Battle Storm for the NES is one of those weird, obscure Japanese shooters that never made it overseas—which is a shame, because it’s actually pretty solid. You pilot this customizable ship through waves of enemies, swapping between different weapon loadouts on the fly. The first few levels trick you into thinking it’s just another generic space shooter, but then the screen starts filling up with bullets, and suddenly you’re frantically switching between spread shots and lasers just to survive.

What I like is how the ship upgrades aren’t just straight power-ups—you’ve got to balance speed, firepower, and defense, and the wrong choice can leave you totally screwed against certain bosses. The music’s got that classic NES synth energy too, all frantic beeps and boops that somehow never get old. If you’re into retro shmups, this one’s a hidden gem worth digging up.