30 replies to this topic

[Satoshi Matrix]

Hey guys, last summer I started working on my mega huge top 100 NES games list, and now I'm currently writing another top 100 list and this time the subject is the original GameBoy and also the GameBoy Color, but NOT GameBoy Advance - that will be it's own thing. The original Xbox list I was considering earlier will be coming at a later time. I'll still be doing it, but it's just taking a backseat until I fill some gaps in my collection of games that I haven't played that everyone raves about.

For GB/GBC, I have already created a top 100 'beta' list of games to cover, but I know there are some real GameBoy enthusiasts here on Racketboy likely equally as passionate as I am about Nintendo's 8-bit portable wonder.

Therefore, I'd like to turn suggestions over to you guys. Maybe there are obscure European or Japanese games I've not thought of? I've gone over the GB/GBC romset several times already, but there's a chance I might have missed some true gems to share with not only the entire retro gaming community my blog attracts, but also here on AtariAge and on many other retro forums as well.

I can't promise I'll agree to place y game in x position, but I will seriously consider every recommendation that I haven't already thought of for the list.

So let me know what you think should be on the list! The more obscure it is, the greater the chances that I haven't already considered and/or placed it somewhere on the list to begin with. Games like Super Mario Land are obvious, but stuff like Kwirk - not so much.

If possible, a short explanation of why you feel your nommonie should make the list would be appreciated.

[godslabrat]

Donkey Kong '94 - Fantastic game in its own right, arguably the best follow-up to the original.  Yet, oddly, almost forgotten

Mario's Picross

Zelda: LA, Metroid II - No comment needed.

Alleyway, Crystal Quest - Personal favorites

[Reaperman]

I see picross (and other good stuff) mentioned, but I liked mario picross 2 a bit more than the first one.  It was just a *huge* game (I'm still barely halfway through), and it added super gameboy support over the first one.

Kirby's Pinball Land is rarely far from my system.

Dragon Warrior Monsters is one of my faves too.  The second one never resonated with me the same way.

Edited by Reaperman, Tue Aug 7, 2012 9:36 AM.

[goldenegg]

Some of my favs:


Batman
Boomer's Adventure is ASMIK World
Castlevania Adventure
Contra: The Alien Wars
Duck Tales
F1 Race
Kirby's Dream Land
Mario Tennis
Mega Man: Dr Willy's Revenge
Motocross Maniacs
Operation C
Revenge of the Gator
Super Mario Land
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins
Super RC Pro-Am
Tetris

[edweird13]

Kirby's Star Stacker
Wario Land
Pokemon  my personal favorite is Red

That's all I can see that hasn't been covered yet.

[Lentzquest]

Final Fantasy Adventure: Its the often overlooked predecessor to the ever-wonderful Secret of Mana.
Donkey Kong '94: As previously mentioned, it's awesome.
Space invaders: Plugging it into the Game Boy is so-so, but the Super Game Boy upgrade is great.
Mega Man 5: A Game Boy Mega Man game with all-original robot masters!!!
Toxic Crusaders: A criminally overlooked platformer with five playable characters. Plus ya gotta love a little Troma.
Yars Revenge: the only continuation of the classic that I can think of that stays true to the original style of gameplay.

Edited by Lentzquest, Tue Aug 7, 2012 11:44 AM.

[Satoshi Matrix]

goldenegg, on Tue Aug 7, 2012 9:58 AM, said:

Boomer's Adventure is ASMIK World

While I wouldn't say Boomer's Adventure in Asmik World isn't the worst game I've ever played, it is the worst game I played as a child. GOD do I hate that game.

[goldenegg]

Satoshi Matrix, on Tue Aug 7, 2012 11:53 AM, said:

While I wouldn't say Boomer's Adventure in Asmik World isn't the worst game I've ever played, it is the worst game I played as a child. GOD do I hate that game.

Funny, as I have the complete opposite experience with the game.  It was a favourite of mine as a kid and I still enjoy playing it now.

[roland p]

Metal Gear Solid.
While I hate the stage-based style, it's still nice to have a 2d metal gear on the go.

[Satoshi Matrix]

goldenegg, on Tue Aug 7, 2012 12:01 PM, said:

Satoshi Matrix, on Tue Aug 7, 2012 11:53 AM, said:

While I wouldn't say Boomer's Adventure in Asmik World isn't the worst game I've ever played, it is the worst game I played as a child. GOD do I hate that game.

Funny, as I have the complete opposite experience with the game.  It was a favourite of mine as a kid and I still enjoy playing it now.

Well opinions vary, but I found it to be Zelda style Dig Dug with Tower of Druaga elements...but not nearly as good as any of those. Asmik-kun for Famicom is pretty much the only game what that character that I can stand.

[Lentzquest]

Blades of Steel for the GB is excellent as well. Almost as good as the NES version.

[thegoldenband]

Montezuma's Return for GBC is worth a look.  I haven't beaten it, and I generally like to do that before I recommend a game (at least of the "beatable" sort), but I do like its old-school exploration style.

I thought Skate or Die: Bad 'N' Rad was surprisingly good.  I also had an odd affection for True Lies.

[tpugmire]

Revenge of the Gator - A great pinball game
Dr. Mario - Just as good as the NES version, maybe even better.
Alleyway - A great Arkanoid style game with Mario.  Also a solid launch title.

[Drixxel]

The Game Boy is one of my favourites to delve into, it's no small feat to assemble a thoroughly researched & tested top 100 from a library this huge!  Here are ten games I'd readily submit for closer scruity:

Atomic Punk - It's more or less just Bomberman on Game Boy, but the "story mode" is a little more fleshed out.  You're able to choose the order in which you tackle stages and each presents a different power-up reward.
Avenging Spirit - Not as good as the arcade original Phantasm, it's still an entertaining and well done platformer where you commandeer the bodies of your enemies, each offering a slightly different play style.
Burai Fighter Deluxe - I've always enjoyed Burai Fighter on NES and the GB port is a good effort, maintaining the 8-directional shooting and general feel.  My only gripe is that sprite flicker can be a bit of an issue causing enemy projectiles to occasionally phase out of view.
Daedalian Opus - A devilishly puzzling game of tetronimo placement.  Some of the stages are seriously time consuming brainbusters that provide a definite sense of reward upon their completion.
Double Dragon - A slow but satisfying take on Double Dragon with more depth of combat than the NES version.
Duck Tales - Both of the Duck Tales games on GB are worthy ports of the NES originals and are at least a little less famous than Capcom's GB Mega Man conversions.  Duck Tales 1 is perhaps more enjoyable here than on NES as it's easier to jump attack.
Elevator Action - It plays far more fluidly than the arcade/NES versions and offers a fun arsenal of weapons to switch between.
Mercenary Force - Something of a strategic horizontal shooter, the game has you hiring a stock of mercenaries, each with a different attack style, that move as a group and can be rearranged on the fly.  Troops need to be continually rehired between levels, paid for with the money collected throughout the previous stage(s).
Parodius - While slower than other/better versions of Parodius, this is my favourite shmup on the handheld and a respectable take on the game.
Star Sweep - A Japan-only puzzler that does something different with its falling blocks, there are versions of the game that can be found elsewhere but the GB really is the place for a good puzzle game to be.

[GrizzLee]

I like Gradius and R*Type. Bionic Commando wasn't bad either.

-GrizzLee

[Austin]

Double Dragon - Already mentioned, but I agree that it's fun. I especially appreciate that punching is actually useful in this version.

Castlevania Adventure II: Belmont's Revenge - A much better effort than the original. Some sweet tunes, nice graphics, and fun gameplay.

Ghosts 'n Goblins (GBC) - If I recall correctly, this is a recreation of the NES game. However, this one actually runs smooth and controls well, unlike the NES version. Great game overall!

Donkey Kong - Just awesome. Starts off as a handheld recreation of the arcade game, then quickly branches off into its own puzzle-filled goodness. I've always loved the smoothness of the gameplay and the abilities Mario has, like the handstand and special high jumps.

Donkey Kong Land - Manages to retain the same kind of fun gameplay as Donkey Kong Country.

Killer Instinct - Like the above, it was pretty impressive that it was done on the GB. It plays very well despite only having two face buttons and runs really smooth. I'd go as far to say it's the best fighting game on the Game Boy, hands down!

Shadowgate Classic - A remake of Shadowgate from the NES. The game is mostly the same, but there have been some improvements that make it a slightly more enjoyable experience overall. Great game!

Mega Man II - This one gets knocked, but I'm not quite sure why. It's a solid hybrid of Mega Man II and Mega Man 3 from the NES. My favorite aspect of it is the soundtrack.

[GideonsDad]

Harvest Moon 3 GBC - The only farming / farm animal care / life simulation for the GBC (?)
Lufia - The Legend Returns - A good and light-hearted RPG (don't care too much for randomly genereated dungeons but it does add to the replay value).
Pokemon Yellow - C'mon Pikachu follows you around, how cool is that ^_^

Edited by GideonsDad, Thu Aug 9, 2012 9:39 PM.

[Metalwario64]

Has to have Wario Land 3. Best Wario game in my eyes, and is to the Game Boy Color what Super Mario Bros. 3 is to the NES. One of my favorites of all time. I know you said stuff like Super Mario Land is obvious, but a lot of people just mention the first Wario Land, and I feel the two GBC sequels are superior, especially the third.

For something more obscure, Mole Mania is one off the top of my head, and maybe Adventures of Star Saver. If I think of others, I'll post them as well.

Edited by Metalwario64, Thu Aug 9, 2012 9:48 PM.

[bomberpunk]

previously mentioned favorites of mine are:

Link's Awakening (one of two games that actually made me tear up at the end)
Metroid II call me crazy but i like it better than the SNES sequel.
Mega Man II definitely had the best music & gameplay of the Mega Man GB series
Atomic Punk introduces us to the son of Bomberman, implemented a great purchase system, cool levels, and also helped spawn my username (atomicman sounds stupid) across various forums & email addresses. hell, i used to own bomberpunk.com

not mentioned yet:

Snow Bros Jr i played the shit out of this game so much that i used to be able to run through it without continuing. i prefer the slower pace of the movement/jumps over the NES/Genesis and even the original arcade version!
Pocket Bomberman was a unique side-scroller/platformer twist to the B'man formula, plus it was a GBC cart which added a bit of color.
Spy VS Spy i love every version of this game, even the quirky Xbox(1) remake.
Battletoads was a completely different game from the NES/Genesis.

[Drixxel]

goldenegg, on Tue Aug 7, 2012 12:01 PM, said:

Satoshi Matrix, on Tue Aug 7, 2012 11:53 AM, said:

While I wouldn't say Boomer's Adventure in Asmik World isn't the worst game I've ever played, it is the worst game I played as a child. GOD do I hate that game.

Funny, as I have the complete opposite experience with the game.  It was a favourite of mine as a kid and I still enjoy playing it now.

I remember, as a wee lad, coming across an ad for this game in an old GamePro and really wanting to play it.  After stumbling upon it many years later, it reminded me instantly of another Game Boy title featuring a similar digging mechanic, Heiyankyo Alien.  That one's much faster paced and considerably more arcade-y than Boomer's.  Worth checking out, I'd say.

Having completely missed the bit in the thread title about GBC, if there's but one Game Boy Color game I'd want to draw attention to, it would have to be Deja Vu I & II: The Casebooks of Ace Harding.  A complete no-brainer and really cool package for any fans of ICOM Simulations adventure games, but perhaps nothing special for anyone else.

[Satoshi Matrix]

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. I have the list completed now and will start publishing it soon. Expect the first entry, #100-91 in the next week or so. I've taken everyone's suggestions seriously and tried out every single one of them. They all won't make the final list, but keep the suggestions coming for the honorable mentions list that will accompany my article.

[Drixxel]

Looking forward to it, Satoshi!  Your piece on Dr. Wily's Revenge was a good read, I'm curious to see which of the GB Mega Man games you end up including on your hundred count megalist and how they rank.

[Reaperman]

Nothing earthshaking that hasn't been mentioned, but I carry my brick in one of those hard cases with room for 4 games + what's in the system.  I had a look in there last night, and my 5, carry-with-me games are:

Mario Picross 2
Link's awakening DX (even though it's a b/w system)
Metroid 2
Donkey Kong '94
Mario Land 2

oddly all first party titles, where from N64 and beyond, I tend to avoid 'Nintendo'-nintendo games.

Also, was I crazy to like Azure Dreams on GBC?  I really did enjoy playing it, but I've never met anybody else with much positive to say about it.  The reviews all slaughtered it.

[theloon]

Solomon's Club
Ultima 3 (Homebrew)

I'll second Azure Dreams!  A game that deserves more attention.

[HatefulGravey]

Looks like you already know all you need to know but I feel the need to chime in anyway.

Pokemon Yellow - Its just the copy I had when the game first came out.
Metroid II - Great stuff and killed many hours when mom thought I was sleeping.
Tetris - Must be mentioned as the killer app that helped move the GB when it started out. Everyone loves it, no one wants to admit it.