Indestructible and universal, the Game Boy made gaming portable with monuments: Tetris, Pokémon Red/Blue, Zelda Link's Awakening, Super Mario Land. This Top 50 gathers the best of Nintendo's handheld, re-tested and re-ranked by RomWize, each title with its re-evaluated score, its versions, their rarity and their collector value.
"Nintendo's Picross sequel (after Mario's Picross). 200+ grids, no-time-limit mode, smoother marking. More generous and accessible than the first, perfectly tuned curve. Still a top Game Boy puzzler, ideal for nonogram purists. Essential if you loved the first."
"Nintendo's Game Boy Kid Icarus sequel. Pit travels through underground dungeons and aerial levels, with a surprisingly open structure. Less absurd than the NES original, more playable. The curve stays demanding, but the journey is worth it. A real Game Boy masterpiece unjustly obscure, essential."
"Not a Tetris but Panel de Pon dressed as Yoshi for the West. Horizontal block swaps, color chains, link-cable versus mode. More addictive than Tetris in competitive play, mechanics of rare elegance. Excellent Game Boy puzzler, essential for competitive-puzzle fans."
"Game Boy Mega Man III. Robot Masters mixed from NES 5 and 6, even more mature level design. The franchise settles on handheld, combat sharper. A good portable Mega Man, already very solid, with the Mega Man V peak on the way. Chain it without hesitation through IV then V."
"A more accessible, more structured SaGa III than the previous two. Time travel to stop the Purge, a more classic class system with meat ingestion to evolve. Less free than SaGa II but more readable. A good portable JRPG to chain after the first two SaGas."
"Capcom's Game Boy DuckTales. Scrooge McDuck pogos with his cane across five non-linear levels (Amazon, Transylvania, Moon, Himalaya, Africa). The pogo-stick is genius, the music legendary (Moon Theme!). Short but absolutely elegant. Capcom at its peak, essential on Game Boy."
"Compile's Puyo Puyo on Game Boy. Color Puyo chains, Madou Monogatari opponents, link-cable versus mode. More austere than Puyo Puyo Tsuu, but the first true portable Puyo and it works perfectly in monochrome. Excellent competitive puzzle for Game Boy."
"First Nintendo Game & Watch Gallery in color. Modern Mario-themed versions plus faithful black-and-white classics. Ball, Manhole, Vermin and Octopus recover their minimalist magic. Ideal for a nostalgia evening, perfect Game Boy format. An obvious buy for arcade-Nintendo fans."
"First Square SaGa on Game Boy, and the first true portable RPG worth its name. A mythical tower to climb, choice between humans, monsters and robots with distinct evolution systems. Bold for 1990, sometimes rough (robots swap weapons every fight), but striking. A JRPG pioneer on Game Boy."
"Game Boy R-Type sequel. R-9C, new levels, beefier bosses. More generous than the first, but the engine barely holds. Pleasant for Irem fans, nothing more. The shooter stays demanding, perfect if you accept the sometimes confusing monochrome read. Minor in the R-Type branch."
