It didn't take long after the introduction of home consoles for handhelds to hit the market. These systems had to compromise with lower-quality screens and processing power, but all of this was worthwhile just to attain the status of portability and letting people play games on the go.
The difference between handhelds and home consoles has almost disappeared with the introduction of the Nintendo Switch but there are still plenty of fantastic experiences that can only be played on handhelds. For the purpose of this list, Nintendo Switch games are included because they can be played exclusively in handheld mode, making them handheld games.
Updated on June 14, 2023, by Ritwik Mitra: With the massive rise of mobile gaming, there are many people who thought that handheld gaming would become a thing of the past. However, it seems that Nintendo is here to prove people wrong time and time again, with the release of the Nintendo Switch serving as a great middle-ground for players who want a console that essentially allows them to enjoy the best of both worlds. The Nintendo Switch has pretty much turned expanded the horizons of handheld gaming to new heights, and fans can't wait to see the next console that Nintendo is planning to develop — an eagerly awaited announcement that can't come soon enough! For now, here are some of the best handheld games of all time.
13 Animal Crossing: New Horizons (90)
The pandemic was a time when the entire world united after being forced into the confines of their own homes. Games like Among Us became hugely popular, but there's another handheld that was released during the perfect and allowed players to hang out together in spite of the restrictions of the pandemic.
That game was none other than Animal Crossing: New Horizons, a landmark release for the series that quickly became one of the highest-selling video games around. The game allowed players to build up an island from scratch, serving as the perfect comfort game players needed during the pandemic as they decorated their domiciles and invited friends to their island so that they could share some quality time together.
12 Hades (93)
Supergiant Games had been slowly building a name for themselves in the gaming industry, with titles like Bastion and Transistor being pretty excellent in their own right. However, no one expected their roguelite-action title to become such a massive hit with Hades being beloved across the board by fans and critics alike.
Zagreus' journey to leave the depths of the Underworld in a bid to see his mother for the first time makes for a tantalizing and engaging journey as players go through various regions of Hell and battle against numerous enemies and imposing bosses. The success of this title was so massive that even Supergiant Games couldn't shy away from making a direct sequel — a first for a company that always strove to make new IPs with each game they developed.
11 Super Smash Bros. Ultimate (93)
The pinnacle of the Super Smash Bros. series has every character ever in the series plus a whole bunch of new ones. Combine that with all the music tracks and stages, plus a massive single-player mode, and players have a top-tier video game that can be played entirely in handheld mode.
The game also be played in multiplayer on a single Switch in handheld mode, although it may not be the best experience around since the console's small screen can be rather limiting. Having a handheld with the capabilities of the Switch allows for massive games to be mobile.
10 Divinity: Original Sin 2: Definitive Edition (93)
To think that one of the most critically acclaimed RPGs of the last 10 years would be available on a handheld platform as well is pretty amazing. There's a massive plot that changes with the player's choices and plenty of companions available to join their party.
Divinity: Original Sin 2 has all the makings of a hardcore fantasy RPG that can take more than a hundred hours to finish if players want to explore every piece of side content in the game. This, combined with the portability of the title, will mean that this game will essentially absorb a player's life wherever they may be.
9 Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars (93)
A game made specifically for handheld devices, Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars brought the high-tier storytelling of Rockstar Games to a smaller title. Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars uses the old-school GTA top-down gameplay style instead of the third-person style that had become the standard in the last few entries.
It was praised for its gameplay and story but did receive some criticism for including a drug-dealing minigame on a Nintendo platform.
8 Persona 4 Golden (93)
The enhanced port of the Playstation 2 title, Persona 4 Golden is almost enough to justify buying a PS Vita. The game featured two additional social links and a variety of new difficulty levels to choose from in the regular game and new game plus.
This follows a party of high school students trying to uncover the mystery behind a strange TV channel and bizarre murders. The game features plenty of combat, side quests, and relationships to fill any JRPG needs.
7 The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D (94)
Nintendo loves remaking games and putting them out on new platforms, so it makes sense they would want to rerelease one of the most popular Legend of Zelda titles. Remade for the Nintendo 3DS, this game features completely redone graphics and increases the frame rate from 20 fps to 30 fps. It also included the Master Quest from the Gamecube.
The game revamps item management, condensing some of the boots and giving four buttons to map different items for switching on the fly, making the water temple less of a headache. It also relegates most of the HUD to the touch screen, keeping the main game clear of most overlays.
6 Super Mario Advance 4: Super Mario Bros. 3 (94)
Despite the absolute headache of a title, Super Mario Advance 4 is an excellent handheld game because it's just an enhanced version of one of the greatest video games of all time. The Super Mario Bros. 3 included on the cartridge is based on the already enhanced version of the game included on Super Mario All-Stars.
By itself, the game is relatively unchanged. However, it is compatible with the Nintendo e-Reader, a card scanner that could add up to 32 additional levels and give power-ups not in the original game, like the Cape Feather from Super Mario World and projectiles from Super Mario Bros. 2.
5 The Legend Of Zelda: Tears Of The Kingdom (95)
After the release of Breath of the Wild, many fans wondered how Nintendo would top such an astonishing title. The game seemed downright perfect and many fans were worried that Tears of the Kingdom would not live up to the extremely high standards set by its predecessor. However, these fans forgot that Nintendo is a company that can make something truly magical if they put their minds to it.
So. when Tears of the Kingdom finally came out after what felt like the longest time, fans were in shock and awe at its innovative mechanics and how it made Breath of the Wild look like a prototype in comparison. Ultrahand, Fuse, Ascend, and Recall are all truly amazing powers that show just how much of a technical marvel this game really is!
4 Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 (95)
The man with the second most recognizable sports video game series named after him, Tony Hawk's Pro Skater 2 for the Game Boy Advance is an achievement in game development. Vastly different from the console versions of the same game, the GBA version featured 2D pixelated graphics and a top-down view instead of the 3D third-person view to accommodate for the lack of graphical processing power in the handheld.
Despite this heavy downgrade, the game still plays phenomenally, losing none of the charms in the transition, and is still the pinnacle of the Tony Hawk franchise.
3 The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past (95)
If players haven't noticed a pattern of Nintendo releasing excellent ports of console games on their handhelds yet, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past should drive that point home.
A rerelease of the SNES game, this was the third game in the series when it originally came out in 1991 but was released on the GBA in 2002. This doesn't differ much at all from its original version but for a game that was nearly a masterpiece the first time around, people were more than okay with that.
2 Super Mario Odyssey (97)
After the horrible reception of the Wii U, Nintendo brought the heat during the arrival of the Nintendo Switch. The big holiday release for the year was Super Mario Odyssey, the first traditional 3D Mario game since Super Mario Galaxy 2 on the Wii.
The game is the closest emulation of the Super Mario 64 formula of traveling to different areas and collecting a variety of different stars, or in Odyssey's case, moons. The game features Cappy, a living hat that Mario uses to control a variety of other creatures from Goombas to T-Rexes. The features a grand total of 999 moons to collect, offering a plethora of content.
1 The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild (97)
Originally designed for the Wii U, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild was released simultaneously on the Wii U and as a launch game for the Nintendo Switch. A vastly different game from the rest of the series, it forgoes traditional dungeons and semi-linear level design for an open world that can be traversed and tackled however the player desires.
It encourages exploration and offers smaller dungeons in the form of Shrines found littered throughout the world, each with some small puzzle or challenge to be completed for a reward. It won plenty of Game of the Year awards and deservingly so.