The Best Game Boy & Game Boy Color Games Under $10
Looking to start or build up your classic Game Boy collection? This budget-friendly list should help you quickly find which games will start you off well without emptying your wallet.
And don’t forget, with the GB/GBC, you don’t necessarily have to have the original hardware to play these cartridges (although, it is fun to pull out the vintage electronics for nostolgia factor) — You can also play these games on aSuper Gameboy on your SNES, a Game Boy Player for a Gamecube, and of course, the many models of the Game Boy Advance. Also, in case you are interested, you can also check out our older guide to the Cheapest GBA Games Worth Your Time (and the rest of the series), which will probably be updated later on.
BTW, keep in mind, these prices are for cartridge-only games as complete copies of Game Boy games come at quite a premium now and typically are reseved for dedicated collectors 
(Prices listed are an average eBay and Amazon prices for US games, including shipping)
Cheap Classics
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Tetris: $3 Possibly the most timeless portable game of all time, Tetris does not require much of an introduction. While there may be some that will disagree with me, I still consider the Game Boy version of Tetris to be the definitive version – I’m not sure if it’s the pure simplicity of the port or the nostalgia of the audio. However, there should be few debating against Game Boy owners paying just a few dollars for this classic. Check for Tetris on Amazon Check for Tetris on eBay |
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Super Mario Land Series Super Mario Land: $7, Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins: $8 The Super Mario series took a little while to reach its full potential on the Game Boy. The original Super Mario Land was fun and whimsical, but it wasn’t until the second installment that we saw the series really shine. Both games are still excellent values and are must-haves for portable platforming fans. Check for Super Mario Land Series on Amazon Check for Super Mario Land Series on eBay |
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Wario Land Series Super Mario Land 3: Wario Land: $5, Wario Land 2: $8, Wario Land 3: $7 Once the Super Mario Land series hit its stride, it essentially transitioned into the Wario Land series. Not only did this portable franchise introduce us to a new anti-hero, but it opened the Mushroom Kingdom to a number of new gameplay mechanics and personality. Check for Wario Land Series on Amazon Check for Wario Land Series on eBay |
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Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening: $9 If you want a lengthy adventure on the go, I’m sure you’ll find Link’s Awakening to be up to the challenge. Even though the cartridges are in strong supply, the demand for this game (still a Game Boy exclusive) keeps loose cartridges close to the $10 mark. Of course, if you are a Zelda fan at all, this is well worth the price of admission. Check for Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening on Amazon Check for Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening on eBay |
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Kirby’s Dreamland: $5 While it isn’t as deep, challenging, or lengthy as the later installments in the series, Kirby’s debut is still quite a value and a handful of fun. It’s a light and fun adventure, mainly because controlling Kirby is such a joy and the series is a welcome change from traditional platformers from that era. Check for Kirby’s Dreamland on Amazon Check for Kirby’s Dreamland on eBay |
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Super RC Pro Am: $3 If you enjoy the thrill of a good racing game, you can’t beat this value. Despite its monochome appearance, Super RC Pro Am holds up surprising well for a racing game. As expected from old-school Rareware, this game has solid graphics in addition to excellent track designs and enough power-ups to keep the replay value and entertainment factor high. Check for Super RC Pro Am on Amazon Check for Super RC Pro Am on eBay |
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Kirby’s Pinball Land: $5 Pinball games make for surprisingly good entertainment on the go, and there isn’t much better than Kirby’s Pinball Land. Revenge of the ‘Gator (see below) offers more solid pinball at a lower price, but Kirby’s Pinball Land offers an extra layer of personality and polish, providing a more satisfying pinball experience. Check for Kirby’s Pinball Land on Amazon Check for Kirby’s Pinball Land on eBay |
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Dr. Mario: $6 The Game Boy has plenty of excellent puzzle games to choose from — many of which are of the falling-block variety. While Dr. Mario falls into this category, it offers a splendid take on the format serves as a nice complement to Tetris for those that enjoy the genre. Check for Dr. Mario on Amazon Check for Dr. Mario on eBay |
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Bugs Bunny in Crazy Castle Series: $4 each This charming puzzle platformer series has a rather simple presentation, but has a wonderful difficulty curve that will keep your brain busy for quite a while. These cartridges are in large supply, but are not appreciated nearly enough. Check for Crazy Castle Series on Amazon Check for Crazy Castle Series on eBay |
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Mega Man: $9 If you enjoy old school action platformers, it’s hard not to love the Mega Man series. And even if you’ve played all of the NES incarnations, you still need to pick up the portable installements. The first game, subtitled “Dr. Wily’s Revenge” can still be found for less than $10 and is well worth the price of admission. Check for Mega Man on Amazon Check for Mega Man on eBay |
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Trax: $4 An oddball shooter from Hal Laboratories, Trax isn’t your typical scrolling space shmup. Instead, you proceed at your own pace across a battlefield while inside a dome-shaped tank. The tank can fire in 8 directions, but the interesting control scheme can be slightly disorienting and challenging. However, you are granted a generous amount of power-ups that spread your shot in different ways, so it’s not so bad. Check for Trax on Amazon Check for Trax on eBay |
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Toki Tori: $8 This cute yet entertaining puzzle adventure starts out with a rather simple setup to get your familiar with the basics and eventually gives your little yellow buddy extra abilities and tools to combat the added complexities in the later levels. Each of the levels and their respective tools are carefully designed, so you will need to think carefully and creatively to efficiently accomplish your goal. Now that this little gem is also on WiiWare, it’s getting cheaper on the GBC. Check for Toki Tori on Amazon Check for Toki Tori on eBay |
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Bubble Ghost: $6 This puzzle-y adventure follows a gleeful ghost whose sole charge is to guide a bubble through a danger-filled haunted house. It’s a delicate mission, but your phantasmal friend has a great deal of control over his bubble and can blow it around in 8 different directions. While deceivingly simple, the game is actually quite challenging, requiring patience and planning in order to circumvent the many obstacles you’ll encounter. Check for Bubble Ghost on Amazon Check for Bubble Ghost on eBay |
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Solar Striker: $3 This classic arcade-style shooter that’s not too harsh in the difficulty department, Solar Striker was one of the few shoot ‘em ups developed solely by Nintendo (the lead designer was Game Boy godfather Gunpei Yokoi). It’s a game of satisfying simplicity, with 6 stages of fast-paced, bullet-dodging action. The graphics aren’t especially impressive, but Solar Striker succeeds as a pretty straightforward classic-style shoot ‘em up. Check for Solar Striker on Amazon Check for Solar Striker on eBay |
Other Cheap Favorites
- Bionic Commando Elite Forces: $5 Amazon / eBay
- Contra Operation C: $6 Amazon / eBay
- Contra Alien Wars: $9 Amazon / eBay
- Revenge of the ‘Gator: $3 Amazon / eBay
- Yoshi: $3 Amazon / eBay
- Yoshi’s Cookie: $7 Amazon / eBay
- Uno: $3 Amazon / eBay
- Donkey Kong: $8 Amazon / eBay
- Game and Watch Gallery Series: $5 Amazon / eBay
- Mole Mania: $5 Amazon / eBay
- Dexter’s Laboratory: Robot Rampage: $3 Amazon / eBay
- Donkey Kong Land: $6 Amazon / eBay
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turles: Fall of the Foot Clan: $4 Amazon / eBay
- Tennis: $3 Amazon / eBay
- Quarth: $3 Amazon / eBay
13 Comments:
Excellent article, and one I was anticipating.
This will really be a help as now I can flesh out my GB/GBC collection.
Thanks very much Racketboy!
This is an entertaining list.
My only complaint is that the Game Boy and the Game Boy Color are treated as the same thing, when they are actually different systems. Personally, there should have been a separate list for Game Boy Color games, as there wasn’t that many in this one.
A reminder that I really need to flesh out my pre-DS handheld library. I’ve been working it on it though.
Bobby, they aren’t THAT different. The only difference is that you can’t play some Gameboy Color games on a Classic.
Having too may segregations makes things a little more fragmented than I would like on the site. Just like I haven’t felt the need to split off different formats on some of the TG16 guides.
Great! Now when I go to the store, I’ll be looking for these titles. Noise will like this article
Nice list as always. Surprised that TMNT Fall of the Foot Clan didn’t make the cut. That game usually goes around 5 bucks for just the cart. I would agree with your assessment of Tetris. It engages you more than the NES version because the screen is inches from your face.
Nice article. I recently picked up Donkey Kong on the Gameboy, and it was so addicting I didn’t put it down for days. It starts off being a remake of the original four levels of the original game, but then it just takes off from there. It made me like the Gameboy.
Good list, Racket. I’m only missing 4 of these actually, haha. For some reason no matter how many times people plug Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle, it just doesn’t look appealing to me.
At any rate, good calls on the obvious Mario’s and Zelda’s. I think people often forget that the first Mega Man GB release is still very affordable, since the later installments are so high in price. And very good call on Bubble Ghost, and absolute MUST OWN in every GB library in my opinion.
I’d also agree that I’d personally prefer seperate lists for GB and GBC. Though I understand WHY they’re lumped together, the games themselves tend to have a very different feel to me for the most part. But that’s just my opinion.
Also, I’m slightly surprised to see this article since I never got a PM asking for any suggestions. I thought I was the resident “Game Boy Guy”? haha.
This article was heavy on Game Boy and very light on Game Boy Color. I’d like some more info on Game Boy Color carts.
Well, a lot of the good GBC carts are a bit more expensive.
You might want to check into the Hidden Gems post though…
http://www.racketboy.com/retro/2009/11/best-undiscovered-gameboy-game-boy-color-games.html
nice list, albeit one (minor) “problem” (i.e. typo)
as I sometimes don’t have time to read through lists fully, I sort of skimmed through it
I noticed that you mistyped Super Mario Land 1 and instead it says Super Wario Land
not a huge deal, but I’d suggest a correction
apart from that IMO Super Mario Land 1 kicks 2’s butt
nice list, all in all; I’ll make sure to keep an eye out for some of these titles
unfortunately European (or at least Swedish) prices seem to differ rather hefty from U.S prices
still a good reference, though =)
All of the Amazon sponsored links in your post are broken.
Links are fixed now
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