10 Game Boy Games That Deserve a 2023 Remake

I remember the exact sound: a tiny, brittle click when you slid the cartridge into a Game Boy that had seen better days. The sun was too bright, the battery door rattled like a cowbell, and yet-somehow-an eight-bit melody could be more transporting than half the AAA marketing budgets I see today.

There’s magic in limitations. But there’s also cruelty. Some Game Boy games were constrained by hardware, sloppy controls, or the credo of “less memory, more grinding” - not by bad ideas. Those are the games that deserve remakes: not because they were flawless, but because they had an architecture of greatness trapped in a postage-stamp world.

Below: ten such games. Each entry explains why the title matters, what a modern remake should fix or amplify, and concrete fan-made concepts for visuals, mechanics, and modes. Expect pixel love, selective nostalgia, and a little biting truth.

How I picked these ten

• They were built around a strong core idea - atmosphere, an unusual mechanic, or an unforgettable boss - that hardware hamstrung.
• They’re underappreciated - cult status rather than evergreen money machines.
• A remake could be commercially viable with a creative re-skin and quality-of-life improvements.

If you own a Game Boy and a dusty sense of wonder, read on.

1) Gargoyle’s Quest (Game Boy)

Why it matters

• A dark, moody action-platformer with RPG-lite progression and a hook - a gargoyle who can cling to ceilings and turn into a winged glider. It’s atmospheric in a way few GB games dared.

What a 2023 remake should do

• Rebuild it as a compact Metroidvania - larger, connected overworld; persistent upgrades; optional side quests.
• Tighten movement and collision. Add modern save systems and map markers.
• Keep the Gothic vibe - high-contrast palettes, ink-wash backgrounds, and orchestral + chiptune hybrid score.

Fan-made concept & art

• Visuals - hand-painted backgrounds with crisp, reworked pixel sprites - think gorgeously grim Tim Burton meets pixel noir.
• New mechanic - an energy-based wing dash that consumes an upgradeable resource; environmental puzzles that require vertical traversal.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gargoyle%27s_Quest

2) Trip World (Game Boy)

Why it matters

• Trip World is quietly psychedelic - a deceptively simple platformer with surreal enemies, shifting scales, and an oddly tender tone.

What a 2023 remake should do

• Lean into the surreal - fluid morphing of environments, parallax layers, and dynamic camera zooms.
• Smooth animations and a variable difficulty curve so pacing doesn’t falter.

Fan-made concept & art

• Visuals - watercolor textures, soft gradients, and dreamlike lighting. Imagine the art direction of Ori but with early-90s surrealism.
• Add a photo-mode, collectibles that unlock lore vignettes, and a “soundtrack only” toggle to highlight the original’s composition.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trip_World

3) Kid Icarus: Of Myths and Monsters (Game Boy)

Why it matters

• This portable Kid Icarus took the franchise’s heavenly-myth tone and fit it into an ordered sidescroller. It had strong level variety and surprisingly vivid boss designs.

What a 2023 remake should do

• Expand to multi-directional exploration with short hub areas (temples, sky islands) and improved combat combos.
• Preserve the quirky enemy roster but make hitboxes fair and satisfying.

Fan-made concept & art

• Visuals - polished 2.5D-high-detail backgrounds with hand-drawn enemy portrait cards for boss introductions.
• Gameplay - incorporate selectable loadouts (different bows and arrow types) and skill trees emphasizing agility or offense.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kid_Icarus:_Of_Myths_and_Monsters

4) Mole Mania (Game Boy)

Why it matters

• A Miyamoto-produced puzzler that mixes Sokoban-style box pushing with stealth and timing. It’s charming and clever but limited by repetition.

What a 2023 remake should do

• Turn it into a charming stealth-puzzle adventure with story beats and NPCs who give optional quests.
• Keep the tactile push/pull puzzles but introduce physics-enabled objects (rolling logs, water flow).

Fan-made concept & art

• Visuals - bright, naturalist palette; soft shadows; expressive mole character with a range of emotive sprites.
• Modes - level editor + online sharing; a co-op mode where two players coordinate to clear stages.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mole_Mania

5) Shantae (Game Boy Color)

Why it matters

• Often cited as a late-era GBC masterpiece. Strong character, inventive transformation mechanics, and a killer soundtrack.

What a 2023 remake should do

• Reimagine as a modern 2.5D action-platformer with fluid animations and improved input (no more floaty jumps).
• Expand the transformation system (new forms with branching upgrade trees).

Fan-made concept & art

• Visuals - glossy, animated sprites with dynamic lighting; modern backgrounds that still read like GBC-era palettes.
• New content - side quests that deepen Shantae’s world, a ‘remix’ plot mode with alternate boss patterns, and accessibility options.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shantae_(video_game)

6) Bionic Commando: Elite Forces (Game Boy Color)

Why it matters

• The grappling-arm gameplay is an excellent, underused movement mechanic. The Game Boy Color entry kept the core idea - move differently.

What a 2023 remake should do

• Make the grappling physics a centerpiece - momentum-based traversal, environmental grapples, and combat combos that use swing inertia.
• Add scenario missions with objective variety and procedural challenge rooms.

Fan-made concept & art

• Visuals - a noir military palette with neon highlights; motion blur for fast swings; detailed arm prosthetics and modular upgrades.
• Modes - time trials, challenge gauntlets, and a level editor that lets fans craft grappling puzzles.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bionic_Commando:_Elite_Forces

7) Castlevania: The Adventure (Game Boy)

Why it matters

• One of the earliest handheld Castlevania titles - it had the series’ Gothic bones but cramped controls and uneven pacing.

What a 2023 remake should do

• Rework as a tight, pared-down Castlevania experience - reduce cheap hits, improve weapon responsiveness, and add smart checkpoints.
• Introduce light RPG progression (whips, sub-weapons, relics) and optional exploration rooms.

Fan-made concept & art

• Visuals - high-contrast, baroque backgrounds with animated torches and fog; the protagonist’s whip should feel meaty - both visually and in sound design.
• New elements - boss variants, challenge tower mode, quality-of-life mapping with optional retro-mode (authentic pixel look with modern collision).

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Castlevania:_The_Adventure

8) Kwirk (Game Boy)

Why it matters

• A concise puzzle-game classic - sliding blocks and spatial reasoning made portable. It’s essentially a portable brain-teaser.

What a 2023 remake should do

• Elevate with modern UX - clear level progression, hints that can be toggled, and optional speed-run leaderboards.
• Add a daily puzzle and community level workshop with easy sharing.

Fan-made concept & art

• Visuals - clean, minimalist vector style with playful character animation for Kwirk.
• Modes - campaign, endless puzzle generator, online co-op puzzles, and a tasteful, non-intrusive tutorial system.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kwirk

9) Solar Striker (Game Boy)

Why it matters

• A pure shoot-’em-up trimmed to Game Boy’s constraints. It had crisp designs and legitimate stage variety that belie its humble hardware.

What a 2023 remake should do

• Expand into a modern shmup with layered enemy patterns, multiple ships, and roguelite progression (per-run upgrades).
• Keep the original’s tight level design but add modern screen-clearing and scoring systems that reward skill.

Fan-made concept & art

• Visuals - neon-infused space vistas, with foreground debris and distant explosions; on-screen HUD that’s diegetic and unobtrusive.
• Modes - arcade mode (classic scoring), campaign (narrative beats), and ascend mode (increasingly difficult runs with leaderboards).

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_Striker

10) Survival Kids (Game Boy Color)

Why it matters

• A survival-adventure with crafting and multiple endings on a handheld long before survival sims were trendy.

What a 2023 remake should do

• Deepen the crafting and exploration systems. Add weather, day/night cycles, and NPCs with emergent behavior.
• Keep the multiple endings and branching quests, but make resource management feel meaningful rather than punitive.

Fan-made concept & art

• Visuals - lush, stylized islands with strong silhouettes and readable foliage. UI: inventory streamlined with drag-and-drop crafting.
• Modes - story mode with character-driven quests; sandbox mode for free exploration; co-op exploration for two players.

Reference: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Survival_Kids

Cross-cutting design principles for any Game Boy remake

• Respect the idea, not the glitches - preserve unique hooks (grappling, transformations, surreal tone) but fix unfair controls.
• Pixel or not - offer both a modernized art mode and a faithful 1:1 pixel mode with original sound for purists.
• Small-team friendly - these projects are best handled by boutique studios that understand platforming nuance (WayForward, Yacht Club–style teams), or by indie publishers that champion retro revivals.
• Community content - level editors, mod support, and soundtrack releases turn nostalgia into ongoing engagement.

Why some remakes SHOULD happen and why many won’t

Remakes are safe only if they’re smarter than nostalgia. The market wants novelty dressed as memory - a game that keeps what made the original special and then amplifies it with modern feedback loops, accessibility, and humor.

Which leads to the inevitable: not everything will be remade, but these ten deserve a shot because they’re compact ideas with huge creative leverage. They’re not stuck in a museum; they’re waiting for better wings.

If you want one pitch expanded into a full concept document - art direction, economy design, and a 10-level breakdown - say which game and I’ll sketch it. Otherwise, go blow the dust off a Game Boy and be pleasantly surprised by what still works.