Xenon 2 - Megablast (USA, Europe)

Xenon 2 - Megablast hit the Game Boy in 1990, a port of The Bitmap Brothers' classic vertical-scrolling shooter that originally tore up Amigas and Atari STs. This version was published by The Sales Curve in Europe and Virgin Games in the US, bringing the same fast-paced action to Nintendo's handheld. It's a straight-up arcade-style shooter, no frills, just waves of enemies and a persistent need to upgrade your firepower.

You pilot the Megablaster ship through a series of scrolling levels, blasting everything that moves. Power-ups drop from destroyed enemies and can be collected to upgrade your main gun, add side shots, or deploy bombs. The core loop is simple: survive the onslaught, collect cash to buy better weapons between stages, and take down the end-of-level boss. The Game Boy screen is small, but the action stays clear and responsive, with tight hit detection for the era.

Today, Xenon 2 on Game Boy is a decent time capsule for anyone curious how big-screen shooters translated to portable hardware in the early '90s. It's no substitute for the superior computer versions, but it captures the same relentless pace and upgrade system in a bite-sized package. If you enjoy old-school shooters like R-Type or Gradius and don't mind a monochrome screen, this is worth a couple of credits. Just don't expect any surprises beyond the core run-and-gun loop.