TheMarioseries is one of thelongest-running in gamingandhas appeared on each and every one of Nintendo’s home consolesin some capacity. The franchise’s success hasn’t just been limited to the home console market though, with numerousMariotitles having also been released for the Japanese giant’s hugely popular Game Boy and its various successors.
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Despite the systems being far less powerful thantheir home console equivalents, many of the handheldMariotitles have found a way to impress; both in terms of their critical reception and the number of units that they’ve been able to ship during their lifetimes. These arethe very bestMariogames for the Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Game Boy Advance, at least according to their GameRankings.com and Metacritic ratings, anyway.
Updated Aug 06, 2025, by Tom Bowen:Given the hybrid nature of the Nintendo Switch, it seems likely that all future Mario games will be portable to a certain degree; at least for the next few years, anyway. In the past, however, those looking for a handheld Mario experience had to turn to the Game Boy line of consoles in order to get their fix. Though this often meant accepting some compromises when it came to quality, there were still plenty of great handheld Mario games. Interestingly though, many of the best Mario games on the Game Boy and Game Boy Advance were actually ports of some of the plumber’s earlier home console classics, suggesting that, while often thoroughly enjoyable, games designed specifically for the handheld systems typically weren’t quite up to scratch.
12Mario Tennis: Power Tour
TheMario Tennisseries can sometimes be a little hit and miss, butMario Tennis: Power Touris one of the better installments. Granted, it still has its fair share of problems, but, for those looking fora great tennis game on a handheld system, there aren’t really many better options. The fact that the game allows players to control Mario and his many friends only serves to sweeten the deal.
As with some of the series' previous installments,Power Tourimplements a raft of role-playing mechanics which perfectly complement the game’s surprisingly enjoyable single-player campaign. The real fun, however, can be found within the game’s multiplayer mode, with various game modes and match types available for those looking to dunk all over their friends (or whatever the tennis equivalent is).
11Mario vs. Donkey Kong
Given thatMario made his debut in the original release ofDonkey Kong, it seems somewhat fitting that at least one game featuring the iconic ape should rank among the bestMarioGame Boy games.Mario vs. Donkey Kongwas developed for the GBA by Nintendo Software Technology and was the first of sevenMario vs. DonkeyKongtitles to be released for the system and its successor, the 3DS.
TheMario vs. Donkey Kongseries also marked the return of Pauline, who had at that time been absent from theMariofranchise for more than a decade following the Game Boy release ofDonkey Kongin 1994. Since then, however, she has appeared in plenty of other titles, includingSuper Mario Odysseyand many of the more recentMario Sportsspin-off games.
10Super Mario Advance
Super Mario Advanceis a port ofSuper Mario Bros. 2for the NES,which itself was based on the Japanese 2D platformer,Doki Doki Panic. For the most part, it mirrors the version of the game that was included in theSuper Mario All-Starspack for the SNES and was released as a launch title for the Game Boy Advance.
Though some publications criticized the decision to release a remastered version ofSuper Mario Bros. 2ahead of the game’s sequel or the vastly superiorSuper Mario World,Super Mario Advancewas one of the best sellinglaunch titles for Game Boy Advanceand was added to the Player’s Choice lineup soon after thanks to its strong sales performance.
9Mario Golf: Advance Tour
Though many considerMario Golf: Advance Tourto be better than its handheld predecessor, it’s important to treat it asa product of its time. Granted, it improved on many of the elements found inMario Golfand looks a lot better too, but, for the era in which it was released, it just wasn’t quite as impressive.
That said,Advance Touris packed full of excellent game types and features a huge roster offan-favorite characters. By connecting the game to its GameCube counterpart, it was even possible to transfer over four additional characters, although this functionality and the extra golfers themselves were sadly lost in the game’s Virtual Console release.
8Mario Golf
At the time of its release,Mario Golfwas a hugely impressive title, even managing to edge out its N64 counterpart by a few fractions of a percent on GameRankings.com. The game features 11 playable characters, six courses, and a variety of game modes for players to enjoy; a miraculous feat for aGame Boy Color game.
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When compared to Mario’s first golf game,NES Open Golf Tournament,Mario Golfis an incredibly impressive achievement and serves as a clear indicator of the rapid advancements being made in the industry throughout the nineteen nineties. It may not hold up all that well today, butthe same could also be said of many of the best games from that era.
7Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga
Mario & Luigi: Superstar Sagais the first game inthe long-runningMario & Luigiseriesand helped to lay a lot of the foundations onto which future entries have been built. It does owe some of its success toSuper Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Starsthough, as it’s from there that many of its best ideas were taken.
The game performed strongly with fans and critics alike, with many praising its originality and creativity, which helped it to stand out from the manyother handheld RPGs that were released around that time. Though the original still holds up fairly well today, those hoping to check it out would be better served picking upthe 3DS remake, which includes enhanced visuals and plenty of additional content.
6Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi’s Island
Despite being rather different from the rest of the earlier mainlineMariotitles,Yoshi’s Islandis still a great game that remainspopular with speedrunners& retro gamers to this day. Being able to play the game on a handheld device was, therefore, a pretty big deal at the time of its release and lead to positive reviews and impressive sales figures all around.
Unlike the earlierSuper Mario Advancetitles,Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi’s Islandfeatures some rather big changes from the original, most notably the inclusion of six brand new stages. The game also utilizes sound effects taken fromYoshi’s Storyfor the N64, leading to many labeling it asthe definitive port ofYoshi’s Island.
5Mario Tennis
As was the case withMario Golf, the Game Boy Color release ofMario Tenniswas incredibly impressive for the era and is considered by many to be among both the best sports andMariotitles for the system. It’s packed full of excellent content and provides a surprisinglyauthentic tennis experienceto boot.
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The game features multiple game types and a large cast of playable characters, including Wario and Waluigi, who could be transferred into the game by connecting it to its N64 counterpart using the Transfer Pak. It also features several mini-games, which would go on to become a staple ofthe series' handheld versionsin the years that followed.
4Super Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World
Less than one year on from the firstSuper Mario Advancetitle, critics and players finally got their wish, withSuper Mario Worldbeing ported to the GBA in the form ofSuper Mario Advance 2: Super Mario World. As its Metacritic score should indicate, it ended up beinga fantastic port.
Though Nintendo opted not to make too many changes, there were a few subtle differences and quality of life updates implemented for the release. These did come at the expense of the two-player mode found in the SNES version, however, although this was more to do withthe limitations of the GBAthan anything else.
3Super Mario Bros. Deluxe
WhileSuper Mario Landand its 1992 sequelwere both excellent games, the limitations of the original Game Boy - particularly when it came toits awful display- prevented them from really wowing critics. This all changed with the Game Boy Color, however, andSuper Mario Bros. Deluxewas more than ready to take advantage of the system’s vastly superior screen.
The game serves as an enhanced port of the original release ofSuper Mario Bros.for the NESand features a variety of additional content. As well asThe Lost Levelsbeing included, there are also numerous new game and challenge modes, and it’s even possible to play with a friend using the link cable. As an added bonus, when connected to the Game Boy Printer, players can also gain access to a wide selection of printable pictures, icons, and banners.
