Best Gameboy Color Games: Tried, Tested and Rated in 2024

The Gameboy Color handheld gaming system always felt like the middle child in the family.

Almost forgotten in away between its older brother (original Gameboy) and its younger sibling (Gameboy Advance).

Despite is middle brother status there were still an impressive 918 games that launched for the Gameboy Color on the back of the strength of original Gameboy sales in the late 1980s and 1990s.

Unlike the Gameboy Advance, the Gameboy Color looked and felt just like the original classic Gameboy we all know and love.

Same two button and d-pad control in a vertical format.

It wasn’t until the Gameboy Advance launched in 2001 did the portrait turn in to landscape to match other handheld consoles such as the PSP, Lynx and Pocket Neo Geo.

The Gameboy Color though largely became discontinued in terms of new game releases shortly after the more dominant and popular Gameboy Advance launched.

Therefore, the Gameboy Color lasted for around 5 years and is often forgotten and overlooked, despite having some really good title releases.

Many original Gameboy classics, such as Tetris, got a full colour makeover and new release.

After almost a decade of a green backlit screen, seeing a Gameboy in colour must have been what it was like seeing TV in colour for the first time (my first TV for my room was black & white, so I know the feeling).

Despite the short live reign and the console never really dominating the console market, there were still some great and creative titles released for the Gameboy Color that shouldn’t be overlooked today.

Here are the best Gameboy Color games, tried, tested, and rated.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages

There were several Legend of Zelda titles released on the Gameboy Color over its 5 year span, and arguably Oracle of Ages had the edge.

RPG games were perfect for a handheld pocket console such as the Gameboy Color.

Capcom did an amazing job with the sheer depth and creativity of this game in 2001.

The sole purpose of RPGs is to take the user in to a world of imagination, and Legend of Zelda: oracle of Ages does that in such an abundance you’ll wonder where the last 5 hours disappeared to.

The first task is to rescue Impa, a nurse to Princess Zelda who is found almost immediately being attacked.

Helping Impa on her mission is the first task in order.

It doesn’t take long to find the first job at hand, moving the triangle based rock out of the way of the path. The mission then starts from here.

From this point the introduction is embedded within the game as the evil sorceress awakens and takes the singers body into another dimension.

Unlike some other Legend of Zelda games, given the processing and power restrictions of the Gameboy Color, it doesn’t start with a big fanfare.

Instead, the game slowly unfolds as the player learns as they go through well intentioned and timely meetings and tasks ahead.

The graphical top down gameplay is interspersed with animation and digital images to represents characters and traits.

The graphics of the game are very fun and cute, especially for a game now more than 20 years old.

The controls are easy, and it won’t be long before you and your character are flying between screens.

Gameplay is long and lasting and won’t disappoint.

It was enjoyable to play Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages again, and although this is the only Legend of Zelda title in this this Gameboy Color list, the other Legend of Zelda titles are well worth checking out too.

Wacky Races

No matter your age, you’re bound to remember the exploits of Dastardly and Muttely, as well as Penelope Pitstop, the fiendish Hooded Claw and the other competitors in the ongoing saga that became the Wacky Races cartoon series in the 1960s.

Infograms decided to take this one step further and on to the Gameboy Color.

Wacky Races was certainly never going to win any awards for best gameplay or best racing game.

Part of the fun of the game is the nostalgia element playing those characters we’ve come to know and love from the cartoon series.

The game is quirky albeit a little frustrating at times.

Opposition will literally throw themselves at you if you dare pass them, which only results in them speeding up and you slowing down.

Players must give opposition and complete wide berth in order to have any chance of overtaking and chasing down the next competitor up ahead.

Graphics are cartoonish as you’d expect, and the controls are relatively easy to get along with although not completely responsive or fool proof.

Overtaking is easy once you know how, and therefore climbing up the leaderboard doesn’t take too long.

Not the best game out there by far, but certainly has a retro charm that will keep the wow affect going for at least a few minutes.

Wario Land 3

Wario is the arch enemy of Mario, and despite the very similar names the two aren’t blood related in any way, just bitter rivals.

Wario may seem like an unimaginatively titled antagonistic character to our hero Mario, but the name Wario actually comes from the Japanese word ‘warui’, which means bad.

So, everything fits.

The character Wario was the end boss in the Mario games, and whose character went on to star in many game spin offs, including Wario Land on the Gameboy Color.

Wario Land 3 is the third incarnation of the franchine on the Gameboy Color released by Nintendo in 2000.

Intros on the Gameboy Color are challenging due to its memory power, screen size and colour palette.

The Wario introduction sequence attempts to story tell, and doesn’t do a bad job either.

Wario agrees to search for the music boxes to allow the all supreme being to rule once more in exchange for being transported back to Wario’s own place and time, as well as keeping all the treasure he finds.

Wario, being the greedy guy he is, accepts with his usual evil grin and sets off on his mission.

Unlike Mario’s adversaries, Wario’s adversaries are a little harsher and firepower more devastating on poor old Wario, who gets knocked about something chronic on his travels.

Wario plays similarly to Mario, but with its own unique handling style.

For example, Mario will usually jump up in to blocks to release coins and power ups, where Wario runs in to blocks to break them apart for bonuses and access.

It doesn’t take long to figure out the gameplay, but it’s quite cool how the developers created a Wario version of Mario, unique enough to stand alone but close enough to know it’s with a direct correlation with Mario games.

Graphics are spritely, gameplay is fun although the controls when playing can be a little treacherous at times, especially when jumping and barging.

It’s still a fun game today.

It will never be as good as a Mario game, but Wario version do add their own unique spin on the Mario franchise and world.

Mario Golf

Although there aren’t many golf titles throughout the retro review gaming pages of Retro Secret, I am a massive fan of golf games.

I became hooked playing Microsoft Golf 1995 on an old Windows 95 machine back in the day, and became almost addicted to both PGA Tour Golf on the PSP and Neo Turf Masters on the Neo Geo.

Handheld devices are great for golf gaming, so I was really keen to give this ago when picking up Mario Golf on the Gameboy Color for just £6 at a boot sale.

Now, Mario Golf is no PGA Golf game, it isn’t even Microsoft Golf 1995.

The game starts almost like an RPG game. I thought I were playing Pokemon or Zelda for a moment.

It can be slow to actually reach the first tee, but once there the magic starts to happen.

After a few minutes the controls to play will become quite clear.

The A button will start the power meter flowing, press A once to set power, and again at the second line to swing the club.

Set the right power based on the distance to the green, and the clubs capability, and you’ll hit a perfect shot.

The graphics aren’t the best for a golf game, which are notoriously challenging to design due to all the aspects that go in to designing a fine course.

That said, the game is playable and once the controls are mastered, Mario Golf becomes quite addictive.

Given the processing power, this is probably as good a golf game that could be made for the Gameboy Color, and for that reason it deserves a place on our list.

Super Mario Bros Deluxe

No Nintendo console, handheld or otherwise, would be complete without a Super Mario game or three.

Super Mario Bros Deluxe is the best Mario game on this handheld console by far.

The colours are a little off, but the gameplay is great and Nintendo really pushed the Gameboy Color to the limits here.

Controls are great, as tends to be the case with Mario games, and like all Mario games it’s likely to keep you motivated to carry on level after level.

Fast speed, great AI characters and true to form levels mimicking those on NES and SNES devices.

I was really impressed with this port, considering the supposed limitation of graphics shown by some of the Gameboy Color games.

The Power Ups that can be collected on Mario’s route work just the same as the console versions do, and overall the gameplay is better on the Gameboy Color than the original Gameboy version of similar title.

There aren’t many bad ports of Mario games.

That’s just fact.

But this version is a great conversion that would have wowed an audience who moved to the Color from the original and was able to play a true original Mario on a Nintendo handheld device in colour.

Those were the days!

Street Fighter Alpha

Capcom had to pull a rabbit out of the hat to give to the Gameboy Color something resembling a decent Street Fighter title after the classic Street Fighter 2 Turbo launched on the SNES / Famicom.

Nothing could, of course, could come close to the runaway success that game had.

The Gameboy Color had no chance of competing with a 16-bit console, but what had to be sacrificed for graphics had to be made up by gameplay if Street Fighter Alpha was to become any sort of success on this handheld.

They didn’t just hit a home run, they smashed it out of the park!

As predicted the sacrifice in graphics, although still pretty decent on the Gameboy Color, is more than made up for with the stunning controls and gameplay.

The same combination and special move controls applied to each of the main characters of the game.

It didn’t take long before I was able to unleash a volley of hadokens, which was pretty satisfying.

I felt the controls were a little more forgiving on the Gameboy Color than the SNES, which made gameplay much more fun, special moves hit more often and a really fun to play.

Not all original characters can be chosen.

Those familiar with the franchise will recognise Ryu, Ken, Chun Li and Sagat – who are all available to be selected to play with.

Not only was I incredibly impressed with this port of Street Fighter, but it really stood out as a cracking testament as to what developers can achieve with high expectations, reduced processing capabilities and creative talent.

Any fan of the franchise needs to try out this port.

3D Pocket Pool

Snooker and pool are a challenge on many consoles, handheld or otherwise.

Even early computer games on PC, MS DOS, Atari ST and Amiga 500 had issues.

The dynamics to create a truly atmospheric 3D environment with perfect ball positioning is a challenge for even the bigger more powerful consoles.

Could the 8-bit smaller Gameboy Color really do the world of pool justice?

Virgin Entertainment were the company behind 3D Pocket Pool, which launched in 2000.

The game actually gives the variety of playing either UK based pool or US based pool, a nice touch by Virgin to make the game more accessible worldwide and for different pool fans.

Opponents look like they’ve just crashed landed from the planet Virgo but let that not put you off.

Considering the 8-bit limitations, and complex geometry involved in the game of pool – not to mention the 3D camera angles, Virgin Entertainment have actually done a decent job.

Unlike pool and snooker games prior to this which lagged in frame rate, 3D Pocket Pool is slick, fast and fun.

The graphic quality is decent too.

The top 20% of the screen shows the characters playing the game, with some small animations to show which players turn it is, whilst the remaining 80% of the screen is the pool table, in which the camera angle can be moved and titled into all manner of positions using the d-pad.

It looks a very well thought out and developed game.

3D Pocket Pool is the time of game that can be easily picked up and put down, with gameplay starting in seconds after loading the cartridge.

A surprising hidden gem.

Ghosts ‘N Goblins

Capcom certainly had a hard job at hand trying to emulate the classic arcade game that is Ghosts and Goblins on to an 8-bit handheld Gameboy Color.

The thing I love about the Gameboy Color conversions is the fact the games are pretty decent replicas of the arcade classic, but slightly easier without all the complexities.

Let’s face it, the arcade version of Ghosts and Goblins was very tough.

Coin and after coin thrown into the cabinet, in hope the vulture doesn’t come along and wipe us out next time.

The SNES version of Ghosts and Goblins didn’t exactly make things any easier, but the Gameboy Color is more a delight to play.

The graphics are true to form for the Ghosts and Goblin franchise, especially on this 8-bit handheld, and the gameplay is still fast and frantic.

One let down are the controls.

Firing and manoeuvring are simplistic enough, but jumping can be a challenge, especially over cliff edges.

Ghosts and Goblins still to this day gets a lot of media coverage in gaming magazines, but the Gameboy Color point is often, and disappointingly, overlooked.

It was a real joy to play this version, and something I haven’t been able to do until now.

Pokemon Trading Card Game

There are almost an infinite number of different Pokemon games across all the consoles and systems.

Handheld devices are so perfectly suited for RPG titles.

Pokémon Trading Card Game wasn’t the only Pokémon title released on the Gameboy Color of course, but I feel it was the best.

The game starts with an enticing story.

Pokémon legends, with the rarest most sought after Pokémon cards are looking for someone to pass all their knowledge, experience and probably trading cards too.

Who could pass up that opportunity.

Dr Mason in Mason Laboratories is the first stop on the agenda and map, who provides the player with a practice deck of Pokémon cards and a competitor to play and learn against.

Once skills are honed its on to really play this immersive and creative Pokémon experience.

The great thing with RPGs such as this is the graphics are less a concern as the overall gaming experience.

Yes you can tell this is an 8-bit experience, but whether you’re playing Pokémon on 8-bit, 16-bit, 32-bit or more, it’s still the experience of Pokémon that draws players back again and again.

Just like Mario, he can be CGI’d and 3D’d as much as possible, but the original classic game on the NES could never be toppled.

The introduction practise game on Pokemon Trading Card Game will teach you the basics.

Learning Pokemon is challenging, time consuming and a pen and paper are useful.

This isn’t a game that can be picked up and put down, like many EA Sport games, this will require dedication and time to really take the best from this Gameboy Color classic.

As I mentioned, the graphics are quirky but are nothing to write home about. The controls are easy, and gameplay flows beautifully.

Dragon Warrior 3

Dragon Warrior 3 is another RPG title that follows the journey of warrior to set the kingdom free again.

The opening sequence of events is rather puzzling asking all sorts of deep personal questions in a bid to understand the warrior better.

I’m not quite sure the need but they built it in to the game.

Anyhow, Dragon Warrior 3 is actually a very immersive RPG that draws you in to the kingdom and the mission you’ve just accepted.

The game cleverly suckers you in on a first evil type mission to gauge what type of character you are.

This level of character analysing wouldn’t be out of place in a psyche test!

Thinking the game was afoot, I set about destroying the characters and what looked like enemies only to be brought to the beginning to be judged on how bad a character I was.

Nice.

After the false start, and cheeky revaluation of your character, the game actually starts.

The graphics in this RPG are pretty decent, even for an 8-bit.

Most RPGs have a certain cartoonish quality about them, and Dragon Warrior 3 is of no exception, but equally there are some very good design and development touches that keep the terrain and world real.

Retro RPG fans should include this title in their catalogue if throwing yourself in to magical kingdoms every once in a while, is your thing.

Suggested Reading: Best GBA RPG Games, tried and tested!

Tetris DX

Tetris on any Gameboy console needs absolutely no introduction.

Tetris, and its unforgettable music score, made the Gameboy what it was and still is today.

Often a Gameboy bundle when bought in the late 1980’s came with this puzzling classic, and so almost all Gameboy owners owned it.

Sometimes the bundle game is a long forgotten giveaway, but in this case, Tetris became the most played game on the Gameboy ever.

After 10 years, the game was given a makeover from the known and loved green background with black pixel puzzle pieces to full blown colour.

Exciting.

Tetris though is such a classic title it doesn’t really matter what colour screen you’re playing it on.

After a while the fact you are playing on a colour screen doesn’t really add much.

It doesn’t necessarily take anything away but doesn’t add much either.

Fans of the original Tetris will enjoy Tetris DX on the Gameboy Color just as much.

Graphics are as expected, and controls and gameplay no different to those found on the traditional version.

A true classic of a game regardless of the handheld it is being played on.

Metal Gear Solid

Konami’s Metal Gear Solid development effort on the Gameboy Color was met with some die-hard fans back in the early 2000’s.

Many games on the Gameboy Color focused on puzzles and platforms, so it’s nice to find a title that delves in to a whole different genre.

The game can take ages to start.

Not the load times, but the text dialogue back and forth setting the scene and the missions!

Pressing ‘Start’ though can override if you’d just rather get stuck in to the game.

The player lands in by parachute with captured prisoners to rescue.

The starting maze sequence sets the scene of the game perfectly.

Trying to run around the maze without being seen, or taking out the guards whilst their back is turned is fun but the moment you are spotted the alarm is raised and all the guards suddenly flock to your direction.

It’s quite frantic.

The graphics are pretty decent for an 8-bit, but the gameplay is something the Konami developers must have thought long and hard about to deliver what they have.

Each area and scene has its own originality and playability.

This is why Metal Gear Solid not only is a great franchise on many ports, but also why the Gameboy Color version had made fans, even to this day.