10 of the Best Games for the Game Boy | Game Rant – GameRant

The Game Boy, released in 1989, was a massive success for Nintendo. Here are some of the best games on Nintendo's first handheld.

The Game Boy, released in 1989, was a massive success for Nintendo. It saw many interactions from the Japanese exclusive Game Boy Light, the smaller Game Boy Pocket, and even evolved into the Game Boy Color and Game Boy Advance.

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The Game Boy was supported by Nintendo long after games were being produced and remained in production until 2003. There were many great games for the system, with some standing out above the rest and still getting plenty of recognition to this day. To look back at Nintendos very first handheld, here are 10 of the best game for the Game Boy.

Donkey Kong for the Game Boy starts off looking like a remake of the original arcade game of the same name, however, after a few levels, the game starts to resemble Mario games of the era. While in the original Donkey Kong game you only could do a single jump, in Donkey Kong for the Game Boy you can jump into a handstand and do a much higher jump. There are some leftover elements from the arcade original like the occasional hammer, the scaffolding like levels, and the need to save Pauline instead of Princess Peach.

Kid Dracula is a spin-off of the Castlevania where, as the title states, you play as Dracula as a kid. The game is filled with familiar enemies found in the Castlevania games like bats, Frankensteins Monster, and more.

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Kid Dracula is a typical platformer that gives you the power to shoot out fireballs as an attack. As you progress through the game you are given different attacks you can use like a triple shot and a homing shot. You are also able to turn into a bat from time to time and temporarily fly around.

Like Kid Dracula, Gargoyles Quest is a platformer that lets you play as an enemy from a popular series, but in this case, you play as Firebrand from the Ghosts N Goblin games. As Firebrand you can shoot fireballs out of your mouth and fly for a brief moment. The hovering mechanic is at the center of most of the games platforming. As you make your way through the game you will find more attacks as well as upgrades to your wings so you can hover for long periods of time.

The Final Fantasy Legend is actually not part of the Final Fantasy series but instead part of the Secret of Mana series which up to this point was exclusive to Japan. The Final Fantasy Legend plays like an old school The Legend of Zelda game with top-down action that focuses heavily on combat but with RPG elements thrown in as well. At the beginning of the game, you are given a set amount of classes to choose from, all with varying stats. As you progress, you level up your character and find different, more powerful equipment.

Operation C is a Game Boy exclusive title from the Contra series and is the first-ever portable Contra game. Operation C is a direct sequel to Super C for the Nintendo Entertainment System. There are a total of five stages that you must make your way through in the game. There are three classic side-scrolling series similar to the rest of the games in the series, and two top-down levels that play similar to some of the levels found in Super C. Many of guns from previous Contra titles make a return, however, added to Operation C is the homing gun which became a staple for all games that followed.

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The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening is one of the weirder games in the series with enemies crossing over from the Super Mario universe and the entirety of the game taking place in a large whales dream.

While the first Super Mario Land is somewhat of a departure for the series, having some shoot em up levels and generally not feeling like a Super Mario game, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins feels like a portable version of Super Mario World.

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Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins has an overworld similar to previous titles in the series. There is also a powerup that is exclusive to the game that has never been featured in another title - the carrot gives Mario rabbit ears and allows him to hover for a short period of time. The game is also notable for having the very first appearance of Wario.

Pokmon Red & Blue gives you one simple task, to catch them all. There are 150 Pokmon to catch, a deep and engrossing combat system based on elements, a large world to explore, trainers to battle, and gym badges to collect.

NEXT: 10 Forgotten Game Boy Franchises That Need A Comeback

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Ian is a writer with a strong interest in video game history with a small collection of games from the Atari 2600 up to the most current generation. So when you need a random fact about video game history to share at a party, he's your guy!

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10 of the Best Games for the Game Boy | Game Rant - GameRant

Reviewed and Recommended by Erik Baquero