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With the 35th anniversary of the Game Boy happening this year, it was time for us to look back at the best games to be on the classic handheld. Nintendo’s first major handheld that wasn’t a one-off game like the Game-and-Watch series, the little gray and white brick was overwhelmingly popular. It was the first handheld console I ever used since my sister owned one when we were both kids.
This is just a list of the best games on the original Game Boy - not the GBC, GBA, or anything else that followed it. It’s not placed in any particular order, and it’s just my list of personal favorites. Some of these might be hard to get ahold of in modern times, but they are nonetheless still worth playing.
The best classic Game Boy games of all time
1) Gargoyle's Quest
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Gargoyle’s Quest was such a fascinating game - it was one of the earliest spin-off games that I could possibly think of. Sorry, Mario being in Golf doesn’t count. This was one of the best action platformers on the Game Boy, and starred the demon Firebrand, from Ghosts ‘n Goblins! It wasn’t the final game he’d get, either, but it was a solid game that played well and looked sharp.
It featured a top-down, Dragon Quest-style overworld, and then transitioned to fantastic action-platforming levels. He was able to hover, shoot projectiles, and even cling to walls and leap off of them. Challenging but fun, this was a deep game and had a lot to offer portable gaming fans.
2) Final Fantasy Legend 2
By now, almost everyone knows that Final Fantasy Legend as a series is really in the SaGa franchise - and Adventure was in the Mana series. That said, it still blew me away to see a “Final Fantasy” game on a handheld at the time. Out of the many games of this franchise on the Game Boy, this one was easily the best for me.
It was also interesting because, until that point in time, the vast majority of RPGs I played were fantasy-based. FFL2 was a blend of fantasy and science-fiction, where players made parties of humans, mecha, and monster allies.
It sent players to several worlds, was ultra-challenging at the time, and was unlike anything fans had seen before - unless you count Final Fantasy Legend 1, perhaps. They were similar, from a gameplay and visual perspective. It was easily one of the best RPGs on the Game Boy, nonetheless.
3) Donkey Kong Game Boy (DK ‘94)
Donkey Kong Game Boy or Donkey Kong ‘94, whatever you want to call it, was a game I didn’t know I needed until I got it paired with the Super Game Boy, one Hanukkah so many years ago. I was obsessed with this game, despite really being more of an RPG fan by this point in my life. It featured the original 4 Donkey Kong levels from the original arcade game, but that wasn’t it.
It also had an additional 97 stages, each one offering something a little bit different. It was such a brilliant platformer/puzzle game, and easily one of the best Game Boy games of all time. Donkey Kong ‘94 was a simple, but satisfying game. It gave fans exactly what they wanted.
4) Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
When it comes to the Game Boy games I played the most, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins is up there. The reason the original SML isn’t on this list is frankly, the other two offerings for the Nintendo handheld were infinitely better. Mario had an overworld to explore, with some truly bizarre places to go.
From a giant Mario Toy to the Moon, there was no limit to where Mario would go to get all six coins and overcome Wario. It even had a brand-new flight/hover power in the Bunny Ears! It was charming, and unlike the previous game, definitely had a Mario feel to it.
5) Tetris
Perhaps one of the most iconic and addictive video games of all time, of course, Tetris is one of the best Game Boy games. Again, it’s a very simple, elegant game. There’s no special story to uncover, no lore to find, just blocks to drop. It’s all about doing the best with what you have and doing it in the most efficient way possible.
When describing it that way, it sounds like it’s a Roguelike - and honestly, the more I think about it, the more I like that. It’s an “adventure” game, where you reset upon death. Progress is measured solely by how far you get, and you have to deal with whatever blocks you’re handed. It’s just the best.
6) Dr Mario
The other masterpiece puzzle game on the Game Boy, Dr Mario was another easy-to-play, hard-to-master puzzle title. Instead of dropping blocks, you had to match the correct pill types with the viruses and destroy them forever. As the game went on, you had more viruses to deal with, the pills dropped faster, and it just felt far more challenging.
Other iterations of this game would come before and after, but when it comes to portable puzzle fun, few games were able to match the amazing music and challenge offered by the Plumber turned Doctor.
7) Kirby's Dream Land
I admit, when I first saw Kirby’s Dream Land box for the Game Boy, I didn’t think much of it. Just an adorable puffball. Then I played the game, and it swiftly became one of my favorite franchises ever. Outside of the world of RPGs, Kirby is a series that never disappoints me. The platforming was simple, the enemies were all cute.
You just floated and jumped your way to equally adorable bosses, all culminating in one of my favorite antagonists: King Dedede! A huge penguin with a mallet and bombs, it’s the only game he’s the final boss of. The future installments would start using more otherworldly foes, but the first is still one of the best.
8) Pokémon Red/Blue/Yellow
How could I possibly pick just one of the first three Pokemon games? Yes, I know that technically Blue is also Green in Japan. But I’m looking at solely American releases. Now, I didn’t play Pokemon Red/Blue, or even Yellow when they first came out. I found the franchise much later, despite watching the anime and playing the card game. For some reason, I never tried the original Gen 1 titles at launch.
You want to talk addictive, there isn’t a franchise that exists that holds more power over such a huge group of people, in my estimation. Pokemon has never been bigger, never been more popular. A cute game about collecting monsters and defeating Gym Leaders is somehow just perfect. The first games weren’t well-balanced, but they were amazing.
9) Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
A Mario game where Mario isn’t the protagonist? That’s right! Warrior Land: Super Mario Land 3 on Game Boy was all about showing off just who Wario was! Portly and greedy, he’s not much of a protagonist. He had awesome hats to give him powers though, and the whole game was about collecting as much money as possible.
Envious of Mario, the titular character heads off to a foreign land, to steal as much gold as possible. That way, he could have a castle to rival Mario. Depending on how successful you were at gaining that gold, it changed the ending in a few ways. For example, if you found all the treasures, and hit the 99,999 coin limit, the genie he meets gives Wario a whole planet! It was a cute, fun platformer, and built on the previous game’s success.
10) The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
The classic Zelda games will always be my favorites. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening is a game I only briefly played as a teenager, and had to play it again much later. It was very much in the vein of Zelda 3, in the exploration of the world, but it was very much its own game. It had brief 2D platforming sections, new powers and items to collect, and so much more.
It was a vast game where Link woke up on a mysterious island. If he wanted to get home, he needed to collect a series of instruments, so he could wake up the Wind Fish, so he could get home. Sure, there’s been a remake or two, but none of them match the charm of the original game. It’s easily one of the best Game Boy games of all time.
The Game Boy showed fans so much. You didn’t need to have a fancy, expensive color screen. It was a more economical decision to use the set-up it did, and Nintendo was rewarded by having one of the most popular, best-selling consoles of all time. Even if it’s 35 years old this year, it’s still going to be remembered fondly by gamers of that era.
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