TheGame Boyjust turned thirty so it’s a good a time as any to go back and reminisce about all of the great games for the system and its upgraded hardware, the Game Boy Color. Instead of ranking what the best games are, we instead want to look at what games deserve to get a remake. It’s not just becauseThe Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakeningis right around the corner either.
The Game Boy has actually gotten a lot of remake love recently.Pokémon: Let’s Go, Pikachu!andLet’s Go, Eevee!are remakes ofPokémon RedandPokémon Blue. Prior to thatMetroid IIalso got a remake, but for 3DS and not Switch. Anyway as per usual no series is multi represented here in order to keep the list more diverse.
10Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
That’s actually the Japanese name to the Western’s title ofMetal Gear Solid. Since that is stupidly confusing, we’re going with the inarguably better Japanese title. Anyway this is a side story not affecting the canon of the franchise.
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It plays closer to the original two MSX titles, but instead of exploring one big open world, the game is level based. Since Konami is not capable of making a new game in the series, as proved by the disastrousMetal Gear Survive, maybe they should try their hand at something simpler like this remake.
9Dragon Quest III
This, like many games in the series, has been remade and ported several times. ForDragon Quest III, orDragon Warrior IIIas it was original called in the West, it got a SNES remake as well as a Game Boy Color enhanced port. Now is a great time to remake this game sinceDragon Quest XI’strue ending seemed to hint thatDragon Quest III waschronologically the next title. Square Enix probably already has this in the works.
8Super Mario Land 2
The console Mario games are the titles that get the most love. It is not hard to see why asSuper Mario WorldandSuper Mario 64are seminal classics, but so is the often-forgotSuper Mario Land 2.
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The first game was a decent attempt at making a Game Boy Mario title, but the sequel broke incredible ground. On top of its fun factor, it’s also super weird, which always makes for the best adventures. As a runner upWario Land 3would also make for a killer remake.
7Shantae
WayForward made a name for itself when it turned otherwise shrug inducing licensed based titles into decent games. After breaking their backs for over a decade, they finally got to make their own game and launchedShantaefor the Game Boy Color in 2002. Because of the late launch for the basically dead portable, not a lot of copies were produced so the cartridge is incredibly rare. That is also to say not a lot of people played it. WayForward is no stranger to remaking their games so it’s about time they go back to their original darling.
6Kirby’s Dream Land 2
The Kirby series is actually one we wish would take a break. It has been a yearly franchise for almost a decade. That said if Nintendo had to grind out another title perhaps they should venture into remakingKirby’s Dream Land 2. This sequel introduced rideable animals akin to how Yoshi played inSuper Mario World. It, and its direct sequel for the SNES, isn’t remembered as much perhaps due to this odd mechanic. It may have been needless, but it made the game ten times cuter.
5Pokémon Gold/Silver
We know we just got remakes of the original two games. We also realizePokémon GoldandPokémon Silverwere remade for the DS. That being said, these two titles remain the best in the series because of their scope. It added in just the right amount of new Pokémon to make the world feel bigger. On top of that it let players travel back to Kanto, which no mainline entry has done since. By that we mean include another full region after the main region was completed. Anyway, it’s the best!
4The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Ages
As long as we are wishing for an obvious choice like Pokémon, let’s double down and get the rest of the Game Boy Zelda series up in here too.The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasonsand its counterpart could easily be made in the same engine as the remake forLink’s Awakening. Nintendo might have to make an extra deal with Capcom to make this work, but it should be easy enough. Maybe they could even finish the project by adding in the canceled third game.
3Resident Evil Gaiden
Resident Evil Gaidenis understandably an odd choice. It placed Leon and Barry on a boat fighting off swarms of zombies. The big catch here is that touching a zombie turns the game into kind of an RPG where knife strikes and gunshots have to be aimed with special reticles in a first-person perspective.
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It is sort of like a callback to the horror RPG that inspiredResident Evil, Sweet Home. AResident EvilRPG has always fascinated us and a remake could make this concept better realized.
2Gargoyle’s Quest
Gargoyle’s Questis another strange RPG that stars one of the enemies fromGhosts ‘n Goblins, the Red Arremer, or Firebrand in the West. Part of the game has RPG elements like going into towns and talking to NPCs. Certain objects will also make Firebrand stronger. There are no turn-based battles, or experience points though. Most of the game is actually just a straight up platformer. Sequels further fleshed out these ideas so with a remake it could incorporate a lot more of those improved elements.
1Kid Dracula
At first we thought about putting one of theCastlevaniagames on here, but then we decided to go a goofier router. EnterKid Dracula, the spinoff platformer starring, well, the son of Dracula. It’s a super cute and fairly easy platformer that has almost virtually nothing to do withCastlevania. That being said it could easily be turned into a Metroidvania, which would be awesome. That would be like an ultra remake!
NEXT:5 GameCube Games That Need A Remaster (And 5 That Don’t But Will Probably Get One)
