Game Boy was becoming an antique. Developed by the storied Rare company, Donkey Kong Land follows the Kong clan as they try to save their home from the dreaded Kremlings. It was also pretty meta, with Donkey and Diddy Kong reflecting on their video-game fame and setting out to prove that a game doesn’t need “fancy [SNES] graphics” to be good. They were right.
Dr. Mario
Platforms
Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS
Genre
Puzzle, Strategy
Developer
Nintendo
Publisher
Nintendo
Release
July 27, 1990
Originally developed for the NES, Dr. Mario worked better as a Game Boy title, despite lacking the colorful visuals of the home version. Apparently, Mario got his MD and has to prescribe pills to patients, filling up bottles with your help (this angered a lot of parents at the time, concerned that the game was teaching their kids some informal pharmacology). This is all pretty much just window dressing to hide the fact that Dr. Mario is a rather blatant ripoff of Tetris. As far as source material to crib from, though, Tetris is a stellar choice. So, by the transitive property, Dr. Mario was a fun and one of the best puzzle games, just what the doctor ordered.
F-1 Race
Platforms
Game Boy
Genre
Racing
Developer
Nintendo
Publisher
Nintendo, Playtronic
Release
November 09, 1990
F-1 Race was perhaps most notable for its accompanying hardware. It was often sold alongside the Game Boy four-player adapter, which let you compete with three of your friends, and it was the first Game Boy game to include a battery backup, which allowed you to record your best times. These two features made F-1 Race a technical achievement, plus it was one of the best racing games.
Final Fantasy Adventure
80%
Platforms
Game Boy
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
Developer
Square
Publisher
Square, SUNSOFT
Release
June 28, 1991
This action-RPG title is more like a Zelda game than the best Final Fantasy games, featuring a top-down point of view and real-time battles. You could also kill townspeople if you were so inclined. Along with hack-and-slash elements, Final Fantasy Adventure emphasized player stats and leveling up, making it the best of both the action-adventure and role-playing worlds. It also sported an excellent soundtrack, crisp graphics, and hours of quality gameplay.
Gargoyle's Quest
69%
Platforms
Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS
Genre
Platform, Role-playing (RPG), Adventure
Developer
Capcom
Publisher
Capcom
Release
May 02, 1990
What a journey: Firebrand, the gargoyle of Gargoyle’s Quest, goes from being a stock villain in Ghosts ‘n Goblins to being the hero of his very own adventure game, on a mission to stop an even badder bad guy, a demon called King Breager and his army of Destroyers. Gargoyle’s Quest follows in the same vein as Ghosts ‘n Goblins, featuring difficult side-scroller gameplay. As the game progresses, Firebrand becomes more powerful, gaining new abilities and new types of projectiles to shoot at enemies, making it the kind of game that rewards you for putting up with its difficulty.
Harvest Moon GB
80%
Platforms
Game Boy
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Simulator
Developer
Victor Interactive Software
Publisher
Natsume Inc., Nintendo, Natsume Co., Ltd.
Release
December 19, 1997
Harvest Moon let indoor kids sit back and plant crops, raise livestock, and chop wood for fun. Though farming doesn’t quite sound like the basis of a thrilling game, it ended up being one of the best simulator games. In case farm chores didn’t hold players’ attention, ghosts of deceased relatives and harvest sprites were thrown in for good measure. This Game Boy release was followed mere months by the Game Boy Color version.
Kid Dracula
74%
Platforms
Game Boy
Genre
Platform, Adventure
Developer
Konami
Publisher
Konami
Release
January 03, 1993
Kid Dracula is both a parody and spin-off of the much more serious-minded Castlevania series. While Castlevania is gothic and ominous, Kid Dracula is cartoonish and bouncy, a lively take on the franchise’s vampire mythology. You play Kid Dracula, the pint-sized bloodsucker, who has to stop the villainous Garamoth. That name will sound familiar to Castlevania devotees: Garamoth, renamed Galamoth, appears as a boss in Castlevania: Symphony Of The Night for PlayStation, albeit a lot meaner-looking. With breezy mechanics and an emphasis on exploration, Kid Dracula was a fun and inspired homage to both Castlevania and the platform genre as a whole.
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters
79%
Platforms
Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS
Genre
Platform
Developer
Nintendo R&D1, Tose
Publisher
Nintendo, Playtronic
Release
November 05, 1991
The handheld sequel to the NES original, Kid Icarus: Of Myths And Monsters is just as good. Pit is back, armed with his trademark bow and an unlimited supply of arrows, defending Angel Land from the evil Orcos and his army of demons. Like the original, it was a tough platformer, with fluid graphics and interesting enemy designs. Unfortunately, it wasn’t a huge hit, and Nintendo wouldn’t pick up the Kid Icarus series again until 2012, with Kid Icarus: Uprising for the 3DS.
Kirby's Dream Land
78%
Platforms
Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS
Genre
Platform
Developer
HAL Laboratory
Publisher
Nintendo, Playtronic
Release
April 27, 1992
The developers at HAL Laboratory grew to like the dummy character they’d drawn so much that when it came time to replace it with a more advanced image, they decided to stick with the stand-in. That dummy character, Kirby, is now one of the most iconic video game characters, a part of the Nintendo canon. Compared to the frenetic, intense platform titles of the period, Kirby’s Dream Land is, appropriately, relaxing and dream-like in a way only the best Kirby games are. Alas, as fun and fluffy the game was, the cartridge had no save files, which meant that players had to beat the game in one sitting. Not an enormously difficult task, to be sure, but still–c’mon, guys, save files! Those are important.
Mario's Picross
81%
Platforms
Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS
Genre
Puzzle
Developer
Jupiter Corporation
Publisher
Nintendo
Release
March 14, 1995
This brain-teaser is secretly one of the best Mario games and was huge in Japan and nowhere else, turning it into a bit of a cult classic in Europe and the United States. The game featured 256 Mario-branded logic puzzles in which players are guided by vertical and horizontal sets of numbers to mark boxes in a grid, which together form an image. This nifty puzzle game was perfect for folks who preferred Sudoku to Street Fighter.
Mega Man 5
77%
Platforms
Wii, PlayStation, Nintendo Entertainment System (NES), Nintendo 3DS, Wii U, Family Computer
Genre
Platform, Puzzle, Adventure, Arcade
Developer
Capcom
Publisher
Capcom, Playtronic
Release
December 04, 1992
The maniacal Dr. Wily is at it again! In the year “20XX AD,” Mega Man, with a powered-up Mega Arm and a robot sidekick, must confront eight powerful robots called Stardroids, which he discovers are all part of Dr. Wily’s latest plot to take over the world. Unlike previous best Mega Man games released for the Game Boy, which were just portable rehashes of home-console titles, Mega Man 5 featured all-new bad guys (the Stardroids) and storyline, welcome changes to a series that was starting to show its age.
Metroid II: Return of Samus
74%
Platforms
Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS
Genre
Shooter, Platform, Adventure
Developer
Nintendo R&D1
Publisher
Nintendo, Playtronic
Release
August 26, 1991
Metroid 2: Return Of Samus dramatically polarized fans and critics. Some praised it as one of the best Metroid games for its level design, replay value, and final scene (more on that in a second), and others criticized it for bland and fuzzy graphics and unimpressive audio. Even its sharpest critics, however, give credit where credit is due. Metroid 2 sets up the rest of the series perfectly with its last scene, in which Samus is unable to bring herself to exterminate a baby Metroid, the last of its kind. This was heady stuff for a Game Boy title.
Ninja Gaiden Shadow
60%
Platforms
Game Boy
Genre
Platform, Hack and slash/Beat 'em up
Developer
Natsume Co., Ltd.
Publisher
Tecmo
Release
January 09, 1992
Set three years before the NES Ninja Gaiden, Ryu makes his handheld debut to stop Emperor Garuda from taking over New York City. Though this entry lacked the pizzazz of its home console brethren, Ninja Gaiden Shadow was nonetheless a rollicking ride, with clean graphics, straightforward controls, and Ryu in peak ass-kicking form.
Pokémon Red Version
85%
Platforms
Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS
Genre
Role-playing (RPG), Turn-based strategy (TBS), Adventure
Developer
Game Freak
Publisher
Nintendo, Gradiente
Release
February 27, 1996
Here it is, folks, the RPGs that launched a media empire of the best Pokémon games. Who could have guessed that when Nintendo released Pokémon Red and Blue — first in Japan in 1996, then in the U.S. in 1998 — they were the beginnings of a multibillion-dollar franchise, including more video games, a trading card series, a TV show, comic books, and feature films? Maybe the brainiacs at Nintendo and Game Freak (the company that developed the games) did, but still, it’s an astounding achievement. And the games themselves are impressive as well, with a sprawling overworld littered with critters. The RPG format was tailor-made for the “catch ’em all” mindset as players sought to boost their stats and level-up their Pokémon. Pokémon Red/Blue, we salute you!
Samurai Shodown
Platforms
Game Boy
Genre
Fighting
Developer
SNK
Publisher
Takara, Playtronic
Release
June 30, 1994
Originally developed and published for SNK’s Neo Geo console, then ported to numerous other consoles including the Game Boy, Samurai Shodown [sic] was released following the blockbuster success of Capcom’s Street Fighter II. For the most part, the two games are similar, except for one key distinction: Samurai Shodown features weapons-based combat, as opposed to the hand-to-hand combat of Street Fighter II and its clones. It was also set in 18th century Japan, rather than in the present, and focused on quick, damaging strikes instead of racking up those combos. These small but meaningful differences made Samurai Shodown an underrated gem of a Game Boy title.
Super Mario Land
74%
Platforms
Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS
Genre
Platform
Developer
Nintendo R&D1
Publisher
Nintendo, Playtronic, Mani
Release
April 21, 1989
It’s not really fair to the competition when you throw Mario into a “best Nintendo games” race. He’s gonna come out on top, or close to it. Here he is, close to the top with Super Mario Land, a 1989 launch title for the Game Boy. Just as Super Mario Bros. introduced many to the NES and home consoles in general, Super Mario Land showed the world what handheld gaming could do. Yeah, the monochromatic graphics are way old-school now and so is its side-scrolling gameplay, but the game is still super fun.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan
60%
Platforms
Game Boy
Genre
Adventure
Developer
Konami
Publisher
Konami, Ultra Games
Release
August 01, 1990
As far as tie-in games go, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall Of The Foot Clan is a pretty good one. Developed and released in 1990, during the height of Turtlemania, the storyline and gameplay are both pretty basic stuff: The Ninja Turtles must side-scroll their way to victory against Krang and Shredder, as usual. But where Fall Of The Foot Clan lacks in imagination, it makes up for in execution. The game is simply well-made, with a keen visual style and fun, engrossing gameplay. It takes less than 30 minutes to beat, but you’ll want to play it again and hang out with those pizza-loving turtles some more.
Tetris
82%
Platforms
Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS
Genre
Puzzle
Developer
Nintendo
Publisher
Nintendo, Gradiente, Playtronic, ELORG, Mani
Release
May 14, 1989
Who knows how many hours have been wasted playing Tetris? Probably years’ worth, but ya know, no regrets, because Tetris is an amazingly fun, simple and addictive puzzler, one that has imprinted itself onto our brains. Along with Super Mario Land, Tetris was a launch title for the Game Boy in 1989, making it synonymous with handheld gaming. Tetris has been re-imagined on numerous consoles — and even received the Battle Royale treatment with Tetris 99 — but it all started with this handheld game.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
87%
Platforms
Game Boy
Genre
Adventure
Developer
Nintendo EAD
Publisher
Nintendo, Playtronic
Release
June 06, 1993
What started as an after-hours experiment by the people of Nintendo’s Analysis and Development division became a Game Boy port of one of the best SNES games, The Legend Of Zelda: A Link To The Past. This then turned into an original title, Link’s Awakening, the first handheld and one of the best Zelda games. It was notable for not being set in Hyrule — instead, Link finds himself stranded on an island guarded by something called the Wind Fish. The gameplay follows Link as he searches the island for eight musical instruments that will awaken the Wind Fish and allow him to escape from the island. Link’s Awakening was an engaging and memorable action-adventure game, even if it did have monochrome limitations. After more than 25 years since the first Zelda game’s overwhelming success, Nintendo finally adapted it into a Nintendo Switch game version, giving credence to the age-old adage “better late than never.”
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
80%
Platforms
Game Boy, Nintendo 3DS
Genre
Platform
Developer
Nintendo R&D1
Publisher
Nintendo, Playtronic, Mani
Release
January 21, 1994
Wario made his initial appearance in Super Mario Land 2, where he quickly gathered a good-sized fanbase. In fact, the character was so popular that Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land centers around him. The Mario franchise generally provides you with the standard entourage of unoffending good-guy characters. However, in the case of Wario Land, Super Mario provides a refreshing twist as you take on the character of the most notorious bad guy himself: Wario. Villains are completely self-involved, so this game isn’t about valiant displays of selflessness like rescue missions or helping Mushroom Kingdom inhabitants. Your task is simply to amass as much money as you can. Then you use that money to attempt to build a castle that puts Mario’s to shame. You’ll get a kick out of the novelty of being the villain.
