Grab your GBC and some batteries as we check out the best Gameboy Color Pokemon games of all time!
The Gameboy Color was a revolutionary bit of kit. Even now in 2022, we still love the GBC and covet is as one of the best looking handhelds of all time.
And for good reason; it’s a beautiful device alright!
Seeing Pokemon antics in colour for the very first time blew our minds, and the Pokemon games that dropped for the handheld were second to none too.
Check out 10 of the greatest games to drop for the console including a few cheeky ROM hacks that might get in the Pokemon catching mood below too!
Table of Contents
1. Pokemon Gold & Silver (1999)
Pokemon Gold & Silver top the list as the two best Gameboy Color Pokemon games!
There was no way I could choose over Gold or Silver. They’re a two-for-one deal, with both games capturing the hearts and minds of millions of gamers across the globe.
I’m not going to lie; I thought it was impossible for any game to beat Pokemon Red or Blue, but Gold and Silver smashed it. They brought 100 new monsters into the mix and gave us a new region to explore.
New Pokegear, new Pokeballs, and a real-time internal clock that saw time passing in a Pokemon game for the first time.
The legendary Pokemon could be captured in the wild too, and their health never replenished between encounters, meaning you could keep grinding them down on multiple encounters until you finally caught them.
Everything about Gold and Silver is pure Pokemon perfection. If you never played them, go back and give them a go on either the GBC or the DS via HeartGold and SoulSilver!
2. Pokemon Crystal (2000)
We all know Pokemon Crystal; it’s one of the best selling Gameboy Color games of all time (alongside the other two games remaining in this list) and serves as an updated version of Gold and Silver.
All the Pokemon games have an updated version that gives a new challenge for fans of the series. Red and Blue had Yellow, Ruby and Sapphire had Emerald, and Gold and Silver had Crystal.
Crystal gave Suicine a much more prominent role and brought new characters into the mix.
If you were sad when Gold and Silver ended, then jump on the crystal bandwagon and give it a go!
3. Pokemon Pinball (1999)
Pokemon Pinball combines two epic games together for fast-paced, Pokeball hurling action.
I mean, let’s face it; pinball is already fun as it is, but add Pokemon into the mix and you’ve got a real classic on your hands.
Interact with Pokemon along the way, rack up huge scores, and complete different themed courses?
Play on a red or blue themed table (I wonder why), hit Psyduck with pinballs, and send a ball hurtling out of Bellsprout’s mouth.
The main idea is to capture the Pokemon you find in Pokeballs and evolve them as the game goes on.
Listen, this isn’t a hard game to get to grips with. It’s one of those that you can play without any thought and just kick back with and switch off.
That’s what all the best games should be like, right?
4. Pokemon Trading Card Game (1998)
Here it is; the one and only Pokemon Trading Card Game!
This is actually one of the best selling Gameboy Color games of time. That might have surprised a lot of you considering it’s not actually a proper version of the game, but hear me out.
Having the chance to virtually own Pokemon cards without spending hundreds and hundreds of pounds is way easier than… well, spending hundreds and hundreds of pounds.
And, you don’t have to worry about insuring your collection too.
It also serves as a great way of learning more about the trading card game in general, which is never a bad thing!
Search for and collect card, unlocking secret types as you go through the game. The main aim remains the same; battle trainers and gym leaders, just using cards instead of real pocket monsters!
5. Pokémon Puzzle Challenge (2000)
Pokémon Puzzle Challenge is one of those games that I find impossible to put down whenever I start playing. Seriously, this thing should come with a warning.
I might still have friends if it had…
If you can’t decide between playing Pokemon or Tetris, then this puzzle challenge will be right up your street. I’m so glad Nintendo has just plonked Pokemon on everything.
Pocket-monsters meets Panel de Pon, encompassing all the critters fro Pokemon Silver and Gold.
And you can bet your bottom dollar you’re going to find those two games somewhere further down this list.
Is Pokemon Puzzle league as easy to get to grips with as Columns and Dr Mario.
Yes… yes it is.
Match blocks while battling Johto leaders. Collect Pokemon instead of Dr Mario virus-characters, and groove to remixed versions of the original tunes from Gold and Silver.
I mean, it’s worth paying the cost price just for that alone!
Grab a link cable to play with friends or go solo. However you tackle the puzzle grid, you’re guaranteed a fun time.
6. Pokemon Bronze (2012)
Pokemon Bronze takes the 8th spot in this list of the best Gameboy Color Pokemon games, and its the first ROM hack in our list too!
You’ve all heard of Kanto, and you’ve all played in Johto. But how many of you fancy taking a jolly jaunt into Kohto?
Connected to Kanto by a secret tunnel (fun coincidence, isn’t it?), Kohto boasts 9 towns for players to explore.
Start as a beginner, grab your starter Pokemon, and become the best. It’s a tried and tested method and one we know works a treat!
Set directly after Gold and Silver, Bronze gives players a more in-depth and tough challenge to tackle. We’re talking harder battles and more troublesome skirmishes with Team Rocket for you to deal with.
In a nice twist, players choose from either Totodile, Pichu, or Charmander as their starters too. Who will you take to the top?
7. Pokemon Crystal Clear
Pokemon Crystal Clear is another one of the best GBC Pokemon ROM hacks of all time too. And weirdly for a Pokemon game, it’s actually an open world adventure!
That’s right; play through Pokemon Crystal in a whole new way, customising your character and re-challenging gyms as many times as you want.
Basically, you wan go anywhere and do everything in this ROM hack!
There are 16 badges to collect as opposed to the original 8, and the all new Elite Four provide a new challenge for Pokefans to sink their teeth into.
You can choose to play in either Kanto or Johto first and progress to the other at any point. It’s nice to have 24 Pokemon to pick from in the beginning instead of just three too.
Sometimes choice can be a band thing, but this means you have 24 different ways to play the game too
Why not buy a house in each of the cities you visit too? Seriously, it’s like Fable meets Pokemon for GBC emulators!
8. Pokemon Brown (2008)
Let’s have one more GBC Pokemon ROM hack, shall we? Pokemon Brown is one of the oldest Pokemon ROM hacks around and brings some new and exciting colourful add-ons for the original DMG games.
This time, we’re heading to a brand new region, Rijon.
Yes, that does sound like region, you’re absolutely right.
With ten new cities to explore including one from Johto and 20 exciting new routes to travel along, there’s so much for Pokefans to get excited over.
Not to mention seven new Pokemon types that definitely didn’t feature in the original games!
Despite having all these new additions and cool new music accompanying a mammoth storyline, it still feels familiar.
Like a distant relative you’ve not seen for a heck of a long time, just in Pokemon form.
For 90s vintage feels and a whole new dose of Pokemon goodness, give Pokemon Brown a try!
9. Pokemon Prism (2016)
Pokemon Prism takes third place in our best Gameboy Color Pokemon games article. It’s another ROM hack, but one that should have been a game in its own right.
Seriously, Nintendo should have got these guys on board to make a Pokemon title. They clearly knew this as they actually put a stop to the game and tried to eradicate it from the face of the earth back in 2016.
Still, the ROM hacking community is relentless, and this game can still be found in corners of the internet 6 years on.
If you loved Pokemon Brown, then this game serves as the sequel. There are 253 Pokemon to catch between two quests over two different regions.
Return to Rijon and play in Naljo as you go where no Pokemon trainer has gone before!
10. Pokémon Card GB2: GR-dan Sanjou! (2001)
Pokémon Card GB2: GR-dan Sanjou! kickstarts our list of the best Gameboy Color Pokemon games of all time!
You guys know how much I love the Pokemon Trading Card Game for the GBC. Well, GR-dan Sanjou! is the sequel to said game, bringing more card-battling action to the table with a new character, Mint.
The premise is mainly the same but with exciting new features for fans of the original to dive into.
The world is much bigger, as is the storyline. More thought has definitely gone into the game to make it more appealing to Pokefans, and considering there are tonnes of cards from the base set, including Jungle, Team Rocket, and Fossil decks, you’ll have a great time getting into collecting mode.
Speaking of Team Rocket, players have to contend with Team Great Rocket, and they’re trying to steal al the Legendary Cards.
Make sure you stop them, then you can get them instead!
