#05
'The Legend of Zelda: Link's Awakening'
for the GameBoy released in 1993 as played on GameBoy Color.
One of the most underrated games of all time. 'Link's Awakening' is easily the best handheld game ever made. There is no contender and it's unlikely there ever will be. In it's time, and it's still just as impressive now, this game was out of this world as it's scope and the overall epic feeling this gives in it's elaborate story and the size content of the world put many home-console games to shame. Including it's brother on the Super Nintendo; 'A Link to the Past' (#45).
'Link's Awakening' shouldn't have been possible on a simple underpowered (even for it's time) system as the GameBoy. Yet it did magnificantly. There's even full-blown cutscenes. On a GameBoy. Which 'A Link to the Past' didn't even have. People also forget what innovations were made in this game that influenced all Zelda's to come. Besides cutscenes, this game was the first to have; a developing storyline, mini-bosses, usable musical instruments with different songs giving different effects, music used to signify a certain event or area, a guide character, a trading sequence sidequest, collectibles, true themed dungeons, mini dungeons that contain an item required for a main dungeon and last but not least, the fishing mini-game.
Above all though, the game also contains some of the series' best dungeons and bosses and has an intuitive set of items. Items could even be combined for clever effects. Also, the overworld in the game was one of the most elaborate ones yet, and is still one of the most fun ones to traverse. There is no flaw noticeable in the game and even though the original version gives you everything you would want, the colored version gives that much more. The game is solely responsible for the GameBoy Color still being my favorite handheld console, even if the 3DS has surpassed pretty much all other games.
#04 Hint:
Almost high enough to join the other games on the podium, this next game is equally underrated like 'Link's Awakening'. It's predecessor is mostly named one of the best games ever made, but I don't see it. Before release, the high-ups wanted this game to feature modern graphics like another game that was shorty released before, but a certain legendary game-designer stopped that idea and went with his own idea for the art-style instead. Rightly so.
