View Full Version : Best portable game besides tetris on gameboy
Richter Belmount
08-13-2008, 11:47 PM
I wanted to really find out what people consider the best portable game out there besides tetris. I ask that specifically cause most of the time when I see best portable game discussed be it on a other forum or this forum . Tetris has sort of become a crutch some people lean on and say hey its tetris! and not think about it despite so many thousands of portable games released during the years on gameboy , ds , psp , atari lynx , game gear . Games on all portable systems welcome as long as their just not portable reiterations of their home consoles (sega nomad and turbo express)
drunkninja
08-14-2008, 12:00 AM
Why, Tetris DS of course!
Okay, okay, we're going on technicalities here.
Anyways, the Phoenix Wright games on DS are some of my favorite portable games. Not much to go back and see after you've played them once, but very memorable and well-made (Apollo Justice not so much, but it's still good). Also the Golden Sun games on GBA.
Jorpho
08-14-2008, 12:04 AM
I ask that specifically cause most of the time when I see best portable game discussed be it on a other forum or this forum .
Come on, you must have seen this thread (http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120306) - you posted in it! And most people had much more to say than just Tetris!
DigitalSpace
08-14-2008, 01:55 AM
Tetris on the Game Boy.
Just kidding. My favorite is Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins on the Game Boy.
SpaceHarrier
08-14-2008, 02:17 AM
Wordtris
ok, ok Pokemon Yellow
Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening DX. I don't think it'll ever be topped.
Wraith Storm
08-14-2008, 07:22 AM
As far as "pick up and play" type games (like Tetris) I will nominate Kwirk for the Game Boy. It is a fantastic puzzle game which you clear room by room Adventures of Lolo style.
Untill now I never realized that it was an Atlus game... crazy... you learn something new everyday I guess...
Sailorneorune
08-14-2008, 08:52 AM
Seconding the Phoenix Wright games - there's just so much to love. The artwork is great, the characters are memorable... and the story in each game becomes so intense, especially in the last cases, that it becomes hard to put down. I actually lost sleep over Phoenix Wright as I watched the clock strike 11 on several nights, knowing good and well I had to work in the morning, but kept saying "just a little longer..."
So much for the save anywhere feature. :p
I also enjoy the great portable time-sink known as Pokemon (personal favorite is Crystal - first game to allow playing as a girl, and I like Suicune, which is Crystal's cover Pokemon. Currently playing Pearl and Emerald)
Super Mario Land 2 was also mentioned - it took me 15 years, but I finally talked my aunt out of her copy, having been unable to find a cart at a decent price and in decent condition. Simple platforming goodness, and a great reason to hang on to a GBA SP.
Castlevania: Harmony of Dissonance and Aria of Sorrow - it's portable Castlevania! Easy to get into, easy to get stuck, slightly less easy to think your way out of it, and hard to master. Can be had in single or double-pack form, and it appears that these have become less alluring to resellers over time. I see these pretty cheap locally every once in a while.
Sonic Rush - not exactly the great return to the glory of the Genesis games (Sonic 2 and Sonic 3 + Knuckles are very hard to top in my opinion), but very fun in its own right. The special stages use the touch screen, and the later ones drove me up the wall...
Jimmy Yakapucci
08-14-2008, 09:13 AM
For a simple pick up and play time waster, I am currently hooked on the Puzzle League, Dr. Mario double cart for the GBA.
JY
namzep
08-14-2008, 09:27 AM
I'll agree with Puzzle League/Dr. Mario (the GBA double cart) but want to add Mario's Picross for the original GB. To me, that game is like crack.
calthaer
08-14-2008, 09:31 AM
Jorpho's suggestion of looking at past threads FTW.
That aside...so...there are a lot of good games out there that appeared on a portable platform. Link's Awakening DX and Minish Cap, Phoenix Wright, Lost in Blue, Wario Ware, etc. - but the thing is, these games aren't necessarily great BECAUSE they appeared on a portable platform. It seems to me that a lot of these games only appeared on a portable platform because those were the only places where a good 2D game could appear at the time. They are equally well-suited to the living room, as far as I'm concerned, and the only reason they're not there is because of some insipid bias that would prevent people from paying a reasonable price to have Phoenix Wright (or whatever great 2D game of the time) on their living room TV.
That being said, I'm going to have to say that I think the Pokemon games are the ideal game for a portable platform - they are designed specifically to take the advantages of a portable system into account:
-There's incentive to take your system and link it to the systems of other people nearby (or, nowadays, around the world)
-It's very easy to pick it up, play for a short or long period of time, and then save anywhere in the game and put it back down again
-The main adventure is relatively easy, and can be accomplished at a very casual pace on a very casual level of gameplay. If you want to get competitive, however, and go the extra mile - well, that's there too.
They're light, fun RPGs that, in addition to being good PORTABLE games, are good games in their own right. I thought the GameCube additions to the line (especially the first one) was a great addition to the series. Wish they'd done the same for the Wii one that came out.
Sniderman
08-14-2008, 09:35 AM
http://i37.tinypic.com/mtbkub.jpg
rpepper9
08-14-2008, 10:08 AM
I would like to say: Advanced Wars. This fits my play style to a T. I pick up the game, start playing, and someone starts talking to me, or the dog needs to go out, or the cat is puking up his lunch.
The strategy turn-based play lends itself well to be broken up by the frequent interruptions I deal with in my household.
So I "vote" for any of the Advanced Wars games.