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Top 5 Handheld Games of All Time

5. New Super Mario Bros.

New Super Mario Bros. came at a time where there was a bit of a drought from Nintendo concerning their breadwinning plumber. In 2006 New Super Mario Bros. was the first Mario game to be released since Mario Sunshine in 2002, and was the first original side-scrolling platform game since Super Mario Land 2: 6 Golden Coins. As you could imagine, this alone created a great deal of hype for this game, but when the quality of the product exceeded the hype it became an instant classic.

On top of a great solo player experience and a simple-but-exciting two player, the stylus mini-games that they threw in were really entertaining and added a lot of replay value to the overall product.   

4. The Legend of Zelda: The Minish Cap

There have been several Zelda games on handheld, but whenever I recall my experiences playing handhelds this is the first one I think of. For me, there was something about the art design. It followed the cell-shaded look popularized by The Wind Waker, and although I wasn’t crazy about it on console, when it was applied to handheld it just felt like the correct medium.

The Minish Cap was a short, compact experience for a Zelda game, but it benefitted from some of the best dungeon design in the entire series.  

3. Metroid Zero Mission

Believe it or not, Metroid: Zero Mission is my favorite Metroid game. Like most great handheld games, Metroid: Zero Mission went back to the roots of the series, back to the 2D side-scrolling formula that was perfected throughout the years, and made it even better. Metroid Zero Mission was the refinement of a tried-and-true formula that overall benefited from a more polished look on the Game Boy Advanced, which was a huge visual upgrade from the previous handheld.  

Zero Mission had great level design and addictive action. The boss fights were particularly memorable, and combat was very fluid. Metroid: Zero Mission is a pure example of how a Metroid game should be executed.

2. Pokemon: Red

Pokemon was one of the most authentic, unique, and bizarre RPG’s to ever grace a handheld, having you catch your party members before they could fight for you in battle was a very strange concept that just so happened to become an addictive craze that enthralled more than one nation.

Pokemon holds the Guinness Book World Record for “Best Selling RPG of All Time,” so that gives you a bit of an idea just how much this game meant to people. I can talk to anyone about their childhood and they have a warm spot in their heart for Pokemon. Pokemon inevitably became completely glamorized with toys, T.V. shows, clothing, and even food, but at the root of all of that candy coating was a deep RPG game that developed a serious hardcore competitive following that required hours of dedication to raise optimum Pokemon using several different power-leveling methods. This game had something to offer for people of all ages.   

1. The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D

So what happens when you take one of the best console games of all time, port it to a handheld, improve the graphics, you can play it in 3D, adding a touch screen for a better interface to access you inventory, adding gyroscopic technology, and the addition of a phenomenal analog stick? Well, now you have the best handheld game of all time.

This was a perfect port by Nintendo, and came at a time when 3DS sales were lacking. This game helps Nintendo coast until the releases of this holiday season, and you can bet this was done because they were aware of the fanfare of Ocarina of Time. They are offering for you to play the best version of one of the best games of all time, its well worth the purchase regardless of whether or not you’ve played Ocarina of Time previously.