Poll

Which of these GBC games is worth a purchase?

Blaster Master: Enemy Below
0 (0%)
Legend of the River King
0 (0%)
Legend of the River King 2
0 (0%)
Mega Man Xtreme
0 (0%)
Prince of Persia
0 (0%)
Rayman
0 (0%)
Xtreme Sports
0 (0%)
Gotta Play 'em All!
0 (0%)
Mario Tennis
2 (2.9%)
Pokémon Crystal
3 (4.4%)
Pokémon Puzzle Challenge
3 (4.4%)
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
6 (8.8%)
Harvest Moon
1 (1.5%)
Harvest Moon 2
1 (1.5%)
Harvest Moon 3
1 (1.5%)
Mario Golf
1 (1.5%)
Toki Tori
2 (2.9%)
Game & Watch Gallery 2
2 (2.9%)
Game & Watch Gallery 3
2 (2.9%)
Bionic Commando: Elite Forces
1 (1.5%)
Lufia: The Legend Returns
2 (2.9%)
Shantae
3 (4.4%)
Mega Man Xtreme 2
1 (1.5%)
Pokémon Gold
3 (4.4%)
Pokémon Silver
3 (4.4%)
Pokémon Trading Card Game
3 (4.4%)
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
5 (7.4%)
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
5 (7.4%)
All These Games Suck
1 (1.5%)
Pokémon Yellow
3 (4.4%)
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
4 (5.9%)
Wario Land 2
5 (7.4%)
Wario Land 3
5 (7.4%)

Total Members Voted: 8

Voting closed: June 13, 2020, 11:28:29 AM

Author Topic: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.  (Read 16813 times)

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Offline Khushrenada

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Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« on: October 16, 2019, 06:55:36 PM »
With the 3DS pretty much winding down and a lack of upcoming releases we have now arrived at the life cycle of a system where users start looking back in the catalogue of available games that were released and that they missed or forgot about when games were coming out regularly. For myself, I know that I didn't always pay as close attention to the eShop and its releases as I did physical releases. And while I have accumulated a few titles from it, I feel there are probably more I should take advantage of especially since Nintendo hasn't created any other source to purchase many of these titles.

While I could I slowly go through each title and try to track down reviews, I'd rather get the opinions of the NWR Forum users whose gaming tastes I trust a bit more. (Although judging by how things went with the Game Boy threads, I'll probably start looking up some outside sources.) Plus, I figured this would be a chance to engage in our favorite practice of reminiscing about games we loved playing (and arguing about the worth / rank of a game. ;)

The main goal is simple. If you have personally played any of these titles, post which ones you have and which ones you highly recommend others should have on their 3DS, which ones might be recommended for Kairon (or a deeper cut for a certain type of fan) and what you think should be skipped. (And sure, even if you haven't played them and have an opinion, I'm not going to argue against you from posting it). I've also included a poll for people to vote on the games they think a person should acquire for their 3DS.

Continuing the dive into the 3DS Virtual Console offerings, I figured I should move onto the Game Boy Color games since their is quite a bit of overlap in discussion between them when talking about the Game Boy. There were 31 games for the Game Boy Color released on the VC. I debated splitting them up again between two threads but I'll just make a mega-poll (which the forum software code will probably jumble up) and just keep it all to one thread this time around. So, this means the recommendations will be focused on the following titles:

Bionic Commando: Elite Forces
Blaster Master: Enemy Below
Game & Watch Gallery 2
Game & Watch Gallery 3
Harvest Moon
Harvest Moon 2
Harvest Moon 3
Legend of the River King
Legend of the River King 2
Lufia: The Legend Returns
Mario Golf
Mario Tennis
Mega Man Xtreme
Mega Man Xtreme 2
Pokémon Crystal
Pokémon Gold
Pokémon Puzzle Challenge
Pokémon Silver
Pokémon Trading Card Game
Pokémon Yellow
Prince of Persia
Rayman
Shantae
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Toki Tori
Wario Land 2
Wario Land 3
Xtreme Sports


Which games do you think are worthy of being added to one's collection and played?
« Last Edit: October 25, 2019, 11:17:32 AM by Khushrenada »
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Offline Mop it up

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #1 on: October 16, 2019, 08:26:08 PM »
I don't even see a poll!

As with original Game Boy, I haven't played very many GBC games since I've never been interested in them, and even less which are actually on the VC.

Blaster Master: Enemy Below
I haven't played this, but it appears to be a version of the NES game. Probably not much reason to play it unless a fan wants to see the original game but slightly different.
Recommended for Kairon

Game and Watch Gallery 2 & 3
These have more games in them than the original, with 3 having more than 2. However, not all have modern versions this time, which are improved versions of the games with updated graphics and more forgiving mechanics. These simple games are all about chasing high scores, and gallery images of other Game and Watch games can be unlocked from reaching certain score thresholds in all the games. A few of the playable games also need to be unlocked this way, if I remember rightly. They can be a fun timewaster but they won't hold interest for long. I would give a slight edge to 3 since it has more games, and I think I also liked the ones it had better than 2.
Recommended for Kairon

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX
There's not really anything I need to say about this game, I don't think. While it isn't one of my fave Zeldas, it's still good in its own right and definitely worth playing. I do still find it feels bottlenecked by being on Game Boy though, and not just because of the lack of buttons. I know this has that remake available now on Switch, but since it's largely the same game, I'm actually okay still recommending the original since the list price is ten times less.
Recommended

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Ages
It's been a long time since I played these so I'm having trouble remembering them, but I do remember liking both games and think they're worth playing. They do share many similarities with Link's Awakening however so they won't seem very unique, but they're still solid classic Zeldas. I remember liking Seasons more because I found the changing seasons gimmick to be more interesting for a couple of reasons, including that it's been done less than time travel, and I also liked the more action-y dungeons since that felt more unique as well. It's worth it to play both games though and not just because they are connected, and Ages has solid dungeons as well.
Both Recommended

Mario Tennis
This game had solid tennis mechanics for its time, though honestly I never liked this version very much. You can't use the Mario characters during the story mode, and instead use some generic characters to face off against other generic characters until you win enough to challenge the Mario ones. The RPG trappings were a novel idea but the end result was just some inane chatter between matches and lengthening things with grinding up a bizarre and confusing stat system. While the Mario Tennis offerings on 3DS are not very good, I'd still recommend Open or Sports Superstars over this.
Not Recommended

Pokémon Gold & Silver
Gold was my first Pokémon and as such it was still the most fun I had playing one and I try to not be biased about it. That said, I do think this pair of games improved a lot about the originals, and as a result they are definitely more playable even today. However, since this series hasn't changed much, I still think most people would be fine just playing the latest games. But, anyone curious about the roots of this series, I'd actually recommend starting with these over the first generation games due to being less rough. I have not played Crystal however so I don't know what it changed or added, but that would likely be the version to get.
Recommended for Kairon

Pokémon Puzzle Challenge
This is a version of Panel de Pon, originally known as Tetris Attack in the US. I've always liked this more than the N64 version, if I remember rightly I liked the gym setup better for the VS computer matches, and it also has Garbage mode. There are a few unlockables such as difficulties, and a few other modes like puzzle and time trial which are nice to have as well, and has plenty of stat tracking for high scores. It even has the original Game Boy Panel de Pon hidden away. While there may be some newer versions of this game out there, this one is still a solid puzzler and for the price it's still worth grabbing.
Recommended

Pokémon Yellow
This game is actually an original Game Boy game, not a GBC game, but given the GBC coloring that the system gave to original GB games. I'm not sure why they allowed this game to run on GBC and not the others on VC, though in this case it may have been to further differentiate it from Blue and Red. Something to keep in mind. Otherwise, I'll say what I said about Red and Blue:

As someone who is not a fan of this series but still likes to play one now and then, I see no reason to return to these games else than nostalgia, especially when the series has never deviated from this same formula so there isn't anything I find unique about them. As the first in the series they are also pretty rough and lack some important information. I believe that Yellow is an enhanced version of Red and Blue, so if a fan absolutely wants to see the roots of this series, that's the one I would say to get.
Recommended for Kairon

Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
The definitive version of SMB1! Sort of. The smaller screen space is unfortunate, though it usually doesn't affect much of anything until some of the SMB2j levels. And yeah, SMB2j is in here as well, though just the original 8 worlds of it, not the extra worlds. There are some extras which I think are fun, such as beating the 8 Bowsers with fire flower and finding hidden coins in each level, which give nice reason to re-explore an old classic. The Vs Boo race is also neat, but has just 8 levels.
Recommended

Wario Land II
This is probably my fave GBC game (Yes, I'm aware it's a DX version of a GB game). As someone who enjoys exploring for secrets, this game has a laser focus on just that, with hidden coins and secret exits abound. Some of the abilities Wario can utilize are pretty funny. Simply completing a level is easy though, mainly because Wario is invincible, so anyone specifically looking for a challenge will want to steer clear. Each level is packed with coins, some even more than levels in NSMB2! There are a lot of levels and multiple paths through the game with a couple different endings, so it's pretty replayable too.
Recommended

Wario Land 3
This game is like a direct sequel to 2, with the same mechanics and some of the same graphics, but with a different focus. The levels in this game are more connected, and sometimes backtracking is needed to progress. Despite the more open design, I felt it had less of a focus on finding secrets, so I don't like it as much as 2 but it's still good for what it is.
Recommended
« Last Edit: October 16, 2019, 09:10:46 PM by Mop it up »

Offline ejamer

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #2 on: October 16, 2019, 08:30:40 PM »
Blaster Master: Enemy Below - Bought this due to fond memories of the NES classic. Found out my nostagia wasn't totally justified and kind of regret the purchase. Blaster Master is (for me) a great idea that hasn't aged well; putting it on the small screen doesn't do anything to improve that opinion.

Rayman - It's pretty, and a "classic" of sorts. But I don't think this is a good game on any platform until you get much later in the series.

Shantae - I like the series, and really enjoyed this game when it became available on 3DS Virtual Console. However, there are some weak design choices in play. Enemies often take a lot of hits, and the overworld traversal is pretty bland and filled with backtracking. Still, I found it to be charming and a great fit for the platform.

Super Mario Bros. Deluxe - There are some really cool extra features and bonuses thrown into this game, but in the end* it's still Super Mario Bros on a very small screen (which isn't ideal). Not bad, and the novelty will justify a purchase for some... but not something I'd recommend over the NES version.

The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX - Still great, and definitely worth playing. There are some odd things in this game and not much for a story. Still comes together nicely though. The only reason I'd hesitate is that some might prefer the Switch remake which is supposed to be very good.

The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages, The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons - Doing these ones together; I'd say go for them, although I don't think they ended up being as good as Link's Awakening. The two games are very even, but people don't always agree which is best - it depends on what you like about Zelda games.


In retrospect, the only ones I'd buy again are Shantae and the Zelda games.
(The Wario Land games are interesting, but I never enjoyed them as much as others.)


*Edit: I'm probably short-changing Super Mario Deluxe, because it really does have a lot of extra content thrown into the game. It's probably one of the defining GBC games, to be honest.
« Last Edit: October 16, 2019, 08:34:00 PM by ejamer »
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Offline Mop it up

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #3 on: October 16, 2019, 09:12:51 PM »
Oops I forgot the Oracle Zelda games! Not sure why those slipped me...

Offline Khushrenada

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #4 on: October 17, 2019, 03:33:40 AM »
I don't even see a poll!

Just you wait!
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Offline Order.RSS

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #5 on: October 17, 2019, 09:07:32 AM »
Ah yes, my annual moment to rep Pokémon Trading Card Game has arrived. I'm super fond of that game, although it has some real problems. They give you a little world map which you use to select which Card Club to go to (think of them as Gyms from the main series), then you walk around inside the Clubs, challenge who you want in any order (can even start with the Leader) and fleece them for all their cards.
Pokémon TCG is not very complicated: you basically summon monsters, feed them energy cards to attack or retreat, and there's Trainer cards which do special effects. First to knock out six critters wins.

Like many similar games (Yu-Gi-Oh!, Capcom vs. SNK Card Clash) you kinda have an inverted difficulty curve here. You start out with a really weak deck, but once you've amassed some better cards you become unstoppable. There's 2 decks you can build here which utterly ruin the game; basically the game expects you to fill half your deck with Energy cards and power up strong evolved monsters.
However, if you use just two Basic monsters who retreat for free and have low Energy cost, you can fill your stack with Trainers which let you endlessly draw more cards, power up your moves, remove energy from the opponent etc.

If you like collecting a bunch of stuff and wrecking the A.I. in mere turns, this one's a fun option. There's also one really weird dude in a Teletubbie outfit with super creepy music and a bunch of cards with his face on. Not sure what that was all about but it's kinda neat?

Pokémon Gold & Silver
[...] I have not played Crystal however so I don't know what it changed or added, but that would likely be the version to get.

Pokémon Crystal adds a few neat improvements: the sprites of the critters are animated now, it finally adds the ability to play as a female trainer, and there's a very light 'story' addition revolving around the legendary Pokémon Suicune. Crystal was also GBC-exclusive, it didn't run on original Gameboy, unlike Gold & Silver.

Offline Khushrenada

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #6 on: October 17, 2019, 11:29:12 AM »
Poll is now up.
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Offline Ian Sane

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #7 on: October 17, 2019, 02:09:34 PM »
I believe Blaster Master: Enemy Below is a different game than the NES one.  I'm looking at VGMaps for both titles and the layout and bosses are different.  I suspect it's a very cookie cutter sequel and could probably be looked at more as a second quest but Blaster Master fans that want more would probably like it.

Offline ejamer

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #8 on: October 17, 2019, 03:53:54 PM »
I believe Blaster Master: Enemy Below is a different game than the NES one.  I'm looking at VGMaps for both titles and the layout and bosses are different.  I suspect it's a very cookie cutter sequel and could probably be looked at more as a second quest but Blaster Master fans that want more would probably like it.

Can confirm - it's definitely a different game. I'm just not sure this one improves on what I consider shortcomings from the NES version. Very much more of the same, based on what I recall at least.

It's not a terrible game by any means, and anyone who did love the NES original will probably be very happy with it.
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Offline Luigi Dude

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #9 on: October 17, 2019, 04:05:46 PM »
Mega Man Xtreme

Unlike the GB Megaman games that managed to take the core experience and find a way to focus on its best strengths within the GB limitation while still adding unique elements, this game is just an inferior version of the X series in every way.  I mean literally, every level is a shorter, gimped version of a level from the first two X games without the speed and fluid controls of the SNES counterparts.  The only thing that's literally new about the game is 2 mid bosses that are pathetically easy, and Sigma's final form from X1 has a new attack if you fight him on Xtreme difficulty.  Even to hardcore Megaman fans, there's nothing about this game that's worth playing.

Megaman Xtreme 2

Now this one on the other hand is worth playing for hardcore Megaman fans since the levels are unique.  It also allows to choose between X and Zero, with the Xtreme difficulty letting you switch between the 2.  The only problem is it has quite a few cheap moments throughout the game.  The level design is unique but the designers didn't make it with the small screen in mind, so there's a lot of gotcha moments because you literally have no time to react.  There's also a Spinx boss toward the end of the game that's complete BS since the damn thing takes up literally 2/3rd of the screen and you have a few pixels to even try and dodge it's attacks.  Sigma's final form as well is pretty much impossible if you didn't buy X and Zero's powerups from the shop which I never bothered to do my first time playing since damaging enemies was never a problem.  But then I'm fighting Sigma for over 30 minutes and wondering why my attacks don't even seem to hurt him then look up online that you should have bought X/Zero's attack powerups, which is kind of BS since all other Megaman games with shops make the powerups optional.

But still, anyone that's a fan of Megaman will still get a new experience out of this game for better or worse.  If you haven't played the X series though, play X1-3 at least before even thinking of touching this game since the overall gameplay is still worse then the SNES counterparts and might put you off the rest of the series which would be a shame since X1 and X2 are both excellent.

Super Mario Bros Deluxe

This is a must own for anyone that's a fan of the original.  Yes, the reduced screen makes the main play inferior to the NES version, but the extra's more then make up for it.  Trying to find the 5 red coins, discover the hidden Yoshi and reach the top score in each level really makes you appreciate the design that went into each level.  It really shows why this game basically built the foundation to modern gaming and revolutionized the industry.  The amount of detail that Miyamoto, Tezuka and the rest of the team put into each level is mindblowing.  The NES version is better to just speed through, but playing Deluxe really makes you stop and take in what makes the game to this day so special.

The Deluxe version was also pretty revolutionary when you consider the achievement system it has going on.  It has an achievement system in 1999, with rewards for basic tasks like killing a Goomba to higher ones like beating Bower with a Fire Flower in every level like Mop it up mentioned earlier.  This is something the rest of the industry wouldn't start to make standard until 2 generations later.  This was also 2 years before Smash Bros Melee which many consider Nintendo's first achievement game.  So yeah, even when it's an enhanced version of an almost 15 year old game that helped build the future of the gaming industry, it ended up being pretty forward thinking on it's own with where the industry would be heading with rewards and achievements to help prolong the gameplay experience.

The Legend of Zelda: Links Awakening DX

Not much needs to be said about this game.  This was the first handheld game to really show that GB games could be more then watered down home console experiences.  Instead of a shorter version of LttP, they made a full sequel that stands on it's own and some even find it better.  They couldn't replicate the action because of lack of enemies the GB could provide so they focused on making the puzzles more complex.  Same with the overworld being smaller, but more dense to make up.  Even though Links Awakening on Switch is more newcomer friendly because of the controls, I'd still recommend everyone play this version as well just to see what they managed to accomplish with the hardware at the time.

The Legend Of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Ages

Even though they aren't as revolutionary as Awakening, I still love these games.  I mean think about it, having gone for 8 years without any new 2D Zelda games, Nintendo released 2 new games at the same time.  Yeah you need to play both to experience the whole story but as standalone game they're still the same length as most other 2D Zelda games.  It's even crazier when you realize there was suppose to be a third game as well, but its understandable why they had to cut it.

Anyway, if you like 2D Zelda there's no reason not to play these games.  Seasons focuses more on the action and because of that is the hardest non-NES Zelda game to date.  Ages focuses more on puzzles and has some of the most complex puzzles in a 2D Zelda game to date.  They also contain the best set of bosses, both challenge wise and creativity across the entire Zelda series.  The story to each game also changes some depending on which one you play first so they have some of the best replay value out of any Zelda game as well.

Wario Land II


This game is just brilliant and literally a decade ahead of its time.  The game removes lives by making Wario invincible but makes up for that.  Levels are filled with puzzles and traps that can still set Wario back.  There's still a lot of tricky platforming, but instead of getting a Game Over, you just wont reach the next level until you finally clear said obstacle.  The removal of not having to worry about Game Overs is something major indie games like Super Meat Boy would make famous a decade later, but Wario Land II was already doing this long before.

The game also not only encourages getting everything but even rewards the players with getting 100% by having a final, extra challenging level as well.  This is something the Mario games wouldn't even implement until Galaxy 2, once again over a decade later.  The amount of polish and creativity in this game is just insane.  This game should be just as praised as the original Yoshi's Island when it comes to one of the most creative platformers ever made.  Even though I still find Wario Land Shake to be my favorite game in the Wario Land series, Wario Land II is easily the definitive game in the series.  The rest of the series and even Wario Ware to a certain degree all come from this game.  This is the game that took Wario from just a generic bad version of Mario, to the actual character he is today.

Wario Land III

Now this one is interesting.  Its takes the gameplay of Wario Land II and makes a metroid style game out of it.  I personally think it's also brilliant and worth checking out but at least play II before it.  The level design is a lot more complex and almost assumes players played the 2nd game first because it has no problem suddenly requiring players do something that II taught them to proceed.

The funny thing is Wario Land III was the first Wario Land game I actually played.  At first I didn't like it that much since I thought it was too confusing and I got stuck all the time.  I ended up playing Wario Land 2 a year later because I heard several people saying it the better game, and loved it.  Wario Land 2 did a much better job of communicating it's gameplay in an enjoyable way that gradually progressed in it's difficulty and complexity so I was hooked until I 100% the whole thing.  I then went back to Wario Land III after finishing II and this time I loved the game I even played it too 100% as well.

So as a continuation of Wario Land II, I feel III is a must play since it provides more complex and challenging continuation of the gameplay started in that game.  But the change in it's structure is something I can't blame some for not liking as much.  So I would still recommend the game, but only after playing Wario Land II first to see if you like it's type of gameplay.
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Offline Mop it up

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #10 on: October 17, 2019, 04:19:37 PM »
Oh, and something to note about Toki Tori is that it was remade for WiiWare which was later made available on 3DS, Wii U, and now Switch. There may not be reason to play the GBC original over the remake.

Offline Khushrenada

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #11 on: October 18, 2019, 02:55:33 AM »
So, a large majority of the GBC games were released after Nintendo Power shut down. However, like I did for the Game Boy games, here are some of the final words by Nintendo Power on GBC games. First of all, when they released their list of the 285 All-Time Favorite Games from Any Nintendo System as voted on by the editorial staff, 6 GBC games were listed. Those games are:

Metal Gear Solid at #202,
Wario Land 3 at #197,
Mario Tennis at #136,
Oracle of Ages at #110,
Oracle of Seasons at #109
and
Link's Awakening DX at #25.

All those games but Metal Gear Solid are available on the eShop. Unlike the Game Boy versions of Pokemon Red and Blue which made the list and their GBA remakes did not, Pokemon Gold, Silver and Crystal for GBC are not listed. Instead, this time the HeartGold and SoulSilver DS remakes are the versions to make the list. Those remake/remastered versions are the Pokemon games that placed the highest on the list at 62. As far as the Game Boy line goes, there was just one other game that places ahead of Link's Awakening DX and that is Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga for the GBA which placed just one spot higher at #24. So, there you have it. UB is wrong about Link's Awakening being the greatest game ever and Superstar Saga is the best Mario & Luigi game to play. A little cross-promotion amongst the other current popular threads here in Console Gaming.

As for the GBC games released during Nintendo Power's final issues, these are the grades doled out:

Link's Awakening DX - Recommended (& Staff Pick)
Blaster Master: Enemy Below - Recommended
Game & Watch Gallery 2 - Recommended
Prince of Persia - Recommended
Toki Tori - Recommended

Rayman - Hmmmmm


Only 6 of the 31 games that would end up being released with just Rayman not getting a good recommendation. The next challenge now will be to start digging up what NWR Staff has to say on these titles. But like the Game Boy titles, I think the more that forum users can comment on these titles then the more helpful it will be on evaluating these titles.
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Offline ejamer

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #12 on: October 18, 2019, 03:24:47 AM »
Oh, and something to note about Toki Tori is that it was remade for WiiWare which was later made available on 3DS, Wii U, and now Switch. There may not be reason to play the GBC original over the remake.

Toki Tori is a fine little puzzle game, but I agree with this - especially because you can often get other versions of the game cheaper than the GBC Virtual Console release.
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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #13 on: October 21, 2019, 01:28:15 PM »
These are the games I have played in my life from the poll. 

Game and Watch Gallery 2, Game and Watch Gallery 3, Pokémon Crystal, Gold, Silver, Yellow, Shantae, Oracle of Seasons and Ages and Toki Tori.   

The Game and Watch series is a fun to pick up and play series where the challenge is how long you can play and what kind of high scores you can get. I like Game and Watch Gallery 2 more than 3 mainly because of the game choices and there is some extra content from 3 in it.

Pokémon has been a series that I have been with since Red and Blue came to North American shores when I was 15 years old. I would always play with friends and trade and battle and it was very fun.    Later on I got Pokémon Silver because Lugia and the 2nd movie and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I was really surprised after beating the Elite 4 in Johto that a whole region opened up after the fact.  I later got Pokémon Crystal and I loved that for the first time in the series has a female protagonist that you could play as.   Even though a good majority of the game was a retread of Gold and Silver I did like the extra parts with Eusine and Suicune were great although finding Entei and Raiku were a pain in the butt. Really the only area of the game which I didn't like.

Shantae is actually a series I got into because of all the praise it was getting even shortly after release.  I didn't play it till it got on the 3DS VC shop and I really liked it. I liked the world she inhabited and I really need to pick up the rest of the games in the series and catch up.

Oracle of Ages and Seasons.   I actually have my nephew to thank for showing me these games. One time he came over and he showed me Seasons I think and we played through a good portion of them over the weekend. Didn't finish them but they took elements from the Zelda series in general namely the Puzzles and Action/Exploration and broke them up into their own games and I thought that was neat. 

Toki Tori is another game that I picked up for the first time on the 3DS VC shop. It is a fun puzzle game and just trying to figure out the best course of action while watching Toki Tori walk around is kinda cute. Fun game!!
« Last Edit: October 21, 2019, 01:34:45 PM by BeautifulShy »
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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #14 on: October 21, 2019, 01:43:36 PM »
These are the games that I voted for in the poll.

Game and Watch Gallery 2 and 3, Harvest Moon 1 2 and 3, Lufia: The Legend Returns, Mario Gold and Tennis, Pokémon Crystal, Pokémon Puzzle Challenge and Pokémon Trading Card Game, Shantae, The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX and Oracle of Ages and Seasons, Toki Tori, Wario Land 2 and 3. 
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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #15 on: October 23, 2019, 06:45:52 PM »
Looked up NWR's review history for the GBC and found that they did reviews for 19 of the 31 games released. That leaves 12 unaccounted for. Unlike the GB games, NWR was pretty much positive about every GBC that was reviewed except one which is Legend of the River King. There were no middling reviews. Clearly the addition of color makes a huge difference in a game's quality.  8) And, for whatever reason, Pokemon Trading Card Game and Super Mario Bros. Deluxe had two reviews about them so both of those are linked to those games. I also linked the Toki Tori 3D review along with the VC mini since they seem to be the same thing but with 3D added. As Mop it up mentioned, there are many versions of Toki Tori out there so it may help to see what has been said about the other versions to decide which a person would most like. Finally, it seems, according to NWR, that Nintendo saved the best for last in the 3DS VC releases with the last game released for the service, which is Pokemon Crystal, getting a 10 out of 10 perfect score.

Here's the full list of reviews:

Bionic Commando: Elite Forces – 8.5/10
Blaster Master: Enemy Below –Recommended
Game & Watch Gallery 2 – N/A
Game & Watch Gallery 3 – N/A
Harvest Moon – N/A
Harvest Moon 2 – N/A
Harvest Moon 3 – N/A
Legend of the River King – 3.0/10
Legend of the River King 2 – N/A
Lufia: The Legend Returns – N/A
Mario Golf – Recommended
Mario Tennis – N/A
Mega Man Xtreme –9.0/10
Mega Man Xtreme 2 – 8.0/10
Pokémon Crystal – 10/10
Pokémon Gold – 8.0/10
Pokémon Puzzle Challenge – N/A
Pokémon Silver –8 .0/10
Pokémon Trading Card Game – 8.0/10 & 8.0/10
Pokémon Yellow – 8.0/10
Prince of Persia – N/A
Rayman – N/A
Shantae – 8.5/10
Super Mario Bros. Deluxe – 8.0/10 & 9.0/10
The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX – Recommended
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages – 8.5/10
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons – 9.0/10
Toki Tori – Recommended & 3D 8.0/10
Wario Land 2 – 9.0/10
Wario Land 3 – 8.5/10
Xtreme Sports – N/A
« Last Edit: October 24, 2019, 02:53:45 AM by Khushrenada »
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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #16 on: October 23, 2019, 09:03:05 PM »
« Last Edit: October 23, 2019, 09:05:53 PM by ejamer »
NNID: ejamer

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #17 on: October 24, 2019, 02:54:13 AM »
Thanks! It's been corrected.
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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #18 on: October 27, 2019, 07:38:21 AM »
The magazine I read at the time were head-over-heels for Mario Tennis. I've never played this version because games were expensive and I was saving pennies for licensed garbage and stuff like Battleship instead, but every few issues they'd bring up Mario Tennis somewhere as the gold standard for portable sports stuff.

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #19 on: October 28, 2019, 05:43:55 PM »
Hahaha. We got a Game Boy Color hater this time around. Someone was bold enough to say all these games suck. It does seem like there is less discussion for these titles compared to the Game Boy games so maybe they do?

I know I don’t have much to say in this thread. For myself, I bought 4 of these games. All three Zeldas and Wario Land 2. I've only played Link's Awakening DX and I do recommend it. Will have to see how the new remake/remaster compares. Meant to play through the other Zelda games but always ended up playing some other Zelda games or just other games instead. I'd always heard about people going on positively about the Wario Land series and they always sounded like something that would be my jam. The first game I tried getting into was actually Wario Land 4. Yet, despite making a bit of headway, the game has always come across as rather obtuse to me and I’ve never been able to stick with it. I’m pretty sure I’ve checked the manual about controls and gameplay but, when playing it, I just feel like I’m missing some info. Something is just off about it.

When the Wario Land games started coming out on VC, I got the first of Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 and then got Wario Land 2. When Wario Land 3 was released, I thought I better start playing these before buying another one. So, I booted up the first one and played through a couple levels. It was mentioned that the game can feel a bit slow in the Game Boy threads and I’d say that agrees with my memory of it. There’s was nothing that grabbed me right away or compelled me to keep playing after that initial dive in. Plus, I was still trying to figure out the controls and what certain things did. I was going to check into the manual about it but never did. With my Wario Land 4 experience and then this uninteresting start to the first game, (on top of not really caring for Metroid 2, SML2 and DK94) I just didn’t bother pursuing this series further and just sort of gave up on older handheld games as something that didn’t seem to be for me.

With the recent re-examination and willingness to give these games a second chance, I’ve found titles that I’ve quite enjoyed. So, the original Wario Land is a game I want to get back to and play through now. The prevailing opinion does seem to be that 2 and 3 are the best of the series (along with Shake It for Wii). So, I’ll probably add Wario Land 3 and hope it does turn out positive.

One game I never gave any thought to and didn’t really know anything about was Super Mario Bros. Deluxe. I actually thought it was some variation of the original Mario Bros. pipe arcade game. I guess I should have clued in with the Super in front of the name but just took that as it being the most definitive deluxe edition the game could be. Now, another port of SMB doesn’t interest me especially since I’ve already got the NES original as part of the Ambassador game selection. However, the addition of challenge mode where you explore the levels for red coins and Yoshi eggs does interest me as a new way to play the game. So, I’d say I’m curious about this game.
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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #20 on: October 28, 2019, 06:37:12 PM »
If you hate your ears, I can highly recommend checking out the GBC port of Rayman for its  ear-piercingly shrieky soundtrack.

To be honest that port must've been interesting to work on: they basically cut out every bossfight and character not called Rayman. The final boss from the Jaguar/PS1 original is still there, but looks very different, and the game is a lot shorter so they must've gone to town on those levels with a hacksaw.
Music and Rayman's design were lifted from Rayman 2 instead, weirdly enough.

It even used the GBC's infra-red sensor to link with other Ubisoft games. You could apparantly exchange Ubi Keys, which would unlock bonus levels and such, by infra-red linking two GBCs with for example cartridges of Rayman and Tonic Trouble in them. (Related: did you know there was a GBC port of Tonic Trouble? It looks atrocious.)

I can only assume that excising over half of the original game's content will invariably lead to a much better user experience than playing Rayman 1 ever could, and thus I would technically recommend this version over it.

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #21 on: October 31, 2019, 06:46:37 PM »
Unlike the GB games, there doesn’t seem to be trailers on the eShop for every game which is a shame. It does help in giving me an idea if I’d want to play a title. For now, I’d break down the remaining Color games that are available and I haven’t purchased as such:


Will be adding at some point

Wario Land 3
Toki Tori (although it may be a different version)
Shantae


All seem to be highly regarded and they are games I do want to play at some point anyways.


Strong Possibility of Adding

Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
Pokemon Puzzle Challenge


SMB Deluxe is probably something I will end up adding. It’s just hard to be enthusiastic at the prospect of buying SMB again even with the additional content and when I already have a copy of the NES SMB version on my system. Likewise, PPC seems to be one of the higher regarded titles for color and was a game listed in NWR’s Game Boy VC wishlist article. (Surprising that no one ever did review it for the site then when it came out.) I just have no great affection for the Pokemon series and the trailer didn’t make it seem like an intense or intriguing puzzler. Still, the people on here who have played it all seem pretty positive on it so it is an offering I’m more intrigued on then most of the other Color games.


Curious About / Might Yet Add

Bionic Commando: Elite Forces
Blaster Master: Enemy Below
Game & Watch Gallery 2
Game & Watch Gallery 3
Legend of the River King 2
Prince of Persia
Rayman
Xtreme Sports


From all comments and sources, Rayman is not a top-tier game that needs to be played. Still, part of me would like to see what the first game in the series was sort of like and check out its origins a bit. But will I ever get around to doing that? *insert shrug emoji*

As mentioned, Game and Watch games aren’t exactly something one may play steady unless you are really into a game and getting the high score. But I’m tempted to get 3 simply because then I’d have both the actual physical Game Boy games I own on my 3DS and just get rid of the system. I’m not using it and having tried playing stuff on it for years. Aside from doing a check to see if there are any other Game Boy games that are considered highly worth checking out that aren’t on the VC, I really don’t see a reason for keeping one around at this point. Might see if I can get a Game Boy color instead and then track down a copy of Kirby Tilt ‘n’ Tumble as that is the only game in the series I’m unable to acquire through recent systems. I may pick up 2 if I’m getting 3 and also 1. I know what to expect from these games and they can be enjoyable here and there for a short diversion. And with the save state / restore point ability then perhaps it will be easier to get high scores for the 5 star goal the games have.

Bionic Commando will probably depend on how the Game Boy original goes. Blaster Master I’ll look into more. There was some version of the game or a new entry when the Switch first released and reaction to it was pretty positive and considered a game worth getting in the launch period of the Switch although I never hear any talk of it now. Likewise, Prince of Persia got a good recommendation from Nintendo Power but NWR never did a review nor has anyone here said anything about it yet. Thus I think I’ll check for some more info before rendering final judgement of whether I think it worth adding to my VC collection or passing on. I didn’t get why there was some Xtreme Sports game released for the VC until I looked it up on the eShop and saw it was made by Wayforward who also made Shantae. The game actually has a nice look to it from the quick glimpse given by the trailer and I was more interested in trying it and some of the sports in it than the Mario Golf glimpse from its eShop trailer.

And then there’s Legend of the River King 2. I’m sort of curious about the River King series. It was popular enough for Natsume to make many entries for it over the years. And if they made farming fun with Harvest Moon then maybe they did the same with just fishing. However, the first one was panned hard here and was the only negatively reviewed GBC game out of all the ones reviewed by NWR. So, maybe the second one might be better but, again, I’ll probably do some more research on this.


No Plans to Add

Harvest Moon
Harvest Moon 2
Harvest Moon 3
Legend of the River King
Lufia: The Legend Returns
Mario Golf
Mario Tennis
Mega Man Xtreme
Mega Man Xtreme 2
Pokémon Crystal
Pokémon Gold
Pokémon Silver
Pokémon Trading Card Game
Pokémon Yellow


I’ve written off the Pokemon games because I’ve got Let’s Go Pikachu which is sort of a remake of Yellow for the Switch and have HeartGold and SoulSilver I’ve never touched for DS and those remakes/remasters seem to be more highly regarded over the originals. Having hardly played much of a traditional Pokemon, I just have no interest in doing the Trading Card Game and battling with cards instead.

Mario Golf just looks too old at this point and not the Mario Golf experience I’m used to from N64, GC and now 3DS. Going by Mop’s opinion of Mario Tennis, there’s no fear of missing out on that title. Moreover, I think it is the GBA titles of Golf and Tennis that have gotten the higher praise of these older sports games. I had no idea what the MegaMan Xtreme games were so thank you Luigi Dude for your reviews and info on them. Maybe if I ever get around to playing the Mega Man X games and want more of that experience then I’ll think of checking them out. Sort of like how I got around to the Donkey Kong Land games after wanting more of that Country experience but different from the games I’d through plenty of already.

River King was panned here and I’m still not sure if what to think of the series or if I’ll even get bother with 2 either. Nothing against Harvest Moon but can’t say I’ve ever heard much praise for the GBC editions. I know SNES, N64, GBA (Friends of Mineral Town), Magical Melody and other entries have had higher praise. Plus, they can be a bit of a time sink so don’t really feel like investing that into these GBC offerings when there are these better options I still could try and are better graphically. As for Lufia, BeautifulShy mentioned voting for it in the poll but that is the only mention the game has had by anyone in this thread. The trailer for the game on the eShop did nothing to peak my interest so I’m fine passing on this too.
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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #22 on: November 12, 2019, 01:37:14 AM »
I think the main reason for picking up the Pokémon games nowadays is because of the nostalgia and you can transfer older TMs to the new games so pokemon could have unique move sets which might be unexpected but if you are not that into battling then that may not be enough for you.
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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #23 on: November 12, 2019, 11:35:33 PM »
Also Pokémon transferred to Pokémon Bank from Red, Blue, Yellow, and Crystal have their hidden abilities and I believe the 3DS VC version of Crystal is a modified Rom that has the Celebi event active so it's the only way to legitimately obtain a Celebi atm.

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Re: Best of the 3DS eShop: Virtual Console. Game Boy Color.
« Reply #24 on: November 13, 2019, 12:12:16 AM »
There's no Celebi in the Heartgold Soulsilver remakes?
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