While the gameplay is a little on the simple side, the graphics are extremely detailed for the black and green Game Boy. Those different forms are necessary to traverse the game’s five large worlds and eventually track down the flower of peace. In this sidescroller, you play as Yakopoo, a rabbit-like creature who can also change forms to fly or swim. Trip World was only released in Japan and Europe in the early ‘90s, but its reputation has only increased over the years, making it well worth the effort to import (or find other methods of playing it).
Released at the tail end of the Game Boy’s ridiculously long lifespan, Shantae didn’t exactly light up sales charts at release despite great reviews, but thankfully WayForward’s dedication to the series has kept it going. The graphics are less detailed than the more recent Shantae games, channeling the best of the NES era, but the awesome platforming, hair-whipping gameplay is still here in all of its glory. Most gamers are familiar with the Shantae series at this point, but not a lot of people remember that it actually got its start on the Game Boy Color. That game didn’t exactly set the world on fire though, so the series seems to be dead at this point. While there have been eight games released in the Hammerin Harry series, this was actually the last one to make it to North American until 2008, when Hammerin’ Hero was released on the PSP. It’s basically the best version of a series that was abandoned far too soon.
The Game Boy version also throws in zombies and ghosts for some reason, plus some side-scrolling shooter levels. You play as a carpenter armed with only a hammer, who fights against an evil property developer and his army of shady builders.
Hammerin’ Harry is such a wonderfully perfect concept, it’s a shame that the series has mostly been dormant since the ‘90s. In some ways, it’s actually better than the Xbox 360 game… 18. But it’s more Perfect Dark, which is never a bad thing. There’s no music in levels, and the stealth-based gameplay is pretty basic. You can even use the game to unlock cheats in the N64 version and fire up some basic death match levels if you find someone with another cart.īut on the other hand, those technical achievements come at a cost. In some ways, it’s extremely impressive for the portable, featuring huge levels and even fully voiced conversations. Perfect Dark on the Game Boy… well, you probably didn’t even know there was a Perfect Dark Game Boy game. Perfect Darkon the N64 is one of the most beloved titles of the era. It’s a short game, but way better than a Wendy game has any right to be. And every so often, those get broken up with a horizontal shooting stage. The story focuses on Wendy upsetting gravity, which is really just an excuse to manipulate gravity during the game’s platforming levels.
Show of hands: how many people have wanted a Wendy the Good Little Witch video game? Even better, who’s even thought of Wendy the Good Little Witch in the last decade or so? Yeah, Casper’s witch friend isn’t exactly the hottest property in any medium, but that’s probably a good thing in this case since it let WayForward make a game without any interference from the license holder. One Game Boy game was even just rebranded as a Real Ghostbusters title. Some sequels featured Mickey Mouse and Woody Woodpecker instead of Bugs Bunny. Kemco released several follow-ups on the Game Boy and other consoles, but it can actually be kind of difficult to figure out which game is part of the series if you don’t research it first. That might sound antithetical to platform design, but it actually makes the game more of a puzzler and has helped it age much more gracefully than other games of the era. But there’s one major difference: you can’t jump. Bugs Bunny in Crazy CastleĪt first glance, Crazy Castle looks a lot like the dozens of other platformers that graced the Game Boy during its lengthy lifespan. Unfortunately, it also limits you to just four continues, making it much more difficult to complete than its predecessor. Return of the Joker rightfully focuses on wall jumps, batarangs, and punching out baddies. Thankfully, Sunsoft learned its lesson when porting the sequel to the Game Boy. If B atman v Superman taught us anything, it’s that Batman should never, ever have guns.
While the NES version of that title is fondly remembered for its Ninja Gaiden-inspired gameplay, the portable version took a weird turn, focusing on platforming and gunplay.
Sunsoft released a fairly well-regarded game adaptation of Tim Burton’s first Batman movie for consoles and Game Boy in 1989.