Nintendo has released two additional games for the Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy app. Let’s have a look!

Here’s what I thought of these games:

Game Boy App

Game	Genre	# of Players	Score
Donkey Kong	Puzzle-Platformer	1	A+
tl;dr Sometimes referred to as “Donkey Kong ’94”, the Game Boy version of Donkey Kong starts with the original arcade game and greatly expands on it to grow it into an absolutely incredible Puzzle-Platformer that’s truly wonderful in its own right, and was so good that it spawned its own separate franchise, the Mario Vs. Donkey Kong series. This game is so fantastic, I would have given it an A++… except this version doesn’t include the Super Game Boy enhancements this game received, which made for a much more visually-striking game. As a result, while this is still a must-own game, the Nintendo Switch Online release of this game is not the definitive version of it. For that you have to go back to the original… on a Super Nintendo with a Super Game Boy player.
Mario’s Picross	Picross Puzzle	1	C
tl;dr Containing 256 unlockable Picross Puzzles, Mario’s Picross suffers a bit from the bland presentation of the monochrome Game Boy, and Picross fans will note that this lacks the ability to test-mark cels. This is a perfectly playable version of Picross, but far from a great one.

Wow, so much to go over here!

First, I am absolutely ecstatic that Nintendo Switch Online finally has “Donkey Kong ’94”, generally agreed to be the absolute best version of the original arcade Donkey Kong. Well, if you can even call it that, given how extensive an expansion on the original game this is. It is also arguably the best game on the original Game Boy, though “arguably” is carrying a lot of weight in that sentence, since Tetris and The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening both have strong claims to that honor. However, in any case, this is an absolute must-play Puzzle-Platformer, the predecessor to the long-running Mario Vs. Donkey Kong series, and I cannot say enough good things about it… well, except one.

Nintendo, could we pretty please get Super Game Boy support added to the Nintendo Switch Online Game Boy app? Some games greatly benefit from this feature, and Donkey Kong ’94 was a flagship for the device, adding not only a wider use of color, but improved sound and a custom border. And plenty of other games on the Game Boy app would also benefit, including…

Mario’s Picross is actually a really good take on Picross, given how long ago it was released. And it’s almost unfair that I knock it for its inability to test-mark cels on the original Game Boy, as it would have been awkward and difficult to do this with only two standard face buttons (though I suppose the select button could have been used for this purpose).

However, I did bump up the grade from a C- to a C since this game’s appearance on Nintendo 3DS Virtual Console. The reason is price – on Virtual Console, with a price tag attached, I’d have to compare it to every other Picross game you could buy on the platform, and there it would inevitably come up short. But on the Nintendo Switch Online’s Game Boy app, you’re not paying any additional cost if you already subscribe, so this is just one more Picross game you have access to. And there, it’s… not bad. Still lacking in some areas compared to other Picross games on the Nintendo Switch, but it’s a far sight better than the version of Mario’s Picross we got on the Super Nintendo app, which touts untranslated Japanese menus and visuals that actually make it harder to see the puzzles.

All in all, even though I can’t give Mario’s Picross a higher grade, I’m still glad it’s arrived on the Game Boy App, and to get this in addition to Donkey Kong, one of the greatest Game Boy games ever made, is just icing on the cake.

tl;dr – The Game Boy app gets two additional games – Donkey Kong, one of the greatest Game Boy games ever made, and Mario’s Picross, a respectable take on Picross for its time, though one that has aged a bit since its release. Overall this is an excellent pairing and one of the best releases on the Game Boy app that we’ve seen in a good long while!

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