The original Game Boy and Game Boy Color hold a surprising stack of action platformers, from mascot hops and treasure hunts to Metroid-style exploration on a tiny screen.

The Game Boy library is often remembered for Pokemon and Zelda, but its platforming and action titles carry some of the tightest jump-and-fight design of the 8-bit handheld era. Greyscale charm on the original model and full color on GBC carts show up beautifully in modern emulators, which also add fast forward for long corridors and save states before tricky pits. Pick up originals you already own, verified homebrew and official re-releases, and keep dumps limited to physical media you legitimately possess.

Mascot platformers built for the original handheld

1. Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins (1992). Nintendo extended Mario’s handheld debut into six themed zones around Mario’s own castle, with exits that branch, water levels, a robot theme and the first playable Wario appearance. Larger sprites and horizontal screen scrolling made it feel closer to the NES adventures than the first Land game.

2. Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3 (1994). Wario’s debut gave Mario’s rival a greed-driven treasure hunt through jungle, pirate ships and city zones. Thrown enemies, block-pushing puzzles and a hidden coin route reward exploration, while the ending rank depends on collected riches.

3. Wario Land II (1998, Game Boy Color). Nintendo stripped the Wario health bar in favor of transformation states: flames, springs, vampire wings and snow blocks open alternate routes. Multi-ending levels, secret maps and a diagonal view give it a puzzle-platformer depth beyond simple running.

4. Donkey Kong (1994). Nintendo turned the arcade classic into 100-plus puzzle-platform stages with Pauline being rescued across building floors, ropes, springs and moving platforms. Mario can pick up and toss barrels, and the late levels demand precise chain reactions rather than quick reaction.

5. Kirby’s Dream Land 2 (1995). HAL’s follow-up added animal friends Rick the hamster, Coo the owl and Kine the fish, each changing Kirby’s movement across levels. Copy abilities, hidden rainbow bridge pieces and short stages suit bus commutes and emulator quick sessions.

6. DuckTales (1989). Capcom’s Disney platformer stars Scrooge McDuck swinging a cane to bounce, pogo over spikes and dive into African mines, Amazon ruins and the Moon. The Moon theme, non-linear level order and brief boss gauntlet made it a standout licensed cart on the system.

Action and exploration platformers with depth

7. Mega Man V (1994). Capcom’s final original Game Boy Mega Man stars the asteroid-based Stardroids rather than Dr. Wily, with adaptive weapons, the Rush space dog and long selectable stages. Tight jumps and weapon weaknesses match the console NES style on a smaller screen.

8. Gargoyle’s Quest II: The Demon Darkness (1992). A hybrid of side-scrolling platform action and an RPG-style overworld as fire demon Firebrand flies, glides, blocks projectiles and purchases spells. Tower routes, hidden chests and gothic enemies set up the later Demon’s Crest arc.

9. Metroid II: Return of Samus (1991). Nintendo’s follow-up sends Samus to planet SR388 to hunt every Metroids across evolving cavern biomes. Area maps, wall-jump upgrades and the quiet evolution of the creatures make it a compact Metroidvania that later remasters drew from heavily.

10. Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge (1991). Konami improved on the original Adventure with four selectable castles, sub-weapons, crackling whip upgrades and longer platforming routes. Hidden rooms and fast boss designs keep it among the most playable Castlevania handheld titles of its generation.

11. Bionic Commando (1992). The handheld adaptation keeps the swing arm mechanic: Nathan Spencer cannot jump, so every gap closes with a grappling hook, swinging momentum and enemy disarms. The linear stages and briefing screens retain the secret-narrative flavor of the NES original.

12. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening (1993). Nintendo’s portable Zelda blends platform movement with item dungeons, trading sequences and the surreal island of Koholint. Although closer to an action-adventure, its dungeon platforming, boss chambers and heart pieces place it on any essential Game Boy action shelf.

Handheld emulators such as Gambatte and SameBoy run original and GBC games accurately; enable a color palette override on monochrome games and use fast forward only for filler corridors so the jump timing stays honest. For the full platform overview, check our Game Boy and GBC list, look ahead to the bigger-screen successor in the GBA classics roundup, and enjoy the wider medium history in our handheld gaming history piece.