Also two of my favourites from that system!
Kaeru...
takes the framework of a 2D Zelda, strips it of all its mechanical depth and yet manages to almost be more enjoyable for it?! Feels like a string of interactive gags from start to finish. A real joy!
Balloon Kid
slows down the pace of your usual side-scroller and almost entirely forgoes platforming. Something almost soothing about gently floating around the place, flapping to and fro. I like the whole narrative conceit as well of saving your little brother instead of some princess or romantic interest…
Some others:
Donkey Kong
Really love how expressive its movement feels, the best parts of Mario 64 made better by embracing gameboy dinkiness to great effect. I love being a tiny guy back-flipping around the place and occasionally messing up and falling flat on my face!
Kirby's Dreamland
feels to me like the platonic ideal of a Kirby game: a mostly frictionless romp through a bunch of varied environments that doesn’t outstay its welcome — short and sweet. yeah, yeah, it’s missing the transformation mechanics that have since become that characters trademark, but it barely lacks for it!
Gargoyle's Quest
always makes me laugh with its botched localisation, slight jankiness characteristic of early third-party gameboy titles and very specific movement controls. Also just love this guy’s sprite:
Banishing Racer and Skate or Die: Bad n Rad
aren’t necessarily good games but I enjoy their attempts to make a platformer on wheels. Arguably ill-advised but can sometimes be fun for how much they commit to the bit…
X
more technically impressive than it is enjoyable to play, but I can’t deny it pulls off a really strong and oppressive atmosphere similar in some ways to what metroid 2 does… Soundtrack also has some major bops thanks to Kazumi Totaka.
Edit: I’d be remiss not to also mention…