A lot of us seem to have had our interest in handheld gaming increase lately with all the great DS games out. I figured it would be a good time to take a look back at the classic portables(original Game Boy, Lynx, Game Gear) and the good games they had. A lot of these don't have modern portable equivalents.

The Milton Bradley Microvision(1979) and Epoch Game Pocket Computer(1984) deserve nods for being the first programmable portable games systems. Unfortunately I have yet to play these but discuss them too if you want.





There are also more obscure early '90s monochrome portables like Bit Corporation's Gamate and Watara's Supervision. I was never very impressed with those.






Here are thirty games from the Game Boy, Lynx and Game Gear that I consider quality. There are a lot I didn't include so please add more to the thread.


Shinobi II: The Silent Fury(GG)
Instead of porting the SMS Shinobi games or merely downgrading the Genesis ones, Sega released a superb side series that stood apart from the other Shinobi games with its non-linear design and use of multiple ninjas with different skills.


Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening(GB)
I think this is still the best portable Zelda. I would rank it third in the whole series after Ocarina and ALTTP.


Sonic Chaos(GG)
Technically this isn't an original game as the near identical SMS version came out around a month earlier in Europe but for most people in North America this was brand new and awesome. I can see how some prefer the faster pace of the first SMS/GG Sonic though.


Donkey Kong(GB)
An excellent puzzle platformer and unfortunately the last game in the series to really resemble the old trilogy in style.


Blue Lightning(Lynx)
Back when there weren't even console games with hardware scaling effects this was mindblowing stuff. It's still a great game.


Power Strike II(GG)
The GG had two exclusives in Compile's Aleste series. I would say they're still the best portable shooters ever made.


Tetris(GB)


Toki(Lynx)
The NES and Genesis ports failed to live up to the arcade game but this one succeeded.


Operation C(GB)
I thought the GB Castlevanias were decent but this GB Contra is what impressed me most for Konami games on the system.


Sylvan Tale(GG)
This great Zelda-ish adventure was left in Japan but the language barrier isn't really a problem.


Ninja Gaiden Shadow(GB)
Originally intended to be part of the Shadow of the Ninja series, this Ninja Gaiden game by Natsume turned out quite nicely.


Gates of Zendocon(Lynx)
I just love the atmosphere in this shooter.


Shining Force II: The Sword of Hajya(GG)
Between this series and Crystal Warriors the GG had the SRPG genre covered very well.


Metroid II: The Return of Samus(GB)
I haven't played this since it came out so I'm guessing it has aged a bit but I thought it was a worthy sequel at the time.


Battlezone 2000(Lynx)


Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins(GB)
I never liked this series as much as the console games but it was still quality and evolved into the Wario franchise.


Roadblasters(Lynx)


Revenge of the Gator(GB)
The first of the impressive GB pinball games by HAL.


Electrocop(Lynx)


Battletoads(GB)
Just to be confusing, this game is not a port of the NES game but Battletoads in Ragnarok's World is.


S.T.U.N. Runner(Lynx)


Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles(GB)


Xybots(Lynx)


Coca Cola Kid(GG)
Cheesy product tie-in but a good Sonic-ish platformer.


Rygar(Lynx)
This and Ninja Gaiden were two quality ports of Tecmo arcade games.


Kenyuu Densetsu Yaiba(GG)


Bionic Commando(GB)
An original game in the vein of the NES game.


Defenders of Oasis(GG)
It's too bad most GG RPGs were left in Japan. At least this good one wasn't.


Burai Fighter Deluxe(GB)
Better than the NES game before it, fans of shooters like Forgotten Worlds should check out this Taxan game.


Robo Squash(Lynx)
A neat 3d Breakout type game.


What are your favourites?