Summary

• The Game Boy Color enhanced handheld gaming with everything from robust RPGs to ambitious platformers.
• Key titles like Survival Kids, Mario Tennis, and Dragon Warrior 3 helped to define the GBC era.
• The best GBC games don't feel like they're making system compromises, proving how capable the GBC was.

The Game Boy Color occupies an odd space in Nintendo's handheld history, but it managed to carve out a niche with plenty of great games that helped to push the market forward. As a revamped version of the Game Boy concept that added a color screen and improved internals, the Game Boy Color brought the handheld market closer to the home console experience and paved the way for the later leap that the Game Boy Advance made.

Some of the best titles on the Game Boy Color took games that had previously appeared on other systems and added new features, while others were completely original to the handheld. Many of the most impressive options pushed the boundaries for what kind of experiences could be shoved into a pocket, from robust RPGs to impressively fluid platformers that never felt held back by the hardware.

10 Survival Kids (1999)

A lot of the best games on the Game Boy Color are part of long-standing franchises, but Survival Kids is one that never acquired quite the same name recognition as most. As a non-linear adventure focused on basic survival, Survival Kids put the spotlight on crafting systems and maintaining statuses well before these elements were codified as a popular genre. The Lost in Blue games on the DS later followed up on its precedent, maintaining the Survival Kids name in Japan.

The original Survival Kids is light on plot, embracing a sandbox aspect that feels especially impressive in the context of the larger GBC market. It still features a variety of different endings, however, and despite the simple appearance of the core gameplay, learning how to succeed can be an interesting open-ended challenge.

9 Super Mario Bros. Deluxe (1999)

The original Super Mario Bros. might be the most important platformer of all time, defining the genre in a way that holds up decades later as a honed experience. If Super Mario Bros. Deluxe did nothing more than port this over to the Game Boy Color, though, it would still be hard to rank it as one of the system's best games. Luckily, Super Mario Bros. Deluxe did a lot more than that.

The biggest change lies in the addition of a world map and save system, meaning Super Mario Bros. was no longer a gauntlet that had to be cleared in one go and making it much more friendly for portable play. Extra modes and even awards that function like modern achievements sweeten the deal, more than making up for the fact that the screen wasn't able to display quite as much of any stage at once as the NES version could.

8 Shantae (2002)

Shantae's continued presence as a series has been a surprising modern success story, as the original GBC game was actually a financial disappointment. Releasing after the Game Boy Advance had already been on the market for a while, Shantae failed to attract attention despite being an engaging and attractive platformer. The game is perhaps most notable for pushing the artistic capability of the Game Boy Color to its limits, with beautifully detailed levels and fluid animations that could be mistaken for a GBA title at a glance.

Although Mario titles might be the most obvious choices for GBA platformers, Shantae stood out with ambitious exploration and a killer soundtrack. It's challenging and arguably unfair in a way that the newer titles aren't, but anyone willing to adjust to the increased difficulty will find it to be ultimately rewarding.

7 Mario Tennis (2000)

Releasing only a matter of months after the Nintendo 64 game of the same name, it's easy to imagine that the GBC Mario Tennis would be less impressive than its console counterpart. Surprisingly, the handheld option stands toe-to-toe with the N64 version, leaning into its own strengths despite the system limitations. The big draw is the inclusion of the Mario Tour story mode, which made things interesting even for those who didn't care much about the sport itself.

With a surprising dose of role-playing elements, Mario Tour is one example of the Game Boy Color's ambitious attempts toward an RPG library. The tennis games themselves are satisfying to play, of course, solidifying things as a great package that might even out-compete the similarly impressive Mario Golf for the GBC.

6 Wario Land 3 (2000)

Mario certainly had a presence on the Game Boy and Game Boy Color, but he certainly didn't have any kind of monopoly. More than any other time in Nintendo's history, Mario was forced to share the spotlight with Wario, who stood out with a series of Wario Land titles that took their own unique approach to platforming. The recent success of the Wario Land-inspired Pizza Tower proves that those games have had staying power, even as Nintendo has seemingly moved on from the franchise.

The most impressive of the original trilogy is Wario Land 3, which moved the series into a more thoroughly realized Metroidvania concept full of hidden secrets, interesting puzzles, and memorable boss fights. If Super Mario Bros. Deluxe feels familiar, Wario Land 3 has the capability to still come across as fresh today, and it's likely to maintain its timeless status for decades to come.

5 Metal Gear Solid (2000)

If any entry in the Metal Gear Solid series goes too often under-appreciated, it's the GBC game. Subtitled Ghost Babel in Japan, it's a fascinating mixture of a style that recalls the pre-Solid games with the story and features to match its contemporaries. Despite not being directed by franchise auteur Hideo Kojima, it never feels like a pale imitation, striking out on its own rather than replaying the beats of the PlayStation entry.

As an entry to the series, Metal Gear Solid for the GBC can be surprisingly unforgiving, with a mature narrative and difficulty that's sometimes more intense than what the home console games have to offer. It's definitely worth checking out as an alternate evolution of the classic Metal Gear titles, however, and anyone particularly into the franchise should put it high on their priority list.

4 The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages (2001)

For a brief period in the early 2000s, handheld The Legend of Zelda games were being handled by Capcom, and Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages proved that the company had the chops. Following a Pokémon-style split release, the games individually leaned into the most attractive elements of the Zelda series. Oracle of Seasons focused on the action gameplay that makes the franchise exciting, while Oracle of Ages honed in on brain-teasing puzzles.

The Oracle games might not have received as much attention as some other Zelda classics in recent years, but they can hold their own against the best that the series has to offer. Well-designed dungeons and interesting gimmicks make them more than just able entries, and the radically different experience that each offers means that both Oracle games are worth playing for any dedicated fan.

3 Dragon Warrior 3 (2001)

The Dragon Quest series, once known as Dragon Warrior in North America, has long stood as one of the most consistent and engaging RPG franchises to come out of Japan. Dragon Warrior 3 is a particularly impressive entry, ending the original trilogy of games with a bang by adding and refining features from job systems to exploration. The game is even better on the Game Boy Color than in its original form on the NES, and it might even outdo the more graphically impressive Japan-exclusive SNES version.

It would have been easy for the GBC Dragon Warrior 3 to rest on its laurels, but it kept adding content to a game that was already overstuffed. Dragon Warrior 3 is now getting yet another release in the form of the Dragon Quest 3 HD-2D Remake, but even with a shiny new alternative, Dragon Warrior 3 should remain a great way to experience the classic.

2 Pokémon Gold/Silver/Crystal (2000 & 2001)

The Game Boy Color was perfectly poised to deliver some smash hits in the Pokémon series, and Nintendo and Game Freak certainly didn't waste that opportunity. Pokémon Gold and Silver followed up on the momentum of the first generation by expanding the games in ways that just made sense, adding a ton of new Pokémon and locations while making plenty of quality-of-life improvements.

Although the series has continued to expand and iterate, the GBC titles still have unique charms that a lot of later entries fail to recapture, making them some of the best to play today. Crystal is the arguable peak, further refining the formula of Gold and Silver with animated sprites, added subplots, the option to play a female player, and more.

1 The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX (1998)

The Oracle games were impressive handheld iterations for The Legend of Zelda, but it's hard to manage anything as impressive as the franchise's original handheld debut. The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening took the series in a bold new direction, abandoning series staples like Hyrule, Princess Zelda, and the Triforce. Instead, it leans into the weird atmosphere of an unfamiliar island, tossing Link into a truly strange journey.

The Game Boy Color might not seem like the first place to turn to for emotionally evocative experiences, but Link's Awakening delivers just that, suffused with rich melancholy and characters that can make strong impressions with minor interactions. Challenging puzzles and interesting dungeons bring the whole package together, making The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening a Nintendo Game Boy Color title like no other.