Wario Blast is a weird mash-up of Mario’s doppleganger and Bomberman. That said, it mostly plays like Bomberman, and there aren’t any major changes if you choose to play as Wario. And here’s the thing, it’s not actually that difficult through most of the game. I wouldn’t call it relaxing, but you won’t struggle too much until you hit the final boss. The surprising difficult spike makes finishing Wario Blast a chore, and you know how young players hate doing those.
6) Kirby’s Pinball Land
Kirby’s Pinball Land wasn’t Hal Labs first pinball game, but it might be its toughest. That’s largely because of the hardware. The Game Boy’s screen was always a little blurry, which made it difficult to see exactly what was going on. The physics are also a little wonky, and it’s tough to be precise with the Game Boy’s controls. Still, it’s a solid pinball game. It just takes some time to get used to it.
5) Qix
Qix first launched in 1981 as an arcade game, but has had several ports over the years. The Game Boy version takes the difficulty up a notch because there’s no color. That makes it a bit tougher to know what’s happening at a glance, but it’s also worth noting that Qix‘s difficulty ramps up quickly. That’s true across every version of the arcade game, but the limitations of the Game Boy make it stand out even more.
4) Boxxle
Boxxle is another devilishly tough puzzle game. It is a Sokoban puzzler, which means you need to push blocks along specific paths to complete each challenge. These days, if you get stuck on a puzzle, you could just look it up, but back in ’90, most didn’t have that luxury. Boxxle‘s gimmick isn’t too tough to wrap your head around, but some of the late-game puzzles will leave you rubbing your temples for hours trying to find the solution.
3) Contra: The Alien Wars
For the Game Boy, Konami took Contra III: The Alien Wars and had Factor 5 port it, dropping the numeral in the process. That said, it’s generally the same game as the SNES version, just missing a few levels and features like weapon swapping. It’s a solid port, but anyone who has played a Contra game knows they can feel nearly impossible. That’s no different here. Expect to die a ton, using up those precious AA batteries by the dozen.
2) Mega Man: Dr. Wily’s Revenge
Like Contra, it’s not really a surprise to hear that a Mega Man game is difficult. The series made its name by being one of the toughest games to beat on the NES. However, that doesn’t mean Dr. Wiley’s Revenge doesn’t deserve its spot on this list. Now, it is important to note that Capcom let Minakuchi Engineering develop this one.
You might think that would equal a dip in quality, and while Dr. Wiley’s Revenge isn’t as strong as a mainline Mega Man, it’s not a bad game. It is a hard one, though. You’ll need several near pixel-perfect jumps to get through many of the platforming challenges, while dodging near-constant enemies and projectiles. Capcom didn’t let Minakuchi take it easy on Game Boy fans.
1) RoboCop
The RoboCop adaptation was released in 1988 and received several ports over the years. The Game Boy version of RoboCop launched in 1990 and mixes beat ’em up and run-and-gun gameplay. That’s a genre combination that’s going to test players regardless of platform, but on the muddy screen of the Game Boy, it becomes an even tougher challenge.
Despite the difficulty of combat, RoboCop was one of the early great successes for video game adaptations. It sold over a million copies on PC, and despite the relatively long wait for the Game Boy version, that port also sold well. Of course, many players were probably frustrated with how tough it was to take out criminals with Alex Murphy, but developer Data East loved seeing those extra zeroes in its bank account.
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