If you needed a reason to fire up the old DMG, we’ll give you ten. This list leaves out acclaimed titles like Avenging Spirit, Faceball 2000, Heiankyo Alien, Kid Dracula, QIX, and Quarth — which have either appeared elsewhere as ports on past Nintendo home consoles or are available on Switch in some form — instead of leans towards largely forgotten console exclusives. Without further ado…
The serially overlooked sequel to Balloon Fight is based on a mode from the NES original where the screen automatically pans to the left as the player carefully navigates aerial hazards while floating aloft holding two balloons. Balloon Kid offers a fusion of flying and platforming by extending the simple gameplay of its processor with mechanics like releasing and re-inflating balloons. Fans of the Wii U Nintendo Land ‘Balloon Trip Breeze’ minigame are in for a treat with this one. Although simple and shorter, it is just as fun today.
Released back in 1989 as HAL Laboratory’s first Game Boy title, Revenge of the ‘Gator absolutely oozes charm. Our own Damien McFerran described it as “one of the first portable titles to successfully capture the essence of a real pinball table”, and he’s spot on. The premise is simple: keep the ball in play and collect points. Perhaps it is because of this simplicity that it remains a pleasure to revisit it with its superb physics, unique bonus areas, multiplayer mode and wonderful alligator motif that always makes us smile.
Another HAL outing that pre-dates Kirby, Trax is a top-down shooter that puts the player in control of a cute tank that can be steered freely in all eight directions, but with a turret that rotates clockwise. That limitation adds a layer of strategy when dodging, maneuvering, and landing punches. Despite its brevity and low difficulty, the title boasts fluid controls and is packed with character thanks to its unique ghosts and boss fights. Trax pushes the Game Boy to its technical limits and is a great little bootable title to satisfy a manual fix.
Originally conceived as ‘Bound High’, a Virtual Boy exclusive set in stereoscopic 3D that was canceled when Nintendo pulled the plug on the doomed headset, developers Japan System Supply have adapted the title’s protagonist, the robot Chalvo, and its gameplay aimed at rejection for an outing on the Game Boy, albeit as a 2D side-scrolling puzzle platformer. Although obscure and only released in Japan in 1997, Chalvo 55 creatively exploits block-pushing, exploration, and the unique mechanics of twisting into a constantly bouncing ball to great effect.
Given its sheer quality, it’s a shame that Mercenary Force has been so overlooked. Released in 1990 by Meldac and steeped in the folklore of Edo Japan, this fast-paced, auto-scrolling horizontal shooter puts you in control of a group of mercenaries, each with unique abilities. Attack formations can be changed dynamically to gain a strategic advantage, with each warrior having a unique kamikaze move that can be unleashed before falling in battle. This is a true cult classic that will test your stubbornness as it pushes the hardware to its limits.
Asmik Ace’s Catrap gained acclaim and notoriety following its 2011 digital re-release on the 3DS Virtual Console. It is credited with being one of the first video games ever – if not the first – to use a time-rewinding mechanic, which largely takes the frustration out of its brain-teasing gameplay. Playing as a boy and a girl tasked with solving 100 rooms of puzzles to undo the curse that turned them into anthropomorphic cats, the goal is to eliminate ghosts in hard-to-reach places by pushing rocks, breaking walls, and climbing ladders. An absolute gem.
Why Mole Mania, as the first title associated with its legendary lead designer Shigeru Miyamoto, is missing from the action on Nintendo Switch Online is a mystery. (Maybe an HD remake is in the works?) This polished late 90s puzzler is one of the best in the library. You control an incredibly cute mole who must dig underground to navigate through increasingly challenging maze-like levels to rescue her kidnapped family. Mole Mania boasts unique boss encounters, gorgeous pixel art, and screen after screen of well-crafted level design.
Although it never left Japan, Konami’s 1991 title Cave Noire is historically significant as one of the earliest examples of a roguelike game on a handheld console, and is still held in high esteem today. You undertake bite-sized quests in four procedural dungeons, each with a unique objective such as killing monsters, collecting gold, or freeing fairies. Inventory management and understanding the game’s turn-based movement are key to overcoming the high difficulty of later quests. A fan translation has been available online for some time for those willing to try their hand at this trivia.
1990’s Bubble Ghost was based on an earlier Atari ST game, though it’s the Game Boy version that became famous for its charming ghost design and more precise controls. It revolves around a swing-based puzzle, with players controlling a friendly spectral entity who must delicately guide a bubble through rooms to an exit by blowing into it, avoiding obstacles such as barbed wire, spikes, candles and fans. While patience and dexterity are essential, there’s a good reason why Bubble Ghost is on many ‘hidden gem’ lists.
Saving what might be the best for last, Namco’s 1992 RPG Great Greed is a true treasure. It boasts a self-aware, eccentric sense of humor that fans of EarthBound will find enjoyable, and a fluid ‘hand-to-hand combat’ combat system that focuses attacks and dodges on ‘A’ and ‘B’ respectively, and casts spells assigned to each of the four touch buttons. directing. This brilliantly solves the pacing problems that can arise with random turn-based battles, all with bizarre plot points, food-themed kingdoms and enemies, rock music and a radical anti-pollution message.
Let us know below which of these you’ve played and which ones caught your eye.
