The Official Game Boy Thread

[SiberianSpForces]

(double post) Also found the Play It Loud fold out insert and reunited it with my clear DMG.

Edited July 17, 2017 by SiberianSpForces

[Tanooki]

Ooooh PopN Twinbee GOOD JOB!

 

I just wish I could find Konami GB Collection Vol 4 it is driving me insane been wanting to get it with the other 3 since last year. One of the other in that series has Twinbee on it.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Ooooh PopN Twinbee GOOD JOB!

 

I just wish I could find Konami GB Collection Vol 4 it is driving me insane been wanting to get it with the other 3 since last year. One of the other in that series has Twinbee on it.

Thanks Tanooki! I had been looking for a good condition copy of Pop'n TwinBee at a reasonable price for years so I was really excited to have finally found one. Unfortunately the picture I posted ended up being a stock photo so I had to send a message to the seller to ask for a picture of the actual game I would receive, and the one I'll be getting in the mail does have a little discoloration on the plastic:

 

 

 

Normally I wouldn't buy a cart with brown spots on the shell, but in light of the condition the seller offered it to me for $20 shipped from Germany and the label still looks to be in good shape so I took him up on the offer. At this point I'll just be happy to finally have a copy of this game that I've been wanting for half past forever, and I knew I wasn't going to find a better price than that.

 

 

I hear you about the Konami GB Collection Vol. 1 - 4 games too. The European exclusive Game Boy Color versions of those game compilations are stupidly hard to find, to the point that I can't even find any pricing information for Volume 4 to get an idea of what to expect to pay for it. Volumes 1 - 3 tend to go from $35 to $55 loose though so I'm guessing it would be somewhere in there.

 

Volume 3 is the one with Pop'n TwinBee on it, but given how much the compilations cost I didn't personally think they were worth tracking down. I'd rather get the original cartridges with their cool looking label art and live with them being monochrome than spend big money on a compilation cart. I suppose they do technically offer the best versions of the games included on them though, so I can definitely see why someone would want to track them down.

Edited July 18, 2017 by Jin

[Tanooki]

Actually 2/4 of them are hard to find and of course it's due to damned Americans after the (which seems idiotic to me) conversions of the games we DID get on #1 and #4. I have 1-3, got #1 from a forum member on another site. #4 is just infuriating me. I had them new in the day as I found a sweet UK site to buy from shipped where they were effectively us priced new ($30.) I snapped up the lot of all but my huge collection die off a dozen years ago took them away. I liked #4 the best because of the conversions, but also the other with both Twinbee and English language Goemon on it. Pop'n Twinbee was also excellent on Super Famicom where I had it too.

 

There's nothing best about them on the GBC other than unreleased in English Japanese games in the end, the colors and being a multicart of 4 is just a perk and a space saver. If you can only take one game, or have a little carrier with room for a few more -- you can fit 16 badass games in the spot of 4.

 

#4 should cost around $30-40USD, but as it hasn't popped up in awhile, someone like me is likely to just say F**K it and pay up as I've been trying to nail one down since last year and it's just making me angry now it not coming up. See when I started re-buying up GB games I've intentionally not picked up the Konami games on those compilation carts to save money not buying twice. Given what the actual stand alone b&w carts go for (around $60+) I'll pay that combined price and then some for the convenience at this rate if I must which bugs me as that is never my style.

 

 

You know what could be fun. Back in college for a few years I ran a site called GB World (after NES World which for a short time I had a partnership in for music) which was nothing but reviews, some previews, and general news around the GB Color and GB stuff. Sometimes now and again I miss doing it. It could be fun doing gameboy write-ups if it kept this thread going more actively. I think old Gameboy gets too dismissed as lame bite sized chopped down games of console stuff which really isn't fair or accurate.

[Good_Times]

 

 

 

 

[Tanooki]

I see hidden treasures in that tub peeking through, makes you wonder what else is under that stack.

 

This is basically everything GB related I have currently, though there are some hidden odds and ends (like the 1989 GB box has all the original contents including sealed up link cable, ear phones, and all the papers, etc. That FF Adventure game is complete as well as are all the other boxed games.

 

https://photos.app.goo.gl/EKjtocfxH7hFzlrh2

https://photos.app.goo.gl/hQ7Y1bxUGVT5L0oH3

https://photos.app.goo.gl/HQzT7TnYvYgJeTz73

https://photos.app.goo.gl/MMXmw1GcwzYTqwG33

https://photos.app.goo.gl/rnAAl84o1yVFfCnI3

 

A black GBA that I just finished up is not imaged. I had got a purple one with a jacked up outside awhile back for $2, shell swapped and upgraded to a glass lens on it.

 

I used to have quite a few more games but paired it back a bit on stuff that really lost my interest, but I'm always open to find some more on these are they eat up little space and they're enjoyable anywhere.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Nice collection Good_Times. That is a ton of DS Lites and GBA SPs! Great collection from you as well Tanooki!

 

My collection has gotten a little smaller since I posted it back in the beginning of this thread, since I ended up selling off a lot of my more valuable and lesser played Game Boy and Game Boy Color games last year when I fell on some hard financial times. I definitely regretted the decision though and am currently working on getting back all the games I sold. Those curious can find the list of what I'm trying to find copies of right now and the prices I'm looking to pay for them in the spoiler tag below.

 

 

 

[GBC/GB] Black Bass: Lure Fishing - $6

[GBC/GB] Pokémon Yellow Version - $15

[GB] Alien 3 - $13

[GB] Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge - $24

[GB] Castlevania Legends - $57

[GB] Contra: The Alien Wars - $18

[GB] Donkey Kong Land - $8

[GB] Dr. Mario - $5

[GB] Gargoyle's Quest - $19

[GB] Kid Dracula - $75

[GB] Kid Icarus: Of Myths & Monsters - $12

[GB] Killer Instinct - $6

[GB] Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge - $12

[GB] Pokémon Blue Version - $12

[GB] Pokémon Red Version - $17

[GB] Primal Rage - $7

[GB] Mega Man IV - $46

[GB] Motocross Maniacs - $5

[GB] Golf - $4

[GB] Stop That Roach! - $17

[GB] Tetris DX - $7

[GB] Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman - $7

 

 

 

As you might well imagine it's not going to be an inexpensive venture getting all those games back, but the Game Boy / Color have always been my favorite systems to both play and collect for so I made a tough decision and decided to sell off my entire Game Boy Advance collection to fund the reacquisition of those Game Boy / Color games. I rarely ever use my GBA SP and when I do it's usually just to play Doom or Doom II for a few minutes, so I don't think I'll miss it and I'll be happy to have narrowed my handheld game collecting down to just the Game Boy / Color. There's enough good games on those systems to keep me entertained for the rest of my life, and my budget will definitely benefit from having narrowed down my collecting focus.

 

Those in the market for some GBA games with nice condition labels can see everything I've still got for sale on my eBay page here: http://www.ebay.com/usr/hanz0d0g

 

 

In the meantime, here's what my Game Boy / Color collection currently looks like while I wait to rebuild it with the aforementioned games. Including the copies of Pop'n TwinBee for the Game Boy and Woody Woodpecker Racing for the Game Boy Color that are in the mail on their way to me at the moment, right now my library is sitting at 94 games.

 

 

 

[Tanooki]

Not a bad cardboard carrier load full of games there. And not a bad selection on ebay either, you had the best of the FPS titles too (DOOM1+2, Wolfy and Duke.)

 

I got kind of nutty with mine, some don't believe it when I've said it in the past when I first did it, but I have the most oddball discrete storage setup for Gameboy stuff.

 

Mine looks much like this, no stamp on the bottom front, a shade darker, and the flat handle of this mine has a border with leafing, and then the rest has horizontal line ahd a nice leafing/vine pattern across. Inside two wood slats back, gap in the center with a metal post and it has a sliding metal barrier so you can set the depth. The width allows for one game on each slat of the 8bit GB or 32bit GBA carts, pretty sure NGPC would work as well, but not 2x for Game Gear. If I remember right GB cart size it should hold 40 deep so 80 to the drawer. GBA is a little more fickle due to that dumb slightly sticking out rounded lip on the top front. They tend to fall over and slide under a bit unless the barrier is in a tighter setting and the depth probaby loses another 3-5 carts deep but it still works just fine. The left door on mine is the 8bit stuff including a pokemon pinball and that cool 3d ultra pinball thrillride cart laying down in back (for now.)

 

It just works out great as you wouldn't know it was there if you didn't open it up and above I have my piggy bank my kid and I painted together 2 years ago and that big indiana jones raiders of the lost ark temple escape (the boulder scene) set.

[NE146]

Every 3 or 4 years I fly back home to visit my mom, and while I'm at it.. I snag some of my old stuff. This time around I found my old opened Tokyo Pokemon Center Gameboy Color (I also have another one nib) and orange GBA-SP from several years ago. The orange SP has some kind of pokemon etched in the front.

 

On that note I did stop by Pokemon Center in Tokyo last week (pic) and the only special 3DS they were selling was a pink one which was pretty disappointing. Needless to say, I passed.

 

 

[Tanooki]

That's a Torchic from a few generations back. I don't think it ever took off huge because later release kind of went towards the other fiery creatures and things.

[Tanooki]

Ok let's wake this one up again.

 

I got a nice little thing in the mail today I was very happy about.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/ccOP2xIUjHYjqoIw2

 

'Big Box' Super Gameboy complete, barely used in really fantastic shape and all complete down to the little plastic bag and the poster, etc sheets.

 

Been wanting one of these back but not liking the upwards of $100 going rate shipped, was able to snag it for 1/2 that. I put some good time on it today and had a lot of fun this afternoon. Donkey Kong, Super Dodgeball JP(finished it!), Gauntlet II, Contra Alien Wars, Castlevania Legends, a little Kirby's Dreamland 2. I miss how cool this thing was(is) and how it really did a nice job adding just a splash of color on many, some presets for a few oldies on board, then the low tier barely color coded with or without borders, to the epic well done stuff that added digital sounds/voices, higher tiers of colors, and really pretty borders(like Donkey Kong.)

 

A total must in any SNES and Gameboy arsenal.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Very cool Tanooki! That Super Game Boy is in amazing shape and it sounds like you got one heck of a good deal on it. I've never owned a SNES or Super Game Boy myself, but I have been using my GameCube's Game Boy Player a lot lately as I've been playing through The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages over the past few weeks. Then when I want to take my game with me on the go I just save and quit, pop the game out of the Game Boy Player, stick it in the Game Boy Color, and away I go á la an old school Nintendo Switch.

 

On the topic of games, I had no idea that the Game Boy ever got a Super Dodge Ball game! Is the in game text in English or is it one of those "I hope you know some kanji" sort of Japanese imports?

 

The other thing I wanted to mention, on the subject of games, is that I think when my copy of Pop'n TwinBee arrives I'm going to lay out all the games shown in my storage container picture above and try to get a good high resolution pic of my entire library to show all the titles I currently own while I wait to rebuild my GB/GBC library with the two dozen or so games I sold a few years ago and am trying to get back. It should be a fun project and give me the incentive to keep up the game hunt.

[Tanooki]

GB Player is nice, but it grossly dismisses what the GB Player generation did entirely, there is no Super Gameboy support. All those custom colors defined in cart for many games are gone, the super gameboy borders are out, the added level of more colors and/or digitized sound effects are removed too. The GB Player neuters years of games and just runs them in halfassed up GBC handheld mode which is 100% fine on a GBC, but not on a TV with a big GB unit and bootdisc attached to a Gamecube of all things.

 

 

Your post reminds me, I did just that, but didn't ever share that when I had my lame photobucket account.

 

Most of my systems: https://photos.app.goo.gl/vae8Ne5TVCQ17oSe2

GBA #2 and games: https://photos.app.goo.gl/o9YPg8eiQFTBbZXf2

GB/C games: https://photos.app.goo.gl/nY9SRJIhQHuIXRTS2(I'll need to update this soon)

GB-to-GBA game boxes: https://photos.app.goo.gl/e0ncotg2ZXJGIOmm2

GB-to-GBA manuals: https://photos.app.goo.gl/LTumrnjG15lqnpci1

Super GB Box box: https://photos.app.goo.gl/dwzZpl4Qv2pjgg7y1

 

A few of my CIB things I didn't rip apart as I have that FF adventure game complete and very new like in there for one. Same goes for Golden Sun, F-Zero Climax, and that GB SD Lupin the 3rd game. The 1989 Gameboy is entirely complete and in new like shape too there inside that box, I have 2 DMGs. I got that one like 2 years back on ebay, someone badly listed it for $40 shipped and it looked just like (and described as such) the GB itself which is high for a GB. The last few images my jaw dropped seeing that box, the contents, and the sealed up earbuds and link cable still. I asked about it after it was shipped, said his daughter got it for 89 Christmas, used it like an hour or two and didn't touch it again and it was lost in a closet for decades until it was posted. I'd believe it. https://photos.app.goo.gl/l1aQcEiDtSlwkNo73

[Skippy B. Coyote]

I think I might be the only one who actually prefers the Game Boy Color / Advance / GB Player palettes over those of the Super Game Boy. There were just so many more Game Boy games that were given really nice looking custom color palettes on the GBC than there were Super Game Boy enhanced games, and outside of a couple exceptions like Space Invaders I tend to think that the custom GBC palettes look better than the Super Game Boy ones. To provide a few examples just compare how Kirby's Dream Land and Metroid II: Return of Samus look on the Super Game Boy to how they look on the Game Boy Color, Advance, or Game Boy Player. And even for the games that didn't get custom palettes programmed into the GBC hardware I still thought the GBC had cleaner, more vibrant, and just all around nicer color palette options than the Super Game Boy. "Right + A" or "Down + No Buttons" are my usual go-to GBC palette settings.

 

/rant

 

 

That matter aside I'm definitely envious of your system collection! You've got a great assortment of awesome condition systems for enjoying all things Game Boy and a pretty darn nice game library to boot. Ninja Gaiden Shadow, Samurai Shodown, Cannon Fodder, Top Gear Pocket 2, and Street Fighter Alpha: Warriors' Dreams have all been high up on my wants list for the last couple years.

Edited July 26, 2017 by Jin

[Tanooki]

Oh I don't know about that. I only prefer the Super Gameboy palettes that were specifically designed for it on those very games made for the device.

 

The color setup on the GBC was far superior for games within its own BIOS that has color schemes setup for classic NON-SGB games. Stuff like Tetris, Super Mario Land, Kirby's Dreamland 1 Metroid 2, and various others that got the treatment look amazing. They clearly took what the SGB did and found a better color setup and allowed it to modify on the fly by the area/stage to best suit the limited colors it can replace. SGB games though look like crap on the GBC as you lose those special schemes.

 

GBA has no argument which in turn means GB Player too when it comes to the GB stuff and SGB, because it's just using the z80 setup of the GBC as it's that things coprocessor. The actual palette choices though of the GBA(brighter) and GBP are stunningly well done and do good justice. Even the old GB games if you use that GBC preset for strict black and white with 2 grays in the middle look solid and obviously blur free.

 

 

Well I've said it before around various boards for years but N64 drove me to be more of a handheld gamer than a console one going on 20 years now. You couple that with my 4 years in the gaming media doing GBA/DS era reviews (which meant I got review copies), plus that seedy fact I was neck deep in the emulation growth/piracy rom release wave of the later 90s and I've had my hands on experience with over probably 200+ carts and probably triple or better of that with ROMs both domestic and import. I just enjoy Gameboy(whole family) more than anything else as there's just so much to do and see and just so many options. Your choices in games I have you'd like are solid, but I'd also suggest looking further into the TAKARA and Takara SNK ports that both did and DID NOT(stayed in Japan) games since you seem to have an eye for fighters. Samurai Shodown 3 spanks the SS1 game we got. There's also a really amazing Garou Fatal Fury Special, World Heroes 2 Jet, and KOF 95(and 96) conversion worth a look. Takara also did this screwball but really fun Battle Arena Toshinden release (in the US) and Japan only -- Transformers Beast Wars (which due to transformation has double moves due to double the forms) making for a solid large GBC game.

 

If you like rally don't dismiss V-Rally 3 for the GBC too. I just no longer own it because I have the 3D polygonal masterpiece(feels like Sega Rally) V-Rally 3 for GBA instead.

 

I did not see it in your stack but if you're into more live strategy/action type games seeing your interest in Cannon Fodder, you MUST get Warlocked -- it's more or less an unauthorized Warcraft one blatant knockoff but with a wizard(random by map) mechanic added you can find and use. It has like 10-12 stages per Human or Orc side, also has multiplayer too.

 

One thing that still grates on me not owning is a GB Light. I know they're not exactly something truly special, but I swear the Japanese intentionally treat stuff like total and complete shit. I've been eye banging those things for years on ebay and I have yet to find one that doesn't cost like $150-200 that doesn't look like someone used it as a cheese grater, played street hockey with it, or loaned the damn thing to Edward Scissorhands. They're always dinged, dented, scratched, rubbed raw, paint removed, chunks out of some parts of it, and often gross removal of paint on the corners and especially the battery cover in the back if it hasn't been lost. I more or less gave up owning one as I don't see me paying $150-200 to get one that doesn't suck.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Man, you really know your stuff when it comes to Game Boy hardware Tanooki!

I was already familiar with most of the games you recommend and had them on my 350+ Game Boy & Game Boy Color Games Worth Playing list back on the third page of this thread, but I wasn't aware that Samurai Shodown 3 got a Game Boy port. I'll definitely take a look at it, though I'm kinda picky when it comes to collecting and playing imports. I really only go for games that have all English language text, which is why you might notice a few good imports like Super Dodge Ball missing from my list. Nice pick with Warlocked too! I've owned that one for a few years now and while I've never finished either campaign in it (largely because I suck at strategy games) it's still a lot of fun and a really unique title.

I thought about getting a Game Boy Light at one point too, just to have an official backlit Game Boy system other than the AGS-101 GBA SP, but I came to the same conclusion that you did about the price point. They're silly money and I'm pretty happy with the backlight kit I installed in my original Game Boy. The only thing that annoys me about it is that humidity seems to condense under the polarization film in little patches and lines that muddy up the screen, so every few months I have to open it up and air it out to keep the screen looking pretty. It's a bit of a hassle but other than that I like it.

And oh! I was surprised that it got here so quickly but my copy of Pop'n TwinBee from Germany arrived today! I ended up playing it for about an hour and beat it on my 4th attempt with a final score of 1,064,700. It's a wonderfully fun and excellently designed game that was well worth the $20 I paid for it, though I did think it was a touch easy aside from the very cool boss rush sequence at the end. Once the copy of Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues that I bought a few days ago arrives in the mail tomorrow I'll take a proper pic of all the games currently in my Game Boy / Color library.

Edited July 27, 2017 by Jin

[Tanooki]

Looks like a solid copy of the Super Famicom game I owned for years until the dying of the collection. I can't wait. I actually went on a cheapo(mostly) spree of GB pickups local and online. Online I have coming from overseas Pop'n Twinbee from like Croatia, then Noobow and Kaijuu Ou Gojira(Godzilla) from Japan for a decent price. Domestic online Arcade Classic 4 Joust/Defender and also Super Offroad for $11 shipped, plus GBA wise I got a steal on Dragon Ball Advanced Adventure a usually $30 game for $20. (Non GB, also finally found an acceptably priced Biomotor Unitron for NGPC too.) I had this $5 credit at a local store, ended up walking out today paying around that much with Arcade Classic 1 Asteroids/MIssile Command, Blades of Steel, and GBC Klax. A gracious member here days ago mailed me a freebie of Arcade Classic 2 Centipede and Millipede -- I must get Galaga/Galaxian -- figures my favorite of the arcade games in these titles is the one I can't track down.

 

Don't recall if I brought it up but last week late I came across a listing as it went up for a GB Boy Color, basically new in the box, dude bought it and used it once, even left the screen protector on it. I picked it up for $20 (they tend to sell for $40 shipped online.) so at that rate i had to try it. I'm shocked how good it is. Feels good to use, good weight, screen is so bright and clear it's amazing, sound on speaker is clear and louder than a GBC too. Mostly crap games on the 66 built in but around a dozen are pretty really nice and even a sequel to Kid Niki is on there that match the arcade/NES game (not the awful Famicom only sequels.)

 

Like I said I do know a lot when it comes to GB branded stuff both US and Japan, not so up on the Euro market. I can recommend some good Japanese stuff.

 

I figure once the overseas stuff appears I'll have to throw all the GB stuff out on the chair cushion again and do another family photo. I'll wedge the GB Boy into the 8bit image likely so I don't have to pull down a lot of stuff to do the other again.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Alright! I finally got around to taking a picture of my current Game Boy / Color game library! I had a heck of a time trying to get a decent picture of them all without the camera's flash obscuring the labels, but I think this one came out pretty well aside from the top few rows of games being a little out of focus. That said, here's all 95 (or 96 if you count the Game Boy Camera) games I currently own for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. All of the games in my collection are games that I personally enjoy playing, and all of them have near mint condition labels.

 

 

 

Game Boy

4-In-1 FunPak

Aerostar

Alien vs Predator: The Last of His Clan

Alleyway

All-Star Baseball 99

Battle Unit Zeoth

Boggle Plus

Bram Stoker's Dracula

The Castlevania Adventure

Donkey Kong

Double Dragon

F-1 Race

Faceball 2000

The Final Fantasy Legend

Game & Watch Gallery

Gauntlet II (European Import)

Gremlins 2: The New Batch

Jack Nicklaus Golf

Jurassic Park

Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues

Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball

Kirby's Block Ball

Kirby's Dream Land

Kirby's Pinball Land

Marble Madness

Metroid II: Return of Samus

Missile Command

Mortal Kombat

Mortal Kombat II

NBA Jam T.E.

Nemesis

Operation C

Paperboy

Pipe Dream

Pop'n TwinBee (European Import)

Qix

Quarth

Skate or Die: Bad 'N Rad

Solar Striker

Space Invaders

Spot: The Cool Adventure

Street Fighter II

Super Battletank

Super Mario Land

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Super R.C. Pro-Am

The Sword of Hope

T2: The Arcade Game

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan

Tetris

Tetris Attack

Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3

Xenon 2

Yoshi

Yoshi's Cookie

 

Game Boy Color / Game Boy

720°

Battleship

Beatmania GB (Japanese Import)

Centipede

Frogger

Harvest Moon 2 GBC

Hexcite: The Shapes of Victory

Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Driver

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX

Monopoly

Montezuma's Return

Ms. Pac-Man: Special Color Edition

Pac-Man: Special Color Edition

R-Type DX

Shadowgate Classic

Shanghai Pocket

Star Wars: Yoda Stories

Titus the Fox

 

Game Boy Color

1942

Aliens: Thanatos Encounter

Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare

Bionic Commando: Elite Forces

Dance Dance Revolution GB (Japanese Import)

Dragon's Lair

Duke Nukem

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons

Mario Golf

Project S-11

Resident Evil: Gaiden

Sabrina the Animated Series: Zapped!

Super Mario Bros. Deluxe

SWiV (European Import)

Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2

Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 3

Towers: Lord Baniff's Deceit

Warlocked

Woody Woodpecker Racing

[Tanooki]

Now that's a nice list of stuff.

 

I've had most of those at some point over the years, but not all. The old licensed movie/tv/book stuff, board games, weird junk like that I don't buy but rarely. Kind of surprised you don't have all the FF GB titles. FFA is the Secret of Mana prequel and FFLegend 3 is fantastic (and no breaking weapons.) I'd like to get that Xenon2 game at some point but the US sellers are d-bags wanting $40 BINs on it when it sells for 1/2 that from europeans so I can wait on a non-bin version or just import it.

 

GBC side I forgot Titus the Fox was on one of those hybrid carts. Full GBC game list is nice too, but overall I'm kind of surprised seeing some games but not others listed, including just notable franchise stuff that's not a dog to buy price wise. You got 1942 but no GnG. None of the Dragon Quest games (1+2, 3, Monsters 1 or 2) and I know it's sort of an acquired taste but no MGS eh? Since you have cartoon based stuff, try out Wendy Every Witch Way, stunning little game using an old 60s cartoon property -- it's a gravity tooling game like metal storm on NES where you can shift and ceiling or floor walk. I also forgot/didn't know SWIV was on GBC, had the SNES version of that (Firepower 2000) which wasn't bad.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

Thanks Tanooki! I definitely love well made licensed games, and those are something that the Game Boy and Game Boy Color have no shortage of. A couple years back I spent a good 4 or 5 months going through GameFAQs.com and reading the reviews for every single game ever published for the Game Boy and Game Boy Color in North America, and I was really surprised by just how many genuinely good licensed games there are on these classic handhelds.

 

I've always had a soft spot for video game adaptions of board games too, and I can safely say that Monopoly on the Game Boy Color is by far the most played game in my entire library. The last time I checked I had logged just over 100 hours of play time in it, no joke. The one game genre I've never been very fond of though is JRPGs. I like first-person dungeon crawling Western style RPGs like Towers: Lord Baniff's Deceit and The Sword of Hope, but JRPGs are something that I've never been able to get into. The Final Fantasy Legend is just kind of there as a token JRPG to round out my collection.

 

One thing I have been striving to collect all of though are English language vertical scrolling shoot 'em ups, and at this point I do have all of the ones released in North America and Europe. There are a few super expensive ones that only came out in Japan that I'm still missing like Vattle Giuce and ZAS, but I'm happy to be able to call my American and European set complete. Speaking of expensive prices, that's really the only reason I haven't picked up Metal Gear Solid or Wendy: Every Witch Way yet. They've both been on my wants list for years, but at $35 or so each I've been procrastinating on buying them. I probably should pick them both up by the end of the year before they get any more expensive than they already are, since I would really like to play both of them. I'm not in any rush to pick up Ghosts 'N Goblins though, just because I've never really liked that series all that much. I know it's a widely loved franchise but I always found the GnG games really frustrating.

 

Lastly, since you mentioned Titus the Fox I will say that Titus and Mortal Kombat are probably the only legitimately bad games in my collection, but I still really enjoy playing both of them. In the case of Mortal Kombat it's because I owned it as a kid and played it a ton growing up so I've got a lot of nostalgia for it, and Titus I just like for furry reasons. Humorously enough I'm pretty sure that the US releases of Titus the Fox on the GBC and Bram Stoker's Dracula on the original Game Boy are by far the rarest games I own. They're both dirt cheap price wise but took me several years of searching to find them with mint condition labels on eBay. It just goes to show that rare doesn't always equal expensive and expensive doesn't necessarily mean rare, especially when my most valuable game (Resident Evil: Gaiden) can be found in good condition on eBay pretty much any day of the week.

Edited July 28, 2017 by Jin

[Tanooki]

Monopoly I had on the NES which is fairly close and it's about the only board game or game show game I could tolerate on a handheld or console game so I know what you mean. I've done power reading up on anything of interest both english and japanese but it's been years so stuff I'll forget or things slipped by like that Kid Niki GB game I had no idea about.

 

Sword of Hope I've been curious about trying as there is a total guide for it in the Nintendo official Gameboy Guide from the early 90s (FFL1 is in there too.) I figured I could use it as a tool and see if I could get into something like that.

 

I don't blame you on the shooters, you can see what I have and it's decent. I loathe R-TYpe on the GBC, I owned it in the day and it just made me throw the gameboy color type of mad because they made no adjustment from a rectangle to square area and I'd get killed by that aspect most the time, not bullets or screw ups. VC and ZAS from Japan, aware of them, won't touch them over price either as it's galling they go that high.

 

GnG on the GBC, you can save the game though, makes it far more approachable if you get stuck a lot. I'd avoid it on NES at all costs without save states if you're not any good with that one.

 

Funny you bring up MK, I'll admit I bought that crap back on Mortal Monday 25~ years ago. I liked it was more 'bloody' due to shading than the SNES one, but the moves were so fouled up I had to learn another set. Once I did for Scorpion, Sub Zero and Liu Kang it wasn't so bad, but it just never was the same game. GIven how dumb, poor and thin fighters were on it, it was a keeper until SF2 rolled around along with Samurai Shodown and Battle Arena Toshinden from Takara.

[koifish]

Great additions everyone! I had originally posted this in Metal Jesus's Nintendo Game Boy / GBC Buying Guide + Great Games thread, but I thought it was worth cross posting here as well for those interested in collecting for the Game Boy / Color...

 

Given how much I love the Game Boy / Color, I'd like to do my part to help out those who might be interested in getting into collecting for the Game Boy / Color but might not be sure what the good games to keep an eye out for are. With that in mind, it's taken me a few years of research but I think I've finally managed to put together a pretty comprehensive list of the best games in every genre for the Game Boy / Color. The spoiler tagged list below contains over 350 games, all of which either received high critical acclaim at the time of their release or were later discovered as hidden gems that received positive reviews by the majority of people who played them.

 

Over the course of this long multi-year project I also took the time to play (or maybe "slog through" would be the better term) the myriad of licensed games and sports titles available for these systems to separate the wheat from the chaff and pick out the best licensed games as well as the sports games that offered the most enjoyable representations of their respective sports for both the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. Also, if a game was released on both the original Game Boy and a backwards compatible Game Boy Color cartridge then I chose the best version of the two. This list is geared towards those living in North America, but I was sure to also include all the critically acclaimed Japanese and European import games I could find that were 100% readable and playable by those who only understand English. Lastly, I have taken the time to include the current average price of each game based on eBay sold listings for loose cartridges with good condition labels in the hopes that it will help make this list a handy quick reference guide for those who might stumble on a game they're interested in out in the wild but aren't sure whether or not the price is good.

 

 

While the list below may not be a 100% all inclusive list of every last game on the Game Boy / Color that any given person might enjoy playing, I do hope that those interested in the Game Boy / Color find it to be a useful reference guide for the games that are generally considered to be good. Whether you are new to collecting for the Game Boy / Color, a seasoned veteran hunting for some new games to pick up, or just someone looking to fill out their EverDrive GB with quality titles, there should be something for everyone here. Enjoy!

 

350+ Game Boy & Game Boy Color Games Worth Playing

 

[GBC] = For Game Boy Color Only[GBC/GB] = For Game Boy Color & Original Game Boy[GB] = Original Game Boy

 

Action / Adventure[GBC] Aliens: Thanatos Encounter - $15[GBC] Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare - $7[GBC] Bionic Commando: Elite Forces - $8[GBC] Croc 2 - $5[GBC] Daikatana (European Import) - $30

[GBC] Disney's Aladdin - $8

[GBC] Disney's The Jungle Book: Mowgli's Wild Adventure - $3

[GBC] Disney's The Lion King: Simba's Mighty Adventure - $8

[GBC] Donkey Kong Country - $10[GBC] Duke Nukem - $5

[GBC] Frogger 2 - $5[GBC] Hamtaro: Ham-Hams Unite! - $7

[GBC] Indiana Jones and the Infernal Machine - $8[GBC] Inspector Gadget: Operation Madkactus - $9[GBC] The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages - $22[GBC] The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons - $22[GBC] Looney Tunes Collector: Alert! - $4

[GBC] Mega Man Xtreme 2 - $16

[GBC] Metal Gear Solid - $35​[GBC] The Mummy - $1

[GBC] Perfect Dark - $8

[GBC] Rayman - $5

[GBC] Rayman 2 - $7

[GBC] Resident Evil (Patched Prototype Reproduction) - $20[GBC] Resident Evil: Gaiden - $47

[GBC] Return of the Ninja - $18[GBC] Sabrina the Animated Series: Zapped! - $4[GBC] Scooby-Doo! Classic Creep Capers - $4

[GBC] Shantae - $285[GBC] The Smurfs' Nightmare - $8[GBC] Spider-Man - $5[GBC] Spider Man 2: The Sinister Six - $6[GBC] Super Mario Bros. Deluxe - $12[GBC] Tomb Raider: Curse of the Sword - $6[GBC] Tomb Raider: Starring Lara Croft - $5​[GBC] Walt Disney's Alice in Wonderland - $9

[GBC] Wendy: Every Witch Way - $16

[GBC] Wario Land 3 - $10

[GBC/GB] Blaster Master: Enemy Below - $16

[GBC/GB] Ghosts 'N Goblins - $23[GBC/GB] The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX - $19

[GBC/GB] Looney Tunes - $5

[GBC/GB] Looney Tunes: Carrot Crazy - $3

[GBC/GB] Mega Man Xtreme - $14[GBC/GB] Montezuma's Return - $5[GBC/GB] Oddworld Adventures 2 - $6

[GBC/GB] Prince of Persia - $6[GBC/GB] Star Wars: Yoda Stories - $8

[GBC/GB] Wario Land II - $10

[GB] Adventure Island - $10

[GB] Adventure Island II: Aliens in Paradise - $9

[GB] Alien 3 - $9[GB] Alien vs Predator: The Last of His Clan - $8

[GB] Avenging Spirit - $53

[GB] Batman: Return of the Joker - $11

[GB] Batman: The Animated Series - $20

[GB] Batman: The Video Game - $10

[GB] Beavis and Butt-head - $15

[GB] Bionic Commando - $15

[GB] Blaster Master Boy - $36[GB] Bonk's Adventure - $15

[GB] Bonk's Revenge - $20[GB] Bram Stoker's Dracula - $10

[GB] Bubble Bobble - $10

[GB] Bubble Bobble Part 2 - $13[GB] The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle - $5[GB] The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2 - $6[GB] The Castlevania Adventure - $10

[GB] Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge - $23

[GB] Castlevania Legends - $60[GB] Disney's Darkwing Duck - $13

[GB] Disney's DuckTales - $10

[GB] Disney's DuckTales 2 - $14[GB] Donkey Kong - $9

[GB] Donkey Kong Land - $8

[GB] Donkey Kong Land 2 - $7

[GB] Donkey Kong Land III - $8

[GB] Earthworm Jim - $8

[GB] Felix the Cat - $70

[GB] Final Fantasy Adventure - $20

[GB] For the Frog the Bell Tolls (English Fan Translation) - $20

[GB] Ghost Busters II - $13[GB] Gremlins 2: The New Batch - $6

[GB] James Bond 007 - $5[GB] Jurassic Park - $6

[GB] Jurassic Park Part 2: The Chaos Continues - $8

[GB] Kid Dracula - $60

[GB] Kid Icarus: Of Myths & Monsters - $12[GB] Kirby's Dream Land - $8

[GB] Kirby’s Dream Land 2 - $15

[GB] Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge - $12

[GB] Mega Man II - $14

[GB] Mega Man III - $28

[GB] Mega Man IV - $49

[GB] Mega Man V - $97[GB] Metroid II: Return of Samus - $15[GB] Miner 2049er - $12

[GB] Monster Max - $26

[GB] Ninja Gaiden Shadow - $18

[GB] Pac-In-Time - $8

[GB] RoboCop - $9

[GB] Rolan's Curse - $13

[GB] Rolan's Curse 2 - $35[GB] Speedy Gonzales - $8[GB] Spot: The Cool Adventure - $9

[GB] Star Trek: 25th Anniversary - $7

[GB] Star Wars - $8[GB] Super Mario Land - $8[GB] Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins - $8[GB] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan - $8[GB] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back from the Sewers - $10[GB] Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III: Radical Rescue - $35

[GB] Tiny Toon Adventures: Babs' Big Break - $4

[GB] Tiny Toon Adventures: Montana's Movie Madness - $6

[GB] Trip World (European Import) - $210

[GB] Turrican - $10[GB] Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 - $9[GB] Zen: Intergalactic Ninja - $15

[GB] Zool: Ninja of the "Nth" Dimension - $15

RPGs[GBC] Crystalis - $15

[GBC] Bomberman Max: Blue Champion - $5

[GBC] Bomberman Max: Red Challenger - $7

[GBC] Dragon Warrior III - $15[GBC] Lufia: The Legend Returns - $19[GBC] Magi Nation - $5

[GBC] Pokémon Crystal Version - $40[GBC] Towers: Lord Baniff's Deceit - $5[GBC/GB] Azure Dreams - $19

[GBC/GB] Bomberman Quest - $22

[GBC/GB] Dragon Warrior I & II - $16

[GBC/GB] Dragon Warrior Monsters - $10

[GBC/GB] Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Cobi's Journey - $16

[GBC/GB] Dragon Warrior Monsters 2: Tara's Adventure - $18

[GBC/GB] Legend of the River King GBC - $10

[GBC/GB] Legend of the River King 2 - $14

[GBC/GB] Metal Walker - $13

[GBC/GB] Pokémon Gold Version - $20

[GBC/GB] Pokémon Silver Version - $19

[GBC/GB] Pokémon Yellow Version - $28[GBC/GB] Revelations: The Demon Slayer - $18

[GBC/GB] Survival Kids - $28[GB] The Final Fantasy Legend - $10

[GB] Final Fantasy Legend II - $12

[GB] Final Fantasy Legend III - $11

[GB] Gargoyle’s Quest - $13

[GB] Knight Quest - $36

[GB] Pokémon Blue Version - $22

[GB] Pokémon Red Version - $25[GB] The Sword of Hope - $8

[GB] The Sword of Hope II - $22[GB] Ultima: Runes of Virtue - $9[GB] Ultima: Runes of Virtue II - $15

Shooters[GBC] 1942 - $20[GBC] Army Men - $4

[GBC] Army Men 2 - $5

[GBC] Army Men: Air Combat - $4

[GBC] Magical Chase GB (English Fan Translation) - $20[GBC] Project S-11 - $8

[GBC] Space Marauder - $40[GBC] SWiV (European Import) - $11 [GBC/GB] Dropzone (European Import) - $13[GBC/GB] R-Type DX - $9[GB] Aerostar - $15

[GB] Battle City (Japanese Import) - $22[GB] Battle Unit Zeoth - $8

[GB] Burai Fighter Deluxe - $10[GB] Chikyū Kaihō Gun ZAS (Japanese Import) - $120

[GB] Contra: The Alien Wars - $23

[GB] Cosmo Tank - $6

[GB] Desert Strike: Return to the Gulf - $6[GB] Disney's TaleSpin - $9

[GB] F-15 Strike Eagle - $10[GB] Faceball 2000 - $10[GB] Fortified Zone - $7

[GB] Gradius: The Interstellar Assault - $12

[GB] Jungle Strike - $5

[GB] Mercenary Force - $9[GB] Nemesis - $6[GB] Operation C - $17

[GB] Parodius (European Import) - $12

[GB] Pop'N TwinBee (European Import) - $20

[GB] Sagaia (Japanese Import) - $25[GB] Solar Striker - $5

[GB] StarHawk - $76

[GB] Super Battletank - $4

[GB] T2: The Arcade Game - $6

[GB] Trax - $18

[GB] Vattle Giuce (Japanese Import) - $30

[GB] Volley Fire (Japanese Import) - $15[GB] Xenon 2: Megablast - $13

[GB] Taiyou no Yuusha: Fighbird GB (English Fan Translation) - $20

Fighting

[GBC] Street Fighter Alpha - $11

[GB] Battle Arena Toshinden - $7

[GB] Killer Instinct - $7[GB] The King of Fighters '95 - $11

[GB] The King of Fighters: Heat of Battle (European Import) - $25[GB] Mortal Kombat II - $6

[GB] Primal Rage - $7

[GB] Samurai Shodown - $22[GB] Street Fighter II - $11[GB] World Heroes 2 Jet - $24

Beat 'Em Ups[GB] Battletoads - $9[GB] Battletoads & Double Dragon - $30[GB] Battletoads in Ragnarok's World - $15[GB] Double Dragon - $10[GB] Fighting Simulator: 2-in-1 Flying Warriors - $4

[GB] Hammerin' Harry: Ghost Building Company (European Import) - $100

[GB] Kung-Fu Master - $13

Racing

[GBC] Driver: You are the Wheelman - $3[GBC] Mickey's Speedway USA - $6

[GBC] Micro Machines 1 and 2: Twin Turbo - $4

[GBC] Micro Machines V3 - $7

[GBC] Motocross Maniacs 2 - $10

[GBC] Road Rash - $6[GBC] TOCA Touring Car Championship - $2[GBC] Top Gear Pocket 2 - $3[GBC] Wacky Races - $8 [GBC] Woody Woodpecker Racing - $6[GBC/GB] Hot Wheels: Stunt Track Driver - $2

[GB] Dead Heat Scramble - $3[GB] F-1 Race - $3

[GB] Micro Machines - $6

[GB] Motocross Maniacs - $5[GB] Nigel Mansell's World Championship Racing - $4

[GB] Race Drivin' - $9[GB] Super R.C. Pro-Am - $5

[GB] Wave Race - $3

Sports

[GBC] All-Star Baseball 2001 - $5[GBC] Mario Golf - $6

[GBC] Mario Tennis - $7[GBC] Mat Hoffman's Pro BMX - $2[GBC] NHL Blades of Steel - $8

[GBC] Pro Darts - $4

[GBC] Pro Pool - $5

[GBC] Ready 2 Rumble Boxing - $8[GBC] Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 - $4[GBC] Zebco Fishing! - $5[GBC] WCW Mayhem - $4[GBC/GB] 720° - $3

[GBC/GB] Black Bass: Lure Fishing - $6

[GBC/GB] Pocket Bowling - $3[GBC/GB] WWF Wrestlemania 2000 - $4

[GB] All Star Baseball 99 - $14

[GB] Blades of Steel - $4

[GB] Championship Pool - $5

[GB] Golf - $4

[GB] International Superstar Soccer - $9[GB] Jack Nicklaus Golf - $4

[GB] Ken Griffey Jr. Presents Major League Baseball - $4

[GB] Mini-Putt (Japanese Import) - $5[GB] NBA Jam: Tournament Edition - $6[GB] Skate or Die: Bad 'N Rad - $5

[GB] Tecmo Bowl - $5

[GB] Tennis - $3

[GB] Track & Field - $6[GB] WWF Superstars 2 - $6

Puzzle

[GBC] Bust-A-Move Millennium - $5

[GBC] Klax - $3[GBC] Magical Tetris Challenge - $5[GBC] Mr. Driller - $12

[GBC] Pokémon Puzzle Challenge - $8

[GBC] Toki Tori - $11[GBC/GB] Ballistic - $5

[GBC/GB] Bust-A-Move 4 - $4[GBC/GB] Hexcite: The Shapes of Victory - $5

[GBC/GB] Puzzle Master - $14

[GBC/GB] Tetris DX - $7

[GB] Adventures of Lolo (European Import) - $20

[GB] Amazing Penguin - $12

[GB] Boulder Dash (European Import) - $14

[GB] Boxxle - $5

[GB] Boxxle II - $21

[GB] Bubble Ghost - $10

[GB] Bust-A-Move 2: Arcade Edition - $6

[GB] Catrap - $5

[GB] Daedalian Opus - $5

[GB] Dr. Mario - $6

[GB] Heiankyo Alien - $3

[GB] Kirby's Star Stacker - $8

[GB] Klax - $7

[GB] Kwirk - $4

[GB] Lemmings - $8

[GB] Mario's Picross - $14

[GB] Mole Mania - $8[GB] Pipe Dream - $2[GB] Quarth - $5

[GB] Snoopy's Magic Show - $6

[GB] Solomon's Club - $7

[GB] Stop That Roach! - $20[GB] Tetris - $3

[GB] Tetris 2 - $3[GB] Tetris Attack - $8[GB] Tetris Blast - $7[GB] Tetris Plus - $4[GB] Yoshi - $4[GB] Yoshi's Cookie - $5

[GB] Zoop - $7

Strategy

[GBC] Cannon Fodder - $11

[GBC] Rampart - $4

[GBC] Spy vs. Spy - $6

[GBC] Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six - $4[GBC] Warlocked - $9

[GBC] Worms Armageddon - $8

[GB] Kingdom Crusade - $5

[GB] Nobunaga's Ambition - $10

[GB] Rampart - $22

[GB] Worms (European Import) - $12

Arcade[GBC] Dragon's Lair - $7[GBC] Elevator Action (European Import) - $20

[GBC] Missile Command - $5

[GBC] Q*Bert - $13

[GBC/GB] Asteroids - $6[GBC/GB] Centipede - $5[GBC/GB] Frogger - $4

[GBC/GB] Midway Presents Arcade Hits: Joust & Defender - $6

[GBC/GB] Midway Presents Arcade Hits: Moon Patrol & Spy Hunter - $5[GBC/GB] Ms. Pac-Man: Special Color Edition - $5

[GBC/GB] Pac-Man: Special Color Edition - $5

[GBC/GB] Space Invaders - $9[GBC/GB] Super Breakout - $3

[GBC/GB] Yars' Revenge - $8

[GB] Arcade Classic No. 1: Asteroids & Missile Command - $4

[GB] Arcade Classic No. 2: Centipede & Millipede - $5

[GB] Arcade Classic No. 3: Galaga & Galaxian - $7

[GB] Arcade Classics: Super Breakout & Battlezone - $7

[GB] Bomb Jack (European Import) - $25

[GB] BurgerTime Deluxe - $12

[GB] Dig Dug - $13

[GB] Elevator Action - $9[GB] Gauntlet II - $12

[GB] Lock 'N' Chase - $6[GB] Marble Madness - $6

[GB] Mr. Do! - $30

[GB] Paperboy - $5

[GB] Q*bert - $10[GB] Qix - $4[GB] Space Invaders - $8

Card / Board Games

[GBC] Hoyle Card Games - $7

[GBC] Hoyle Casino - $5[GBC/GB] Battleship - $4[GBC/GB] Monopoly - $4[GBC/GB] Pokémon: Trading Card Game - $9[GBC/GB] Shanghai Pocket - $4

[GBC/GB] Uno - $3

[GB] 4-in-1 FunPak - $4[GB] Boggle Plus - $4[GB] Shanghai - $6

[GB] Solitaire FunPak - $3

[GB] Super Scrabble - $4

[GB] Vegas Stakes - $5

Other

[GBC] Cool Bricks (European Import) - $8[GBC] Dance Dance Revolution GB (Japanese Import) - $9

[GBC] Dance Dance Revolution GB 2 (Japanese Import) - $8

[GBC] Dance Dance Revolution GB 3 (Japanese Import) - $8

[GBC] Deja-Vu I & II: The Casebooks of Ace Harding - $14

[GBC] Grand Theft Auto 2 - $14

[GBC] Harvest Moon 3 GBC - $18

[GBC] Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble - $11[GBC] Pong: The Next Level - $3[GBC/GB] BeatMania GB - $10

[GBC/GB] Dragon Dance - $11

[GBC/GB] Game & Watch Gallery 2 - $4

[GBC/GB] Game & Watch Gallery 3 - $5[GBC/GB] Grand Theft Auto - $10

[GBC/GB] Harvest Moon GBC - $12​[GBC/GB] Harvest Moon 2 GBC - $16

[GBC/GB] Hollywood Pinball (European Import) - $12

[GBC/GB] Pocket Bomberman - $7

[GBC/GB] Pokémon Pinball - $6[GBC/GB] Shadowgate Classic - $6[GB] Alleyway - $3

[GB] Balloon Kid - $7

[GB] Bomberman GB - $7[GB] Game Boy Camera - $9[GB] Game & Watch Gallery - $5[GB] Kirby's Block Ball - $8[GB] Kirby's Pinball Land - $6

[GB] Pinball: Revenge of the 'Gator - $4

[GB] Snow Brothers - $31

[GB] Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman - $7

Hi there, I think this is a super list, and I wanted to add some suggestions for more games to consider.

 

A few are sequels that have gotten recent translation or which you may just have missed. Mario's Picross has a japan-only sequel that plays easily without Japanese knowledge, and there's also the recently translated Pokemon Trading Card Game 2, which plays well like the original. Since you had some classic rpgs on the list I felt I would also mention dragonheart, which impressed me as an interesting first person rpg, and Wizardry Trilogy, which was ported to the game boy color. Not sure how good of a version it us compared to the SFC and PSX ones, but it's something worth considering. Finally, I noticed you didn't mention Ikari no Yousai 2 (aka the sequel to Fortified Zone), maybe you didn't know about it? I played it without any Japanese knowledge. And one more game I don't see mentioned that I feel is worthy is X, the unique 3D tunnel shooter for GB ( which got an obscure sequel on DSiWare called X-Scape).

 

I hope this gives you some more to chew on, thanks for the comprehensive list too! I'll definitely be checking out some titles from this set. And thanks also for mentioning some awesome overlooked games like super rc pro-am, f1 race, Tecmo bowl, and NBA jam. All games that get ignored because of other versions and such, so I'm glad to see them with a spot in the light.

[Skippy B. Coyote]

I don't blame you on the shooters, you can see what I have and it's decent. I loathe R-TYpe on the GBC, I owned it in the day and it just made me throw the gameboy color type of mad because they made no adjustment from a rectangle to square area and I'd get killed by that aspect most the time, not bullets or screw ups. VC and ZAS from Japan, aware of them, won't touch them over price either as it's galling they go that high.

 

GnG on the GBC, you can save the game though, makes it far more approachable if you get stuck a lot. I'd avoid it on NES at all costs without save states if you're not any good with that one.

 

Funny you bring up MK, I'll admit I bought that crap back on Mortal Monday 25~ years ago. I liked it was more 'bloody' due to shading than the SNES one, but the moves were so fouled up I had to learn another set. Once I did for Scorpion, Sub Zero and Liu Kang it wasn't so bad, but it just never was the same game. GIven how dumb, poor and thin fighters were on it, it was a keeper until SF2 rolled around along with Samurai Shodown and Battle Arena Toshinden from Takara.

 

R-Type DX has been a weird game for me. When I first got it I absolutely hated it and it make me want to throw my Game Boy Color against the wall because of how absurdly difficult some parts were. But I kept it at and one day I actually managed to beat it, and by that I mean beating both the R-Type and R-Type 2 segments back to back. After that I grew a lot more fond of it, and now it's a game that I love and can beat in 45 minutes or so any time I sit down to play it; and I do play through it once a year on average.

 

Thanks for the info on the GBC port of Ghosts 'N Goblins too! The addition of a save feature will definitely make it a much more enjoyable game for me since I can play it in small doses then put it down and walk away when it gets so frustrating that I want to break something. As far as Mortal Kombat goes, I'll admit it is a pretty terrible game all around (aside from the music, which they strangely nailed) but I've still got a soft spot for it. If you've never tried Mortal Kombat II though you should absolutely give it a go sometime. I do like Street Fighter II quite a bit but it still has some slowdown compared to the home console and arcade versions, whereas Mortal Kombat II on the Game Boy plays at a totally normal frame rate with no slowdown at all and the button combinations for special moves and fatalities are all almost identical to the home console versions. MK II is by far my favorite Game Boy fighting game and easily in my Top 10 favorite games on the system.

 

 

 

Hi there, I think this is a super list, and I wanted to add some suggestions for more games to consider.

 

A few are sequels that have gotten recent translation or which you may just have missed. Mario's Picross has a japan-only sequel that plays easily without Japanese knowledge, and there's also the recently translated Pokemon Trading Card Game 2, which plays well like the original. Since you had some classic rpgs on the list I felt I would also mention dragonheart, which impressed me as an interesting first person rpg, and Wizardry Trilogy, which was ported to the game boy color. Not sure how good of a version it us compared to the SFC and PSX ones, but it's something worth considering. Finally, I noticed you didn't mention Ikari no Yousai 2 (aka the sequel to Fortified Zone), maybe you didn't know about it? I played it without any Japanese knowledge. And one more game I don't see mentioned that I feel is worthy is X, the unique 3D tunnel shooter for GB ( which got an obscure sequel on DSiWare called X-Scape).

 

I hope this gives you some more to chew on, thanks for the comprehensive list too! I'll definitely be checking out some titles from this set. And thanks also for mentioning some awesome overlooked games like super rc pro-am, f1 race, Tecmo bowl, and NBA jam. All games that get ignored because of other versions and such, so I'm glad to see them with a spot in the light.

 

 

Wow! Thank you very much for the recommendations Koifish! The only ones of those I had ever heard of before were the Japanese exclusives Picross 2 and X (also known as "Ekkusu" for those trying to find a copy on eBay), both of which I tried via emulation but am way too clueless about Japanese text to navigate the menus or figure out what I was supposed to be doing. If there was one game above all others on any system that I'm really itching for someone to make a fan translation of it's X. It looks like an absolutely amazing game, especially considering it's the precursor to Star Fox on the SNES, but with all the menus and dialog in Japanese I found it pretty much unplayable.

 

I was aware of the existence of Wizardry I - III on the Game Boy Color, but I had no idea that they had been translated! I love old school first-person dungeon crawlers so those three have definitely made my wants list and were added to the Games Worth Playing list back on Page 3 along with the fan translation of Pokémon Trading Card Game 2. Also added to the list were Ikari no Yousai 2 and DragonHeart, neither of which I had ever tried until I downloaded some ROMs of them and checked them out via emulation today. I was really pleased to see Fortified Zone 2 presented entirely in English in spite of it's Japanese origins, and DragonHeart is probably my favorite new game discovery of the entire year!

 

I must have skipped over DragonHeart back when I was making that Games Worth Playing list due it having received a poor score and poor critic reviews on GameFAQs.com, but the one user review I could find of it was glowing with praise and when I tried playing it for myself for an hour or so today I thought it was fantastic. It's just the kind of old school first-person Western style RPG that I enjoy and I was really pleasantly surprised by how much dialog and story development there was and how you were given a variety of choices for how to respond to the NPCs you talk to which effected how they would respond to you, which is something you just don't see too often in Game Boy games. The environments were very well rendered and fun to explore, the puzzles felt natural and intuitive to solve, and the real-time combat system was unique and engaging. Everything about DragonHeart really made me feel like I was playing a classic 8-bit computer RPG on an old IBM PC-XT or an Apple II with a green and black monochrome display. The developers totally nailed that early computer game RPG feel with this one, and I can only speculate that the reason it is rated so low on GameFAQs must be simply due to a lot of people not appreciating that old school PC RPG style. I for one love it, and I will be tracking down a physical copy of DragonHeart for my collection ASAP!

 

Thank you again for the kind words and for the great game recommendations!

Edited July 30, 2017 by Jin

[Tanooki]

You're right about MK1 with the audio, and the no color made for 'blood' too which was a perk. I wouldn't object to owning that turd again just for laughs but it would be like a dollar or two flea market grab or garbage thrown in with a lot. R-Type GBC I never finished part 1 or 2, but for some reason I can still remember the horrors of some tight areas with horizontal and vertical wall pieces that would collapse or lead you into a wall but had there been a rectangle area you could navigate it outside of by rote memory. MK2 I was amused with in the day but not as much as the 1st, but again part of a lot I'd try it. Personally I think the arcade conversion games NOT done by Takara were more or less crap or at least had problems -- the least awful was SF2 but as you said it was a little slow (well lack of character animation) to make up for the large detailed models. Takara just destroyed it with their style and how they retained not only all the moves/areas but even threw in hidden characters.

 

 

Your problem with Ekkusu/X is why I don't have it. I could deal with the text if I choose to, but it's more the poor frame rate tied to some sketchy objectives with a bit of an unfriendly ticking clock has made me not pop the going rate on it. I probably should at some point nab it as it's a nice piece of history and it does work, just not as well as i'd like.

 

You know if you want a suggestion to look at some solid odd stuff, check into the stand alone or 2 per cart arcade conversions for GB. But in some cases be wary. While in most cases the GBC versions are superior, there are rare cases where the GB version is the one that doesn't suck (Paperboy on GBC is atrocious.) Stuff like Gauntlet II, Bust-A-Move 2, Paperboy, Mr Do, Burgertime Deluxe on GB are solid stuff. Stepping up to the GBC games like Mr Driller, Street Fighter Alpha, Rampart, Pac-Man, Ms Pac-Man, Klax, SpyHunter/Moon Patrol, Joust/Defender are worthy of a peek(the last 3 here are part of a branded 'Arcade HIts' line). And I'd be a jerk not to throw out the somehow possible and working well laserdisc version of Dragon's Lair on GBC which is intact somehow in a 4MB space.

 

Many of the stand alone arcade games on GBC are crap if the art you find on the box/label are some modern rendition as you'll know they took gross liberties -- Frogger, Asteroids, Pong, Galaga, Missile Command -- terrible all.

 

If the geniuses at Retrobit ever grow up and release what they said should have been out already they had these Jaleco multi-carts planned $20/ea for SNES, NES, and also Gameboy. The GB one has a fantastic line-up of titles, especially a few oddly for no good reason reseller chosen high priced items like Avenging Spirit on there. That would be one to keep an eye out for if they ever bother to put it out as they haven't said a word since early this year.

[jce3000gt]

Any good recommendations on where to get a quality backlit GBA?