I haven’t paid much attention to early handhelds… mostly because my childhood GBC experience was spent playing complete fucking garbage… but lately I’ve been compelled to check out the Game Boy’s action gaem library. I prefer gritty sci-fi or millitary themes but I’ll consider anything if it doesn’t suck.
I have:
-Super Mario Land 2
-Wario Land II and 3
-R-Types DX
And um, that’s pretty much it. Currently I’m eyeing:
-Super Mario Land
-Battle Unti Zeoth
-Operation C
-Nemesis (Gradius) and Gradius The Interstellar Assault
-Solar Striker
What other fun GB action platformers, shmups, run & gun and overhead shooters, et cetera are out there?
I’ll echo what others have said and recommend Solar Striker. It is a great shmup. If the system you are playing on is capable of playing GBC games, Project S-11 is another solid vertical shooter.
Are there any vehicle simulations on the GB beside X, Super Battletanks and F-14 the Dogfight simulator (anyone willing to opine on that last one btw)?
I’m going to pick up Avenging Spirit and Ikari no Yousai 2 off the 3DS VC because both are now absurdly expensive - will let you know if they are good.
Has anyone played the GBC version of Magical Chase?
I actually like the simulation genre on computers and sometimes on later gen consoles, but they usually sucked on early consoles, with a few exceptions here and there. Most of them are ports of excellent computer simulations and then dumbed down to the point of not being fun and challenging. Silent Service on the NES is really good though.
I went down the rabbit hole and started checking out simulations on the GB and it looks like Nigel Mansell’s World Championship Racing might be a solid game. Looks like it has real F1 tracks, a season mode, car tuning and it seems to play like a simulation. I might even pick up this game.
There is also a solid FPS on the GB. Midi Maze was ported from the Atari ST to the GB. It looks like a solid port and it has some jammin’ tunes. It even supports multiplayer via system link. It looks like 2 to 4-player on the GB and 2 to 16-player on the GBA!
Started Avenging Spirit (Phantasm in Japan). This game is blowing me away. The programming is really impressive - you can turn into ghost form and possess any enemy you want - but the level design is equally as good. It’s quite difficult but because of the possession mechanic, and the way every enemy controls differently, retrying stages gives opportunities to try things a little differently each time.
It’s a pity cartridges are so expensive because I’d love to have it on Game Boy Pocket. But it’s more portable friendly on 3DS VC since there’s no password system or save function. Unless you’re very good you’re unlikely to finish the game before you have to turn off your GB.
