Nintendo's Game Boy is an absolutely iconic handheld console that many of us look back on fondly (that's probably why Nintendo is making a Lego version of it). While I didn't grow up with a Game Boy myself, I have played a few games on the platform and I know there's quite a lot to love on it.

That's why today I wanted to highlight some of the great Game Boy games that are worth playing but may have flown under your radar for one reason or another. These aren't necessarily the absolute best games on the system, but they're worth playing all the same, and there's a good chance you haven't.

10 Mario's Picross

It's cool for the Mario flair

There's no shortage of modern Picross games, but I think there's a certain charm to the original Mario's Picross on the game just by the virtue of having the Mario theme. If you don't know it, Picross stands for "picture crossword", and it's basically a game where you're told how many blocks in a certain row or column need to be filled in, and it's up to you to figure out what positions they're in to form a picture.

There isn't that strong of a Mario theme here, but the menus and some of the puzzles are based on Nintendo's franchise, and as a big fan of the company, I just like seeing that. Plus, when I think of crosswords, I think back to newspapers my grandparents would sometimes have at home, and playing this game with a black and white aesthetic instead of more modern alternatives kind of evokes those memories. It's a different kind of experience, and I think it's a fun one if you like puzzles and you're old enough to remember filling in those crosswords in newspapers and magazines.

9 Batman: Return of the Joker

A good game based on other media? It is possible

It's always a bit of a mixed bag when companies try to adapt one medium into another, but in the case of Batman: Return of the Joker, it actually went alright. This game was released on both the NES and the Game Boy at the time, but the two versions are totally different games. And it looks like the Game Boy may have actually gotten the better treatment here.

Unlike the NES game, which was more focused on run-and-gun gameplay, the Game Boy version focuses more so on platforming and hand-to-hand combat with a few special items to help out. There are various movement and attack options players can use to get through a level, and it all feels pretty close to what you would expect from a Batman game on the Game Boy, so it's safe to say it was done as loyally as it could have been at the time. It's worth a shot, though you'll have to dig around to find a way to emulate this one.

8 Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters

Japan didn't get this one

Regional exclusive games are almost always either stuck in Japan or they might get localized for Europe but not the United States, for example. But Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters is a weird one. Despite being developed by Nintendo in Japan, it was only ever released in North America and Europe until it was re-released in 2012 on the Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console.

A sequel to original Kid Icarus on the NES, Of Myths and MOnsters expands on the gameplay concepts of that original game, with larger levels and the ability to properly save your progress. There are still only three main stages, but each of them has three primary sections and there's a bit more meat on their bones. Plus, controls have been tightened up a bit.

This was the last game in the series until 2012, making this one of Nintendo's most underappreciated franchises. This game is also not on the Nintendo Switch Online service, so you'll have to find less legitimate ways to play it.

7 The Donkey Kong Land series

There's more than the SNES games

During the 90s, Donkey Kong was mostly known for the Donkey Kong Country series of games on the SNES, which are still considered excellent to this very day. But while Rare was developing the main series games on that platform, the Game Boy got some love of its own with the Donkey Kong Land series.

These games are largely based on the SNES titles, with sprite work that tries to replicate that style as closely as possible, as well as very similar gameplay, just with different level designs. All three games in the series are well worth playing, even though they're pretty challenging and can feel a bit unfair by today's standards.

All three games were recently added to the Nintendo Switch Online library, so these are easy to access.

6 Metroid II: Return of Samus

The overlooked second outing

The Metroid series has always delivered in terms of quality, but the second game in the series didn't get as much attention as it deserved due to the underwhelming visual presentation. As a sequel to the original game on the NES, Metroid II expanded on the lore of the universe and it also added a lot of gameplay elements that became staples of the series later on.

This includes new weapons with the Plasma Beam and Spazer Beam, but also the Space Jump ability, allowing Samus to jump indefinitely in mid-air and traverse large gaps of the world. These new additions added greatly to the sense of exploration and progression, even if the game itself could get a bit repetitive.

The game was remade on the Nintendo 3DS in 2017 with Metroid: Samus Returns, but if you value your financial stability, you probably don't want to try buying that right now. The original game is included in Nintendo Switch Online, so that's probably the way to go to experience this game.

5 Kirby's Dream Land 2

The much-needed sequel

The debut adventure for Kirby was a solid start but the games got really good with the direct sequel. In his first outing, Kirby lacked any special abilities, but Kirby's Dream Land 2 not only introduced abilities from the NES title Kirby's Adventure but also introduced animal transformations that can combine with Kirby's standard abilities to produce altered effects.

Kirby's Dream Land 2 genuinely expands on everything from the previous games and is a massive step up from the original title. If you played it on a Super Game Boy back then, it also came with some extra pop of color, which makes total sense for the franchise.

This is another one that's in the Nintendo Switch Online library, so it's easy to give it a shot.

4 The Wario Land series

Who cares about Mario anyway?

Remember Mario? Of course not — who cares about him when can have Wario Land instead? This series of puzzle platformers was sort of a replacement for the Super Mario Land series for a few years, and arguably, it was a better one. Starting with Wario Land: Super Mario Land 3, there are three games in this series on the Game Boy, and they're all excellent.

Mario games are usually more action-oriented and ask a bit more of the player in terms of quick reflexes and avoiding getting hurt. Wario Land games are focused on exploration and puzzle-solving, and there are no real consequences for getting hit by an enemy. It's just a small setback so you can easily try again. These games feel incredibly rewarding, and Wario Land III specifically is wonderful.

Unfortunately, most of these games are not on the Nintendo Switch Online service yet, but Wario Land III is, and that's a fantastic starting point already. For the others, you may need to find other ways to play them, or just wait for Nintendo to make them available.

3 The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons

Don't get me wrong, they're different games

The Zelda series is far from unknown, but the handheld games never had much of a chance to shine compared to the big console counterparts, so there's a good chance you overloooked these two excellent entries. Oracle of Ages and Oracle of Seasons were released as a pair, similar to how Pokémon games are handled, but this is actually very different.

These two games have radically different concepts and gameplay. Oracle of Ages is all about time travel, so as you go to different time periods, you get to see different characters in different ways, and the puzzles required for progression are a bit more involved. Oracle of Seasons revolved around changing the seasons around you, so you can change how you navigate the world by changing into winter and freezing over a body of water, for example. Overall, though, this game is more action-oriented. You also unlock some content by playing the two games together, so it's worth checking both out.

Both titles are in the Nintendo Switch Online service, so it's easy to access them both.

2 The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls

Japan-only goodness

It's really unfortunate how many interesting games were left out of the reach of Western audiences back in the day, and in the case of The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls, we missed out on a pretty good game and also an important part of Nintendo history. You see, The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls has a few characters that would later appear in The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening. That game is a fairly unique entry in the Zelda series, and some of the wacky spirit you find there also seems to be pulled from this game.

The Frog for Whom the Bell Tolls has you take control of Prince Sable as the hero after everyone else in the world has turned into a frog. Sable is the only one who can revert back to his human form at will, and so it's up to him to save the world. The game has never officially been translated, but a complete fan translation does exist, and it's absolutely worth it to check out this adventure. Of course, that means diving into unofficial emulation, but it's justified when Nintendo isn't giving you a way to play the game legitimately.

1 Donkey Kong (1994)

It's not the original Donkey Kong, really

The name of this one might have you thinking this is just the same game that was on arcades or the NES before it. In fact, the first few levels might make you think that too, since it just starts as a port of those original levels. However, when you "finish" the game is when it really begins.

After those initial stages, Donkey Kong (the 1994 part is often added by fans to help differentiate it) turns into a puzzle platformer where you have to guide Mario through each of the dozens of stages to collect a key and then to the door that opens with said key. It's all about studying your movement options and the level designs to know how to get to the end, and it gets decently challenging.

Donkey Kong '94 led to the creation of the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series later on, but this is often considered the best game in the series, and one of the very best games on the Game Boy in general.

There are a lot of good games on the Game Boy

The Game Boy was home to manu landmark titles, including the first and second generations of Pokémon games, the Super Mario Land series, and arguably the most popular version of Tetris, so there's undoubtedly plenty love there already. But the titles above are ones you likely missed out on and they deserve just as much of the spotlight as the bigger names do. Plus, since many of them are on NIntendo Switch Online, these are a great palate cleanser between the bigger Nintendo Switch games out there.