Game Boy Color Pokémon
Image: Damien McFerran / Nintendo Life

Remember, several of these Game Boy Color titles are playable on Switch. Enjoy!


It was 1996 in Japan and 1998 in North America (and a year later in Europe) when the ageing Game Boy got an unexpected shot in the arm thanks to a little game named Pokémon. Nintendo's granddaddy of handheld gaming suddenly had a new lease on life, but in the West the release of the game was followed just weeks later by the arrival of a new console — the Game Boy Color — and it was on that wonderful system that many of us caught our very first Pocket Monster.

A colour update to the original DMG-001 — which had previously been revised in the smaller form of Game Boy Pocket — was a long time coming, but after nine years Game Boy Color finally gave handheld Nintendo gamers the proper upgrade they'd been waiting for.

GBC launched, appropriately, in a range of eye-catching colours and was fully backwards compatible with the existing Game Boy library. Many dual 'black cart' games would also play perfectly well on the original monochrome console, although the sexier Color-exclusive games came on clear cartridges which let you glimpse the board inside. The GBC soon built up its own great software library before the Game Boy Advance came along in 2001. Three years is a relatively short life span, especially compared to its predecessor, but we're big fans of this gorgeous system and its impressive, oft-forgotten library.

Mario Golf GBC
Hang on, we gave this a 7?? Staff meeting!Image: Gavin Lane / Nintendo Life

We've previously assembled Top 50 rankings for every other Nintendo console, each and every one based on User Ratings submitted by readers, and this list of the Best Game Boy Color games ever is the last to go live. Thank you all for contributing, to this list and all the others.

Remember, though, that just like the others, this ranking is not set in stone. The list will continue to evolve automatically based on user scores submitted to the Nintendo Life game database. If you missed out on 'voting', you can still do so right now by simply scrolling down and rating them, or hunting down a game that's missing via the search bar below. Games require a minimum of 10 ratings to become eligible, but once that threshold is reached (and if it scores highly enough) it will appear below.

Ready to take a look? Grab yourself a fresh pair of AAs, sit back, and relax as we take you on a tour of the 50 best Game Boy Color games of all time...

Note. In order for games to become eligible, they need a minimum of 10 User Ratings in total.

50. Tomb Raider (GBC)

Lara Croft's first venture onto the Game Boy Color, Tomb Raider is a side-on action platformer which sees the titular raider of tombs scrambling up walls, swinging across vine-filled ceilings, and leaping over chasms searching for treasures and the like. It's a more cinematic, slower-paced plunder — more Prince of Persia than Mario -- but features some impressive animation. Overall, a decent 8-bit interpretation of Croft's 3D adventures.

49. Mr. Driller (GBC)

The arcade game shrunk down on a handheld, Namco's simple, addictive gameplay (drill down to destroy blocks piling up beneath your feet) and clean, colourful visuals work very well on the GBC. The home console versions might look prettier, but Mr. Driller felt right at home on Nintendo's portable.

48. Bionic Commando: Elite Forces (GBC)

Bionic Commando: Elite Forces has some problems — a few dull boss battles, forgettable music and it could use a few more of the well put together sniper sections — but for the most part it's an entertaining, challenging title with enough swinging action to keep you busy for some time. Once cleared it may be a while before you feel the urge to go back to it, but it's a decent entry in Capcom's series and a good choice for people who consider jumping overrated.

47. Pac-Man: Special Color Edition (GBC)

A Pac-Man port for the series' 20th anniversary, Pac-Man: Special Color Edition was most 'special' due to the inclusion of Pac-Attack as an added bonus. Otherwise, it's pretty much just good ol' Pac-Man. Classic.

46. Blaster Master: Enemy Below (GBC)

The mixture of old and new elements give Blaster Master: Enemy Below enough new twists to make it a worthy sequel to the amazing original. Sure, many of the same audio/visual elements have been carried over fairly unchanged, but the new bosses and open setting offer up a whole new experience for fans to enjoy. If you never gave the Blaster Master series a chance (and Switch owners don't have much excuse considering that both this and the NES original are available with a Nintendo Switch Online subscription), this great Game Boy Color title is as good a reason as any to get stuck in.

45. Perfect Dark (GBC)

Rare did a great job on squeezing so many features and technical magic into the little cart, and this GBC rendition of Perfect Dark certainly looks impressive considering the hardware, but this focus on the tech seems to have had an averse effect on the gameplay. It's not a bad game by any stretch, but as a stealthy Metal Gear-alike, it's lacking a little in the 'Fun' department. If you're forgiving of its flaws, you might have a pretty good time with it, but it's far from Perfect.

The non-backlit Game Boy Color screen provides plenty of Dark, mind.

44. Mega Man Xtreme 2 (GBC)

Mega Man Xtreme 2 is a major improvement in every way over its predecessor. It looks fantastic, plays very well, offers a smooth and varied experience and draws from a whopping four Mega Man X games. This is much closer to the portable X experience that fans were looking for back in 2001, and while screen size, some minor control issues and a few unresolved problems from the first game contribute a bit of a drag factor, it's still an ultimately enjoyable experience.

43. Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone (GBC)

Bucking the trend of low quality movie-licensed tie-ins on handheld platforms, Harry Potter and The Philosopher's/Sorcerer's Stone was a wonderfully solid little RPG and, in our opinion, legitimately in the running for Best Harry Potter game evs — certainly in the top three (not that the series boasts a host of stone cold classics, but still). Its turn-based RPG gameplay fit Harry's spell-filled wizarding world perfectly and it remains one of the best interpretations of the source material in video game form. Flipendo!

42. Crystalis (GBC)

Developed by SNK – before it became the fighting game factory of the 1990s – Crystalis made quite an impression on the NES when it was released in 1990, and this Game Boy Color remake – coded by Nintendo Software Technology, no less – is viewed by many fans as a step backwards. Sweeping plot changes are involved, and there's a whole new soundtrack. The visuals are also a little cramped due to the Game Boy Color's smaller display. Even so, it's still one of the best RPGs on Nintendo's handheld, and if you're approaching it having never played the NES original (which is on the SNK 40th Anniversary Collection on Switch, by the way) then you'll find plenty to enjoy.

41. Toki Tori (GBC)

Toki Tori is a game many players probably missed the first time around, though it's easy to catch up with the game these days on Switch. With forty increasingly challenging main stages and several optional hard stages, you're likely be entertained for a good amount of time before reaching the end of the GBC original, and there's something to be said about experiencing this fun puzzle platformer on the system it was originally designed for.