If you are curious about Nintendo's earliest Game Boy games, here are some information about them in my words.
Alleyway - This game is considered by many to be Nintendo's version of Breakout and/or Arkanoid, but it's more like Super Breakout, because Super Breakout has some similar features compared to Alleyway. I was playing Alleyway last night and it was kind of boring at the beginning of it, but in later levels, it becomes more interesting and fun. The bonus levels are the most interesting parts, because they play this catchy music, while the ball runs THROUGH the blocks instead of ricocheting off of them. The replay value is quite low, because of the lack of saving progress, not playing background music during most of its gameplay and not very different compared to the games it resembles. There was a song remix of this game released for the Game Music Graffiti album.
Click here to listen to it.
Solar Striker - This was Nintendo's first and last scrolling shoot-em-up. Those Kirby shoot-em-ups seen in Kirby Super Star and Kirby & The Amazing Mirror don't count. Most people thought it had no plot, because it doesn't tell you in the game. It does have a plot, it's in the instruction booklet. The Wikipedia article about this game tells the plot as well. The plot is like "the world is doomed, but our last hope is sending the top secret advanced fighter, code-named Solar Striker". The game is fun, but it's short; however, when you return to the title screen after you beat the game, you can press Select to play again in Hard Mode. But one bad point about this is that Solar Striker has no battery-backed memory to save progress. The music is pretty catchy, especially Stages 1 and 2 and the Credits sequence. Also, like Alleyway, it even got it's own song remix added to Game Music Graffiti.
Click here to listen to it.
Balloon Kid - If you like Balloon Fight, you'll enjoy playing this Game Boy game. It's part of the Balloon Fight series. It's an arranged verison of Balloon Fight's "Game C - Balloon Trip" mode, with enemies and obstacles. Even the music is a special version of Balloon Trip's music. It even has some bosses, which nearly every one of them are easy. One thing I dislike about this game is that it lacks battery-backed memory, which means it can only be beat in one sitting. Later in 2000, this game was fixed and released in Japan for the Game Boy Color with battery-backed memory with a stage-selecting map, Super Game Boy features and got colored. Too bad there aren't any real sequels made, while many people (including Nintendo) are firmly obsessed with the original Balloon Fight. Nintendo, please bring some sequels and/or remakes of the Game Boy games.
Radar Mission - This game is two games in one. One of them is Nintendo's version of the pencil-and-paper game, Battleship, which has two special power-ups: A bomb that destroys a ship with one hit and a bomb that explodes in an X-shape. This game also includes a fighter jet as another target, which takes off from an aircraft carrier and lays in a random space each turn, until it becomes destroyed. The other game is a unique, but tough submarine game that requires you to shoot torpedoes at different ships. Your main enemy in this game is their submarine, while you control your own submarine. There are three power-ups that cost money (or points): Prop Speed (to make the sub faster), Twin Shot (shoots two torpedoes at one shot) and Power Sonar (tells you where exactly your ships and your enemy's ships are heading toward). The music is pretty good, especially the one heard in the submarine game. Too bad there aren't any official remixes nor arranged versions available, but there's a few at VG Music.
Nintendo's Sports Games - There were three sports games released during the Game Boy launch.
* Baseball - It looks very similar to RBI Baseball for the NES, but it's slower, has only two teams and has better music than the NES version. There are three things I dislike about this Baseball. One is that it lets you bat first when you choose the Bears or pitch first when you choose the Eagles. Two is that there are two country modes to choose from: USA and JPN. Mario and Luigi are in the USA version, but there isn't anyone interesting in the JPN version, but it would of been nicer if it had any of the Nintendo employees in it, like Shigeru Miyamoto for example. And three, the game is slower than the NES version. Overall, this Baseball game is slightly better than the NES version. Like Alleyway and Solar Striker, this game got its own remix in the Game Music Graffiti music album.
Click here to listen to it.
* Golf - This is more fun than the NES version, because |1.| it has some catchy background music, |2.| it has more golf courses with two different countries to choose from, and |3.| it has a bad and a good ending. Too bad none of the courses from this game were added to the Wii Sports Golf along with the NES version. It also would of been nice if they also added golf courses from NES Open Tournament Golf. Like Alleyway, Solar Striker and Baseball, this game also got its own remix in the Game Music Graffiti music album.
Click here to listen to it. It sounds better with the tempo raised a bit like
this, because it matches the original version's tempo. This is probably what it would sound like if it was heard in Wii Sports Golf.
* Tennis - Like Baseball and Golf, this one is better than the NES version. The computer player at the highest level is so fast and tough, it can quickly backtrack and return the ball whereas for the player it is a near-impossible feat, but this game is still a simple and fun game for the classic Game Boy with excellent music and atmosphere. Mario looks better in this version than in the NES version. Too bad this didn't get a remix in the Game Music Graffiti music album.
For later games, here are some that you might be interested in:
Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters - Some say this game isn't as good as the NES version. In my opinion, this is slightly better than the NES version. Entering passwords is kind of annoying in the NES version, but in the Game Boy version, it has battery-backed memory. The game looks and plays nearly exactly like the NES version. It's okay to not add some music from the NES version, because they probably would of sounded worse than the ones in the NES version; however, the NES version's title screen theme was added to the ending. When Pit falls, you can rapidly tap the jump button to make him flap his wings to fall slowly, just like controlling Raccoon Mario/Luigi or Tanooki Mario/Luigi in Super Mario Bros. 3. This game also has some good bosses. The final boss name Orcos is more interesting than Medusa in the NES version, because he is slightly more challenging. Also, he has two forms: one is when he is small and does 4-way fireball shots; the other is when he is gigantic and can shoot a lot of things while stomping. It's too bad this game wasn't released in Japan, but it's a good thing it was mentioned in the Japanese version of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. If the NES version of Kid Icarus is the only game he appeared in according to SSBB, then why did Nintendo take some of the ideas from the Game Boy classic and added them to Pit's new design? Also, why did Nintendo use the logo on the Game Boy version's box for the stage select screen? I wish there were more people supporting this game by expanding its Wikipedia article, creating arranged and remixed versions of it's music and other stuff. And did anyone know that in Season 3 of Captain N: The Game Master, Pit's appearance in season 3 resembles his Game Boy look?
Mole Mania - This is one of Shigeru Miyamoto's lesser-known creations. One reason why is that it's for Game Boy, and many people like TV Eye were too busy playing home consoles and weren't very interested in playing handheld consoles. Mole Mania is sort of similar to the Sokoban games and Chip's Challenge, but with digging action for working under and overground. It's even got some fun boss battles and a pretty interesting plot with good cut-scenes.
Dr. Mario - This version's gameplay is equal to the NES version's, but the graphics are different. The music sounds better, because it sounds more energetic than the NES version's, especially the Fever song, which has more notes in it than the NES Fever does. Also, the Super Smash Bros. version of the song sounds exactly like the Game Boy version's. If you want a block-dropping puzzle game besides Tetris, this one is for you.
Well, hope this helps you out, TV Eye. It would of been nice if those songs I posted were in SSBB (or probably SSB4). The Solar Striker one would of sounded better if it also had parts of the ending / credits theme, especially when it sounds like
this one.
I passed up on the Oracle games
Then again, I never had a classic Game Boy...
