Ancient Ys Vanished Omen is one of those classic action RPGs that feels way ahead of its time for an 8-bit game. You play as Adol, this red-haired swordsman who washes up on the shores of a cursed land, and within minutes you're hacking through monsters in this weirdly satisfying bump combat system—no button mashing, just ramming into enemies at the right angle.

The Sega Master System version has this moody, almost gothic vibe with chunky pixel art and a soundtrack that somehow makes a single FM synth sound epic. First thing you’ll notice? The difficulty. Those bats in the starting area will wreck you if you’re not careful, but once it clicks, the combat feels weirdly strategic.

It’s short by today’s standards, but back then, figuring out where to go next (no quest markers here) and grinding just enough to survive the next dungeon was half the fun. The Japanese version’s a bit smoother than the US release, too.