Santa Claus Junior – 60-Level GBC Christmas Platformer on Game Boy Color Cartridge

Santa Claus Junior – Save Christmas on Your Game Boy Color

It's Christmas Eve. A young boy named Nick is still awake — Game Boy in hand — when he looks out his window and sees something terrible: Santa Claus has been kidnapped by an evil witch. With Santa and his reindeer held captive deep in the woods, a fairy named Flöckchen asks Nick for his help. Christmas won't save itself.

Santa Claus Junior is a charming, colourful 2D platformer developed by NEON Software and released for Game Boy Color in 2001 as a European exclusive — and one of the most enjoyable late-era GBC games you've probably never heard of. Players are taken on a journey across 60 levels set across six Christmas-themed worlds, with a festive mix of linear stages and more open-ended areas packed with secret rooms and bonus stages to discover.

One of its most endearing quirks: the game uses no text whatsoever beyond passwords — even the menus are entirely icon-based, making it instantly accessible to players of any age or language. The controls are tight, the level design is inventive, and the pacing is just right — solid controls that let you respond to danger in time, a mix of challenging linear stages and open-ended locales with secret areas, and an overall conciseness that ensures nothing overstays its welcome.

A perfect pick-up-and-play holiday game for all ages, and a genuinely lovely piece of Game Boy Color history.

🎮 Compatible with:
Game Boy Color · Game Boy Advance · GBA SP

• ✅ Available in 8 cartridge shell colors: Gray, Red, Blue, Yellow, Black, Clear Blue, Green, Gold