Top 50 Game Boy Games
Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life

On Friday 21st April 1989, Nintendo launched the Game Boy in Japan and changed the landscape of video games forever.

While modest in the specs department, the Game Boy was just powerful enough to offer deep gaming experiences, with the best examples rivalling those found on home consoles.

Our guide to the best Game Boy games of all time is designed to take you on a tour through the most popular titles released for this iconic handheld.

Whether you've an old box of cartridges to dust off and get reacquainted with, or you just fancy a trip down memory lane, we hope you'll enjoy our definitive guide to these timelessly popular Game Boy games.

Top Game Boy Games

50. Balloon Kid (GB)

Sequel to the NES game Balloon Fight, Balloon Kid isn't without its charms, but those charms are undeniably superficial: the graphics are nice and the music is fun, and the nods to Balloon Fight are all worth a smile, but there’s not a huge amount of depth. That said, it nails the mechanics of the original game and expands on its endlessly replayable Balloon Trip mode, making it ideally suited as a portable experience.

49. Tennis (GB)

Between the NES and Game Boy versions of Tennis, this is the one people usually remember, and for good reason: it's a lot more enjoyable simply due to its presentation. As with the similarly bluntly-named Golf, it's a basic game but extremely solid in those basics. It's got impressive controls and physics for such a small title, and while there's not really that much to do, you're getting an enjoyable, fun little game which will keep you entertained for a set or so. Perfect for a short trip, although we'd recommend Camelot's Mario Tennis on GBC if you're after something with more strings on its racket.

48. Contra: The Alien Wars (GB)

A Game Boy version of the SNES original, this was developed by Factor 5, the studio behind the Super Turrican games on the Super Nintendo and the Star Wars: Rogue Squadron series. The levels and overall structure were altered and a password system was added but it still manages to deliver a serviceable game of Contra on a system with the processing power of a modern day toaster.

47. Battletoads (GB)

A totally bespoke portable outing for Rare's crew of not-Turtles, Battletoads does a decent job of translating the NES brawler's gameplay to the 'Boy. With just Zitz to control, the already-repetitive beat-'em-up loop is magnified on the handheld, but the shmup sections help break things up and David Wise's music is as reliably excellent as ever.

Not one to rival Rare's best output, but a solid little game.

46. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan (GB)

This is a well-presented title with great music, sound effects and visuals that combine to capture the look of the show well. Gameplay is what matters, though, and this features varied levels and an assortment of different enemies that should provide a fun time even if you are not a fan of the Ninja Turtles (or this particular incarnation). The lack of adjustable difficulty is unfortunate, but otherwise Fall of the Foot Clan is an enjoyable gaming experience.

45. James Bond 007 (GB)

There are a few problems such as invisible barriers blocking bullets, and visually it's not the most ambitious Game Boy game, but the simple look works well, as does the music in this 8-bit take on ol' JB. James Bond 007 is an exciting, fun little game that provides plenty of pocket-sized entertainment.

We're also suckers for its classic gun barrel, blood-soaked cover. Diwww-di-di-diw diwwwww diw-diw-diw...

44. Pinball: Revenge of the 'Gator (GB)

Published by Nintendo in Europe, HAL Laboratory's Pinball: Revenge of the 'Gator may lack the refinements showcased by modern pinball games, but that doesn't mean it should be ignored. Splitting the table across four separate screens, the titular 'gator waits at the bottom of the table to devour any balls that drop. Ahem.

The simple nature of the tables means you can give high-score chasing your full, undivided attention without being waylaid by distractions, and the ball physics in this '89 Game Boy title are respectable enough to ensure you don't lose any games through anything but your own fault. HAL's effort may have been improved upon over time, but Revenge of the Gator is still an appealing and addictive pinball outing.

43. Motocross Maniacs (GB)

A side-on motocross platforming game from Konami, Motocross Maniacs blends classic Excitebike-style controls with tricky courses to negotiate that position it as a precursor to Ubisoft’s Trials games. The simple but addictive gameplay suits the handheld very well, although it’s a shame that the cartridge’s lack of onboard memory means your best times are lost every time you switch the console off. Still, this is a very fun way to pass an hour or two.

42. Tetris 2 (GB)

This time it’s personal. A sequel to the system-selling puzzler was an absolute given, of course, and looking back on Tetris 2 all these years later, it’s admirable just how much of a departure it was from the original classic. Named Tetris Flash in Japan, it takes the basic falling-blocks gameplay but adds in a match-three element with irregularly-shaped tetrominoes. It’s jarring at first if disappearing horizontal lines are burnt into your brain, but give it time and you’ll find a surprisingly addictive little puzzle game in its own right.

41. Wario Blast: Featuring Bomberman! (GB)

Wario Blast is a Bomberman crossover that sees the our favourite antihero dropped into the world of Hudson Soft’s brilliant top-down bomber. Released in Japan as Bomberman GB, you get the classic maze combat of Hudson’s game with a dusting of Nintendo’s IP and Wario’s dastardly antics. Sounds good, no? Yes, it is.

40. Super R.C. Pro-Am (GB)

Nominally an update of Rareware’s original NES game, Super R.C. Pro-Am did an excellent job of scaling down the isometric perspective racing onto the Game Boy’s monochrome display. Sure, the blur and size of that screen made racing a little more challenging, and the gameplay could quickly get repetitive, but it still delivered some nail-biting multiplayer contests with up to three friends and link cables.

39. Mega Man IV (GB)

Mega Man IV improves on its source material to an unbelievable degree considering the hardware it's running on. Alternate routes, optional pickups, a store system, completely redesigned levels, and the meatiest Wily experience yet in the handheld series make this an overlooked outing. This was the last of the Mega Man handheld entries to remix stages and elements from the NES titles, but it was a brilliant end to that run before the following game branched out into something new altogether.

38. Super Mario Land (GB)

Super Mario Land was an impressive accomplishment in 1989. The sequel might have made this first shot at translating the plumber's platforming to the overworked, underpowered handheld seem quaint by comparison, but it's still a fun Super Mario experience, albeit a short one. Crafted by Gunpei Yokoi's R&D1 rather than Shigeru Miyamoto's team, it's a surreal yet compelling take on the template which takes some adjusting to nowadays. And just when things are really getting good, the credits roll.

If you haven't played Super Mario Land before, you owe it to yourself to try this — it's worth playing through at least once to see where Mario's portable adventures began. Cracking music, too.

37. Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (GB)

If you're a fan of Kid Icarus on the NES, you owe it to yourself to pick up the sequel. Not only does it capture the same magic found in the NES release, but it builds on many of the great gameplay ideas featured in the original. The difficulty has been toned down to make it a bit more approachable, but there's still plenty of challenge to be found and a fairly lengthy adventure. Some fantastic boss fights make for particular highlights, and Kid Icarus: Of Myths & Monsters is a great prelude to Kid Icarus: Uprising.

36. Catrap (GB)

Something of hidden gem in the Game Boy catalogue, Catrap is a platform puzzler credited with being the first game to have a ‘rewind’ feature. You’re tasked with defeating monsters in order to escape 100 levels of ladders, blocks and other objects. Stages get more and more devious, of course, and a level editor enables you to create your own. If it looks a little basic from the outside, the game has a giant amount of content and could keep you busy for weeks. It was arguably overlooked back in the day, but it’s an innovative puzzler that deserves a bit of attention.

35. Game & Watch Gallery (GB)

The Game Boy was, in many ways, the natural evolution of Nintendo’s Game & Watch line of one-shot portable devices, so the ability to play those games on one cartridge seemed like an acknowledgement of that handheld legacy. If you liked the originals, this collection is a must-have. Both the originals and remakes, which combine simple gameplay and subtle strategy, are here to enjoy and the newer versions play differently enough that you're quite likely to consider them new experiences in and of themselves. The musical and visual presentation is fantastic as well, and the entire package serves as a relic of a truly magical time in gaming. Or, perhaps, two truly magical times.

34. Operation C (GB)

This is without a doubt a Contra game (or Probotector if you’re a robot-loving European) more worthy of its title than, say, certain PlayStation entries. It hits on most of the aspects that make a good entry: challenging gameplay, tight controls, varied enemies, killer arsenal, macho tunes, big bosses. For a title two years into the mighty portable’s lifespan, it accomplishes an impressive amount in shrinking the essentials of the beloved console/arcade series. Sadly, players are forced to go gung-ho solo, which is disheartening for multiplayer fans and kills some of its longevity, but it’s remarkable just how well the game holds up on the humble Game Boy and fans of the NES games would foolish to pass this up.

33. Dr. Mario (GB)

The Game Boy port of this pill-dropping puzzler offers a decent game, although it probably isn't top of the must-have puzzler list. Unlike Tetris, where the colours of the blocks are irrelevant, Dr. Mario’s pills are a little more challenging to keep track of, especially on the original system’s blurry screen. Still, if you’re a prolific puzzle practitioner, you could do much worse than this falling-block title with a twist.

32. Kirby's Pinball Land (GB)

Kirby's Pinball Land isn’t everybody’s cup of tea, but it serves up a solid game of digital pinball starring everyone’s favourite pink amorphous ball. It's an experiment that didn't quite come together properly, but it's not without merit and its engine would be used again in Pokémon Pinball for the Game Boy Color. Kirby and pinball seem like a match made in heaven; this isn't quite that, but it’s a fun little mashup that showcased the potential for future Nintendo X pinball crossovers involving Pocket Monsters and intergalactic bounty hunters.

31. QIX (GB)

QIX is a classic game that suffers — if it suffers at all — from being born too soon. You essentially draw lines to cordon off areas of a rectangle for points - the larger the area, the better your score. Sounds easy but it's a great deal of fun, and satisfyingly simple to learn. This is definitely a game that some will find divine, while others will be puzzled by its popularity. It's quick to learn, easy to play, and impossible to truly master. We can't promise you that you'll like it but if the game sounds even slightly appealing, we'd confidently say that it's worth the risk.

30. The Final Fantasy Legend (GB)

Makai Toushi Sa・Ga, given the Final Fantasy label in the West, is the very first game in the SaGa series. It's an incredibly complex game for its time, but often obtuse by today's standards. While its two sequels improve upon the template laid down here, RPG traditionalists will still find much to like in the original game. Although it was designed to be a shorter experience more suited to a portable machine, it’s a tough little game and still worth a look all these years later.

29. Batman: The Video Game (GB)

The game may have a fairly basic appearance as a result of being released in the early years of the handheld's life, but Sunsoft managed to add some variety to the locations and the gun-toting Batman sprite is amusing in its own way. The game gets tougher later on but it doesn't feel overwhelming, and the Batwing levels are a great addition to the excellent platforming action found in the rest of the game. Overall, Batman: The Video Game on Game Boy is a decent facsimile of its bigger brother on NES and still a lot of fun to play through.

28. Tetris Attack (GB)

Known as Panel de Pon in Japan, Tetris Attack was released on Game Boy and Super Nintendo, although it’s Tetris in name only – the actual game bears almost no resemblance to the portable’s killer app. The western version also saw characters from Super Mario World 2: Yoshi’s Island co-opted in an effort to attract an audience. Despite this blatant marketing ploy, Tetris Attack is a cracking block-swapping puzzler in its own right and well worth checking out alongside its more famous Russian namesake.

27. Donkey Kong Land (GB)

We remember the first time we saw Donkey Kong Country on the SNES and wondering how a 16-bit machine could pull off its 'amazing' graphics — those pre-rendered sprites felt pretty special at the time. Seeing them approximated on the lowly Game Boy hardware in Donkey Kong Land felt like actual dark magic, though. With impressive animation and detailed backgrounds, sometimes you could get disorientated for a moment as enemies blended into the backdrop, but the way DKL managed to capture the essence of its 16-bit brethren makes it a fascinating and worthy entry in the Kongpendium.

26. DuckTales 2 (GB)

Scaling down the NES sequel as the original game did, the Game Boy interpretations of Capcom's classic platformers did an excellent job of giving Ducktales fans a version of the game to keep themselves occupied in the back of the car on the weekend trip to the grandparents’ house. With solid gameplay and great music, it’s worth tracking down if you only know the NES version – the level layouts are very different and there’s a plethora of items not found in the home console game.

25. Final Fantasy Legend III (GB)

Final Fantasy Legend III is a fitting end for the trilogy of Game Boy games; a very solid RPG experience that features a surprising degree of depth. If you like your quests long and your combat systems very basic and traditional in design, you’ll find much to like in this release, although you might find it a little tedious if you've got used to more modern RPG trappings. However, RPG enthusiasts are old hands when it comes for flirting with tedium in classic titles, and there’s still plenty to enjoy in this game – the final in the SaGa series to carry the 'Final Fantasy' moniker in the west.

24. Game Boy Camera (GB)

A wonderful, strange piece of kit that blurs the line between game and hardware. Development on the software side of the Game Boy Camera project was led by Hirokazu ‘Hip’ Tanaka and the software within is full of odd audio-visual ticks, as if the spirit of the WarioWare games somehow infected the hardware. Eccentric Game & Watch-esque minigames accompany the base photo mode which enabled you to snap 128x112 pixel shots and stamp them with tiny pictures. Owners of its sister peripheral, the Game Boy Printer, could print out their masterpieces on thermal paper and distribute them accordingly.

Japanese 64DD owners could link the camera to Mario Artist: Talent Studio to create avatars of themselves a long time before Miis existed, and we still wish Rare’s plans to enable players to import photos into Perfect Dark multiplayer had made it past Nintendo. Still, we’re very glad that something as silly as this managed to see the light of day at all. If David Lynch ever made a lo-fi digital camera, it would look something like this.

23. Kirby's Dream Land (GB)

Kirby’s Dream Land was and remains an exceptionally charming platformer, although you might find that the pink puff’s debut Game Boy adventure feels a bit too elementary these days. Many years' worth of nostalgia gives us huge affection for Kirby, but looking over the top of those rose-tinted glasses for a moment reveals a slightly pedestrian title being carried by that charm, a game that was outpaced by its descendants in virtually every way.

Kirby’s genesis is strong, especially considering the hardware, but the irresistible puffball has done better since. Naturally.

22. Bionic Commando (GB)

Because of its complete break away from genre convention by emphasising swinging over jumping, Bionic Commando is one of those games that you either love or hate. Nothing else plays quite like it, and this portable adaptation is a surprisingly robust and polished entry in the series. It might take some time getting used to the mechanics, but once your brain has rewired to Bionic Commando's method of madness, you'll find a real Game Boy gem.

21. Donkey Kong Land III (GB)

Donkey Kong Land III is a handsome Game Boy title which also sounds particularly lovely and caps off the Donkey Kong Land GB trilogy in fine fashion — it's arguably the pick of the portable bunch. Lucky Japanese gamers even got a version enhanced for the Game Boy Color which looked even lovelier. This was to be Rare's final 2D platformer featuring the DK clan and Twycross' custodians of Kong certainly went out on a high.

20. Kid Dracula (GB)

Kid Dracula might not be quite as lengthy or quite as diverse as the Famicom release, but you still have to give Konami a lot of credit for being able to cram so much platforming goodness into one Game Boy cartridge. It’s a delicious piece of self-parody from Konami poking fun at the Castlevania series. Great visuals with big sprites, a catchy musical score, and some of the tightest play control seen on the system all come together to form one of the most charming and playable platformers available on the portable. The cartridge has become quite rare over the years, so you'll likely have to do some serious searching in order to land a copy, but once you give it a try, you're sure to find the effort well worth it.

19. Gargoyle's Quest (GB)

Beautiful in its simplicity, satisfying in its depth, and assured in execution, Gargoyle's Quest is one of the best games on the system and a solid indication of how potent a gaming platform the Game Boy was, even during its fledgling years. Technically a Ghosts ‘n Goblins game, it actually plays much more like The Adventure of Link, with top-down overworld gameplay giving way to side-on platforming battles. This is a truly timeless release that should be experienced by gamers of all ages.

18. Donkey Kong Land 2 (GB)

It might have his name on the box, but Donkey Kong is barely in this one! Donkey Kong Land 2 has Diddy and Dixie rescuing the captured DK from the clutches of vile crocodile Kaptain K. Rool. By simplifying background elements in comparison to the original Game Boy rendition, it's a little easier to see what you're doing here and, as with all the DKL games, the way it captures the look and feel of the SNES DKC games on such modest hardware is impressive to this day.

17. Final Fantasy Legend II (GB)

Final Fantasy Legend II improves on every single aspect compared to its predecessor. A brand new playable race — robots — has been added, it's now easier to get spells on mutant characters, and humans now need to gain stats and not just buy them. This is also the most clearly-defined story of the first three SaGa games and of the trilogy — all available via the Collection on Switch — this is probably the easiest to get into.

16. Harvest Moon GB (GB)

Only the second in the series of life-sim farming games following the debut game on Super Nintendo, Harvest Moon sees you visited by an apparition of your dead grandpa who tasks you with taking up the mantle of Ranch Master and managing the family farm. Cue sowing seeds, harvesting crops and selling them to buy more gear enabling you to reap more and build a farm that dear old gramps would have been proud of – if your efforts don’t meet with his ghostly approval it’s Game Over, so look lively! It’s certainly simple by modern standards, but the Game Boy edition still has plenty of charm.

15. Mole Mania (GB)

Mole Mania is a first-party game headed up by Shigeru Miyamoto himself. Some minor control issues aside, it plays a little bit like an endless series of puzzle rooms from the dungeons of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, albeit without the direct combat. The visuals are great and the music is phenomenal; it’s a worthy addition to the library for anyone who won't get frustrated over finding themselves stuck again and again — in Mole Mania, getting stuck is part of the fun.

14. Mega Man V (GB)

Mega Man V was the first wholly original series entry in the Game Boy, with the preceding games being mashups inspired by his NES adventures. Against all odds and exceeding any reasonable expectations, it turns out to be one of the best Mega Man games, period. The difficulty might be a tad low, and the soundtrack only intermittently hits the peaks we've come to expect, but all of that is made up for by an endlessly creative experience, 10 new special weapons, and a whopping 15 main bosses. This might be one of the most overlooked games in the Blue Bomber's catalogue, but that just means it's primed for rediscovery. If you have any interest at all, you'd be doing yourself a great disservice by passing on Mega Man V.

13. DuckTales (GB)

Another GB version of a NES classic, the portable version of Ducktales scales the look of the original down very nicely to the Game Boy’s monochrome screen and manages to include all the mechanics you’d expect, remixing the levels but retaining much of what makes the NES version so special. It’s a challenging little game, but another winner from Capcom in the Game Boy catalogue and Disney or Ducktales fans shouldn’t overlook this port.

12. Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge (GB)

After the crushing disappointment that was Castlevania: The Adventure, Konami pulled out all of the stops with this Game Boy sequel. It plays like a dream, with highly responsive controls and some brilliantly designed levels which use vertical space just as effectively as horizontal space. The ability to choose how you tackle the stages, Mega Man-style, is also welcome, and the music is so good it's almost criminal that it's relegated to the relatively humble Game Boy audio hardware. Arguably one of the best Game Boy games of all time, Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge is an essential play for all fans of the franchise – it's also worth a fair bit on the secondary market these days.

11. Kirby's Dream Land 2 (GB)

Kirby's Dream Land 2 is simple, solid fun from the Kirbster, and one of the better traditional-style Kirby titles. The technical mastery of Game Boy really shines through even now, with great presentation and a fairly large world to conquer. Even though its low level of challenge makes it seem smaller than it actually is, its length and numerous power-ups to experiment with make it ideal for repeat playthroughs. After all these years, this still plays like a dream.

10. Mario's Picross (GB)

With 192 "regular" puzzles and an additional 64 Time Trial puzzles, the value of Mario's Picross is impressive, containing over 250 puzzles that can easily be taken with you anywhere you go. They're not very hard compared to some of the brainteasers in the later games, which also have various extra features, but it's still a great, an addictive piece of software, and a nice start for Picross beginners or those who just want some more puzzles to crack.

9. Final Fantasy Adventure (GB)

Released as Mystic Quest in Europe, Final Fantasy Adventure plays more like The Legend of Zelda than the turn-based series it was spun out from. Developed by Koichi Ishii, it tells the story of a hero who escapes from a Dark Lord intent on controlling the Mana Tree, a unique source of energy. The seeds planted here would sprout and become the Mana series, but this first game captivated many players on that little monochrome screen.

8. Wario Land II (GB)

Big fans of the first game (Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3) might lament Wario Land II's sudden significant change in gameplay, but if you give it a try, you'll find that it's actually rather brilliant. All the unique new gameplay features help flesh the series out and turn it into a wildly different, yet still equally entertaining time. This game would quickly get a Game Boy Color version with backwards compatibility for the original Game Boy, but its standalone grey cart release makes it eligible for this list and a fine entry it is, too.

7. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (GB)

The original Super Mario Land was a solid start for the series on Nintendo's Game Boy system, but nothing prepared us for what Nintendo R&D1 was able to do with this sequel. Every aspect of the game is improved to the point that it genuinely feels of a piece with its 8-bit, home console brethren, delivering a longer, more in-depth handheld Mario adventure. It's a bit on the easy side, but it remains one of the best Game Boy titles ever released and a testament to just how capable a system it was in the hands of talented devs.

If you're a Super Mario fan, you absolutely must play this game; if you're not, this legendary release is good enough to make you one.

6. Pokémon Red and Blue (GB)

While Pokémon Red & Blue are both vintage games with the occasional issue, they're still extremely engaging and involving titles in which to drown your free time.

The gameplay is simpler by modern standards, but there's still a wealth of intricacies and complexity to be explored if you want to train a team to pixel-powered perfection. If you were to drag everything about the game and dump it in a nice, shiny, new 3D engine, you'd be forgiven for thinking these were brand new games, and you can't say that about many Game Boy titles.

There are certain wrinkles that were ironed out in subsequent entries, but there’s a special charm to finding those first 151 Pocket Monsters. Let’s Go Pikachu and Eevee may have updated these games for the Switch generation, the depth of the originals still makes them compelling to play on original hardware. Just make sure you’ve got a mate and a link cable — you have to trap all of them!

Hang on, that’s not right.

5. Pokémon Yellow Version: Special Pikachu Edition (GB)

This enhanced version of the original games brought over elements from the incredibly popular anime, so Pikachu takes centre stage as your starter Pokémon – he follows you around outside his pokéball and can’t be traded or evolved.

The nurses and police officers around Kanto were substituted for Nurse Joys and Officer Jennys, some Pokémon locations and appearances were altered, and various sprites and world elements were reworked to better reflect the wider brand as it had been established since Red & Blue launched.

The western version of Pokémon Yellow got a minor palette enhancement which works well if you’re playing on a Game Boy Color, although this was not a full GBC game. The changes add an extra layer of charm (and the surfing Pikachu minigame is a lot of fun), but whichever version you pick up, the original Pokémon titles remain an enjoyable gaming experience.

Simple in appearance and lacking the bells and whistles of later games, they nevertheless engross from start to finish.

4. Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (GB)

With Wario Land, Nintendo completely reinvented its portable platformer and gave its greedy new character his own game, instead of merely plopping him down into the middle of another standard Super Mario Land presentation. Indeed, anybody who might have picked up this ‘sequel’ expecting something similar was in for a shock. A wealth of new gameplay features combined with a unique visual and musical style make this title stand on its own and it gives fans of the previous Mario Land releases a fresh spin on the series. If you want to experience some of the best platforming the Game Boy system has to offer, you needn't look any further.

3. Donkey Kong (GB)

It's exceedingly rare that the echo triumphs over the voice, but if we had to pick between playing arcade DK or the Game Boy port, there's really no choice. Donkey Kong on Game Boy — Donkey Kong '94 as it's often called — is far more than just a simple sequel or port. After finishing the first four levels, you might assume that's it, but with over 101 levels in total, there's a whole other game awaiting you. In fact, it laid the groundwork for spin-off series Mario vs. Donkey Kong's gameplay.

Adding a metric ton of new features while still managing to keep the ‘arcadey’ feel of the original, the visuals and music are outstanding and complement this impressively expanded take on an icon. It's up there with the Game Boy's finest, and another wonderful portable title featuring Mr. D. Kong.

2. Tetris (GB)

With few of the bells and whistles that would arrive later on, Game Boy Tetris is arguably the purest expression of the original block-falling idea. There have been countless ports of this addictive puzzler made available for just about every electronic device in existence, but the Game Boy version is arguably the most beloved and its clear visuals, responsive controls, and that theme tune make it easy to appreciate why.

The very deadliest of killer apps, no self-respecting Game Boy enthusiast should be without a copy.

1. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening (GB)

It would be difficult to argue against The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening being the pinnacle of gaming on the Game Boy. The developers were able to squeeze an extremely lengthy quest into the tiny package and push just about every facet of the handheld hardware to its limit.

Not only is Link's Awakening not the dumbed-down Zelda adventure many initially feared it would be, but it turned out to be one of the best entries in the series and one that is beloved among Zelda fans the world over. It laid the foundation for so many Zelda mechanics we still see today, introducing flying with Cuccos, trading sequences, playing songs on an ocarina, fishing, and even minibosses.

For such a tiny game, Link's Awakening created enormous shockwaves in the Zelda franchise that we're still feeling today. If you want to experience the very best that the portable system has to offer, do yourself a favour and get this (or the DX version for Game Boy Color with the extra dungeon that's handily available via Nintendo Switch Online) immediately. It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing and the best of the Game Boy Zelda games.

That wraps up our ranking of the best Game Boy games of all time!

Nintendo Game Boy FAQ

To finish things up we'll answer some of the most common questions our readers have about the Nintendo Game Boy.

Where can I buy Game Boy games in 2024?

If you’re looking to buy original Game Boy cartridges, your best bet is to check out online marketplaces like eBay or Facebook Marketplace.

Otherwise, you may find the occasional cartridge at a retail games store, but these are only becoming rarer to stumble across with time.

The other option is to check out a retro gaming convention, where you’re likely to find dedicated second-hand merchants.

What Game Boy games are on Switch?

At the time of publishing this article, the following Game Boy games were available on the Nintendo Switch, and via the Nintendo Online service.

Note that this list includes games released across all Game Boy consoles, not just the original Game Boy!

  • Tetris
  • Super Mario Land 2 - 6 Golden Coins
  • The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
  • Gargoyle's Quest
  • Game & Watch Gallery 3
  • Alone in the Dark - The New Nightmare
  • Metroid II - Return of Samus
  • Wario Land 3
  • Kirby's Dream Land
  • Kirby's Dream Land 2
  • BurgerTime Deluxe
  • Kirby Tilt 'n' Tumble
  • Blaster Master: Enemy Below
  • The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
  • The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
  • Pokémon Trading Card Game
  • Quest for Camelot
  • Castlevania Legends
  • Dr. Mario
  • Mario Golf
  • Mario Tennis
  • Super Mario Land
  • Alleyway
  • Baseball
  • Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge
  • Mega Man II
  • Mega Man III
  • Mega Man IV
  • Mega Man V

How do I play Game Boy games on Nintendo Switch?

If you want to play Game Boy games on Switch you’ll need to subscribe to the Nintendo Switch Online service.

See the question above for a list of all the Nintendo Switch Game Boy games that are currently available.

How can I add a game to this article?

Can't see your favourite on the list? Use the handy search bar below to find Game Boy games and input your own ratings.

Note. In order for games to become eligible, they need a minimum of 50 User Ratings in total. Don't forget that you can browse all Game Boy games in our massive database too.