Yeah, those licensing complications really suck @Geonjaha. I guess I'll just have to settle for TMNT (NES VC) on my Wii console then. Although, it can't compare to handheld turtles in a half shell.

I've only ever played a handful of games for the original Game Boy (I didn't really start getting into portable gaming until Pokemon Yellow and the Game Boy Color came around), but I can still highly recommend the following:

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX. (maybe my favorite handheld game ever)
Donkey Kong
Mario's Picross

And Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins too, to a lesser extent.

Does anyone know if Tumble Pop is worth a purchase? I can't seem to find any info about that game anywhere!

As for myself, I highly recommend the two Game and Watch Gallery games, since they're probably the most bang for your buck on the service (except for possibly DK94). Avenging Spirit is also great; it takes a while to get used to but when you learn the mechanics, everything just clicks and it becomes utterly fantastic for a gb game.

I'm going to have $4 left on my eShop account, after I download Link's Awakening DX. I think I also want a handheld accessible platformer. The three platformers I've been considering are below, any advice would be appreciated.

1) Super Mario Land (Gameboy VC)
2) Super Mario Land 2 (Gameboy VC)
3) Gargoyle's Quest (Gameboy VC)
4) Shinobi (GameGear VC)
5) Metroid II: Return of Samus (Gameboy VC)

Mario Land 2 is the better game, Mario Land is too short.

Gargoyles Quest is kinda difficulty but I can't say much else for it.

Thanks a lot @Miss_Birdo. What about the other two I just added.

Never played Shinobi but Metroid 2 is a ace game and is a bit longer then regular Gameboy games. Compared to Mario Land which you can beat in 30min. You shouldn't get lost too often, there's no map but it's pretty linear in that you have to hunt all the Metroids in an area before moving on.

Go with Shinobi or Gargoyle's Quest. They're challenging not easy like Super Mario Land. But if you want easy go with it then.

Super Mario Land isn't easy... or at least I didn't think it was just too short.

Super Mario Land has a respectable difficulty (assuming you're not using restore points) to get through the game, but yes it is very short.
I got it for nostalgic reasons though - and love it for that reason. :3

You'll definately get your money's worth out of Metroid II, and that's what I'd recommend. Shinobi is a great game, but difficult (if you liked Mega Man: DWR, you'll like this. If you don't have Mega Man, I'd get that instead, because Shinobi's design was inspired by the MM series, so you should start there first). Gargoyle's Quest is fantastic (I love the RPG elements), but I'd get Mega Man as your first Capcom VC game, if you haven't yet. Mario Land is decent, but it's short and pretty dated (even by GB standards). Mario Land 2 is fun, but easy (It has a decent amount of levels though, and you can replay most of them).

I really recommend Metroid II, Game and Watch Gallery II and Mario Land II.

YAY for sequels!

And don't forget to pick up your free Donkey Kong, American Club Nintendo users. It's really good.

Mario Picross is also very good.

And I'll start to recommend Harvest Moon GBC already because it's awesome.

I thought the first Super Mario Land's difficulty was a bit cheap. I mean, I don't know. I guess you could call the really strange jumping mechanics "difficulty". I just found myself getting frustrated because, I would only ever die because of the jumping being off. I've playing every 2D Mario game, yet this game just caught me off guard.

What kills me is the odd enemies.

So, I'm back to this again. Let me narrow this down a little. Give me your opinion's folks.

1) Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (Gameboy VC)
2) Metroid II: Return of Samus (Gameboy VC)
3) Shinobi (GameGear VC)

I would have to say metroid 2 if your looking for a worthwhile experience but if you want quality mario platforming then mario land 2 is your best bet and my most played gameboy game. As for The G.G. Shinobi you have the best looking experience (graphically) but it is kinda short and you can't replay levels without reset but it is fun for the first time and it's probably my favorite out of all the game gear games on the eshop. The emulation of the game is nice though. ( :

@TheConsiglio, I guess I should probably side with Metroid II then. It was a childhood favorite, alongside SML2. I never finished Metroid II as a child, and I would finally be able to allow this amazing game the effort it deserves. Plus, I've already downloaded Metroid & Super Metroid on Wii VC. I might as well complete the entire Metroid VC collection which is currently available to non-ambassadors.

I'm debating whether to download Super Mario Land for the NA sale this weekend. The thing is, I already own the original and can play it in colour on my GBA SP, but this is possibly my favourite Mario game of all time and it would be handier on the 3DS. I also happen to have just enough money in my account for a $3 game, but there are other $3 games I don't already own. Nostalgia is saying buy it, but rationality is saying buy something else. I'm not sure I can rationalize it unless I sell my original, but then I'm stuck playing it in pea soup on the 3DS (which I'm not nostalgic about at all). What to do, what to do, what to do?

@iphys - Here's a rationale for buying it you may not have thought of: get so we can have future sales. I'm fairly certain that Nintendo has seen the sales figures for this game drop to the point that everybody that has wanted it has gotten it, so they're using this game to test the how successful future sales are. This is a perfect example of "voting with your money." If we vote "yes" by making this sale a success in the eyes of Nintendo, we'll probably have more eShop sales in the future, and perhaps that game will have a bigger price drop than 25% (not that that isn't a good amount, just that we may get drops like 33%, 50% or even 75% in the future) or something that we want but are on the fence about because of the price. However, if we vote "no" and the sale isn't successful, we may still have to pay $4 for games like SML in 5 years. Every little bit counts; those measly $3 may make the difference. _{note to nl staff: fleshing out this argument may make for a good opinion piece; i really don't care if you steal my idea.}