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[Dacvak]

Why would you include Pokémon Yellow and Red/Blue as separate games? They're hardly different at all.

I mean, this is a decent list, but it's also kind of a dumb list.

 

[Codes 208]

Why would you include Pokémon Yellow and Red/Blue as separate games? They're hardly different at all.

I mean, this is a decent list, but it's also kind of a dumb list.

Honestly its one of the only things I can actually agree with on both sides. Like yeah its just a reskin of r/b but the sprite work is sooo much better, and they made subtle changes to the dialogue of certain characters (and added Jesse and James) to be more in line with the anime.

I still remember getting yellow for christmas and damn, i just could never go back to blue afterwards

 

[proandrad]

They gave the switch 2 a 7 you can't trust this.

A 7 sounds about right for the hardware you get for $499. Nintendo dropped the ball with the screen.

 

[kpopSuperstar]

Its hard to explain to people how cool Tetris on the Game Boy was back in the day.

 

[Gaiff]

pokemon red/ blue and super mario land are the goats.

Super Mario Land 2 obliterates Super Mario Land.

 

[Syphon Filter]

Super Mario Land 2 obliterates Super Mario Land.

I prefer the first one.

 

[Gaiff]

I prefer the first one.

It's worse in every single way and is janky as fuck.

 

[Syphon Filter]

It's worse in every single way and is janky as fuck.

I disagree.

 

[SpiceRacz]

I think Donkey Kong 94 is better than every game on that list except maybe Link's Awakening.

Also, shout out to whoever mentioned those Mega Man games and Motocross Maniacs. Those are damn good video games.

 

[wondermega]

I think Donkey Kong 94 is better than every game on that list except maybe Link's Awakening.

Also, shout out to whoever mentioned those Mega Man games and Motocross Maniacs. Those are damn good video games.

Motocross Maniacs was one of those cool surprise games. "Oh it just looks like a less-dimensional Excitebike with some floating platforms." 2 hours later and you are literally flying upside down somehow. What a great little game!

 

[lestar]

Yes. Gold/Silver and Crystal were GameBoy Color exclusives.

False, Only Crystal were GBC exclusive, Gold/Silver were DMG compatible games (the original japanese cartridges where black as all DMG comp games), Yellow was too, the difference was that G/S where made with gbc as primary, and Yellow used GBC capabilities to display super gameboy palettes.

 

[Rran]

It's not a HORRIBLE list, but Pokémon Yellow is a HORRIBLE number one. It's just a "better" version of Red/Blue released a year later. Almost like a GOTY edition or something. The original Pokemon games should be in the top 5, but lump 'em together. This is not a new game, it's an update patch to an existing one. Its changes are even modest compared to modern DLC.

Donkey Kong is a masterpiece. Starts off as an unassuming port then gets amazing. The Mario vs DK series afterward never quite felt the same, like having NSMB follow SMW. It plays similarly but it lacks the magic.

Link's Awakening really doesn't get enough credit for the narrative and gameplay/structure it added to the series. Almost every Zelda game afterward followed the story-dungeon flow that LA put into place. And it very well may have the best story in the series.

I think I agree with both Wario Lands being on here. WL2 is ambitious and fun before the series got super bogged down with WL3, and WL1 is an underrated good time. I think I prefer it to SML2 these days; it just feels bigger and more satisfying, with more of its own identity.

Mole Mania is friggin great, maybe Miyamoto's most hidden gem.

There are some other good games I have a soft spot for like Final Fantasy Adventure, Balloon Kid, Mario's Picross, and CatTrap but a lot of this comes down to taste.

My top 5:

5- Mole Mania
4- Pokemon Red/Blue/Yellow
3- Tetris
2- Donkey Kong
1- Link's Awakening

 

[ResurrectedContrarian]

Plenty of great games on the list, but I dispute the order.

Mainly, putting Mario Land 2 above Wario Land... nope. Mario Land 2 is strangely overrated; it's a total mess of a Mario game which fundamentally gets wrong even the basic jump/momentum physics, with bad level design throughout, bad & inconsistent art design, etc. I played it on release, as a fan of Mario, and even then as a kid I knew something was wrong... it's probably the first time I was able to clearly see that a series I loved had handed off its handheld game to a B team.

It was only when giving up on making weirdly bad Mario games, and turning to make Wario the star, that this team finally figured it out and put out some of the greatest handheld games ever (first Wario Land and Wario Land 4 on GBA being the highest peaks).

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

disagree -- it's a fantastic game, just played through it recently (on OG hardware) after originally skipping it. I have been playing the 3DS remake in parallel and... the original is so much better than the mess Mercury Steam made of it. They ruined the atmosphere. Metroid II was critical for the franchise in retrospect; it really established the more space-horror vibe that the NES version didn't quite capture.

 

[baphomet]

I decided to pull out my Gameboy and play some games much better than this terrible list.

 

[NeoIkaruGAF]

disagree -- it's a fantastic game, just played through it recently (on OG hardware) after originally skipping it. I have been playing the 3DS remake in parallel and... the original is so much better than the mess Mercury Steam made of it. They ruined the atmosphere. Metroid II was critical for the franchise in retrospect; it really established the more space-horror vibe that the NES version didn't quite capture.

Like I said, it does a few things very well. The atmosphere and the wordless narrative are among those things. But the limited FOV makes getting around more complicated than it should be, and the combat is a mess.
The remake botched a lot of things, but it's a fun game.
I think that I'd like the GB game so much more if you could see more on the screen at any one time.

 

[Hudo]

G/S where made with gbc as primary,

That's what I meant. I could've worded it better.

 

[Hudo]

Nah. Having Pikachu follow you around while you battle Jessie/James/Meowth as a 10-year-old was dope.

Nah bubs it's the most correct take of this entire list

But they removed all the exploits that allowed me to have Missing No. and nuke my save file!

 

[Trunx81]

No Final Fantasy Adventure / Mystic Quest?
What is this, a list for amateurs?

I really need an Everdrive for my old Game Boy Pocket ...

 

[Ikutachi]

The first Donkey Kong Land was better with it having all-original levels, whereas the sequel is a watered down port of a SNES game.

 

[Rran]

The first Donkey Kong Land was better with it having all-original levels, whereas the sequel is a watered down port of a SNES game.

It's true that DKL1 was a brand new game, but its camera zoom and controls really soured the whole experience. DKL2 just felt so much better to play and was much clearer.

I still wouldn't put it on a top 15 though, mainly because it's still a watered-down port at the end of the day.

 

[diffusionx]

This is a weird list. Two Final Fantasy Legends is weird. Putting Pokemon Yellow and Red/Blue separately is weird. Including Super Mario Land is weird (game is quirky and weird but sucks).

Also not to get too nerdy about it but what the hell, going back and playing old GB games, the old puzzle gamwes that came out especially near the launch of the system are phenomenal. Cat Trap, Lock & Chase, Daedalian Opus, Mole Mania (late release but w/e), Qwirk, etc. Great games. These games just get forgotten but they were a key part of the system and used to pitch the system to older, working people who just needed to do something on their commute or flight or something.

 

[SkylineRKR]

My holy trinity was always Links Awakening, Warioland and SMW2. They came out rather close to eachother too. Tetris ofcourse belongs there. And the Donkey Kong '94 version was amazing.

Personally I'd put Probotector (Operation C) there, it was my first GB game but also one of the absolute best out there. Kirby's Dreamland 1 though very short and easy was a perfect handheld game but it felt like a demo version of the NES game. KD2 eluded me for some reason, I always regret not buying it at the time.

I do agree that there was something off about SMW1 and 2. I remember SMW1 having quite heavy jumping controls, and SMW2 was too light and probably too zoomed in.

 

[EverydayBeast]

Had an awesome relationship with the gameboy, it was my second handheld (game gear) to be able to play Pokémon or Mario anywhere was awesome. The worm light, the double A batteries, built in speaker, regardless of the awesome handheld devices afterwards I don't know if there was a more iconic handheld than the Nintendo "gameboy" (color).