RFGen's Top 20 Game Boy games

Forgot about this:

1 - Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening - I think this was the second GB game I ever purchased, and my first thought was, "How did they fit this game into this little cartridge?" Indeed. This "little" game exudes charm, from the mystery of the owl to the personality of Ulrira (who offers helpful advice, but only if you call him on a telephone), and in my opinion was one of the first GB games to really make the platform sing. It does have its flaws (too much menuing, I think), but it would become my personal favorite Zelda game until Wind Waker came along, even though I was unable to finish at the time (until I played the VC DX version on my 2DS).

2 - Super Mario Land 2 - So right off the bat I would like to say that the music for Land 1 is better, but if you love Super Mario World and need something portable that is akin to that experience, you can do no better than Super Mario Land 2.

3 - Final Fantasy Legend III - This was the first Final Fantasy game I played on the system, and my personal fav. At the time is was just what I needed, that being a traditional feeling JRPG with a twist (the addition of characters that could be customized using monster meat or robot parts), and also had a strong Chrono Trigger feeling at some points. I tried going back to the two previous Legend games and found them inferior, containing weapons with limited use and a strange leveling system that I just couldn't get into. Legend III is the most mainstream of the series (and thus, the least creative), but the one that feels the most polished, in my opinion.

4 - Pokemon Yellow - I played GB games before this on a Super Game Boy, but this was the first on the console I played on the platform. Okay, I played in on the GBC I bought with it, but it counts! Anyway, for me this bypassed the whole "who should I pick" thing in the other games and gave me what I wanted: Pikachu, to whom I was very entertained with at that point in my life. I don't remember how long I played it, but the memories of playing this during breaks on the assembly line of Ford is so strong I have to include it. My favorite Pokemon game until Gold came out and the franchise fizzed for me (and I guess by proxy my second favorite Pokemon game). All hail Pikachu!

5 - Kid Icarus - In my opinion, this is a much better game than the NES original in nearly every way, and probably one of the better games on the early handheld, at least in my opinion. It still retains the feel of the original, (with it's obtuse point life-leveling system) but eliminates deaths due to vertical screen scrolling, add more precision to the platforming, and allows for multiple items purchased in stores. Oh, and this game has a SAVE, for goodness sakes! About the only thing it doesn't have is a prettier game manual.

6 - Gargoyle's Quest - Yet another game I somehow missed out on, despite knowing of it's existence, as well as the NES and SNES sequels. But I have finally played it, and I have highly enjoyed playing through Gargoyle's Quest, even more so than Demon's Crest on SNES.

7 - Heiankyo Alien - I happened upon an advertisement for this game way back in the early 90's and it stuck with me, so much so that when I found it in the twilight days of Funcoland I picked it up. A fun little arcade maze-style game where you must trap and bury aliens. Not much to it, but man it keeps me coming back.

8 - Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 - I know we aren't supposed to do multiple franchise in the top list, but this game deserves to be here. First of all the game has such as different feel than the others, that I agree with certain Youtube personalities that "Super Mario land 3" was tacked on to hopefully boost sales. But Wario Land is just so crazy and fun, though if you want a good ending you will have to play this game at a near plodding pace as you gather every gold piece you can find.

9 - Metroid II: Return of Samus - Up until a few months ago I treated this game with utter contempt. I knew of it from days of old, but found the linear progression and harsh twanging sound effects intelerable. This doubled with I played through the 3DS remake in 2017, even though I found the reversable case cover on the Limited Edition quaint (which showed the GB original). Then one day on a lark I found myself watching a "Famicoffee Stream" of the game by Jeremy Parish and finally gave it a chance. Glad I did, as it is a unique title on the platform, and while I still don't like the sound or zoomed in look, I have to at least say I did and do enjoy this game.

10 - Ducktales - I missed out on the NES Top 20 list due to issues, so because of that I am including Ducktales, which as far as I know is a perfect port (sans colors) of the original NES game. I might be wrong on that (probably am), but I haven't played it in a while and cannot remember. What I can remember is that Ducktales on GB is a ton of fun, and one that, had I owned an original GB back in the day, would have been proud to own.

11 - Operation C - I found this game to have a very strong "Super C" vibe, which is good because I like Super C. Operation has basically eveything one would look for in a Contra game, and because of this must have been a welcome addition to the GB library upon release. Fun bosses and great stage design.

12 - Kid Dracula - Kid Dracula on GB is another one of those wonderful games I never knew existed, and probably wouldn't have played back in the day due to being a teenager. Bummer, because this game is very good, and despite its "kiddie" look quite challenging. An easy recommendation.

13 - Burai Fighter Deluxe - Avoided the NES original because I pegged it for a poor imitation of Forgotten Worlds (probably with a snarky "How can you get the movement right without the rotary," comment, probably while pushing my glasses up my nose or something), but now I am putting the handheld port onto my top twenty list, because it is fun. The controls work surprisingly well and I feel the only slight that could be made against it would be the overall speed of the game, which is a little sluggish.

14 - Avenging Spirit - Fun action platformer where you play a spirit that jumps from creature to creature. The manual says there are more than twenty in total, each with their own abilities, ranging from a martial artist that throws energy waves to a laughing, fanged Dracula-type character that throws bats. Very easy to pick up with a lot of variety, but gets challenging quickly.

15 - Bonk's Adventure - Bonk on the Game Boy, which is a great thing unless you don't like Bonk. Or maybe you had a Turbo Express and were mean about it. Not awesome, because due to necessity this is not, despite the naming, Bonk's Adventure. Still, they managed to make it quite fun, with a large amount of the sound effects and minor tunes being excellent facsimiles of the Turbografx tunes.

16 - Fortified Zone - A simple, yet fun little overhead shooter, which is really what you need on a handheld system with no sleep function. You basically just wander around a maze shooting at respawning enemies, collect items, and fight bosses. I think the only people who would have not liked this back in the day were the folks that wanted deeper games on their GB. Apparently there are sequels, one of which was released to the West on SNES. Anyway, I would love to see a modern remake of this game.

17 - Solomon's Club - Not just a port, but rather a improved game with a lot of new features. I really like the NES original, and I love this game despite the fact I cannot finish it. A true portable title, while it lacks a battery save, it does have a password feature along with the ability to pick individual levels to play.

18 - Final Fantasy Adventure - While I first played this it didn't appeal to me at all, which makes sense because at the time I just wanted another game exactly like my beloved SNES experiences. Years later I picked up the Sunsoft rerelease used to play on a long flight and I was not disappointed this time. It's not a huge or deep game in anyway, but for a 1991 Zelda-like experience it is quite fun and still playable.

19 - Tetris - Come on, this is Tetris! So not the first port I played, but since it is portable and thus playable anywhere (within reason) it belongs in this list. When the original GB came out I wanted nothing to do with it, with it's weird ghosting green screen and foreign feeling Mario, but Tetris was something I could understand, if not enough to take money away from my "Super Nintendo" fund.

20 - Boomers Adventure in ASMIK World - Proof that advertising works (though maybe not always in the way the advertisers want), I kept this game in the back of my head for decades, until one day I get the opportunity to do a GB top twenty list and I think, "Oh, I remember Boomer and that advertisement back in the day, that's got to be good, right?" Despite never having played it until now, I can say this game was worth the wait. Reminds me heavily of Heiankyo Alien in how you fight enemies, but the stages are larger and the enemies can also dig holes as well as fill them in. Despite that, not nearly as fun as Heiankyo Alien.