RetroGaming

Donkey Kong (1994) - not really rare or obscure, but definitely not talked about enough.
It starts out like regular donkey kong but then it goes somewhat differently.
The colorization is only complete with SuperGameboy so it might be tricky to play that way but there is a colorization hack being worked on.

Donkey Kong. I think people just think it's a port of the arcade game because it has the same first few levels but it becomes something more afterward and is incredibly fun.

Metal Gear Solid for GBC is never mentioned in all time lists for the series, but it’s my favorite, straight up.

I can’t believe they managed to cram a true MGS experience onto a GAMEBOY Color cartridge.

Pocket Bomberman is also legitimately great.

Weirdly enough, my favorite Zelda game of all time is The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. Weirder still, it's the story that I really love, driven almost entirely by the fact that it's the least Zelda Zelda game. No, I don't know what's wrong with me.

I mean it's probably entirely nostalgia, but I still hear the in-game ballad in my head from time to time.

Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins

Great game

As a kid I got a lot of mileage out of The Bugs Bunny Crazy Castle. It was honestly nothing special but it was a fun if very basic game. Password-based and not all that difficult for an adult.

Dragon quest monsters (dragon warrior monsters in America)

This game was the bomb, I loved the monster breeding mechanics, you could breed monsters of different types to get entirely new ones.

Final Fantasy Adventure. Zelda style top view. Absolutely loved it. Music scope and story.. Played through at least a dozen times. A decently high quality remake came out for phones a few years back. I still love it.

As a kid, I found Gargoyles Quest infuriatingly addictive. I wasn't good enough to do well at it, it annoyed me, but I kept going back for more.

Survival Kids

It's a bit of a silly survival game that starts with you being stranded on an island. I got a kick out of it because there were a few different game endings that were dependent on the actions you took earlier in the game.

Rockman/Megaman EXE

This Beyblade game that was like an obstacle course on checkered platforms. I practiced a lot to beat the par times on each course.

Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone and Chamber of Secrets.

Are they good games? No

But they are well themed and have chiptune version of Jeremy Soule’s soundtrack. I like replaying the, from time to time.

Took me a while to find the name. Have you played Quarth?

Pitman, also known as Catrap in US: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Catrap

It's not really something special or so, but I had it in my youth and used the level editor to build countless levels with my friend. It's a side scrolling puzzle game, with the abiliy to go back in history with a nice backwards animation.

Pokemon TCG for GB was arguably the best Pokemon RPG. I've not played the English fanlation of 2 yet though, so maybe that's better.

This is a little off topic for "RetroGaming", but my favorite new soon-to-be-hidden gem for Gameboy Color is "Grimace's Birthday".

https://www.grimacesbirthday.com/

The overall game is only about ten minutes long, but it's just so dang well made for a silly throw-away advertisement, and I just adore that it's a Gameboy Color game released in 2023.

Edit: To be clear, I have no association with anyone involved in the game. It just gives me the giggles to get a new retrogame for a licsned property, for actual classic hardware in 2023.

Home Alone. Then again I haven't played it since back then lol

Qix

Kirby Pinball. Just a chill and fun game.

Heiankyo Alien. It was the cheapest game in the store, so that's the one my parents let me buy. For a long time it was one of only a couple games I owned--that one and whatever it shipped with... Tetris?

did anyone else play bonks adventure

Azure Dreams

Bubble Ghost. I had it on a 99 in 1 cart. Might just be that it wasn't popular where I'm from.

I ahem acquired a copy of Hamtaro: Ham-Ham Heartbreak from my elementary school lost and found, played it whenever I had a minute for the next few weeks. I don't know if I'd have the patience to play it today, but it's still an adorable little puzzle game. The sound and animation of the actions was spot on.

The metal gear solid game was pretty awesome actually

Sneaky Snakes!

James Bond: 007 was a surprisingly good game that I enjoyed way more than expected. I don’t know why I got the game, I was and have never been a fan of the series.

Gotta go with "skate or die: bad n rad"

Alfred Chicken. Impossibly difficult, with a ridiculous plot.

I'll throw Boxxle on the list. It's one of the earliest GB games, so the graphics are pretty much what you'd expect. But it's a great puzzle game that has a very simple premise, but requires you to perspective-shift and learn new strategies many times over as the difficulty progresses.

Donkey Kong. Not Donkey Kong Country. The original arcade Donkey Kong, until you realize after beating the original levels that there is SO MUCH MORE to it!

Just one thing. Fuck that level with the long bridge of disappearing floor tiles. That was the worst!!

Gonna have to be Kirby and the Amazing Mirror and MegaMan Battle Network 6 for me on the GBA.

Aside from a few classics I'm sure you've already played, I remember playing Wario Blast and Taz-Mania fairly often.

I haven't played either one in years, so I don't know how well they still hold up.

God Medicine. Genuinely one of the best classic style JRPGs and the best RPG on Gameboy in my opinion. Absolute travesty that the west never ended up getting it originally.

Probably doesn't hold up anymore, but no one really talks about "Kingdom ~~Conquest~~ Crusade". It's like a really tight minimalist version of the combined live action melee and big battle strategy of the Dynasty Warriors series - compressed to fit on a classic Gameboy.

Ninja 5-0 for the GBA. I got out my collection recently and had no idea I owned it. It's Elevator Action, but you're a ninja.

I had an Itchy and Scratchy game (from the Simpsons). It was a mini golf game that was a lot of fun.

Warlocked for GBC - it was ambitious as hell, and has some quality scenario ideas.

Rebelstar: Tactical Command, In a nutshell it's X-COM for the gameboy advance.