Despite Nintendo’s reluctance to release Virtual Console titles on a consistent schedule, they still appear on the eShop from time to time. Over the past few weeks, we’ve seen two Game Boy titles added to Virtual Console library, Toki Tori and Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon.

Of course, for most of us, Toki Tori and Goemon are known quantities, but are they still worth your time and money more than a decade after their original releases? Check out Neal’s recommendations to find out.

Toki Tori is a game you might have heard of, as it was remade on WiiWare and is receiving a sequel for Wii U this holiday season. You might have played it, but odds are, you probably didn’t. If you didn’t, you are missing out. Toki Tori is a puzzle platformer that might be the closest approximation of the Donkey Kong ‘94 formula in recent memory.

You control a little bird who has to save his brothers and sisters by clearing a variety of levels and using power-ups ranging from teleportation to a freeze gun. The game continually introduces new abilities and power-ups in a measured and explanatory manner. As such, it rarely gets old, as you will almost always be doing something new every few levels.

If you have access to the remade WiiWare version, you might be better off with that, but if you want to play some Toki Tori on the go, this Game Boy Color Virtual Console release is excellent.

Don’t get too excited by the name of this game; this is not the Nintendo 64 version of Mystical Ninja Starring Goemon. Instead, it is the 1998 Game Boy release that is sort of like a linear 2D Zelda game that is cruelly difficult and not very rewarding.  

You can choose from three different characters (Goemon, Ebisumaru, and Sasuke), though they only have slight differences. Using one of the three characters, you go through different top-down levels aimlessly searching for various goals. Along the way, there are enemies that don’t have any reason to be attacked, stores that only offer you health regeneration, and the occasional mini-boss that usually just stands in one place while you attack it.  

To make it worse, die once and you have to start the entire game over. Fortunately, the Virtual Console save states make that less punishing, but I don’t think it’s too worthwhile to go through the pain of using save states constantly. There is one novel thing about the game: most of the bosses are fought using humorous mini-games, such as a whack-a-mole-esque game and a tug-of-war game. Still, this is, without a doubt, the worst Goemon game I’ve ever played.