Man, Aero Star on the Game Boy still holds up. You jump right into this tiny, pixelated cockpit, and suddenly you're weaving through bullet hell like it's 1995 all over again. The controls are tight—just D-pad and two buttons—but man, those enemy patterns get brutal by stage 3.

The sprites are chunky in that perfect Game Boy way, all neon greens and blacks, with these little explosion animations that somehow feel satisfying even now. And the bosses? Huge, screen-filling beasts that take forever to whittle down. I remember getting stuck on the fourth one for weeks as a kid.

It’s not just nostalgia, either—this one’s a legit tough-as-nails shooter with way more depth than you’d expect from a cartridge this old. Just try not to throw your Game Boy across the room when you lose your last life to the final stage’s cheap shot. Still one of my favorites.