Good Cheap Nintendo GameBoy Games

I have like 10 games and 0 nostalgia for the Nintendo GameBoy, but the retro gaming overlords tell me I have to like the green-screened cinder block if I want to be a retro gamer. I  tried everything I have, and there was nothing essential, so I'll just call out a few games that are decent, inexpensive, and also exclusive which I did not originally intend to happen, so I guess that's cool?

Two little disclaimers. I'm only picking from what very little I have because it makes a more random, unique group, but also because you don't have to have a lot of games to enjoy retro gaming. Love what you have! Also, there are a lot of threes; most games are just closer to the middle of the spectrum and their mass appeal is probably 50-50. Don't overthink it, my generic opinions are not worth your trouble.

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Game & Watch Gallery is simple and charming, just like me except that it's also charming! It's more amusing than good, but I genuinely enjoyed the "modern" versions of these 4 very basic Game & Watch titles for a few minutes each, and they feel at-home on GameBoy: 3-out-of-5

Before Konami recklessly slapped licenses on pachinko machines, it lovingly placed them on platformers like Tiny Toon Adventures: Babs' Big Break. It's an unspectacular, slow-ish, and I was not compelled to play more than a few minutes, but it has overall polish: 3-out-of-5

Last but not least, Mega Man: Dr. Wily's Revenge is not great by franchise standards, and may be the hardest f*****g game I've ever played, but the amount of Mega Man audiovisual and gameplay stuffed in this cart is impressive, and I genuinely wanted to keep playing... with cheat codes: 4-out-of-5

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And a couple honorable mentions...

If you like quickly rage quitting games, Star Wars is an okay, diverse action-platformer that - forget what I said about Mega Man - might be the hardest f*****g game I've ever played. but I love hearing this Star Wars music on GameBoy. It's an honorable mention so I don't feel bad that it's not exclusive, and it's better on the NES, but for this version: 3-out-of-5

Finally, Arcade Classic 2: Centipede & Millipede is just very simple ports of Atari's fixed-direction shooters. If you liked them elsewhere, they're a nice fit here, and there are 4 other cheap-ish double-packs in this Arcade Classic GameBoy that are probably worthwhile too: 3-out-of-5

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There ya go! Not much to it; just like my collection! It's hard to imagine playing these via anything other than casual emulation today, but the fact that the main three are still exclusive gives them ownership appeal. And, if you really like GameBoy stuff then my opinion doesn't matter anyway, and most GameBoy games are fairly inexpensive, so do your thing! And thanks for being here

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Oh look, a box of my old Nintendo GameBoy and 30-minutes'-worth of batteries! Awesome! I'll just pick this up an-
AHHHH! AHHWW MY BACK! CALL AN AMBULANCE! 

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For my full podcast- and article-version audiences, a little post-episode rambling, so if you're sick of my stupid voice and ideas and stuff, consider this your disclaimer! Also I'd love to hear if anyone particularly likes or hates it when I do this; let me know! 

Doing good-cheap-GameBoy is weird because I really don't have much nostalgia for it, and also most of its games are pretty cheap relative to other consoles.  But something I found I enjoyed in doing this is picking from the games I actually own.

It's not a stance against emulation or anything like that; I still emulated to capture and, despite what people on the internet say or imply, roms a.k.a. reproductions of any type of games or media are not legal to own whether or not you own the actual game, and I don't like the misinformation out there.

Actually what I liked is that it allowed me to bring some games together that would otherwise never belong in the same episode. So rather than regurgitating a list of the best cheap GameBoy games that get plenty of attention, it made me feel a little more unique and credible. Also it sets up well for sequel episodes as I acquire stuff in the future, motivates me to play through my backlog, etc.

When I do these good-cheap videos, or really most of my videos, I think the audience is a little more casual; people who don't necessarily have or want to invest a ton of money, time and space into gaming, and certainly not people who are digging deep for very thorough reviews, because I'm not joking when I say I'm awful at games so my reviews aren't credible. Long story short, pulling from what I had felt good and organic, and like a good match for what I'm trying to achieve here!

But I'd love to know your thoughts on this topic specifically, or on these post-episode rambles in general, or even just how you're feeling today. Thank you so much for hanging out with me; I appreciate you.