The best Game Boy Color games of all time

One of the best Pokemon games of all time, Pokémon Gold and Silver refined the formula and helped prove the craze wasn’t going away. More Pokémon, including excellent starter and legendary monsters, a huge new region, the return of the original Kanto region, and continued trading and trainer battle integration made it feel like a complete game that players could enjoy for months or years at a time. It has received a remake with updated visuals, but the original Game Boy Color version has a certain charm that can’t be replicated. It’s no wonder that Pokémon fans continue returning to Gold and Silver two decades later.

Tetris is one of the best puzzle games that was pretty much perfected on the first try, and it’s been very difficult to improve on that original formula. The original Game Boy version, however, was not in color, and it included a limited number of modes. These were expanded in the Game Boy Color version Tetris DX, and its vibrant color scheme made clearing lines and performing complex maneuvers more engaging for a longer period of time. What was not changed was the core Tetris gameplay, an exercise in simplicity and precision that has held up for decades.

The Wario Land games took the core platforming elements from the best Mario games and gave them a healthy dose of weirdness. Wario solves problems with his brawn, and this includes defeating enemies as well as solving puzzles. Wario Land 3 continues the excellent series, with Wario once again transforming into a variety of different forms based on items from the environment. The coin-lover’s adventure looks simple but satisfying on the Game Boy Color’s screen, and the sound effects and music are cheery and bouncy. It isn’t Mario, but it’s a great substitute for players looking for something a little goofier.

The Game Boy Color version of Mario Golf gives the fantastic Mario Tennis a run for its money. Play it in role-playing mode or as an excellent arcade-style tennis game. Suppose you’re looking for new characters to play with. Perhaps you’ve grown tired of seeing the same selection of characters game after game. You’ll find all the novelty you need with Mario Golf’s distinct and never-before-seen cast of characters that just goes to show how creative the franchise still is. The game can also be connected to its console counterpart for additional features, using the Nintendo 64’s Transfer Pak. A version of the game is also available as a download for Nintendo 3DS.

Just as a physical pinball machine has one control button on each side, Pokemon pinball likewise has two buttons to manipulate your ball’s trajectory. Pokémon Pinball is a themed pinball game that can be played the traditional way with a focus on getting the maximum score before running out of balls. However, it also has more Pokémon-specific features, with players able to capture monsters and even evolve them through proper pinball play. It’s one of the more successful spinoffs in a series that has certainly seen its fair share, and while it won’t keep players busy for as long as the main role-playing games, it’s still worth checking out.