Pokemon Red and Blue are probably the Nintendo Switch Online additions Game Boy fans are most eager to see, but Nintendo's just brought the monochrome portable's greatest sleeper hit to the retro library with the release of Donkey Kong. Plus, they're pairing it with a similarly underappreciated Game Boy classic in Mario's Picross.
Donkey Kong, often referred to as Donkey Kong '94 by fans, is a sort of reimagining of the original 1981 arcade game. The game begins with remakes of the same four stages that made up the entirety of the arcade cabinet, but once you've cleared those the game moves to a Super Mario Bros. 3-style world map that gives you access to a total of 101 stages - a 2425% increase in content over the original game.
From here, Donkey Kong '94 transforms into something of a puzzle platformer, where you've got to locate a key and figure out a way to carry it to a locked door at the end of each level. The game combines the basic mechanics from the original Donkey Kong with the ability to grab and toss objects ala Super Mario Bros. 2, and even introduces an array of acrobatic moves the likes of which wouldn't really be associated with the plumber until Super Mario 64 a couple of years later.
But here on Game Boy in 1994, Mario's already able to do sidehops and backflips, and can even perform handstands and walk upside-down - using his feet to kick away dangerous projectiles coming down from above. The more puzzley nature of the levels measures the pace of the game, but all these additional moves give you delightfully intricate and skill-driven ways to complete each stage.
For me, Donkey Kong '94 is genuinely one of the best Game Boy games ever made, and certainly the greatest GB title that doesn't say "Zelda," "Tetris," or "Pokemon" on the box. The basic gameplay here lives on in the Mario vs. Donkey Kong series, but none of those successors have quite managed to live up to the OG.
Then there's Mario's Picross. This is a puzzle game built around nonograms - or picture crosswords - which are little logic puzzles where you have to paint a little pixel-grid picture based on clues about how many squares need to be filled in on each column and row. If you've played any Picross game, you know how engaging these little logic puzzles can be, and Mario's Picross is an excellent take on the format.
Both games are now available as part of Switch's Game Boy library, available on the basic tier of Nintendo Switch Online.
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