Whilst there were other portable consoles from other manufacturers
released before the GameBoy hit the shelves, none managed to "grab" or
even maintain such a strong amount of followers as Nintendo did.
With a library of games reaching over a staggering 700 different titles (Just for the original GameBoy remember, not the Color or Advance), the GameBoy with it's numerous advantages such as cost, battery life, and game library availability, soon got underway to becoming one of the greatest handheld consoles in existence.
Creating a list (and restricting that list to just 10 games) has been a difficult post for me as there's so many superb releases available.
However, I've thought as best I could and come up with the following list.
Please remember that this is a personal top 10 selection, and (almost guaranteed) may not include some other popular titles.
Without further delay, let's take a look at the "Top 10 Original GameBoy Games"...
10. Dr Mario
Kicking off the list begins with (what I would consider) one of the most addictive and fun to replay puzzle games of all time.
The objective is simple, On the screen there will be different viruses or bacteria which flash a certain colour, as Mario chucks in pills to help rid these nasties, you have to rotate the medication to match the certain virus/bacteria's colour...get 3 or more connected (including the virus/bacteria) and you've successfully cured...whoever.
Sound simple? Think again. Each level contains more viruses and bacteria than the last,
The pills are tossed in faster than you can blink and you have less space to manoeuvre the rotation of the medication when the screen is filled with more nasties.
As well as being a plumber, it seems that Mario is also a qualified doctor!
9. Duck Tales
In Duck Tales you play as Scrooge McDuck and complete various levels set in different parts of the world, defeat various bosses and ultimately defeat your rival Flintheart Glomgold so you become the worlds richest Duck.
The game itself is an action/adventure with nicely detailed graphics, upbeat music and a solid (yet comical) storyline.
Gameplay is rather simple with Scrooge being easy to control and the actual difficulty of progressing through levels and defeating bosses won't leave you frustrated or scratching your head (Typically, you can get a level done in around 4-5 attempts).
8. Boxxle
Who would've thought that a game where you push boxes would be so fun!
Boxxle is puzzle game with a bit of a weird twist to it. You play as a warehouse assistant who has to move boxes in order to make enough money to appear "attractive" to a girl!
If you push the storyline aside and begin playing, you'll soon be dedicated and focussed on solving some of the most mind boggling puzzles available on the GameBoy.
Boxxle delivers a lot of frustration in the puzzles and requires patient, logical thinking in order to proceed.
Whilst the game isn't known to be a best-seller, have a huge reputation or cult following. It's still a superb and timeless game that's fun to pick up for a low price and re-play.
7. Super Mario Land
Making his debut on the GameBoy is Nintendo's ever-famous mascot Mario in Super Mario Land.
The game itself is a platformer, and like most Mario games before (and after this) it features catchy tunes (which you'll still be singing in your head an hour later), decent graphics & animations and most importantly, easy to grasp controls.
Within the game, there are various power-ups, secret areas and mini-games which along with the already-brilliant level designs, make the game even more interesting and fun to play.
All of the above combined, make Super Mario Land present superb
all-round gameplay and is a title that's always fun to pick up and play
through time and time again.
At the time of its release back in 1989, Super Mario Land helped drive forward sales of the original GameBoy and sold a phenomenal 18 million copies worldwide!
6. Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins
After the ground-breaking success of Super Mario Land, Nintendo released this superb sequel.
This time around, Wario has taken ownership of Mario's castle and sealed the entrance with magic to prevent you from getting back in.
The seal can only be broken if Mario defeats Wario's henchman and collects from them the 6 golden coins.
Along the way you'll be travelling to various worlds, collecting power-ups to aid your progress and once again, playing through various mini-games and discovering secret areas.
6 Golden Coins also features slightly improved graphics and animations, and was the first Super Mario GameBoy game to save progress (after each completed stage) as you played.
5. Golf
Golf is a game that you'll either fall in love with and want to re-play time and time again or you'll play it once and think "it's just another sports game".
For me it's a game that I absolutely had to include on the top 10 list, purely because of it's simplicity.
The game features just 2 courses - Japan or America and is so easy to control and play through.
For example, to hit the ball, you select your club and press A. The power slider will then increase and you press A again to select how hard you want to hit the ball. The slider then moves back down the scale and you can select the direction and control the accuracy of ball depending on where you stop the pointer next. Do you want to hit the ball left? stop the pointer out of the black box, hit it straight? stop the pointer in the black box. Hit it to the right? ...you get the picture.
It's true that there's nothing amazing or ground-breaking about the game, but it's simplicity is so nice that it's great to just pick-up and play from time to time if you don't want to delve into any "serious" storylines or gameplay.
4. Donkey Kong Land
Another fine platformer available for the GameBoy, This time developed from Rareware (Who later developed Goldeneye 007)
Donkey Kong Land allows you to play as either Diddy or Donkey Kong and each has their own advantages and disadvantages. Diddy for example is smaller, faster and less sluggish to manoeuvre. However, Donkey is bigger but stronger and seemingly more difficult to control.
The levels are very well-structured and present much variation. To progress through the game, you'll be required to collect bananas, roll, climb, swim, jump to and from ropes, toss barrels and more in order to continue through to the end.
As I previously mentioned, the game has a lot of variation in the level environments. You'll be playing through a jungle, a ship, underwater, caves, ancient temples etc. and more!
There are also many bonus levels and mini-games (such as collecting the letters K-O-N-G) to complete. The game really is jam packed with action, adventure and many levels/tasks/bonuses to complete.
3. The Legend of Zelda - Link's Awakening
Released back in 1993, This was the first Legend of Zelda title available for a portable console.
Since it's release (and the 1998 re-release for the GameBoy Colour) it's been a phenomenal success and sold over 6 million copies.
The setting for the game is different than the previous Zelda titles,
In Links Awakening you're on Koholint Island, far from Hyrule. You must collect 8 instruments to wake the "Wind Fish" in order to be able to return home.
The map of the island is huge and there's plenty to see and do. You'll find yourself stumbling upon many different secrets and hidden pathways, collecting treasure, battling enemies and meeting some familiar faces from other Nintendo games!
The controls aren't fantastic but they're simple enough and easy to get to grips with. The same goes with the fighting mechanics, they're not all that advanced but the simplicity is actually quite pleasant as it makes the game feel more dumbed down and more welcoming for those that don't normally feel all that comfortable with getting into RPG games.
2. Pokemon Yellow
Unfortunately, we in Europe didn't receive Pokemon Yellow until 2000...but the wait was worthwhile!
Yellow didn't begin by giving you a choice to pick between 3 Pokemon, instead you had to begin with Pikachu and form a relationship (as in the beginning, Pikachu doesn't seem too sure about you as his trainer).
As you set off on your quest "to be the very best", you'll have to complete a range of tasks, battle other trainers, catch ('em all) Pokemon, level-up & strengthen your Pokemon, help foil evil plans and more!
The game has such a wide variety of tasks and mini-games, and has plenty of rewards for you (as the player to earn).
In terms of graphics, they haven't been heavily modified or improved when compared to Red and/or Blue, and neither has the sound. However, this isn't a bad thing as the original graphics and sounds were well-polished, and quite honestly didn't need to be adjusted.
1. Tetris
Addictive, fun, logical and frustrating.
It's a weird combination to describe a game, but that's how I would honestly describe Tetris in just a few choice words.
The game's addiction is like no other.
Every time I play the game, I strive to do better and better. It's so satisfying to build up blocks after blocks after blocks, only to vertically insert a bar to destroy the whole lot and start from scratch, all whilst watching the score counter increase.
The game itself is actually a portable version of Tetris which was originally released in 1984 for the IBM-PC and Commodore 64 and was designed by Alexey Pajitnov (a personal favourite video game designer of mine for his work with Tetris and Pandora's Box).
Tetris isn't just famous for being one of the most addictive puzzle games ever made! It was also the first Game Boy game to feature multi-player support (via the Game Boy link cable) and has gone on to sell over a phenomenal 170 million copies (This includes PC, Game Boy and Mobile Phone editions).
Tetris is undeniably one of the greatest games to have ever been made, and despite being released on the GameBoy all the way back in 1989, it's certainly one that I can personally see being popular 10, 20, even 30 years into the future.
