In the 1980s, the idea of taking your games with you seemed impossible, but Nintendo wowed us all in 1989 with the release of the Game Boy.
The Game Boy made gaming portable; you had all your favorite series traveling with you. While you had your heavy hitters like Mario, Mega Man, Metroid, Tetris, and The Legend of Zelda, it also introduced the next craze called Pokémon.
Here are some of the best games the Game Boy had to offer.
Tetris
One of the world’s most addictive games ends up releasing on the Game Boy and becomes a portable heavy hitter.
There have been countless ports of the Game Boy version of Tetris because this is one of the purest forms of the game. The clear visuals and responsive controls in a portable form were hard to top.
Taking a classic and making it portable equated to the second best-selling game on the console. The only game to outsell Tetris on the Game Boy was Pokémon.
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
Nintendo completely reinvented the platformer by giving Wario his own unique game instead of just placing him in a Super Mario Game.
Fans of Mario and Wario were in for a shock when they booted up Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3. The game was packed with new features, new mechanics, a different graphical presentation, and unique music.
Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 is one of the best Game Boy platformers for the handheld. Not to mention, it might be one of the funniest games in the console’s library.
Kirby’s Dream Land 2
A sequel is always expected to expand the series’ formula and show improvement. Kirby’s Dream Land 2 does both of these successfully.
The level design was particularly sophisticated for a Game Boy title, featuring creative puzzles that made clever use of Kirby’s abilities. The graphics were also impressive for the Game Boy, with detailed sprites and animations that conveyed personality despite the hardware limitations.
The gameplay, graphics, animation, and music are some of the best on the Nintendo handheld.
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Pokémon Red and Blue
Before the cartoon and the popular trading cards, we had the Game Boy cartridges of Pokémon. The new craze that would infect the world was soon to follow.
Pokémon offered a twist on the RPG formula by letting you catch Pokémon to participate in turn-based battles. Instead of leveling up a human party, you were leveling up and evolving your Pokémon. With 151 Pokémon to choose from, you could really tailor your team to your liking. You could use a link cable to trade exclusive Pokémon with your friends.
Pokémon Red and Blue kicked off a cultural phenomenon that hasn’t been rivaled since. It spawned one of the most successful series in gaming history.
The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
What was initially supposed to be a handheld port of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past slowly became an original project.
Shrinking Link down proved to be a critically and commercially successful. Link’s Awakening had a lot of depth and strong puzzles. New items or weapons were often the key to getting through new dungeons. The sprite work looked great on the smaller screen.
Link’s Awakening was so popular that it saw two additional releases. One version was made specifically for the Game Boy Color; the other was a remake on the Nintendo Switch.
Final Fantasy Legend II
Final Fantasy Legend II is a much improved sequel that features a new playable race to the series, Robots. It also had a clearly defined story, which was nice after the first game’s messy story.
The game’s unique “growth” system broke from traditional RPG leveling. The battle system was surprisingly deep, with different weapons having limited uses before breaking. It featured an emotionally resonant story that was sophisticated for a Game Boy title.
The Final Fantasy Legend titles began the SaGa series, a rare instance of a spin-off turning into an original series.
Kid Dracula
Konami crammed as much of the Famicom version of Kid Dracula as they could on a Game Boy cartridge. Who knew Konami poking fun at Castlevania would turn into a great platforming game.
The sprite work in Kid Dracula is expressive and detailed. It takes familiar elements like gothic castles and supernatural enemies and presents them with a charming, comedic twist. The level design shows impressive creativity—each stage introduces new gimmicks and challenges that build upon previous mechanics.
Kid Dracula is packed with fun gameplay and a whimsical nature. It is a hidden gem that is waiting to be discovered.
Donkey Kong Land 3
Donkey Kong Land 3 pushed the limits of the Game Boy’s hardware. Its mix of fun gameplay, great visuals, and engaging music make it a gem in the Game Boy library.
The detailed sprites and backgrounds were incredible for an 8-bit system. Donkey Kong Land 3 retained the high-quality platforming mechanics from the Donkey Kong series. Despite the Game Boy’s limitations, the level design was very intricate and dense.
Donkey Kong Land 3 succeeded in bringing the feel of a console-quality platformer to the Game Boy, making it a standout title that many fans still regard fondly today.
The Game Boy Camera is a strange product that blurs the line between game and hardware. It feels like the spirit of WarioWare somehow seeped into this product.
The Game Boy Camera wasn’t just a camera—it also included creative tools and minigames. The camera encouraged creativity in ways traditional games couldn’t. Players were engaged in a way that no other game was capable of because of the creative ways to use the camera.
It may be crude by today’s standards, but this was cutting-edge in the late ’90s. It laid the groundwork for casual digital photography in a way that foreshadowed many modern trends.
Mega Man IV
Mega Man IV for the Game Boy showcases excellent design and refinement of the Mega Man series formula on a handheld platform.
Like the other games in the series, this entry is known for its challenging gameplay. Mastering the stages, finding the best weapon for each boss, and optimizing routes through the game. Mega Man IV introduced the P-Chip system, allowing players to buy items like energy tanks, extra lives, and weapon refills.
Mega Man IV’s balance of challenge, polish, and creativity, combined with the technical mastery of the hardware, has cemented its reputation as a classic.
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