For Christmas 2024, I got myself an Analogue Pocket (I blogged about it here).
So far, I have finished 36 Game Boy titles with the help of this device. Most of these games I had played as a kid, some of them I actually played for the first time.
I created this list to keep track of this old, new passion of mine and to see how many games will end up on my "I mastered it" list.
Alleyway
I played this game (or one of its many clones) on a lot of different systems, including the Game Boy. However, I don't think I ever finished it back then. It's good fun though I and has a good replay-factor.
Asterix & Obelix
This is fun game I discovered only recently. The artwork is quite nice and I also enjoyed the game play. I would have liked this a kid as well.
Bart Simpson's Escape from Camp Deadly
I definitely played this game for a while back in the nineties. I never completed it though as it was rather difficult. Being able to do so right now felt good. It's a decent game and I quite enjoyed, picking it up again.
Batman
My cousins owned this game back in the early 90ies and we spent many hours together playing it. I think they mastered it at some point.
Bubble Bobble
One of my all-time favorite games. First in the arcades, later on the PC and the Game Boy. It belonged to a friend of mine and due to level codes we easily mastered this back in the days.
Burai Figher
Another iconic title. I borrowed it from a friend and vividly remember finishing it only to be met by this message: 'An ace would see a graphic ending'. So I finished what I started 30 years ago and got my graphic ending.
Choplifter II
A friend of mine owned this game which means I also played it a lot back then. I don't think I ever finished it back then though. It's still a joy to play today and definitely one of the best Game Boy titles ever.
Double Dragon
I owned this game and spent countless hours on it. However, I remember that I was never able to master it back then on the original Game Boy. Stage 4 was simply too hard.
Double Dragon 2
I never played this game as kid and I don't think I would have enjoyed it that much (especially compared with the first part). It's rather repetitive and unreasonably hard involving may too many boss fights. The artwork and animations are nice though.
Double Dragon 3
Only recently I found out that a third part of this saga existed for the Game Boy ... and frankly, I wish I hadn't. This game is unbelievably bad. The controls are extremely clunky and the difficulty level is absurd, making every opponent feel like a boss fight.
Duck Tales
I never played this game back in the days. But I enjoyed this this one quite a lot. It's not too hard and has nice artwork and animations.
Dynablaster
This game is definitely among my favorite titles. What makes it even better is the fact that it's actually 2 games in one - there's the story mode and the arcade mode. I finally finished both of those.
Fortress of Fear
This game is so ridiculously and frustratingly hard that I can't even begin to imagine how anyone could have mastered that back in the day. I did not even enjoy playing it through now as it was nothing more than a 'save, die, retry' orgy.
Godzilla
I must say I expected something completely different when I bought this game a few weeks ago. A 2D puzzle/maze game would have been my last guess but I must say, I enjoyed the hell out of it! The puzzles are really cleverly designed and the time limit adds additional pressure. A definite recommendation with a high replay factor.
Gremlins 2
This is one of the hardest (and frankly most unfair) games I ever played.
Level 4 is straight out of hell.
Even with the Analogue Pocket and the ability to save game state, this was a complete nightmare.
Home Alone
I remember having playing this game for a few days but not really liking it. I think I found it too hard and admittedly it is. With the ability to load and save game state however, I must say I quite enjoyed this game now.
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
I think I played this game for a bit around 1995 when I was not too interested in the Game Boy anymore. Playing it now on the Analogue Pocket, I only recognized and remembered the first level.
Kirby's Dreamland
I must admit that I have never played any Kirby game so far. However I had big expectations for this title and it did not disappoint. This is definitely in my all-time top 10 and an absolute must-have for the Game Boy.
Kung Fu Master
This is the first Game Boy game (beside Tetris, of course) that I got. It's also the game that I played through the most times. And that's biggest problem: it is far to easy. Event today on my first attempt I finished it in about 15 minutes.
Mega Man
Even back in the days this game had an almost iconic reputation which I could not understand. And I understand it even less today. The controls are frustratingly clunky which makes this hard game even harder and I did not care for the soundtrack. Maybe the sequels are better?
Metroid 2
This game is still my absolute favorite on the Game Boy. I did not own it personally back then but my cousins did and we spent countless hours hunting down those Metroids. Great memories!
Navy Seals
A friend at school had this game and we played this a lot for a while. I recognized most of the levels but I don't think we ever reached the end back then. It gets really tough.
Popeye 2
I never played this as a kid but I think I would have liked it a lot. I still enjoyed it very much today but it's such an apparent 'Super Mario Land' rip-off that I'm not exactly sure how to feel about this game.
Probotector
This was the European version of Contra for the Game Boy. Do I have to say more? The artwork is fantastic the fast-paced action is something. I owned this title and spent countless hours playing it. Also, I definitely recognized all levels but not the end graphics, so I guess I never finished it.
R-Type
I definitely played this for a bit back then, it was probably owned by a friend. But even more definitely, I never finished it. It's quite hard. However, the artwork of this game is fantastic! I had a great time playing this again.
Robocop
I vividly remember my frustration with this game and its brutally difficulty. Even with the possibility of saving game state, the tough time limit still made it quite hard to master today.
Shadow Warriors
As a kid, I had no idea that this game existed. However, it would have been right up my ally featuring Ninjas and stuff. Even now, I really enjoyed this game. It's one of my new favorites.
Star Wars
I vaguely remember having heard or read about this game. However, neither I nor anyone among my friends owned it. Looking at it today, this was probably for the best. Despite the nice artwork and graphics, it is not a good game. The controls are quite fiddly and it's way too hard.
Super Mario Land
This is another game that I finished countless times. If you make me up in the middle of the night and put a Game Boy with Super Mario Land it in my hand, I'd play it through without so much as batting an eyelash.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: Back from the Sewer
Same as the other Turtles title, I played this one a lot. I don't think I owned it back then, but a close friend definitely did.
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan
In the early 90ies, TMNT was everything to me! So was this game. Revisiting it brought up so many great memories.
Terminator 2
I remember having borrowed this game from a friend and spending quite some time on it. I think I got quite far despite the brutal difficulty. Never mastered it though.
The Amazing Spider-Man
I don't think I ever played this game as a kid. Playing it right now on the Analogue Pocket, I quite enjoyed it.
The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle
A friend at school had this game. We took turns in playing it and mastered it at some time. It was one of the games with level codes which gave us a fair chance.
The Castlevania Adventure
A true classic but really tough. I don't remember having mastered this game back then.
Tiny Toon Adventures: Babs' Big Break
I definitely played this as a kid but not extensively. The artwork is really cute and I had fun finishing this game now.
