For our next dive into the retro games available on Switch, we’re going all the way back to 1989. Er, and then to 1998. We’re heading back to the old monochrome beast and its colorful successor: the Game Boy and Game Boy Color. While there is a robust selection of games from these handhelds in the Nintendo Switch Online app, we’re instead looking at those games that dare to exist in the wilds of the Switch eShop. We’ve got ten of our favorites here, plus five more games that we’d like to see. No particular order, of course. Time to Play It Loud!
Shantae ($9.99)
Once a genuine scarcity that would cost you hundreds of dollars to get your hands on in any legal capacity, Shantae is now quite readily available in digital form. This game is considerably rougher than its sequels, but it pushes the Game Boy Color hardware in a lot of interesting ways, providing a platformer with a bit more to it than the average Game Boy hop-and-bop. Wow, I haven’t seen the term “hop-and-bop" in something like twenty-five years. Well, there you go. Shantae: it’s pretty good fun.
Trip World DX ($19.99)
Here’s another game that would have cost you a pretty penny to play officially until very recently. Trip World is an interesting platformer from Sunsoft that offers up a short but sweet experience. This release of the game does a full-on colorization job while also including a number of extras to dig into. It’s an excellent way to play this quirky, charming tale.
Final Fantasy Legend II – Collection of SaGa Final Fantasy Legend ($19.99)
Time to wade into the compilations, and we’ll start with one that is all Game Boy games: Collection of SaGa. You get all three games in the Final Fantasy Legend series here, and they’re all really good handheld RPGs. I’m picking out Final Fantasy Legend II to highlight here, simply because I think it’s the best of the three. It has plenty of the weird mechanics that make SaGa games so interesting, but feels more well-rounded and approachable than the first game. Probably the best turn-based RPG on the system pre-Pokemon.
Final Fantasy Adventure – Collection of Mana ($39.99)
Going hand in hand with the Final Fantasy Legend games, Final Fantasy Adventure is the game that kicked off the long-running Mana series. As such, you’ll find it in the Collection of Mana with the two Super NES follow-ups. Again, all games worth playing. This action-RPG provided an excellent alternative to the superb Link’s Awakening on the system, with a snappy pace and some surprisingly ambitious storytelling. It’s been remade a couple of times, but there’s nothing quite like the original.
TMNT III: Radical Rescue – TMNT: The Cowabunga Collection ($39.99)
Konami did some great Game Boy games, and it has made a handful of them available through its various collections. The Cowabunga Collection has all three of its original Game Boy TMNT games included, and I think they all have their merits. The open-ended, pseudo-Metroidvania TMNT III: Radical Rescue is the pick of the bunch, though. Plenty of action as you would expect, but the additional layers from exploring the world, rescuing your brothers, and finding all the upgrades makes this one you can really sink your teeth into.
Operation C – Contra Anniversary Collection ($19.99)
After the somewhat tepid attempt to bring Castlevania to the Game Boy via Castlevania: The Adventure, one would be forgiven for thinking there was little hope the tense run-and-gun action of Contra would survive the transition. Surprisingly, Operation C turned out to be really awesome. Sure, you can’t play with another player. Strictly a solo affair. But it’s fast, fun, and challenging in the way you want a Contra game to be. Perhaps there was hope for Konami action-platformers on the handheld after all!
Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge – Castlevania Anniversary Collection ($19.99)
How’s that for foreshadowing? Yes, after mostly biffing the first Game Boy Castlevania game, Konami turned things around in a big way with Belmont’s Revenge. This is an excellent Castlevania game, one that easily hangs with the home console entries even if it can’t quite surpass them. Given it was sandwiched by some less-than-great games, it’s possible many players skipped out on this one thinking it would be the same. If you haven’t played it yet, here’s a handy way to do that.
Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great World Adventure – Ninja JaJaMaru: Retro Collection ($14.99)
Ninja JaJaMaru: The Great World Adventure isn’t the best game in this bunch by any means, but I think it’s an important representation of some of the more off-beat titles that filled out the library around the releases from huge publishers. Some proper work was put into this reissue, too. It has a new localization and has been colorized, giving a nice spit-shine to a game that might not have topped anyone’s lists for such an effort. While The Great World Adventure is the only Game Boy game in the lot, this collection is an interesting one to poke at in general.
Xtreme Sports ($9.99)
WayForward’s most famous wholly-original property on the Game Boy Color is obviously Shantae, but Xtreme Sports is no slouch either. Essentially a collection of sports mini-games tied together with an open world, Xtreme Sports is a lot better than it has any right to be. The graphics are good, the gameplay is great for pick-up-and-play grazing, and those looking to completely finish everything will find a stiff challenge ahead of them.
The Rescue of Princess Blobette – A Boy and His Blob Retro Collection ($9.99)
Another game that is here more for its unique feel than anything, The Rescue of Princess Blobette brings the home computer-esque puzzle-adventure gameplay of the NES original to the small screen quite well. In some ways it’s a more polished game than its predecessor, delivered in a more compact and well-paced form. If you like games that take some figuring out due to occasional bits of opacity, you’ll love this one.
And… 5 Game Boy and Game Boy Color Games We’d Like to See on Switch
Batman: The Video Game
Yes, it’s kind of weird that Batman is using a gun the whole way through this early Game Boy action game. But it’s also weird that Keaton’s Batman gleefully murders bad guys, so let’s just call it a sign of the times. The important thing is that this is another really great Sunsoft Batman game, and while I know the odds of any of these movie-based Batman games ever resurfacing are next to nil, I will never stop asking.
Pokemon Gold/Silver/Crystal
I’m generally avoiding games that I think might show up on Nintendo Switch Online at some point, which means most first-party Nintendo stuff is out. I really hope I’m wrong about this, but something tells me that while the Pokemon spin-offs will probably keep appearing in the subscription service, the mainline games won’t. Thus, I formally request the ability to purchase and play these fine Game Boy RPGs on my Switch.
Gradius: The Interstellar Assault
I waffled between including this or the excellent R-Type DX, but ultimately we have R-Type Dimensions on Switch to scratch that itch, whereas Gradius: The Interstellar Assault only exists in Game Boy form. For a platform whose display should have made it terrible for shooting games, the Game Boy had a good handful of excellent ones. This was Konami’s second kick at the Gradius can on the platform, and while that first one was fine this one really kicked things into gear. Honestly, I just kind of want a Gradius collection in the vein of Konami’s Contra, Castlevania, and TMNT ones. If that happens, this game ought to be in there.
Metal Gear Solid
Lots of Konami in this article, I’m coming to realize. Anyway, this is arguably the best third-party Game Boy Color exclusive. Just about everything that was great about the PlayStation Metal Gear Solid was somehow squeezed into this completely original adventure. This game completely blew me away at the time thanks to that fidelity, and it still impresses me today. Yes, much of the template was laid down in the MSX2 Metal Gear 2, but it’s cool to see something like this on a Game Boy Color. Maybe this will show up in the next Metal Gear collection?
Dragon Warrior Monsters
Pokemon spawned a lot of imitators, but to be fair to Dragon Quest it had monster-catching elements in the main games before Pokemon arrived. So, you know. We forgive you, King. Dragon Warrior Monsters is one of the better Game Boy games inspired by Pokemon‘s success, and I think it would be terrific to see it available on Switch. And you know what? It is available on Switch, but only in Japan. Come on, Square Enix. Just drop the Western ROM in the wrapper and help some Dragon Quest fans out!
And that’s the list, friends. Are there any Game Boy or Game Boy Color games you enjoy on the Switch? Any you would like to see? Feel free to sound off down in the comments and let us know what you’re thinking! It’s always interesting to hear the opinions of others on this kind of thing. As always, thanks for reading!
