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Alleyway
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Alleyway (Europe)

Game Boy
🇬🇧
Reviewed in
1989
72
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✪ Reviewed on July 8, 2025
64

A Game Boy launch breakout with Mario as the paddle pilot. Bare-minimum options, twenty-four levels, Mario-shaped bonus brick. The arcade hook works for ten minutes, but lack of variety and slow pace date it badly. Historically important, quickly outclassed by Tetris or Arkanoid.

Your verdict
Category
Action 1 player 3+
Description
Launch title Game Boy breakout developed by Nintendo, with Mario piloting a paddle to break walls of blocks. Published by Nintendo, released in 1989 in Europe and North America. Classic breakout mechanics, Mario's paddle, special stages with varied block layouts, and level progression.

Alleyway review

2/5
Art direction
★★★★★
"Decent"
2/5
Music
★★★★★
"Decent"
1/5
Story
★★★★★
"Anecdotal"
Gameplay
"Decent"
Fun
"From the very first minutes"
Addictiveness
"Engaging"
Difficulty
"Easy"
Lifespan
"Average"
Technical info
💾0,01 MB 📅31/07/1989
Published by Nintendo

Alleyway (Game Boy) price, value & rarity

Notable
Q1 loose
 $9 Q6 complete
 $48 Q10 new
 $154 !
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Other versions
Alleyway
USA
31/07/1989
🇬🇧

Is Alleyway still worth playing in 2026?

Alleyway is among the very first Game Boy games, a stripped down brick breaker that puts Mario at the helm of a paddle ship. The principle stays clear and immediate, and a few patterned levels add a hint of variety. But against Arkanoid and its descendants, the lack of power ups and depth is quickly felt, and the formula runs short. Its interest today is mainly historical, for anyone wanting a taste of the console's launch lineup, more than for lasting play satisfaction.

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