Best Gameboy/ GB Color games?

[Obiwanshinobi]

With GB ports/remakes/spin-offs, if they are any good, simply being playable on GBA is the selling point for me. Particulary games 8-bit at heart so to speak. With the likes of Super Arabian or Ikki (Memorial Series SunSoft Vol. 1), I felt I'd liked them better if played on my GBA in the PS2's stead.

Don't Blades of Steel or F-1 Spirit (a.k.a World Circuit Series/The Spirit of F-1/Konami Racing) ring any bell?

[WelshMegalodon]

(I considered posting this in the Sidescrolling Action thread but felt it didn't quite fit there.)

Is kitten the only person on the Internet to bring up scoring in Trip World? Aside from defeating bosses, the game awards points for two things: crossing crumbling bridges and immobilizing enemies (and bosses) with the flower power-up. I was hoping that the ending cutscene would shed some light on what the flower power-up actually means, but it, well... doesn't, really.

If Trip World does indeed have a focus on learning to care for the denizens of the game world, rather than aiming to defeat them, then kitten appears to be the only one to know so. Just about every other review out there ignores this in favor of dismissing the game as being short and easy, even claiming it lacks Gimmick!'s nuances and secrets when its AI behaviour and handful of hidden areas suggest the opposite.

[mvsfan]

Links awakening DX. It does everything the original links awakening does - But its in color.

[Blinge]

Special mention goes to the Konami Collection version of The Castlevania Adventure on GBC.
Dat stage 3 colour scheme: A wall of uninterrupted bright YELLOW hahah.
Absolutely horrible.

[copy-paster]

Dat stage 3 colour scheme: A wall of uninterrupted bright YELLOW hahah.
Absolutely horrible.

Don't forget about atrocious autoscrolling and the ropes, yeah those goddamn ropes. Seriously this game almost near unplayable without this patch applied.

Back to topic, yeah get all the EU version Konami GB Collection. It has everything, even the excellent Nemesis II and Castlevania: Belmont's Revenge. Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, Tetris DX, Pac-Man Special Edition, and SMB Deluxe are also worth owning too.

[Turrican]

Dat stage 3 colour scheme: A wall of uninterrupted bright YELLOW hahah.
Absolutely horrible.

Don't forget about atrocious autoscrolling and the ropes, yeah those goddamn ropes. Seriously this game almost near unplayable without this patch applied.

Back to topic, yeah get all the EU version Konami GB Collection. It has everything, even the excellent Nemesis II and Castlevania: Belmont's Revenge. Metal Gear: Ghost Babel, Tetris DX, Pac-Man Special Edition, and SMB Deluxe are also worth owning too.

I finished Adventure on monochrome GB... (actually it must have been a GB pocket)... It needs some laboring in the final stage, but it's doable. No patch required.

[BIL]

It was the Holy Diver Syndrome that finally killed Dracula Densetsu for me. This is the tragic affliction where dpad state changes will eat A/B inputs occurring simultaneously. I was thiiis close to nabbing a nice CIB, last summer, but upon realising the damn thing was not only crushingly slow, but also eating my inputs if I didn't allow it even more time to catch up - Mr. Camel's long-suffering backbone was busted clean the fuck in half, despite the likeably intense action/platforming and superb OST.

I looped it many a time back in the day on ol' brick GB. Far from unplayable but most definitely safely skippable.

[Imhotep]

some I've played recently:


Ghostbusters II (GB, HAL 1990)

Top-down view arcadey action game with a unique mechanic where you control two sprites at once. The first, directly controlled buster can stun ghosts with the beam weapon to set them up for the trap of the second player following closely behind and that will position itself automatically when a ghost is being stunned. Both men have their own hp and if any one runs low, the game's over.
All ghosts have to be captured to finish a level. Captured ghosts will trigger the appearance of new ghosts, sometimes in remote places, the resulting ghost search can get tedious. The game puts up a decent challenge, though there's very little dodging involved, it's mostly about reacting to appearing ghosts and handling two hitboxes at the same time. The presentation is really nice overall. There's also a second loop that increases the difficulty greatly by planting a lot more ghosts in the same level and keeping the time limit.
6.5/10


Power Quest (GBC, Japan System Supply 1998)

Released as Gekitou Power Modeler on plain GB in Japan. Vs-Fighter with elaborate, modern feeling mechanics including juggle combos, air throws and super moves. Thematically it's a bit less interesting, with five available fighters being RC robots controlled mostly by kids, which allows on the other hand for a grind-heavy 1P-mode where you face the same bunch of opponents over and over again to earn money for upgrades. Story events and good game mechanics and enemy AI keep things fresh long enough.
7/10


Rubble Saver II (GB, A-Wave 1992)

Sidescrolling gravity action game with a vertical hook mechanic. A boy in a small mech suit has to clear earth's seven space colonies from intruders. Aside from jumping and shooting, a hook can be used to leap to platforms above the sprite. Holding down the shooting button results in faster movement. The mechanics are the highlight of the game and the level design does a decent job stimulating their use, though there's still a lot of unused potential. The weakest point might be the unengaging soundtrack.
The game uses a separate counter to punish pitfalls, which balanced things out nicely. The game's definitely on the easy side, though, I've cleared it on my first try without using continues (if there are any), but felt motivated to play through it again right away. Definitely a nice and fast game to clock every now and then.
7/10

[BryanM]

Yeah, Donkey Kong GB is a great example of expanding an old game on re-release. Pity they never did something as massive as that again.

Those NES re-releases of stuff like Super Mario Brothers 1 on the GBA, with nothing added, for like $40 was criminal.

Both men have their own hp and if any one runs low, the game's over.

Hp? Partner can get hurt?

Weird, I always thought it was just a port of the NES version.

[BrianC]

Yeah, Donkey Kong GB is a great example of expanding an old game on re-release. Pity they never did something as massive as that again.

Those NES re-releases of stuff like Super Mario Brothers 1 on the GBA, with nothing added, for like $40 was criminal.

Both men have their own hp and if any one runs low, the game's over.

Hp? Partner can get hurt?

Weird, I always thought it was just a port of the NES version.

The GBA Classic NES releases were 20 dollars, not 40 (which was still a bit much since it lacked the presentation of the Famicom Mini series and matched the JP price point instead of being cheaper). Ghostbusters II on GB is similar to the NES/FC New Ghostbusters II, but it's not the same game.

[Sumez]

I've only played the NES/FC version of the game, thought it was really well designed and one of the best parts is exactly that the partner is simply an AI that can't get damaged. It feels like it would be a horrible game if he could, but maybe it's fun I guess? Does anyone know if it's possible to play a similar "second loop" in the NES or Famicom game? It's a really nice game, but it's a bit too easy once you get it down.

[BrianC]

Too bad the US release of New Ghostbusters II fell through. There is a prototype that seems to be complete and near identical to the JP version.

[Mars]

I know this is probably a very generic answer, but Pokemon was honestly my jam.

Late night during road trips as a kid with the street lights illuminating my gameboy, it was always fun to replay those games to me.

[Sumez]

Too bad the US release of New Ghostbusters II fell through. There is a prototype that seems to be complete and near identical to the JP version.

The game is completely in English, and there's absolutely no ingame text. You can get the Japanese release without much worry.

[BrianC]

Too bad the US release of New Ghostbusters II fell through. There is a prototype that seems to be complete and near identical to the JP version.

The game is completely in English, and there's absolutely no ingame text. You can get the Japanese release without much worry.

I know. I was just saying that it was very close to having a US release. I also have a cart that can play both the US proto (though there is no real reason to play this over the JP version) and the original JP version.

[harborline765]

Just picked up Nemesis 2 based on this old review on this very forum here: viewtopic.php?p=260787#p260787

Looking forward to it!

Does anyone have any other recommendations for titles from Japan which are innovative in some way? I've got my eyes on Ponkotsu Tank from HAL Laboratory.

[Hoagtech]

Top 5 gb:

Zelda LA

Metroid 2

Warioland

Kirby’s Dreamland 2

Megaman V

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Top 5 GBC:

Zelda Ages

Metal Gear Solid

Grand Theft Auto

Pokémon Gold

Dragon Quest 1 & 2