Console of the Month (March 2022): Game Boy & Game Boy Color

[alienjesus]

I love reading about those kind of obscure GB games!

I have one (maybe two) hidden gems for Game Boy Color. You'll think I'm crazy but Mary-Kate & Ashley: Get A Clue! is a secret Lost-Vikings-esque puzzle platformer where you control Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen and their dog Clue.

[...]
It has some bad digitized speech and pictures of the girls and you might feel embarrassed to play it, but it's surprisingly good!

This is something I like about licensed games on GB - a surprisingly high amount of them are actually pretty good, or at least pretty interesting!



As promised, I'm back with another batch of interesting Game Boy titles that aren't some of the big obvious Mario, Zelda, Pokemon or Kirby stuff:

Today's selection:

Spanky's Quest



Spanky's Quest is a fun little title where you play as a monkey who must progress through mutiple towers defeating sentient fruit. The game is a single screen arcade game by Natsume in the vein of Bubble Bobble where you attack by bouncing a ball on your head. The more bounces you do, the better the attack type. It's a lot of fun and has some great music too.


James Bond 007



James Bond 007 is a pretty interesting top down action adventure game where you take James Bond through levels all around the world, searching for tools, getting into fist fights and gun fights and uncovering a weapon smuggling ring. The game has a lot of charm and nods to the films, whilst taking on elements of other great games such as Zelda. It's not perfect but definitely worth a look.


Lock 'n' Chase



Lock 'n' Chase is a top down dot-collecting arcade game, similar to Pac-Man. You can make use of a selection of extra mechanics though, with doors you can lock behind you to block enemies, and the levels all have interesting new gimmicks such as alarm clocks which swap which police enemies are asleep and which are awake. It's a fun little time.


Noobow



Noobow is a Japan-only action puzzle game by Irem, starring Noobow who is apparently the mascot for some chocolate company. Noobow is super charming though, with a very simple and fun gameplay loop where you pick up items in the environment to use elsewhere. It's pretty easy but its a lot of fun, super charming and has some good tunes too. Worth an import, although it can be a bit pricy sometimes.

Rod Land



Rod Land is a port of an arcade title by Jaleco, and is another single-screen game like Bubble Booble. You play as a fairy who must defeat all enemies in each level to rescue your mum, which you do by grabbing enemies with your wand and SLAMMING THEM over and over until they die. It's a surprisingly visceral attack method, although it's obviously still super cute in game

[Ziggy]

Sorry I've been pretty much MIA this month, I've been working loooong hours. I wanted to participate more this month, and maybe cross a few games off my list.

[prfsnl_gmr]

I very much did - and I have a few I'd love to hear more about. If you have time to offer your thoughts on these, I'd appreciate it!

Altered Space - This is one of three isometric platformers by Software Creations. The other two are Solstice (NES) and Equinox (SNES). Some people really hate them, but I think they have their charm, even if I have yet to beat a single one of the .

Adventure Island - This is the GB port of Adventure Island II, and IMO, it is vastly superior to its console counterpart. The level design is better; it controls better; and it features a password system, which makes the game much less frustrating.

Castlevania Legends - This game is better that Castlevania: The Adventure, but not quite as good as Belmotnt’s Revenge. That is, it’s a relatively solid Castlevania game that tells the origin story of…the game’s sub-weapons?!

Blaster Master Boy - This game is AWESOME. It is, really, the sequel to RoboWarrior, which, in turn, is actually a Bomberman spin-off (i.e., Bomber King). It is shorter and better than Robo-Warrior, however, and it plays a lot like a full game of the original Blaster Master’s overhead sections, but with bombs. I really can’t recommend this one highly enough.

Blaster Master: Enemy Below - This is, probably, the Blaster Master sequel truest to the original game. It was actually developed by SunSoft, and it plays a lot like the NES original. I haven’t beaten it yet, but it’s on my short list.

Crystalis - Crytslis is, IMO, the best ARPG on the NES. The GBC port is mostly faithful to the original, but the viewpoint is way too zoomed in. Accordingly, the game is hard to navigate and combat’s a chore. Play the NES original, and skip this port.

Heroes of Might & Magic - This is an ambitious port of the PC game. I’m not entirely sure it works on the GBC based on my limited time with it, but I haven’t really taken the time to learn the mechanics either.

Go Go Tank - This is a unique puzzle game, where you move blocks to help a tank, which moves automatically, reach its goal. A bit like Lemmings, I guess, but more focused on moving blocks. I find games like this work really well on the handheld.

Legend of the River King - A really common fishing simulation inspired, a bit, by Harvest Moon. I have t spent much time with it.

Lufia - A really solid, traditional JRPG, and one of the last games released in the series. I gave t spent much time with it, but I’d like to run the series at some point.

Maru's Mission - This is actually a game in the Ninja Ja Ja Maru-kun series. I bought it on a whim because I had a dog named Maru. It’s a pretty run-of-the-mill action platformer.

Nail & Scale - A pretty generic action-puzzler, actually. I have t spent much time with it, but what little time I spent with it didn’t impress me.

Rolan's Curse - I want to like this game so much, but I’ve bounced off it twice now. It plays a lot like the original LoZ, but it’s level-based. (I think it also has multiplayer, but I’ve never tried playing it that way.) It’s pretty short, but it feels so long. Just not that much fun.

Perfect Dark - This is an odd overhead action-shooter with one of those weird rumble carts. The rumble doesn’t add much to it, but it’s still a solid game from Rare’s zenith. Apparently, it also makes use of every one of the GBC’s weird capabilities, and you can read more about it here.

[prfsnl_gmr]

There's a few I couldnt recognise too, what are they

- Game between Bill & Ted & Bionic Commando =

Bionic Battler (It’s an ambitious attempt at a FPS that doesn’t quite work.)

- Game to the left of Balloon Kid =

Atomic Punk (Its the first portable Bomberman game, and one of the earliest in the series. Only the MSX and NES versions predate it. HG101 just covered it, actually, in a recent article.)

- Game Left of Dragon's Lair

Dragon Dance (Its a pretty fun breakout clone.)

- Game to the left of Klax

Klax (It’s the monochrome version. The game to the right is Knight’s Quest, a rare RPG I bought from Elkin.)

- Game below Motocross Maniacs

Milon’s Secret Castle (It’s a little better than the atrocious NES game, but not much.)

- Game left of Nail & Scale

Mysterium (It’s a tough-as-nails first person DRPG. Exhuminator played through it a while back and wrote a pretty in-depth review.)

- Game between Quest & Radar Mission

Racin’ Ratz (It’s an interesting puzzle/racing hybrid. I was intrigued by the gameplay, but I have t spent t much time with it.)

- Game to the right of Toobin'

Tomb Raider ft. Lara Croft ( It’s a pretty solid action platformer.)

- Game to the right of Trax

Trouballs (It’s a puzzle game. Just OK.)

- Most of the Japanese titles

Block Kuzushi, Bomberman GB3, Boomer’s Adventure in Asmik World 2, Castle of Ayakashi, Cave Noire, Daisenryaku, Donkey Kong Land 3, Dragon Slayer, Dragon Slayer Gaiden, Fatal Fury 2, Fatal Fury Special, The Bell Rings for the Frog, Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer, Mystery Dungeon: Shiren the Wanderer 2, Gameboy Wars, Gameboy Wars Gaiden, Gameboy Wars 2, Gameboy Wars 3, GB Genjin Land, Glory of Heracles, God Medicine, Grandia, Gremlins 2, Kid Niki, King of Fighters ‘96, all of the GB Kunio-kin games, Little Master, Lunar Lander, Magnatic Soccer, Mario’s Picross 2, Mickey Mouse, Mobile Golf, Monkey Puncher, Musashi the Samurai Lord, Nancy Gallery Vols. 1-3, Nectaris GB, Oni, Parodius Da!, Pinball Party, Popeye, Pokémon Green, Puyo Puyo, Puyo Puyo 2, Puyo Puyo Sun, Puyo Puyo 4, Qix Neo, Ray Thunder, RPG Maker GB, R-Type II, Samurai Shodown III, Smurfs Travel the World, Star Ocean Blue Sphere, Super Chinese 1 2 3 Dash, Tower of Druaga, Trade ‘n Battle Card Hero, Twinbee Da!, Wizardry Gaiden 1-3, Wizardry Empire, X, Zoids

<whew!>

[alienjesus]

I appreciate you taking the time to write all that up (and correctly identifying I wanted the game to the right of Klax )

A couple more to look into there for sure!

Anyway, here's another selection of cool games for Game Boy worth a look. Think of this as the 'Buy these if you're loaded or pirate them if you're not' selection, as these are definitely amongst the most expensive on the system - the first 3 especially!:

Trip World



This is a super rare title by Sunsoft which was only released in Japan and a few parts of Europe. You play as a little creature who can transform between his regular form, a flying form and a fish form at will, as well as other transformations using power ups. The game is odd in that most 'enemies' don't attack and some can't even hurt you. It's really great though as many of the enemies only appear once in the game - there's always new things to find. The game looks and sounds amazing (obligatory music track here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOzzzoymPUI&list=PL939FB4B1F1A6EE11&index=4&ab_channel=explod2A03) and I adore it. It's easily one of the holy grails of GB collecting though, and costs a small fortune. It's on 3DS Virtual Console (which is how I played it) but only in Europe, not North America - sorry!

Hammerin' Harry: Ghost Building Company



This is definitely another candidate for one of the best looking games on Game Boy. You play as Harry, and you go through several action packed side scrolling levels platforming and hammerin' some ghosts. The game has lots of quirky setpieces and a few areas where the gameplay changes genres too. It's on the challenging side, but its a lot of fun. The PAL box art is hideous though! This is one of only two entries in this series to get a release out of Japan, but unfortunately, only in Europe - so this is an import title for North America. The Japanese version isn't cheap but is far more affordable than PAL copies.

Avenging Spirit



Avenging Spirit is a port of an obscure arcade game by Jaleco, and despite it's cutesy graphics it's got quite a dark story behind it - you were murdered and your lady friend has been kidnapped, so you come back as a ghost to save her. In ghost form your energy drains away rapidly, and you die when it's empty - so you get through stages by possessing enemies and controlling them instead. Every enemy in the game can be possessed so there's a lot of variety - a diverse bunch too, with mobsters, vampires, robots and more. It's a fun game, if a little janky in level design and balance, but it is pricy regardless of which region version you get. Luckily, it's on 3DS Virtual Console for about £4, at least until it goes down soon, so worth picking up there whilst you can.

Rolan's Curse 2



I've never played Rolan's Curse 1 on Game Boy (Prfsnl-Gmr isn't a fan based on his info above!) but my understanding is this game is an improvement. You go through top down zelda style levels, but along the way you can recruit multiple new party members, all of whom come with unique weapons and subskills for exploration. It's a simple game but it's quite fun. I found it hard to find a copy of this one - it definitely seems rare!

Survival Kids



Hey, the first GBC game on my recommendations. Survival Kids is a game where you get stranded on a deserted island after the ship your on sinks, and you must explore the island to find a way to escape whilst also watching your hunger and water supplies. It plays like Zelda or Harvest Moon, and it has 8 endings to find. There's a Japan only sequel which has a fan translation, and the Lost in Blue series on DS is a spiritual successor of sorts. My understanding is the GB games are better regarded though!

[prfsnl_gmr]

[Finally, there's also a lot of games in your collection I wouldn't think to pick up based on the name or cover. Any standouts in there that you'd recommend that we might not know about?

Yes! Excluding some of the obvious picks (e.g., LoZ, Wario Land, etc.), my favorite parts of my collection are:

Adventure Island and Adventure Island II - Other than the incredibly rare, Famicom-exclusive Adventure Island IV, these might be Master Higgins’ most enjoyable outings, and they are both really fun platformers.

Blaster Master Boy - As I mentioned earlier, this game, with its convoluted lineage, is just fantastic.

Centipede - This game was released on the system four(!) times. The original release, however is really, really rare. It appears at the top right of the second picture of my collection, and when I found a loose copy in a bargain bin, it completed my collection of GB Atari ports.

Donkey Kong ‘94 - This was my first GB game, and I still think it’s one of the system’s best.

Dragon Warrior III - This is arguably the best version of the very best 8-but JRPG.

Kung Fu Master - This game evolves Kung Fu Master’s mechanics at least as well as its other spiritual successors (e.g., Spartan X-2, Trojan), and it is vastly better than the execrable Vigilante. One of the GB’s best beat ‘em ups.

Mario Golf - Arguably my favorite sports game, this brilliant RPG/golf hybrid is only recently getting its due.

Mario’s Picross - This game got me hooked on nonogram puzzles, and I remain hooked to this day.

Metal Gear Solid - This non-canonical Metal Gear game is as good, if not better, than all other 8-bit Metal Gear games, and it’s just a lot of fun for anyone regardless of their experience with the series.

Mole Mania - This forgotten first-party title is a gem. I loved it, and I’d love to see Nintendo make another one.

Operation C - A remarkably solid Contra game that is, IMO, more accessible and enjoyable than most other games in the series.

Project S-11 - I haven’t beaten it yet, but I’ve played enough to realize this game’s a technical marvel that pushes the GBC to its limits. It’s, almost, the GBC equivalent of Recca.

R-Type DX - A really great port of both R-Type and R-Type II, I could make an argument it’s the best 8-but shmup on any system. It retains most of the originals’ design, but Giles off the games’ toughest edges, making it a great entry point for the R-Type series.

Sabrina Spooked/Zapped - Fun, licensed platformers with amazing, early WayForward spritework. These games are both really easy, but they also really show off what the GBC could do.

Sgt. Rock on the Front Line - An upgraded port of the classic Taito arcade game with a weird license. (What kid in the early ‘00s didn’t want a game associated with the hero of a mid-century combat comic?)

Wendy: Every Witch Way - Another gorgeous WayForward GBC title, this game plays like Metal Storm for kids. Excellent spriteeork, and even better gameplay. My only complaint is that the game is too short!

Exodus/Joshua - I love these bizarre unlicensed Bible game carts. Better yet, they’re both pretty fun games we’ll -suited for the system.

…..

I haven’t played through many of my imports yet since I only recently started collecting them. One of my favorites, however, is:

Magnetic Soccer - Despite being developed and published by Nintendo, this game was released exclusively in Germany. How a loose copy ended up in a pawn shop in east Charlotte, NC, I’ll never know, but this little oddity now has a permanent home in my collection.

[opa]

I'm currently playing chess on the Game Boy 4 in 1 fun Pack. Waiting on the computer to make its move on the highest difficulty (its been 7 minutes so far). Here's a couple of games worth noting in my own collection:

Planet of the Apes for the GBC. A cinematic platformer for the Game Boy. Fluid controls and nice graphics make for a great game to seek out if you love platformers of this type.

Famista 2 for Game Boy. A pretty fun baseball game. Japan-only but there's a translation of the menus on gamefaqs if I'm remembering correctly.

I did order Chess Master on Game Boy. It won't make it in time for this month's discussion but I've been getting into the game recently and I like having opponents on-demand (even of it is just an AI).

[opa]

Any of y'all still have the GB Boy Colour? I've been using mine a great deal lately. Yeah, the d-pad sucks and the aspect ratio is wonky but it's hard to beat a back lit screen.

[Note]

I appreciate all the reviews of games in this thread! Really useful stuff. I didn't get a chance to post about my experience with the Game Boy (and Game Boy Color) earlier, so just wanted to toss in my two cents!

I have a pretty sentimental connection for the Game Boy, as it was actually my first video game system I received as a gift when I was a kid. I believe I got it for Christmas of 1991. I'm very lucky because somehow my mom had a gift of picking out awesome games, instead of getting clunkers. So, when I got my Game Boy, I also received it with Super Mario Land, Operation C, and Final Fantasy Adventure, along with Tetris as the pack-in game. Looking back on it, this was a great line up of games to start out on with the system.

I especially played the hell out of Super Mario Land at home, and in car rides. I'm aware that nowadays some people critique this game and malign it due to the differences it has in themes and gameplay with the other early Mario titles, but since it was the first Mario game I had a chance to put a lot of time into, I've always held this game in high regard. I enjoyed the graphics for that time, and the soundtrack was pretty awesome. The music for the Egyptian themed level was something else!

I also really liked Operation C back then and to this day. However, I have to admit I was never very good at the game. But I'd like to try and fire it up on a device on my TV, as I think it'd be easier for me to play. Final Fantasy Adventure was a bit advanced for me at that time, but later on I grew to really like it, and it's one of my favorite games on the system too. Another game I received as a gift back then that I really enjoyed was Zelda: Link's Awakening DX.

Years later, I also received a Game Boy Color and Pokemon Blue for Christmas in 1998. I really got into the game and spent a ton of time playing it. I specifically remember sleeping over a close friend's house one weekend, staying up late and playing Pokemon on separate Game Boys in the same room while hanging out and talking about the game and our progress. Good times!

I actually haven't bought many Game Boy games over the years, so everything I own for the system is from my childhood. As I've got older, the smaller layout of handhelds has bothered me, but luckily there are ways to play these games on our TVs. Eventually, I would like to get some other highly regarded titles that I missed out on, which is why I really appreciate the information for this thread. I'm especially intrigued by the Lufia titles, Survival Kids, Master Blaster Boy, and Mario Golf.

My sister also received her own Game Boy as a gift in the mid 90's, and one of her favorite games was Paper Boy, however the cartridge went missing throughout the years. When we were cleaning out our parents home in the summer of 2018 she had complained about it being gone, so I'd like to track down a good condition copy for her.

Anyway, it's been great to read everyone's experiences with these small but awesome handhelds from Nintendo. Game on!

[alienjesus]

Thanks for everyone's game recommendations, experiences and contributions to the thread. I've really enjoyed talking about the Game Boy with you all this month, and as usual feel free to add more if you want to.

I'll get up April's thread for Console of the Month later today, so I hope to see you all there as well!