5 Most Underrated Game Boy Games Ever

The Nintendo Game Boy is easily one of the most successful handheld video game consoles ever made, and it featured a ton of games. The original Game Boy and the Game Boy Color had libraries totaling nearly 2,000 titles, many of which were excellent. There were plenty of duds, of course, and many that players never got a chance to play. This happened for various reasons, and by the time the systems’ lives ended, many underrated Game Boy games had gone largely unplayed. We looked through the lot, found five that every player should have played at least once, and arranged them in no particular order.

1) Revenge of the ‘Gator

Revenge of the ‘Gator is a pinball game released in 1989, which pits the player against an alligator. Gameplay involves playing pinball to score as many points as possible without having the ball eaten by a gator. The game featured several modes, including multiplayer via the Game Link Cable, and it’s a fun video pinball game. Revenge of the ‘Gator was well-received by critics upon release, but it wasn’t a big seller, likely because video pinball games never amassed much fanfare despite being well-made and entertaining. In the years since it came out, Revenge of the ‘Gator has been re-released and improved, but it was largely overlooked on the Game Boy.

2) Gargoyle’s Quest

Gargoyle’s Quest is a spin-off of Ghosts ‘n Goblins that was released on the Game Boy in 1990. The action-adventure platformer focuses on Firebrand as its playable character, whom the player must guide through a world map and various levels to fight mobs and bosses and engage in random encounters. It’s a classic platformer with depth and plenty of entertaining places to explore, earning significant praise upon release and in retrospect. Gargoyle’s Quest was successful enough to spawn a prequel, though it was released on the Nintendo Entertainment System two years later, with a Game Boy port only coming in Japan.

3) Kid Dracula

The first Kid Dracula game was released on the Super Famicom in Japan in 1990, and in 1993, a sequel of the same name arrived on the Game Boy. It’s a spinoff of Castlevania that sees the player control Kid Dracula, who no longer remembers his powers, as another evil being tries to take over his castle. Gameplay involves platforming across eight levels, acquiring new abilities as Kid Dracula recalls his memories to defeat his nemesis. The game was a huge hit but produced in small numbers, so it’s pretty collectible these days, with loose copies going for around $200, while Price Charting lists high-graded copies selling for over $20,400.

4) Donkey Kong

Believe it or not, Donkey Kong, which was Nintendo’s first hit game, was underrated on the Game Boy. This could have been simply because players didn’t want to play the game they’d been exposed to, but they missed out because Donkey Kong on the Game Boy was so much more than its arcade predecessor. The first four levels are exactly like the arcade game, but after you beat those, the game unfolds into 97 additional, wholly original levels. It’s a brilliant remake that was woefully underrated and was developed by the OG creator, Shigeru Miyamoto, who’d avoided the franchise for a decade following the failure of Donkey Kong 3 in 1983.

5) Metal Gear: Ghost Babel

When development began, Metal Gear: Ghost Babel was intended to be a Game Boy Color port of Metal Gear Solid, a lofty goal. Instead of that Herculean task, the devs refocused on creating an alternate-reality sequel to the OG Metal Gear on the NES, resulting in a classic top-down 8-bit stealth game that’s one of the best handheld Metal Gear games ever made. Metal Gear: Ghost Babel was a critical hit that was surprisingly underrated by players at the time of its 2000 release, likely due to a greater focus on games like Pokémon Gold and Silver.

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