In what was considered perhaps the most successful launch since Challenger, the Game Boy arrived in 1989 with 9 of the most Sought after titles in the history of loading data onto Game Boy cartridges.
And now, in the final chapter of Game Boy Month, which has spanned an incredible 3 months (Part I, Part II), we look back a the top 10 games in a year in which only 9 were actually released.
10) Inserting the proper amount of batteries in the proper orientation.
This title speaks for itself. We’ve played it on countless electronics, but it’s never been as fulfilling as loading the Game Boy with its 37 AA batteries.
9) Alleyway
Some may recognize this game as Atari’s Breakout, or Taito’s Arkanoid. The key difference between those games and Alleyway is the title. This game is called Alleyway, not Breakout or Arkanoid. Understood? Good.
8) Boxxle Soukoban
Make your way through a labyrinth of bricks toward the ultimate goal of world domination in this mix between Battle City and every single platformer ever released. Ever.
7) Castlevania: The Adventure
For the handheld release of Castlevania the developers decided to change the formula and add in an adventure. The idea was unheard of at the time, with most ‘games’ consisting of recipes or crocheting tips.
6) Fist of the North Star
Playing Fist of the North Star, or fisting in the hardcore community, has never been so easy or so accessible. Now you can fist on the bus, at the doctor’s office, or even at school!
5) Double Dragon
Now with twice the dragon of the console title Lone Dragon. Only a calculator as powerful as the Game Boy can render two player-controlled characters on screen at the time, on top of one another, making it the first two-player single-player title.
4) Kwirk
Like a snake, this game sheds the skin of ‘being a game’ and exposes the beautiful scales contained within. One part ‘bricks’, and two parts ‘ scores’, this game has it all. Except a game.
3) Super Mario Land
This game stars Mario Land in his first video game role. Land is a painter who has arrived in a strange world at the bequest of a dragon. Faced with an improbable mission, Land uses all of the tools at his disposal to rescue the queen of Super World.
2) Baseball
The video game that would go on to spawn an entire physical sport, Baseball was developed by Japanese developer NinTenDo, a company known mostly for its line of used panty vending machines in downtown Tokyo.
1) The Final Fantasy Legend
The last in a long line of Fantasy titles, Final Fantasy Legend ties together the entire series by revealing that every single male protagonist was actually a woman, and that the last fantasy, or Final Fantasy if you will, is a full gender reversal.






Each doll came in a paper box shaped like a suitcase, and came equipped with the doll’s very own passport. If there’s one thing that made children love the original Kids, it was the government issued birth certificates; the passport was a natural evolution of the concept. Had this series of dolls been a success the next step was giving each doll their very own tax forms to fill out every year.

The Insane Clown Posse, known to fans as ICP, have humble beginnings. Joseph “Ornery J” Bruce and Joseph “Shaggy 4 Dope” Utsler spent their days “wrestling” in suburban backyards on homemade “rings.” But in late 1988, the duo was discovered by Jermaine Dupri, owner of So So Def records. Sensing that these two kids would quickly be snatched up by other “record labels” and – even worse – other pederasts, Dupri immediately signed the duo to his label, So So Def.
After tossing around the idea of Inner City Posse in order to appeal to a more urban crowd, the label decided on marketing the group as the JJ Boys. After a brief “wrestling” “match” and much controversy among their fans, the Insane Clown Posse accepted this change of name and have decided henceforth to be known as the JJ Boys and accept the clean-cut image associated with the copyright owned by So So Def.
To hardcore chess fanatics the game may seem a bit disorientating at first. There are no kings, queens, knights, dragons or orcs. There’s no option available to check your mates, and there is no board comprised of checkered tiles.