IGN: The 16 Best Game Boy Games of All Time

IbizaPocholo

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman


Nintendo's first dedicated handheld was a mighty little portable with an outstanding library of games. Here are the 16 best!
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  • The list features classic turn-based RPGs like Final Fantasy Legend 2 and its sequel, Final Fantasy Legend 3, which are praised for improving on their predecessors with deeper systems and a time-travel story.
  • Donkey Kong '94 is highlighted as a near-perfect puzzle-platformer that expands the original arcade game into 97 new levels, giving Mario an advanced move set that would inspire the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series.
  • The evolution of the Kirby series is shown, from the simple but charming debut in Kirby's Dream Land to the sequel, Kirby's Dreamland 2, which introduced his signature copy ability and helpful animal friends.
  • The Game Boy is presented as the birthplace of Wario's solo career, starting with his villainous debut in Super Mario Land 2 and followed by his own platformers, Wario Land and the innovative Wario Land 2, where he is immortal.
  • Super Mario Land 2: Six Golden Coins is celebrated as a massive improvement over its predecessor, featuring bigger sprites, a world map, and the introduction of Wario.
  • The video calls Tetris the Game Boy's most important game, as the pack-in title was a perfect fit for portable play and was instrumental in driving the console's worldwide success.
  • Landmark entries for major franchises are featured, including Metroid II: Return of Samus for its eerie atmosphere and introduction of key abilities, and The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening for its surreal, story-driven adventure.
  • The Pokémon franchise is credited as a defining Game Boy experience, with Red and Blue starting the global phenomenon of "catching them all."
  • The video ranks Pokémon Yellow as the #1 best Game Boy game, calling it the "definitive" first-generation experience for aligning with the popular anime and having Pikachu follow the player.
Paltheos said:
Because the OP didn't actually list them out (come on, bro)
  1. Pokemon Yellow
  2. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
  3. Pokemon Red/Blue
  4. Metroid II: Return of Samus
  5. Tetris
  6. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
  7. Dr. Mario
  8. Super Mario Land
  9. Wario Land
  10. Wario Land 2
  11. Kirby's Dream Land 2
  12. Donkey Land 2
  13. Kirby's Dream Land
  14. Final Fantasy Legend III
  15. Donkey Kong
  16. Final Fantasy Legend II
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pokemon red/ blue and super mario land are the goats.

Super_Mario_Land_GBcover.jpg
71aow5iRsfL.jpg
 
Because the OP didn't actually list them out (come on, bro)
  1. Pokemon Yellow
  2. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
  3. Pokemon Red/Blue
  4. Metroid II: Return of Samus
  5. Tetris
  6. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
  7. Dr. Mario
  8. Super Mario Land
  9. Wario Land
  10. Wario Land 2
  11. Kirby's Dream Land 2
  12. Donkey Land 2
  13. Kirby's Dream Land
  14. Final Fantasy Legend III
  15. Donkey Kong
  16. Final Fantasy Legend II

Glad to see Metroid II up there, but I'm surprised to see absolutely no entries for Mega Man. The first two entries are pretty rough so I can see cutting them, but Mega Man 3 and 4 are both solid games. Mega Man 5 even has a whole new roster of original robot masters that aren't cribbed from the NES games.

I haven't played every entry on the list but Pokemon Yellow looks like an easy cut for not bringing that much extra to the table, and Super Mario Land was famously jank at the time: I still remember koopa shells losing hurtboxes entirely after they've been hit once and Mario's fireballs just flying off into orbit once they've bounced off the ground once.
 
been so long, not touching GB
my favorites are not much in the system.
i was more into GBA than GB/GBC
some games that hook me is zelda awakening, metroid 2, and ff adventure though aand some games which i forgot the name.

speaking of GB/GBC, if you all interested in homebrews, i saw lot of cool homebrews in itch.io for free. they are short but cool. not all are good though
 
I like the Metroid franchise, I've played and completed most of them, I even had the pinball game. Metroid 2 is not the 4th best game boy game. It's probably not in the top 20.
 
Omit Pokémon Yellow.

The list should only be the emaining top 5:

  1. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
  2. Pokemon Red/Blue
  3. Metroid II: Return of Samus
  4. Tetris
  5. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

The rest is derivative.
 
Gold and silver are not exclusive to GBC they can be played on original game boy. Crystal is exclusive.

Yellow is super unbalanced by letting you get all three starters. Why would they put it above red and blue? This makes no sense.
 
TintoConCasera said:
They left the best game out of the list! :goog_relieved:

i5336766881.jpg


Nah it's not. Donkey Kong is an amazing puzzle-platformer, and imo the best of it's little spin-off series.

Donkey-Kong-4.gif
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Yes, by its nature, a spin-off is inherently derivative.

However, being derivative doesn't necessarily mean unoriginal or inferior

In this case, though, hard disagree. It's a platformer... not doing much the other's weren't at the time.
 
FinalBossWithTheMostPower said:
If I had to guess... OG DonkeyKong.

Ask your bud, since you seemed to think what was said was thought-provoking?
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Then this is where the misunderstanding is happening. You haven't played the game so you think it is exactly as you're describing.

There is a big twist of the game that reveals why it's one of the greatest game boy games of all time, and that's exactly why it is in this top 16 list.
 
March Climber said:
Then this is where the misunderstanding is happening. You haven't played the game so you think it is exactly as you're describing.

There is a big twist of the game that reveals why it's one of the greatest game boy games of all time, and that's exactly why it is in this top 16 list.
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I have not played the game. I assumed it was just another DK entry?

You may be correct if that twist is so great that it somehow sets this entry apart, and completely deviates from established platformer/DK formula.

Care to elaborate?
 
This list is fine, I guess, but safe and lazy. They should have limited it to one game per series so they could have worked in some deep cuts, but then they couldn't have churned the video out in 45 minutes to farm cheap engagement.
 
FinalBossWithTheMostPower said:
I have not played the game. I assumed it was just another DK entry?

You may be correct if that twist is so great that it somehow sets this entry apart, and completely deviates from established platformer/DK formula.

Care to elaborate?
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I don't want to spoil it entirely because it is a really good twist, so I'll use Castlevania as an example.

Imagine starting Symphony of the Night and you begin the game by playing the traditional Castlevania style of level-to-level, for about 4 levels. You're thinking 'this is going to be a regular castlevania game like 1, 3, Rondo, etc.'

Then, after level 4, you reach the castle door and then it suddenly transitions into this sprawling metroid-style map. This is where the real game begins. Something like that would be mind-blowing and a similar thing happens with Donkey Kong GB.
 
March Climber said:
I don't want to spoil it entirely because it is a really good twist, so I'll use Castlevania as an example.

Imagine starting Symphony of the Night and you begin the game by playing the traditional Castlevania style of level-to-level, for about 4 levels. You're thinking 'this is going to be a regular castlevania game like 1, 3, Rondo, etc.'

Then, after level 4, you reach the castle door and then it suddenly transitions into this sprawling metroid-style map. This is where the real game begins. Something like that would be mind-blowing and a similar thing happens with Donkey Kong GB.
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Alright, that's pretty unexpected going into a Donkey Kong GB game. I'll have to take a look.

I Appreciate the additional context.
 
FinalBossWithTheMostPower said:
Alright, that's pretty unexpected going into a Donkey Kong GB game. I'll have to take a look.

I Appreciate the additional context.
Click to expand...
No problem.

One of the best things about it is that there was almost zero indication of it coming. On the box art the only screenshots are of the first part and one small line of text that merely hints to more. IIRC it was also sold at a lower price than other GB games, which would also make one think it's just traditional Donkey Kong ported to GB and nothing else.

It's one of those once-in-a-lifetime twists in gaming history where everything inside and outside of the game didn't really hint to it. And the best part is that what comes after are some of the best designed and memorable levels you'll get to play, to the point where Nintendo has still been trying to capture those same highs in every sequel.
 
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Did they just forget that Capcom and Konami exist?

The real list-

1. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening
2. Tetris
3. Operation C
4. Gargoyle's Quest
5. Metroid II: Return of Samus
6. Batman: The Video Game
7. Super Mario Land
8. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan
9. Donkey Kong '94
10. Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3
11. Wario Land II
12. Super Mario Land II: Six Golden Coins
13. Kirby's Dream Land
14. Battletoads
15. Gremlins 2: The New Batch
16. Mario's Picross

Neff said:
Neff gives IGN a 3.2
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I was too generous

Pasta la Vista said:
No Gargoyle's Quest? Bad list.
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For fucking real
 
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FinalBossWithTheMostPower said:
Yes, by its nature, a spin-off is inherently derivative.

However, being derivative doesn't necessarily mean unoriginal or inferior

In this case, though, hard disagree. It's a platformer... not doing much the other's weren't at the time.
Click to expand...

If that's the case, the Pokemon games are ripoffs of Dragon Quest and Megami Tensei.

Also, the list is terribad for having Pokemon Yellow and Red/Blue as separate entries bogarting the top, and DK '94 at the near bottom, when it should be top 3.
 
March Climber said:
I don't want to spoil it entirely because it is a really good twist, so I'll use Castlevania as an example.

Imagine starting Symphony of the Night and you begin the game by playing the traditional Castlevania style of level-to-level, for about 4 levels. You're thinking 'this is going to be a regular castlevania game like 1, 3, Rondo, etc.'

Then, after level 4, you reach the castle door and then it suddenly transitions into this sprawling metroid-style map. This is where the real game begins. Something like that would be mind-blowing and a similar thing happens with Donkey Kong GB.
Click to expand...
IMO that was a less positive twist in the long run. Rondo of Blood was superior on the whole, and classic-Vania became the exception, not the rule.
 
cartman414 said:
IMO that was a less positive twist in the long run. Rondo of Blood was superior on the whole, and classic-Vania became the exception, not the rule.
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That twist didn't exist in SoTN, I was merely creating an example. The game started at the castle. Now if they had somehow combined the whole of Rondo and made it lead into SoTN as one game, then that would have been interesting.
 
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cartman414 said:
If that's the case, the Pokemon games are ripoffs of Dragon Quest and Megami Tensei.

Also, the list is terribad for having Pokemon Yellow and Red/Blue as separate entries bogarting the top, and DK '94 at the near bottom, when it should be top 3.
Click to expand...

I don't disagree with you but I stand on the point that after the top 5, the IGN list leans hard into sequels, ports, and similar genre of games.

It feels derivative because it is.

Not bad games, just a shift from innovation to recognition.

And that's OK.

Also,

BlackTron said:
Holy crap. I tried my friends copy of Donkey Kong for a few minutes eons ago, and glossed over it for the rest of my life.
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I never said I played DK on gameboy, I never dismissed it either. I just didn't include it.

That's not glossing over it, that's you reaching.
 
proandrad said:
Pokémon yellow over gold/silver is definitely a choice.
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I believe these are strictly the GB versions of games. Yellow was *technically* GB with some GBC enhancements while G/S were gameboy color games that just happened to still be playable on the og gameboy

I bring this up because they chose the og Links Awakening over DX, and there's a lack of the Zelda oracle games and Wario Land 3
 
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FinalBossWithTheMostPower said:
I don't disagree with you but I stand on the point that after the top 5, the IGN list leans hard into sequels, ports, and similar genre of games.

It feels derivative because it is.

Not bad games, just a shift from innovation to recognition.

And that's OK.
Click to expand...
That's all well and good but to claim that point doesn't stand for Pokemon as I mentioned earlier is cognitive dissonance.
 
What a bad list

Donkey Kong Land 2? Metroid 2? Super Mario Land? Wario Land?

Reads more like a, "Top Games I had as a Kid" list than anything.
 
More IGN nonsense.

Link's Awakening is by far the GOAT GB game, and frankly one of the altogether GOATs of this hobby. Putting Pokemon Yellow at number 1 AND also listing Red and Blue allows one to pinpoint the age of the list's author with extreme accuracy.

And sorry, as well as Metroid 2 does a few things, overall the game is quite dull.

No Gargoyle's Quest is pretty laughable already, but no fucking Castlevania II? Get out of here!
 
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