Nintendo has produced some of the longest-running and most iconic video game franchises of all time, and it's easy for many fans to rattle off a long list of their favorites. While some of the company's iconic characters are unforgettable, that doesn't mean that every game to appear on a Nintendo system was equally memorable.
The Game Boy was home to countless classic and not-so-classic games. Those that were quickly forgotten often still had one thing going for them, however: fantastic cover art. Whether the art captured the game's themes, evoked a mood, or just made the player want to grab a Game Boy and dive in, these covers will be remembered as some of the most beautiful to appear on the system.
8 Adventure Island
If asked to name a side-scrolling Nintendo adventure in which a hat-wearing hero must save a princess from an anthropomorphic villain, most players would instinctively say Mario. Surprisingly, that isn't the only right answer.
Here, the game is Adventure Island, and the hero is Master Higgins, a young man who ventures to the titular South Pacific island to rescue Princess Tina from the clutches of the Evil Witch Doctor. There are 32 and a number of bosses, but the best part of the game is the cover art, which instantly captures a classic Nintendo vibe, feeling cartoony and adventuresome with a subtle vibe of danger.
7 Beetlejuice (1992)
Hot on the heels of Rare's 1991 release for the NES came 1992's Beetlejuice for the Game Boy. Based on the animated TV series, the game lets the player take control of Beetlejuice as he attempts to purge Lydia Deetz's home of ghosts and rescue her from the villainous Astoroth.
The game might be a weird departure from the film's canon, but it has its own creepy charm. The player uses bio-exorcist magic to combat the undead, can ride around on a minecart and Pogosnake mount, and perform other typical side-scroller activities. The game's goth aesthetic was a departure from many of the more colorful and cartoony games of the day, as exemplified by the cover art's depiction of Beetlejuice, leering at the player and looking as unsettling as ever.
6 Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge
The Castlevania franchise is beloved by many, so much so that it helped inspire an entire genre: the Metroidvania. Castlevania II: Belmont's Revenge may not be one of the best games in the franchise, but it helped shape what Castlevania would be for years to come. Taking place 15 years after Castlevania: The Adventure, Belmont's Revenge features the return of Dracula and the kidnapping of Christopher Belmont's son.
The game's cover art--with its imposing castle, muscular hero, and lavish fantasy backdrop--may not be exactly what modern fans imagine when they think of the series, but it undeniably captured a mood and helped put players in the right state of mind to storm Dracula's castle once again.
5 Kid Dracula (1993)
Castlevania wasn't the only Game Boy franchise to capitalize on the legendary vampire's name. Kid Dracula is a remake of and sequel to the Famicom game from three years earlier. Villainous Garamoth has returned, and only Kid Dracula can defeat him. Unfortunately, most of Kid Dracula's spells have been wiped from his memory, and many of his once-trusted minions have betrayed him and entered his enemy's service.
The game's cover art features bold colors, high contrast, and simple shapes, all of which help sell it as a parody rather than a mere copycat of Castlevania. The game's legacy may not have endured well over the years, but the original is still remarkable in many ways.
4 Operation C
While many won't be familiar with the title Operation C, they will be familiar with the name Contra. Operation C was the sequel to Super Contra and the first portable entry in the franchise. Looking and playing much like the NES version, Operation C was an addictive, side-scrolling shoot-em-up, pitting the player and their guns against a horde of challenging enemies, even if it wasn't the series's best.
The fantastic cover art--featuring a sleeveless, muscle-bound, headband-wearing soldier blasting a giant scorpion with machine gun fire--is about as over-the-top as they come but totally in keeping with the style of the era. The main character is even posed like an action figure, which makes the whole thing that much more ridiculous (and great).
3 Skate Or Die: Bad 'N Rad
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Extreme sports might not have hit their pop culture zenith until the '00s, but Skate or Die: Bad 'N Rad helped lead the charge. The unnamed, skateboarding hero is on a mission to rescue Miss Aerial from ElRad the Evil One, which is about all the story that the player needs or gets.
The game's seven timed stages include both side-scrolling and top-down skateboarding adventures, complete with boss battles at the end of several of them.
The game's mechanics and story may not have done much innovating in the genre, but the game's cover art is in a world of its own. As the game's skateboarding hero does tricks down a sea-side cliff face, a helicopter and monster both try to take him down. That moment of frozen action does an excellent job of showing what the game dreams of being, and even if it doesn't quite live up to that dream, Skate or Die: Bad 'N Rad is certainly unique.
2 Ultima: Runes Of Virtue II
The Ultima series has done more to shape RPGs and MMOs than almost any other, but before Ultima Online shook up the world there was Ultima: Runes of Virtue II. This game, like its predecessor, was a non-canonical spin-off of the main series rather than a continuation of the story presented in the Age of Enlightenment and Age of Armageddon games of the time.
Though it wasn't canon or as visually stunning as some others,Ultima: Runes of Virtue II had at least one thing going for it: a beautifully illustrated cover. Featuring the battle of a black-armored knight and hero draped in obligatory white, the game's art would have been right at home on the cover of any pulp fantasy magazine. Other games in the series overshadowed it, but Runes of Virtue II at least left players with that lasting image.
1 Swamp Thing
Given the overwhelming popularity of superheroes, it's no surprise that these characters have had a place in gaming from the medium's infancy. It may surprise some, however, to learn that a smaller profile and much more complicated character like Swamp Thing got his own game in the Game Boy era.
This walking talking plant has been reimagined numerous times in comics, and while the Game Boy version may not have the depth that Alan Moore and other writers brought to him on the printed page, Swamp Thing received cover art that more than did the character justice. The faded orange, yellow, and murky green palette helps make this cover one of the most atmospheric and evocative images to ever appear on the system.