Screenshots of the best Game Boy games

100 Best Game Boy Games

These are the 100 Game Boy games players recommend most. We surveyed players: 36,785 recommendations from people asking what to play on the Game Boy, with every game they named counted. A pick hundreds of players backed beats one person's favourite.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening takes #1, just ahead of Tetris at #2. Tetris shipped with the Game Boy in 1989 and became its best-selling game, with over 30 million copies sold. It will have to settle for the money.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins holds #3, with Donkey Kong, the 1994 one, right behind it at #4. Some names are missing on purpose. Dr. Mario reached the NES first, so it stays off.

The best Game Boy games
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100. Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1991)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit gameplay on Game BoyWho Framed Roger Rabbit box art

Roger is summoned by Marvin to his factory to take his deed and get his will from Jessica Rabbit to save Toontown from the greedy Judge Doom. Immediately after, Marvin is sniped through his office window and killed. As Roger meets Jessica she is kidnapped by both Doom's weasel henchmen. Roger gets help from Eddie Valiant. Through his investigation Roger faces Stupid, Greasy, Psycho, and Smarty weasels and finally makes it to Doom's mansion. He makes it past the complex and confront Doom, defeating him and destroying his Dip Machine.

Who Framed Roger Rabbit screenshot 1Who Framed Roger Rabbit screenshot 2
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99. Rolan's Curse (1990)

Rolan's Curse gameplay on Game BoyRolan's Curse box art

After centuries in captivity, King Barius, Lord of the Demons, has escaped. In his fury he has cursed the peaceful land of Rolan. Hordes of dark creatures roam free in the countryside. A desperate cry goes out... are there any warriors brave enough to free the people from the curse?

Rolan's Curse screenshot 1Rolan's Curse screenshot 2
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98. Bubble Bobble Part 2 (1993)

Bubble Bobble Part 2 on Game Boy: box art and gameplay
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97. Atomic Punk (1990)

Atomic Punk gameplay on Game BoyAtomic Punk box art

There are four modes of gameplay in Atomic Punk, including two single player modes and two multiplayer game modes.

Solo:

"Game A" (known as "Bomber Boy" in the Japanese version) is similar to other games in the series, with a few differences. Power-ups, known as panels, which are usually gained in each level and carried over from one to the next, can also be bought from a store by using GP, which is collected depending on how much time it takes to complete a level and how many blocks are destroyed. At the beginning of each round, the player decides which panels to use to complete the round. Another difference is that the linear gameplay of the original, with the player advancing levels after completing each one, was changed to implement a world map with nine locations.

The second game mode, "Game B" (known as "Bomber Man" in the Japanese version) is the same as that in the original Bomberman game, but the stage area is squared rather than rectangular and the screen is always centered on Bomberman rather than scrolling when he touches the border.

Vs.:

Panel Mode, in which players begin with only one bomb to place at a time and a bomb blast length of one unit, and Bomb Up and Fire Up panels appear.

Powerful Mode, in which players have four bombs to place at a time and a bomb blast length of four units, and no panels appear.

Atomic Punk screenshot 1
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96. Battle Unit Zeoth (1990)

Battle Unit Zeoth gameplay on Game BoyBattle Unit Zeoth box art

Battle Unit Zeoth is a 2D futuristic side-scrolling shooter. Player controls Zeoth who can move to the right and shoot enemies. The odd-numbered stages are horizontal scrolling stages and the even-numbered stages are a simple "platform" stages. Each stage ends in a boss fight. Zeoth can fly with a jetpack (but the player must tap a button to resist gravity) and can fire in four directions (right, left, down and up). The basic weapons can be improved. The mech can take some damage before being destroyed and has just one life, however, there are unlimited continues.

Battle Unit Zeoth screenshot 1Battle Unit Zeoth screenshot 2
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95. Cosmo Tank (1990)

Cosmo Tank gameplay on Game BoyCosmo Tank box art

The player controls an armoured fighting vehicle from either a first-person perspective or a third-person perspective; depending on the level design. All games begin on a planet's surface with an overhead view. When the player enters a tunnel, the view switches to first-person. After destroying the Life Core inside a tunnel, the player travels to a new planet through a vertically scrolling stage.

Cosmo Tank has three modes. In quest mode, the object of the game is to destroy Alien Life Cores on five planets to free them from Master Insect. Players can earn experience levels in the quest mode by defeating enemies. The maximum amount of experience points that a player can earn is 999; which allows players to reach the level cap of 6. In training mode, the player practices in a closed area and is given a ranking. In vs. mode, the Game Link Cable is used to allow two players to race to defeat the alien leader.

After either beating the game or acquiring a game over, the player is given a rank that shows how far he made it in the game along with his target score. The lowest rank in the game is a skull and crossbones (signifying a casualty on the battlefield).

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94. Batman: The Video Game (1990)

Batman: The Video Game gameplay on Game BoyBatman: The Video Game box art

Batman: The Video Game is a 1990 action video game developed and published by Sunsoft for the Game Boy. Based on the DC Comics superhero Batman, it is inspired by the Warner Bros.'s 1989 film of the same name.

Batman: The Video Game screenshot 1Batman: The Video Game screenshot 2
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93. The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2 (1991)

The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2 gameplay on Game BoyThe Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2 box art

Bugs Bunny must save his girlfriend Honey Bunny from Witch Hazel's enemy-filled castle. There are 28 levels with keys to collect. In each level is a locked door leading to the next level; to open it, the player must collect eight keys placed throughout the level. Various Looney Tunes characters are encountered, including Yosemite Sam, Daffy Duck, Wile E. Coyote, Sylvester, Foghorn Leghorn, Tasmanian Devil, Beaky Buzzard, Spike, Merlin the Magic Mouse, and Tweety.

The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2 screenshot 1The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle 2 screenshot 2
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92. Penguin Wars (1990)

Penguin Wars gameplay on Game BoyPenguin Wars box art

Penguin Wars is an arcade game released in 1985 by UPL. It was ported to the original Game Boy (1990), MSX and Nintendo Entertainment System by ASCII under the title Penguin Wars. The Game Boy version of the game is known as King of the Zoo in Europe and Penguin-Kun Wars Vs. in Japan.

Penguin Wars screenshot 1Penguin Wars screenshot 2
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91. Harvest Moon GB (1997)

Harvest Moon GB gameplay on Game BoyHarvest Moon GB box art

Harvest Moon GB is the second game in the Harvest Moon series of video games, and was developed by Victor Interactive Software. Harvest Moon GB is the first portable Harvest Moon game, developed for the Game Boy. A Game Boy Color version was released later under the name Harvest Moon GBC.

Harvest Moon GB screenshot 1Harvest Moon GB screenshot 2

Every issue features one game worth playing, plus the latest retro news.

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