When the Nintendo Game Boy released in 1989, it sparked a revolutionary innovation in video games, being able to play video games anywhere. It has created its own market within the video game industry that still continues to this day. The Game Boy was the most powerful brand in handheld gaming, having outsold competition like Sega’s Game Gear and Atari’s Lynx. The Game Boy would go on to have 2 other iterations, the Game Boy Color in 1998, and the Game Boy Advance in 2001. There would be plenty of games that would go on to be some of gaming’s greatest handheld games from series like Super Mario and The Legend of Zelda. The Game Boy would be notably home to many great RPGs, including the Pokémon series, the most popular handheld gaᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚming series ever.
Despite the success, the Game Boy systems would be a notably simplified gaming experience; it was nowhere near the quality of each Game Boy’s corresponding home console such as Nintendo’s Super NES, N64, and GameCube, but it was so popular of a device, especially for children, that developers wanted to get their games on the Game Boy systems. As a result, many of the most popular names in video games would have entries on the Game Boy systems that just aren’t up to par quality-wise.
Here we will cover some of the lesser known or infamously known games on the Game Boy family of systems. Games that are either very bad, disappointing, didn’t age well, or were a dark era of that franchise’s history. These games left gamers craving for the superior console experience. But we will not be exclusively negative as we will also look into some of the greatest games that have been released on the Game Boy systems. So let’s look at the 20 worst and 10 best Game Boy games.
30 Worst: Metroid's S🥂econd Installment Falls Flat 🌺
It might sound a bit odd and shocking to see anything Metroid related in the worst category (unless you have played Federation Force), but Metroid II: Return of Samus, released on Game Boy in 1991, is one of the weakest entries in the series. It doesn't necessarily mean it is a bad game, but it doesn't give you the quality Metroid experience that even the NES classic had.
In Metroid II, the intergalactic bounty hunter Samus Aran is on a mission on planet SR388 where she is tasked to hunt down and exterminate the remaining Metroids. The game features a similar playing mechanic to the NES classic, but with very few new abilities. The only one that stands out as memorable is the Spider Ball. Additionally, your main task is to hunt down the Metroid creatures, you will know how many remain through the counter on the bottom right corner of the screen. It sounds like a simple task, but what makes this game very frustrating is that there is no map at all, so it is very easy to get lost in this very deep subterranean voyage. Fortunately, Metroid II was remade into a brand new game on Nintendo 3DS called Metroid Samus Returns, and it is a phenomenal game that is o൩ne of the best 2D games in the s🦩eries.
29 🌜 Best: Nothing Compares ไTo Golden Sun
The Game Boy Advance was best known for the quality of JRPGs that were developed for the system. From Pokémon to Fire Emblem, there were plenty of options for the JRPG enthusiast, but none were as good as the Golden Sun series from Camelot. The original game released in 2001 and the sequel, subtitled The Lost Age, released in 2003. The two games were actually supposed to be one but were split in two due to the size of the combined games. The story of the original follows Isaac and his party, but in The Lost Age, it shifts the focus to the perceived antagonist, Felix. The story might be the weakest part about Golden Sun, but itꦇ is still pretty solid with a unique perspective change with the two games.
Golden Sun featured characters known as Adepts who can use magic called Psynergy, they use this as part of their way of life. Psynergy is used both in battle and in dungeons to solve puzzles. The dungeons and puzzles in Golden Sun are better than even that of Legend of Zelda games.
I could go on all day about how amazing these two games are!
The Golden Sun games feature the best visuals ever seen on the Game Boy Advance, its so good that it looks better than some PlayStation games, and this is coming from a handheld series. Additionally, the music for dungeons🌠 and battles are incredibly epic, some of the best you'll hear in RPGs.
28 🔯Wor𝓡st: When Kirby Wasn't Pink
While Kirby has had plenty of consistently solid platformers throughout Nintendo handheld systems, Kirby's very first game is very lacking. Kirby's Dream Land released on the Game Boy in 1992. The most notable thing about this game is that Kirby did not have his copy ability at the time, nor was he colored pink. This lead to a rather ove🅷rly simplistic gameplay that wasn't all that exciting, even for 1992 standards. All Kirby could do was suck enemies in, and either digest to no effect, or spit them back out like how it normally works throughout the series. Additionally, the game consists of only 5 levels, meaning you could complete the game within just one hour, two at the most.
The result is that the game could come off as good when you first play it, but after ♔you beat it, there isn't much left to do in the game.
Its value wa༺s very low. That being said, the simplistic design of this game would undergo an evolution to the quality platformer series it is today. A lot of Kir𓂃by's growth is due to the work of Masahiro Sakurai and the late Satoru Iwata, without them the lovable pink hero may not exist today.
27 Best: Liꦍnk Fights Through🌱 Ages And Seasons
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages is a special dual release game series in 2001 on Game Boy Color. Both of these games feature the top-down classic Zelda gameplay perspective. But unlike the likes of Pokémon Red and Blue, both Zelda games actually have their own separate story-line and design. In Oracle of Seasons, Link has to rescue Din from Onox, while in Oracle of Ages, Link has to recover Nayru from Veran. After🍃 finishing both games, you can then unlock the main story. This mini-series originally was going to be three separate games, but eventually, they had to shrink it to basically 2.5.
The series was a very successful one as both games sold 4 million copies each. This was deserving as many fans share the opinion that these were the best games on the Game Boy Color. Both of these games took advantage of the use of color more than any Game Boy game before them, thus being two of the most visually pleasing games to ever release on the system. Seasons notably t🧔ook advantage of this asꦓ you can change the color design based on the seasons.
26 ꦓ Worst: What Has Happened To Mario Party
Remember the days when Mario Party was actually a decent spinoff series in the Super Mario universe? It feels like those long multiplayer nights of the Nintendo 64 days are over. After the Nintendo 64 games, Mario Party as a series took quite a dip, featuring less interesting mini-games, rule changes to the board games that made it less exciting, and during the GameCube era, releasing a new Mario Party every single year made the series very stale. Among the many GameCube games was one that Nintendo decided to put on the Game Boy Advance, simply titled Mario Party Advance, and that game took the series to a new low.
Mario Party Advance focused more on a single player experience oddly enough. The mini-games ranged from extremely basic memory ཧgames or platforming games that were all done before. It lacked a whole lot of creativity that was seen in the earlier games. The single player didn't include the traditional co♔ins and stars rules, it was more like, keep winning to keep playing. Single player games would often end in just a few turns if you either lose a mini-game or just had bad luck on the dice roll
25 ജ Worst: The Last We Have Seen Of F-Zero ꧙
This worst entry is more about the unfortunate reality falling on one of the best racing franchises out there. F-Zero: GP Legend wasn't exactly a bad game. It featured intense races, a༺ large selection of race machines to chose from, and looked visually pleasing. However, this game completely tanked in sales.
What is extra shameful about that is that Nintendo even had an animated series that debuted on regular TV around the time the game released in 2004.
They must have been hoping to boost the series popularity similar to what happened with the Kirby series in Kirby: Right Back At Ya. However, in North America, the animated series only lasted 15 episodes before being canceled. It would conclude its first and only season (51 episodes) in Japan, ending the series on a cliffhanger, but it wasn't even accepted well there. With the exception of the Japanese-only sequel F-Zero Climax on GBA, GP Legend would be the last entry in the series thus far.
There was a rumor that Nintendo approached the Need For Speed developers in hope to create a game on Wii U, but it never happened. All that has happened is cameo appearances in Nintendo Land, Mario Kart 8, and Super Smash Bros. Even to this day you will still see a good number of fans hoping for a brand new F-Zero every year, even a port of F-Zero: GX (one of, if not, th🐭e greatest racing game ever) would suffice.
24 ღ Best: Fire Emblem's International Debut
Fire Emblem was a long-running strategy RPG series exclusive to Japan. It was developed by Intelligent Systems. It didn't take until the 7th game in the series to finally make it's debut internationally in 2003. The game was simply called Fire Emblem, although in Japan it also was subtitled "The Blazing Blade."
Fire Emblem featured a deep strategy RPG experience with tons of characters and different classes. While the main complaint about the game was that Lyn's story would basically be a huge tutorial, it can still be a very challenging experience. Players had to be very careful with their decisions because if an ally falls in battle, they are gone in that save file for good. It also featured fantastic music and a great storyline that is one of the best in the series. Fire Emblem: The Blazing Blade is actually a prequel to the previous entry that featured Roy, who was famous for appearing alongside Marth in Super Smash Bros: Melee before the series was localized. As of today, it has still yet to be officially localized in other regions. This was a major moment for not only the Game Bജoy Advance but for the series as well. Despite some dark times that nearly ended the series for good, Fire Emblem has emerged as one of Nintendo's top series in popularity.
23 🤪 Worst: The Yoshi Series Turns Topsyℱ Turvy
Yoshi Topsy Turvy, also known as Yoshi Universal Gravitation outside of North America, is a unique game on Game Boy Advance where the game cartridge itself features a built-in gyro sensor. A large part of this game's gameplay revolves around tilting the Game Boy Advance system itself either left or right. Tilting the system results in the world being tilted as well. Certain platforms would come closer to you, or changing the gravity to allow a spherical object to roll to a certain point. What made this game so bad was that, despite the unique play style and similar look to the great Yoshi's Island, it didn't play anything like 🎉you would hope a Yoshi game would play like.
The ཧmotiᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚᩚ𒀱ᩚᩚᩚon control gimmick was just too strong here.
The tilting was a bit clunky, it wasn't a perfect one-to-one motion; Either extreme to the left or extreme to the right, making it difficult to maintain normal balance. It was a very short game with a very silly story. Of course, just about every Yoshi game has a story revolv﷽ing around happiness, but it doesn't help when you have to bear with it while playing a poorly designed game.
22 Worst: The Last Banjo-Kazoꦫoie Game On A Nintendo System
In 2005, Rare would release what would be the last game from the famed Banjo-Kazooie series on a Nintendo system. That game was called Banjo-Pilot, a racing game similar to Diddy Kong Racing. This game was actually in development before Rare was bought out by Microsoft. It was originally going to be a sequel to Diddy Kong Racing as it is a racing game that features multiple vehicles. After Rare got bought out, they had to make drastic changes to the game since they were not allowed to use a Nintendo I.P. As a result, instead of using characters from the Donkey Kong franchise, Rare used characters from their own Banjo-Kazooie series, making this the last time we would see the series in any form on a Nintendo syst✤em.
The gameplay may be good as you start playing, but it lacks the longevity to keep it good. The A.I. are rather weak and easy in this game, you wouldn't expect much of a challenge here. The track design was also a bit overly simplistic and uninteresting. It is a shame that the bear and bird's last go on a Nintendo system was a simple spinoff that came out years after their great platforming games on the N64, Banjo-Pilot just simply wasn't worth the wait.
21 🎃 Best: Link Awakens The Gameboy's True Potential 💎
The Legend Of Zelda: Link's Awakening was an action adventure game that was developed for the Game Boy in 1993. They would then optimize the game for the Game Boy Color in 1998. This Zelda game is a bit unusual compared to other games in the series. For one, it doesn't take place in Hyrule. There is no Princess Zelda or mentioning of the Triforce. It feels like a completely different game, but you're playing as Link. There are even enemies from the Super Mario series who make an appearance.
This game features an overhead play-style known from the classic Legend of Zelda. In addition to that, there are even some 2D sidescrolling segments that are in caves and dungeons that was a nice little change to the normal Zelda gameplay. While this game does have the standard dungeons and usable items in each level, there are also side quests such as secret seashells quest that offer a bit of extra value to the game's length. The game also had a fantastic musical score for a Game Boy game and even uses music as a focal point of the game's story. Link's Awakening does a lot to separate itself from other games in the series and is one of the biggest highlights of the original Game Boy system.