The best Game Boy games ever created may have never seen the light of day, had Nintendo not nearly single-handedly resurrected the video game industry from the grave following the industry crash as a result of third-party developers rushing poorly created games onto the market for the Atari systems. Fortunately for mobile gamers worldwide, Nintendo not only survived its courageous entry into the home console gaming realm, but even thrived, producing quality consoles and games for decades to come.
Among these systems for video gamers to enjoy was the popular Game Boy system, Nintendo’s answer to the demand for gaming on the go that people could play while they travel, or otherwise away from their Nintendo Entertainment System. Although in hindsight the two-color, bulky, battery-munching monstrosity is a laughably underpowered machine, it spawned some truly classic cartridges that a generation had the pleasure of enjoying, as the best Game Boy games ever created.
Pokemon
Although many may later have forgotten, the wildly widespread Pokemon phenomenon began in Japan as a pair of video game cartridges released for the Game Boy system: Pocket Monsters Red and Pocket Monsters Blue. It came in two versions, and a player had to either own both or link up with a friend who had the other in order to collect the 150 little collectible monsters that battled each other. Even the single-player mode featured an incredibly engrossing role-playing quest that offered players a remarkably rich gameplay experiences and dozens upon dozens of hours of fulfilling gameplay. Over a dozen years later, on later generations of Game Boy versions, Pokemon games would still be being created for entirely new fans of the die-hard series.
Game Boy Camera
Although largely unappreciated in its time, the Game Boy Camera was released years before cell phone cameras became popular. In fact, the Game Boy Camera at one time held the world record for smallest camera. It was quite a feat at the time, having stuck a fully functional monochromatic camera. Packed with moderately powerful editing tools and photo-affected minigames, the Game Boy Camera was a notably innovative entry into the Nintendo legacy.
Tetris
Once named by Nintendo Power as the number one Nintendo game of all time (out of 100), Tetris was actually a Russian import for the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System home video game console. However, the true genius behind this addictive puzzle game would be found in how well it translated to a portable version, and how its simple, pick-up-and-play gameplay style would work on a mobile level. Now, millions of players could just fire up their Game Boy and play some quick Tetris while they were waiting in line, bored at a family gathering, sitting at the airport, sneakily playing in school, or countless other situations. As it turns out, Tetris fit a niche that desired the perfect game to make portable and playable anywhere.
Although such lists can be endlessly debated and argued, in the case of the best Game Boy games ever created, these are surely a few of the top-notch entries, by virtue of their popularity and genuinely fantastic gameplay quality.
