Nintendo Game Boy
Top 20 classic Game Boy games — find similar titles!
Last updated: April 15, 2026
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Programming the Game Boy in C (Classic Systems in C)
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amFilm Screen Protector Compatible with analogue pocket | Anti-Scratch,Easy Installation, Tempered Glass, 2 Pack
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The Best Game Boy Games
The Game Boy was underpowered when it launched and outsold everything, because a handheld that runs for thirty hours on four AA batteries beats a better screen. What it produced is a library built around constraint: small ideas, executed exactly.
This covers the original and the Color, which shared most of a library. Several of these are the best version of a series that has run for thirty years since.
The Game Boy essentials
The ones that sold the hardware, and the ones that still hold up.
Tetris (1989)
- Game Boy
- Everything since
Bundled with the console, and the single best argument for it. The Game Boy version is still the one people mean when they hum the music.
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (1993)
- Game Boy
- Switch remake
A Zelda with no Zelda and no Ganon, on one strange island. The 2019 Switch remake is faithful enough that either is the right answer.
Pokemon Red and Blue (1996)
- Game Boy
- 3DS Virtual Console
Held together with string and full of bugs, and it started everything. The link cable was the whole design, not a feature.
Pokemon Gold and Silver (1999)
- Game Boy Color
- 3DS Virtual Console
Two full regions on a cartridge that should not have fitted one, plus a day-night clock. The most generous sequel the series has managed.
Pokemon Crystal (2000)
- Game Boy Color
- 3DS Virtual Console
Gold and Silver with animated sprites and a proper story thread for Suicune. The definitive version of the best generation.
Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992)
- Game Boy
- 3DS Virtual Console
Bigger sprites, a world map you can wander, and the debut of Wario. Far closer to a proper Mario game than the first Land.
Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991)
- Game Boy
- 3DS Virtual Console
A counter on screen tells you how many Metroids remain, which is the whole structure. Claustrophobic on a tiny screen, deliberately.
Wario Land (1994)
- Game Boy
- 3DS Virtual Console
A platformer about greed — you finish a level by hoarding coins, not by rescuing anyone. Slower and heavier than Mario on purpose.
Kirby's Dream Land (1992)
- Game Boy
- 3DS Virtual Console
Half an hour long, and designed as the friendliest possible first video game. The hard mode afterwards is a genuinely different game.
Donkey Kong (1994)
- Game Boy
- 3DS Virtual Console
Starts as a port of the arcade original and then keeps going for ninety-seven more levels of puzzle platforming. One of the great bait-and-switches.
Game Boy games worth going back for
Smaller, stranger, and mostly never re-released.
Harvest Moon (1997)
- Game Boy
- Game Boy Color
The farming sim on a handheld, which is where the genre found the audience it still has. Crude next to Stardew Valley and recognisably the same game.
Dragon Warrior Monsters (1998)
- Game Boy Color
Monster collecting with breeding rather than evolution, which produces combinations Pokemon never allowed. The best of the Game Boy's many Pokemon answers.
Gargoyle's Quest (1990)
- Game Boy
- Modern collections
A Ghosts 'n Goblins spin-off that is half action platformer and half RPG overworld, with hovering as its central movement idea.
Final Fantasy Adventure (1991)
- Game Boy
- Modern remake
The first Mana game, an action RPG with a Zelda shape and a Final Fantasy name. Remade as Adventures of Mana.
Mole Mania (1996)
- Game Boy
- 3DS Virtual Console
A puzzle game about digging between two layers of a level, produced by Shigeru Miyamoto and played by almost nobody.
Shantae (2002)
- Game Boy Color
- Modern re-release
Released at the very end of the Color's life in tiny numbers, and the start of a series that is still running. Transformations as a movement system.
Mega Man V (1994)
- Game Boy
- Modern collections
The Game Boy entry with an original robot master set rather than recycled ones, and the best of the handheld Mega Mans by a distance.
Dr. Mario (1990)
- Game Boy
- Everything since
Tetris's awkward sibling, and better in two-player than one. The virus clearing is a genuinely different puzzle to line clearing.
Keep exploring
Frequently asked questions
Pokemon Red and Blue
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The Legend of Zelda Links Awakening
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Tetris
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Super Mario Land 2
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Metroid II Return of Samus
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Kirby's Dream Land
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Donkey Kong
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Wario Land
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Mega Man V
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Gargoyle's Quest
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Final Fantasy Adventure
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Pokemon Gold and Silver
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Dragon Warrior Monsters
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Mario Tennis
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Harvest Moon
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Shantae
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Pokemon Crystal
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Mole Mania
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Kid Icarus Of Myths and Monsters
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Castlevania The Adventure
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Dr. Mario
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Pokemon Pinball
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Game and Watch Gallery
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Mario Golf
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Top 10 Must-Play Game Boy Games
Every Nintendo Game Boy library has its essentials — the games that defined the system and that every fan should play at least once. These 10 titles are our hand-picked starting lineup for the Game Boy, ranked by cultural impact and replay value. Click any game to see modern alternatives across every platform.
Game Boy Hidden Gems
Beyond the iconic blockbusters, the Nintendo Game Boy library is full of underrated experiences that flew under the mainstream radar. These 10 hidden gems are the Game Boy games we'd hand a friend who's already played the obvious classics and wants something fresh. Each links to a similar-games page for modern alternatives.
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Where to buy Game Boy hardware and gear
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RG56PRO Retro Handheld Game Console with EVA Hard case (Black, 128.0, GB)
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Check price on AmazonProgramming the Game Boy in C (Classic Systems in C)
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Prices as of Oct 15, 2026, 4:41 AM UTC. Product prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on Amazon.com at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.
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