Welcome Survival Enthusiasts! Gear Up for the 7 Best Game Boy Color Gems

Have you been bitten by the survival game bug and looking to gnash your teeth into some classic portable gems? If so, saddle up as we tackle the 7 shining examples of survival excellence on the classic Nintendo Game Boy Color handheld!

Released back in 1998, the groundbreaking Game Boy Color took portable gaming into the modern era with its vibrant color screen and more powerful internals. This allowed developers to craft immersive new game worlds not possible on its monochrome predecessor. And while action, adventure and RPGs soaked up much of the spotlight, the plucky GBC also saw landmark survival games that hold up remarkably today.

In this survivalist‘s guide, we’ll revisit these genre trailblazers that creatively adapted the fundamentals of survival gameplay into engrossing handheld adventures. We define the survival genre, recap the GBC’s history, then cover 7 must-play hallmarks in detail. So pack your virtual bug-out bags and let’s embark on this journey back in time together!

What Is Survival Gaming?

Before marching forward, let’s define “survival games” for context. The core premise emphasizes keeping your character alive through resourcefulness and overcoming environmental challenges. Survival games tend to incorporate these elements:

Crafting – Players carefully utilize materials scavenged from the wilds to construct life-saving tools, weapons and shelter

Exploration – Scouring the world for said critical resources drives players to fully explore the game environment

Combat – Wildlife and hostile enemies pose an ever-present danger that must be overcome

So in essence, the name fits – survive by any means necessary! Having defined the basics, let’s see how our 7 GBC picks uniquely adapted survival conventions into portable perfection back in the day.

The Breakthrough Game Boy Color Handheld

First, a quick history lesson on the landmark Game Boy Color hardware these games were designed for. The GBC debuted in 1998 as a successor to Nintendo’s monochrome Game Boy released nearly a decade prior.

Technical Specs

CPU – 8-bit Sharp LR35902 at 4.19 MHz
RAM – 32 kilobytes
Display – 2.6 inch color LCD, 56 mm x 44 mm
Color Palette – 32,768 colors
Battery life – Approximately 10 hours on 2 AA batteries

The Game Boy Color featured a color screen and improved internals over the original Game Boy (Image: Evan-Amos)

The Color lived up to its name with a vibrant color display, doubling processing muscle and memory. This enabled more advanced and colorful visuals simply not possible on the plain ol’ Game Boy. Signature franchises like The Legend of Zelda, Mario and Pokémon released exceptional enhanced entries on the GBC.

Nintendo sold a staggering 118.69 million Game Boy Color units worldwide making it their 5th most popular console ever! Clearly the formula resonated, so let’s look at 7 survival gems that shined especially bright on this hardware.

#7. Tomb Raider

Tomb Raider (2000) brought Lara Croft‘s daring adventures to the Game Boy Color

Kicking off the list is none other than the legendary Lara Croft’s inaugural foray into Nintendo handhelds. Tomb Raider faithfully recreated the franchise’s trademark tomb exploration and gunplay formula in bite-sized portable form.

You play as series’ heroine Lara Croft stranded on a remote island dotted with ancient ruins filled with artifacts, puzzles and peril. Lara must leverage her athletic prowess to swing across obstacles, solve cryptic puzzles and fend off feral creatures with her trademark dual pistols.

Core Survival Elements:

Exploration – Traverse ruins hunting for relics and clues to escape the island
Puzzles – Decipher mechanisms to open doors and access hidden chambers
Combat – Fend off wild animals like tigers, wolves and bears with guns, flares

While understandably less visually extravagant than PlayStation editions, the GBC Tomb Raider impressively condensed the tense tomb-crawling action the franchise hung its cowboy hat on into a responsive handheld format. Approachable controls, smart level designs and an iconic lead heroine made this an inviting intro to survival gaming on-the-go.

Release Date – June 2000
Developer – Core Design
Publisher – THQ
Genre – Action-Adventure, Survival
Review Score – 3/5 Stars (IGN)

#6. Survival Kids

Survival Kids (1999) challenged players to stay alive after becoming stranded in the wilderness

Where Tomb Raider skewered more action-centric, Survival Kids took a methodical, authentic approach to self-preservation. The game strands a group of kids in the wilderness after their plane crash lands. Now they must harness their instincts and resourcefulness to shelter, feed and heal themselves while uncovering clues behind the accident.

The visuals adopt an almost storybook style belying Survival Kids’ ruthless attention to survival mechanics. Hunger, health, stamina all deplete over time and must be carefully maintained. You’ll hunt wild animals, forage edible plants, start fires, erect shelters and craft tools to endure the merciless elements. Change of seasons and weather events keep you on your toes as well. The minimalist soundtrack and ambient sound design make the isolation and desperation feel all too real.

Survival Kids struck an ingenious balance between being family-friendly yet survival-savvy thanks to clever world building and puzzles. It remains the quintessential survival game on Nintendo handhelds that’s aged wonderfully.

Release Date – June 1999
Developer/Publisher – Konami
Genre – Survival
Review Score – 4/5 Stars (NintendoWorldReport)

#5. Bionic Commando: Elite Forces

Bionic Commando: Elite Forces (2000) had Rad Spencer swinging into action on the GBC

This entry took the classic Bionic Commando franchise into uncharted territory as a survival/action cocktail. The game has everyone’s favorite grapple-armed hero Nathan “Rad” Spencer dropped behind enemy lines into a war-torn city. He must swing through the urban wreckage while running a gauntlet of gunfire taking out insurgents.

Rad’s bionic grappling “commandomer” arm naturally lends itself perfectly to a scaled-down survival-platformer. You’ll climb dilapidated buildings scavenging for supplies and secrets while unleashing justice from Spencer’s trusty sidearm. Demolished buildings and vehicle husks house dangerous foes you‘ll need to outmaneuver. The grapple mechanics add a wonderfully tactile feel no other GBC game truly matched.

Bionic Commando: Elite Forces fused action and survival gameplay in remarkably harmonious ways ahead of its time. Coupled with a two-player mode, this represented a watershed moment for advanced handheld multiplayer. A must-play for GBC shooter fans.

Release Date – January 2000
Developer/Publisher – Nintendo
Genre – Action/Adventure, Survival
Review Score – 3.5/5 Stars (GameSpot)

#4. Donkey Kong Country

Donkey Kong Country (2000) brought DK‘s jungle adventures to GBC with aplomb

Donkey Kong Country made its barrel smashing handheld debut on GBC to critical acclaim. All the vibrant visuals, playful spirit and precision platforming that defined Rare’s classic SNES trilogy arrived intact. Players join the ape duo Donkey Kong and trusty nephew Diddy Kong through forests, mines, snowscapes and treetop villages brimming with environmental details.

This introduction injected survival elements like gathering bananas to bolster your health reserves. Ramming rival Kremlings, braving extreme weather, avoiding environmental hazards round out the survival laurels. But have no fear – levity and laughs shine through thanks snappy animations keeping things fun versus punishing. Each new world outdoes itself with creative themes and platforming ideas pushing players reflexes. With devious obstacles around every vine swing and roll, survival demands mastery of the basics.

Donkey Kong Country on GBC marked a triumphant resurgence for the historic franchise on Nintendo handhelds. Exclusive levels and smart survival mechanics made this an essential pick for platformer enthusiasts.

Release Date – November 2000
Developer – Rare
Publisher – Nintendo
Genre – Platformer, Survival
Review Score – 9.4/10 (IGN)

#3. Dragon Warrior Monsters 2

Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 (2001) had players battle through monster-filled realms on GBC

The Dragon Warrior (now Dragon Quest) franchise enjoys massive popularity in Japan spearheaded by this thriving monster battling/breeding spin-off series. Dragon Warrior Monsters 2 built upon its GBC predecessor‘s addictive formula with even more beasts to breed, dungeons to explore and worlds to discover.

You assume the role of a young monster breeder venturing through perilous realms teeming with deadly creatures. Assembling a squad of monsters expands your survival capabilities while uncovering new abilities. Savvy monster breeding passes down genetic traits you can selectively cultivate over generations for battle advantages. The stakes escalate battling tougher monsters and dungeon environments housing legendary boss creatures .

Its monster fusion and genetics systems were engrossing, almost Rogue-like forays into bioengineering suited for on-the-go play. DW2 also significantly expanded content volume and replay incentive over the original for a landmark handheld title.

Release Date – March 2001
Developer/Publisher – Enix Corporation
Genre – Role-Playing, Survival
Review Score – 8/10 (NintendoWorldReport)

#2. Metal Gear Solid

Metal Gear Solid (2000) stunned gamers by faithfully recreating tactical espionage action on GBC

Tactical espionage maestro Hideo Kojima stealthily brought his seminal PlayStation masterpiece to the GBC in remarkably faithful form. Rather than a watered-down limp port, Metal Gear Solid was rebuilt from the ground-up specifically around the handheld‘s technical constraints and portable play style.

You re-assume the role of Solid Snake, an elite veteran FOXHOUND operative. Snake must infiltrate a rogue terrorist base alone to neutralize the fanatical FOXHOUND faction led by his former unit commander, Liquid Snake. A wireless headset peripheral as Snake’s in-game Codec radio cleverly lent a lifeline for objectives, rival analyses and cryptic banter with his support crew.

Understandably the GBC visuals are far simpler with a less cinematic top-down camera. However core tenants like stealth gameplay, diversionary tactics, key card collection and gadget utilization all survived translation brilliantly. Alert phases and enemy AI adapted smartly to the format as well rather than feel compromised. MGS stands among the most technically remarkable handheld ports ever conceived.

Release Date – April 2000
Developer/Publisher – Konami
Genre – Action/Adventure, Survival
Review Score – 9.4/10 (IGN)

#1. The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening DX

The Legend of Zelda: Link‘s Awakening DX (1998) remains an essential Zelda adventure recast beautifully on GBC

The Legend of Zelda series fittingly earns our #1 survival accolade with this 1998 Game Boy Color refresh of 1993’s seminal Link’s Awakening. This coming-of-age story translated Zelda’s fantasy exploration and monster-slaying pedigree flawlessly to handhelds.

Our green-garbed hero Link shipwrecks along the mysterious Koholint Island dotted with enigmatic ruins, sword-wielding Moblins, and quirky townsfolk. Bereft of equipment, Link must craft weapons, unlock shortcuts and acquire items to survive coastal and mountainous environments. Trading side quests yield helpful goodies to aid your quest. Guiding Link throughout his survival tribulation is no fairy companion, but a carefree flying fish named Prince Marin!

Link’s Awakening DX injected a beautifully vibrant new color dungeon rebalancing gameplay while retaining the eccentric charm and mysteries of the 1993 classic. All told, DX represented a masterclass of astutely updating an adventure masterpiece that clicked perfectly on Nintendo’s newest handheld.

Release Date – June 1998
Developer – Nintendo
Publisher – Nintendo
Genre – Action/Adventure, Survival
Review Score – 9.4/10 (IGN)

The Cream of Survival Crops!

And that‘s a wrap scout! We revisited 7 pioneering portable survival classics forged on the capable Nintendo Game Boy Color hardware. Each leveraged the GBC’s competitive strengths in resourceful ways while skillfully adapting to its technical restraints as well. These trailblazers remain shining genre examples and play remarkably well even today for vintage gaming fans.

Hopefully our safari down survival gaming memory lane sparked some nostalgia in fellow GBC survivors! Here some recommended reads if you‘d like to discover other retro gaming gems:

Let us know your fondest handheld survival game memories or recommendations on social channels! Just beware of quicksand pits along the way.