We collect the best Game Boy games. The classic 8-bit handheld console, a pioneer for video games, is packed with jewels.
Nintendo threw itself into the pool with everything it had in 1989 with the launch of its portable Game Boy, a console that you could take anywhere and that came to be a kind of pocket NES. Now that it has finally arrived on Switch along with GBA, it is the perfect time to remember what they are. top 20 gameboy games (GB).
Top best classic Game Boy games
And what are those eternal games? Those great Game Bo classicsand that they were and will be remembered forever? Our selection brings you only the best of the best, spanning all kinds of genres, from platformers to role-playing, all in 8-bit!
Read on to discover them and to see which ones are worth trying first in the app de Game Boy de Nintendo Switch Online. If you prefer, you can also see our selection in format video:
1 – Donkey Kong
Before Mario engaged in a battle against Donkey Kong using some small toys, the plumber expanded his adventure in Donkey Kong for the Game Boy, the video game sequel to the classic Donkey Kong for arcade games and NES where we would have to rescue Pauline by going up structures.
It is an ingenious platform game, but also puzzles, since you had to explore the phases, activate mechanisms and enable paths to get to the exit. One of the best Game Boy games. Mario never fails.
2 – Super Mario Land
And we continue with Mario, although with a different adventure: the first portable experience of Super Mario Bros. was Super Mario Land, where visited the kingdom of Sarasaland to face the alien Tatanga that he wants to take over the place and dethrone Daisy.
Super Mario Land follows in the footsteps of the platform game of Super Mario Bros, simpler, although with the same game mechanics that we like so much about Mario. This was the game where we first saw the Flor Superbolasimilar to the Fire Flower but whose projectiles bounce off the walls in a straight line.
3 – Mole Mania
I’m sure you’ll surprise them if we say that Mole Mania is a video game designed by Shigeru Miyamoto., the creator of Mario, Zelda and a bunch of Nintendo games. This experiment stayed on the Game Boy, and it was a top-down puzzle game in which we had to get to the other side of the phaseinteracting with objects in the environment and solving certain situations.
As far as it goes and for a Game Boy game, it had a certain air of some current indie games, and it shows that the great mind behind the Nintendo classics is also behind Mole Mania.
4 – Duck Tales
Only one installment was needed for Uncle Scrooge to turn Duck Tales into a huge success on the original Nintendo, and his legacy reached the Game Boy with an exclusive game for the console.
Es a classic benchmark within the platform genre, being its most outstanding feature being able to bounce very high thanks to the protagonist’s cane. This particular move became so popular that Retro Studios replicated it in Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freezze for Wii U and Nintendo Switch, as an homage to the Duck Tales series.
5 – The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening
Link’s dream on Koholit Island began on Game Boy in 1993. A beautiful story where Link was shipwrecked with his ship and introduced us to a great adventure, dungeon and puzzle game in two dimensions that became very popular. So much so that, later on, it had an impressive remake on Nintendo Switch that made everything look like a toy model. Zelda: Link’s Awakening is undoubtedly one of the best Game Boy games.
6 – Tetris
Tetris is a genre unto itself. This video game has made history by creating its own style, hooking millions of people of all ages and updating its game methods to Tetris 99, a Battle Royale that can be played on Nintendo Switch.
The Game Boy’s Brain Training and Wii Sports was Tetris, marking the first time this video game was made portable on one of the best-selling platforms in history. This classic combo is still, to this day, a true legend.
7 – Saga Donkey Kong Land
Before Rare was bought by Microsoft and Retro Studios took over Donkey Kong Country, the saga was completely in the hands of the creators of Banjo-Kazooie. Were true geniuses of two-dimensional platforms with the Donkey Kong Country saga, but Donkey Kong Land was not far behind.
These portable versions of Nintendo’s Adventures of the Ape were intended to bring the same experience as on the desktop, but to the portable Game Boy environment. It wasn’t exactly the same, especially due to the limitations of the hardware itself, but to run on such a prehistoric system they were a true miracle.
8 – Kid Dracula
Kid Dracula is a game that did everything right. Created by Konami and being a light-hearted spin-off of the Castlevania series, offered a portable action-platformer game that it had some very curious mechanics, like transforming into a vampire and being able to fly, or even walk on the ceiling.
It is one of those classics that, over time, has been tattooed on the minds of many players because of everything it offered and how complete it was. This peculiar game earns a place among the best on Game Boy.
9 – Metroid II: Return of Samus
Samus’s second adventure after her success on the NES was exclusively on the Game Boy: Metroid II, Return Of Samus, follows in the wake of exploration and action in two dimensions that has already become a classic in the Metroid series, giving us a game that, at the time, it seemed incredible that it existed on a portable like Game Boy.
In addition, it has a great plot importance within the series, and Nintendo wanted more people to enjoy this classic with the remake of the game created by Mercury Steam on Nintendo 3DS, Metroid: Samus Returns.
10 – Dr. Mario
If Tetris was the game that sold the most Game Boy around the world, Nintendo’s attempt in this field was Dr. Mario, using a game system similar to Tetris, but it didn’t end up coming together so well. Still, it’s one of the most entertaining and ingenious games that we can find on the laptophaving to pile up pills to eliminate viruses of the same type and color.
11 – Pokémon Red, Blue and Yellow
The worldwide phenomenon of Pokémon was born on the Game Boy: the “pocket monsters” fit in one because they were inside one of these laptops, and they offered us a gigantic RPG perfect to enjoy anywhereand even connect with friends to play through the Link cable.
Pokémon Red and Blue were just the beginning, and we believe that Pokémon Yellow was the most complete and definitive version of these classic titles.
12 – Mario’s Picross
Super Mario also had its own Picross and in the best place it could be: on the Game Boy. This video game offers us solve a mathematical puzzle to discover a figure that is related, in this case, to the world of Super Mario.
If you have played other Picross games, surely you have an idea of what you can expect, and that is that this type of video game has evolved little over the years, so, at least, little or nothing has remained. outdated.
13 – Wario Land y Wario Land II
As you can see, in this list of games Mario is the king, but Wario also had two wonderful games on the Game Boy. Following his popularity as a boss in Super Mario Land 2, Super Mario Land 3 was directly a Wario game, later releasing his own Wario Land. They were punkier than the Mario games, and that made them very special platformers.
He laid the foundations of his own style, with Wario being much more beast than Mario and destroying everything in its path.
14 – Game & Watch Gallery
Nintendo’s origins in the portable video game market go back to the Game & Watch, devices with a single game included whose protagonist was Mr. Game & Watch. These little minigames had a compilation on the Game Boy. Well, several compilations.
In different cartridges we could find these entertaining shallow proposals, who together did something interesting on the Game Boy. If you want to know the origin of MR. Game And Watch in the most complete way possible, take a look at these jewels.
15 – Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Nintendo dared to innovate with Super Mario, resulting in a super rare thing: Super Mario Land 2: Golden Coins is one of those Nintendo jewels that stands out for the very different and peculiar aftertaste that it leaves us with. Mario had to visit different worlds and get coins to enter Wario’s castle, almost with an air of RPG mixed with platforms.
The highlight is that it brought unique gameplay innovations, such as a carrot that gave Mario a hat with rabbit ears that functioned as wings. Without a doubt, one of the weirdest and most entertaining things we’ve ever seen in Super Mario.
16 – Kirby’s Dream Land 1 y 2
Kirby gave his best in Kirby’s Dream Land for the Game Boy. Had two platform adventures with a notable evolution between them, but offering quite different things. While the first installment was a basic action-platformer, the second featured a few friends tweaking the gameplay. Much more original, of course.
17 – Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters
And we continue with more platforms, seeing this top it seems that there was no other genre on the Game Boy: Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters is the sequel to the classic NES game, which also provided more of the same but in a portable format. stands out as platform game with a very high difficulty, and we thought, it was very little squeezed. Pit had to go through the stages defeating enemies with his bow to save Angel Land and get the three Sacred Treasuresa mission entrusted by the goddess Palutena.
Arguably, and with Uprising’s permission, this is the Kid Icarus game with the most historical content… although with the few installments that the saga has, it’s not saying much either.
18 – Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge
If you wanted a side action adventure game that wasn’t as slow as Metroid, Castlevania had a great installment on Game Boy with Castlevania 2: Belmont’s Revengewhere we take on the role of Christopher Belmont, the great-grandfather of Simon Belmont, who must face Dracula with a whip, as only the Belmonts know.
19 – Final Fantasy Adventure
Surely if we say “Final Fantasy” the classic turn-based RPG comes to mind, but due to the great success of The Legend Of Zelda saga, Square created a similar adventure in Final Fantasy Adventures for the Game Boy..
You might even consider it a plagiarism of Link’s games, but at least it included a system of characteristics and objects that brought it closer to the RPG. If you like exploration and adventure you cannot miss this classic.
20 – Mega Man V
In case you still had more desire to party after Metroid and Castlevania, Capcom brought Game boy Megaman V, a restrained but fun video game that wanted to bring the desktop experience to a portable system that could be enjoyed so far.
If you want to know more about the best games for different Nintendo consoles like the Game Boy, don’t forget to take a look at the rest of the articles on other platforms.
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Official Game Boy Website
