Top 10 Most Wanted Games on 3DS eShop

Part of the reason I like Nintendo's virtual console service -- and also Sony's Playstation Store -- is that it provides perfect ports of classic video games. Compare that to Xbox Live Arcade, which often features remastered, retouched, or otherwise reinvented games. There's certainly a place for these remakes -- Bionic Commando Rearmed is an excellent example -- but as someone who wants to experience the original, unadulterated game, I appreciate perfect ports. The virtual console on the Nintendo Wii was therefore a godsend. I was able to play games that I had missed growing up and were impossible to find outside of eBay.

The eShop on the 3DS offers a similar service. In the 14 months since it launched, the eShop has provided a very nice selection of old Game Boy and Game Boy Color games: Super Mario Land, Tetris, Kirby's Dream Land, Metroid II, and others. But the list is far from complete. There are a handful of old Nintendo handheld titles that would make the eShop even more attractive. Below is a list of ten such titles.

These are the games I would most like to see available on the 3DS.

10. Final Fantasy Adventure

It might bear the Final Fantasy name, but Final Fantasy Adventure is only a spin-off of the flagship franchise. It's actually the first game in a series that includes Secret of Mana. Although it has RPG elements, Final Fantasy Adventure plays and looks more like The Legend of Zelda. With great story, sound, and graphics, Final Fantasy Adventure is one of the quintessential Game Boy titles.

9. Donkey Kong Land 

At first glance, Donkey Kong Land might look like a Game Boy port of the SNES classic Donkey Kong Country, but it's actually an entirely original follow-up with 30 brand new levels and 40 hidden areas. The game utilizes ACM technology for maximum detail and animation, resulting in some very pretty graphics.

8. Pokemon Puzzle Challenge

Panel de Pon has had quite a work out. First it was ported to the Nintendo 64 in 1996 as Tetris Attack. Then, in 2000, it was ported to the Game Boy Color as Pokemon Puzzle Challenge. In all versions of the game, colored blocks rise from the bottom of the screen as players attempt to eliminate horizontal and vertical rows by swapping blocks with a cursor. Pokemon Puzzle Challenge has six unique game modes, and features 25 Pokemon.

7. The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages

Link's Awakening seems to get all the love when it comes to early Zelda handheld titles, but the dynamic duo of Oracle of Seasons and Oracle of Ages is a tremendous product, especially when paired together. Each game features an independent storyline, and both can be played in any order. I'm partial to Oracle of Seasons, probably because I played it first. Players who connect both games can transfer items and unlock a special "linked ending."

6. Mario Tennis

Launching a few months after the console version, Mario Tennis for the Game Boy Color featured many of the same characters and modes, but also mini-games and an adventure mode absent from Mario Tennis for N64. In this mode, players begin as a rookie tennis player at the Royal Tennis Academy and slowly build up their skills.

5. Dragon Warrior I & II and Dragon Warrior III

Is it cheating to include three games in one spot? If so, you're going to love number one on this list.  Dragon Warrior I & II is a compilation for the GBC that includes Dragon Warrior and Dragon Warrior II. The handheld version uses a new translation, and is more faithful to the Japanese original. Other additions include "quicksave" and a streamlined menu. Dragon Warrior III was also re-released on the GBC, modeled after the Super Famicom version, which never arrived in North America.

4. Super Mario Bros. Deluxe

One of the most acclaimed GBC titles of all time is Super Mario Bros. Deluxe, a re-release of the original Super Mario Bros. It includes an overworld level map, a challenge mode, and eight additional worlds based on those from the Japanese version of Super Mario Bros. 2. It also features simultaneous multiplayer -- long before New Super Mario Bros. Wii.

3. Shantae

Here is the only game on the list currently planned for release on the eShop, and I couldn't be happier. Shantae is a platformer released late in the life cycle of the Game Boy Color, after the Game Boy Advance had launched, so it was easily overlooked. A sequel was released in 2010 as a downloadable DSiWare title.

2. Metal Gear Solid

Released as Metal Gear: Ghost Babel in Japan, Metal Gear Solid is an original game produced specifically for the Game Boy Color. The story of Ghost Babel is non-canonical; it serves as an alternate sequel to the events of the original Metal Gear. The games uses an overhead two-dimensional format like the first two Metal Gear games.

1. Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal

This isn't even close. I'd rather see every generation I and II Pokemon game on the eShop than all the other games on this list combined. Imagine trading and fighting Pokemon from the original six Pokemon games wirelessly with friends. Pokemon Red, Blue, Yellow, Gold, Silver, and Crystal fetch a small fortune on eBay and other sites, so a digital download for a fair price would be a godsend. How about it, Nintendo?