27 Game Boy Haikus
Originally published 2020
Recently I picked up a handful of Game Boy and Game Boy Color games, as I was in need of games I could quickly pick up and put down while juggling a newborn. While I had an original Game Boy as a child I had only a couple of games, making this unexplored territory for me. After playing each I commemorated my experience with a haiku. Some snarky, some celebratory, and others simply about the mood and impression the game imprinted on me.
Tetris
Gravity fulfilled
Ephemeral compartments
Raining infinite
Metal Gear: Ghost Babel
Cinematic charm
Infiltrate the base with stealth
My rank: terrible
Castlevania: The Adventure
Trudging through the mud
Impossible pitfall shame
Hunter is hunted
Castlevania II: Belmont’s Revenge
Reborn in sequel
Demo wholly rectified
Revenge is attained
Castlevania Legends
Respawns irritate
Ariel motion unnerves
Charmed by Alucard
Centipede
Swirling insects bend
Rainbow mushrooms blooming bright
Illuminations
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Ages
Duality blend
Masterful dungeon design
Ultimate puzzle
The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons
Flowers blooming bright
Heat brings vines to fallen leaves
Frozen lakes shimmer
Mickey’s Ultimate Challenge
String of baby games
Not what I was expecting
That’s on me I guess
Pac-Man
Reminds of pizza days
Binoculars isolate
A limited view
Mario Golf
Crisp fairway stretches
Soothing peace of open space
Pierce the air soaring
Bionic Commando: Elite Forces
A journey ends short
Item select glitch blocks path
Am I missing much?
Jurassic Park
Welcome to the park
Where dinosaurs drop ammo
Clever bazooka
Alone in the Dark: The New Nightmare
Rub against the walls
Far from Resident Evil
Limitations felt
Star Wars
Float high in the air
Jawas explode by your hand
Han is not with you
The Final Fantasy Legend
Built on sand and mud
Blind we walk through the dense fog
Forget this square world
Final Fantasy Legend II
Better than before
Overwhelmed by endless rules
Our destiny lost
Final Fantasy Legend III
Flood of evil spreads
Future warriors embark
Rebuild history
Resident Evil
Boldly ambitious
Dining without a table
Failed experiment
Resident Evil: Gaiden
Horror repeating
This series is boat obsessed
Save file lost at sea
Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater 2
Old names and faces
Takes me back to a fond time
Skateboards roll through dreams
Super Battletanks
Desert empty field
Nothingness meets fake 3D
Spinning endlessly
Donkey Kong
How does it translate?
Broken copy of this game
Never to be played
Milan’s Secret Castle
Like the N-E-S
Plus lag and a smaller screen
Never liked this one
Wizards & Warriors X: Fortress of Fear
The warrior returns
The cruelty of bad music
And no continues
Yoshi’s Cookie
Sweet, sweet alignment
A factory of friendship
Baking harmony
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Fall of the Foot Clan
All turtles the same
Zero unique qualities
Pizza lacking taste