Top 30 Game Boy Color games
Our 30 favorite Game Boy Color games, from Pokémon Gold and Silver to Survival Kids, with genre, critic score and time to beat.
Nintendo released the Game Boy Color in Japan on October 21, 1998, and in North America on November 18, 1998. Its library grew to 915 titles. These are our 30 favorites, ranked from number one down. Each score is the average of critic reviews on GameRankings, a review site that closed in 2019. Each time is how long players take to finish the main story, from HowLongToBeat.
1 Pokémon Gold and Silver
- Genre
- Role-playing
- Score
- 89% Gold
- Main story
- 30 h
Game Freak’s second generation added a day and night clock, 100 new Pokémon and a second region to visit after the credits. Released in Japan in 1999 and in North America in 2000.
Image: Bulbapedia
2 Pokémon Crystal
- Genre
- Role-playing
- Score
- 80%
- Main story
- 28½ h
The third version of the second generation. It added animated sprites and the option to play as a girl. It was the first Pokémon game that does not run on the original Game Boy. North America got it in 2001.
Image: Bulbapedia
3 The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX
- Genre
- Action-adventure
- Score
- 91%
- Main story
- 14½ h
The 1993 Game Boy adventure, now in color, with a new dungeon that uses colors in its puzzles. It came out in December 1998, weeks after the Game Boy Color.
Image: Wikipedia
4 The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages
- Genre
- Action-adventure
- Score
- 91% Seasons92% Ages
- Main story
- 15 h Seasons16 h Ages
Two connected games by Flagship, a Capcom studio, released in 2001. A password from one game carries your progress into the other.
Image: Zelda Wiki
5 Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
- Genre
- Platform
- Score
- 92%
- Main story
- 3 h
The original Super Mario Bros. on a handheld, plus extra modes. It came out in North America in 1999.
Image: Wikipedia
6 Wario Land 3
- Genre
- Platform
- Score
- 90%
- Main story
- 10 h
Wario cannot die here. Enemies change his form instead, and each form opens new paths. Released in 2000.
Image: Super Mario Wiki
7 Shantae
- Genre
- Platform, metroidvania
- Score
- 78%
- Main story
- 8½ h
WayForward’s first Shantae game came out in 2002, late in the system’s life, and became a series that still gets new games.
Image: Wikipedia
8 Metal Gear Solid
- Genre
- Action-adventure, stealth
- Score
- 96%
- Main story
- 5 h
A new stealth story made for the handheld, called Metal Gear: Ghost Babel in Japan. Released by Konami in 2000.
Image: Wikipedia
9 Tetris DX
- Genre
- Puzzle
- Score
- 81%
- Main story
- 38 min
Tetris with color, a save for high scores and new modes. It launched with the Game Boy Color in 1998.
Image: Wikipedia
10 Mario Golf
- Genre
- Sports (golf)
- Score
- 88%
- Main story
- 11 h
Camelot’s golf game with a story mode and character growth. It could trade characters with the Nintendo 64 version. Released in 1999.
Image: Super Mario Wiki
11 Dragon Warrior Monsters
The first Dragon Quest Monsters game, made by Tose for Enix. You recruit monsters and breed them to build a stronger team. It reached North America in 2000.
12 Pokémon Trading Card Game
The card game on a cartridge, by Hudson Soft and Creatures. It has the first three card sets plus cards you cannot get anywhere else. Released outside Japan in 2000.
Image: Wikipedia
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13 Dragon Warrior III
Chunsoft’s 1988 classic, remade for the Game Boy Color from the Super Famicom version. North America got it in 2001.
Image: Wikipedia
14 Mario Tennis
Camelot’s handheld companion to the Nintendo 64 game, with a story mode built like a role-playing game. Released in North America in 2001.
Image: Super Mario Wiki
15 Pokémon Pinball
Pinball with a Poké Ball as the ball. You catch Pokémon on the table to fill your Pokédex. Released in North America in 1999.
Image: Bulbapedia
16 Donkey Kong Country
Rare’s port of the 1994 Super NES game, built alongside the Game Boy Color version of Perfect Dark. Released in North America in November 2000.
Image: Super Mario Wiki
17 Kirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumble
The cartridge has a motion sensor, so you roll Kirby by tilting the Game Boy. Released in North America in 2001.
Image: Kirby Wiki
18 Bionic Commando: Elite Forces
The sequel to the Game Boy Bionic Commando and the first game from Nintendo Software Technology. You cross gaps with a grappling arm. Released in 2000.
Image: TheGamesDB
19 Mega Man Xtreme
A Mega Man X spin-off made for the handheld. X enters cyberspace to replay his past missions. Released in North America in 2001.
Image: Wikipedia
20 Perfect Dark
- Genre
- Action, stealth
- Score
- 66%
- Main story
- No data
Rare’s prequel to the Nintendo 64 game. Joanna Dark finishes her training and takes on the dataDyne corporation. Released in 2000.
Image: Wikipedia
21 Game & Watch Gallery 3
Five Game & Watch games from 1981 to 1983. Each has a classic mode and a modern mode with Mario characters. Released in 1999.
Image: Wikipedia
22 Wario Land II
The game that made Wario unable to die: enemies make him lose coins or change form. The Game Boy Color version came out in 1999.
Image: Wikipedia
23 R-Type DX
Irem’s 1987 arcade shooter, remade for the Game Boy Color in 2000.
Image: StrategyWiki
24 Lufia: The Legend Returns
The third Lufia game and the first on a handheld, made by Neverland. Released in 2001.
Image: Lufia Wiki
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25 Dragon Warrior I & II
The first two Dragon Quest games on one cartridge, remade for the Game Boy Color. Released in North America in 2000.
Image: TheGamesDB
26 Harvest Moon 2 GBC
Run a farm and stop the land from becoming an amusement park. You can play as a boy or a girl. Released in North America in 2000.
Image: Harvest Moon Wiki
27 Pokémon Puzzle Challenge
Intelligent Systems’ Puzzle League, with characters from Pokémon Gold and Silver. Released in North America in December 2000.
Image: Wikipedia
28 Toki Tori
A puzzle platformer by Two Tribes, published by Capcom. You pick up every egg in a stage with a few limited tools. Released in 2001.
Image: TheGamesDB
29 Warlocked
Real-time strategy on a handheld, with human and beast sides. Released only in North America, in 2000.
Image: Wikipedia
30 Survival Kids
Konami’s survival game. You are stranded on an island and choose your own way to get off it. Released in 1999.
Image: TheGamesDB
Sources
- Game Boy Color, Wikipedia
- Pokémon Gold and Silver, Wikipedia
- Pokémon Crystal, Wikipedia
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX, Wikipedia
- The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening, Wikipedia
- The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages, Wikipedia
- Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, Wikipedia
- Wario Land 3, Wikipedia
- Shantae, Wikipedia
- Metal Gear Solid (Game Boy Color), Wikipedia
- Tetris DX, Wikipedia
- Tetris DX, GameRankings, archived
- Mario Golf (Game Boy Color), Wikipedia
- Dragon Warrior Monsters, Wikipedia
- Pokémon Trading Card Game, Wikipedia
- Dragon Warrior III, Wikipedia
- Mario Tennis, Wikipedia
- Pokémon Pinball, Wikipedia
- Donkey Kong Country, Wikipedia
- Kirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumble, Wikipedia
- Bionic Commando: Elite Forces, Wikipedia
- Mega Man Xtreme, Wikipedia
- Perfect Dark, Wikipedia
- Game & Watch Gallery 3, Wikipedia
- Wario Land II, Wikipedia
- R-Type DX, Wikipedia
- Lufia: The Legend Returns, Wikipedia
- Dragon Warrior I & II, Wikipedia
- Harvest Moon 2 GBC, Wikipedia
- Pokémon Puzzle Challenge, Wikipedia
- Toki Tori, Wikipedia
- Warlocked, Wikipedia
- Survival Kids, Wikipedia
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