Brian Lara Cricket '96 was one of those games that made you feel like you were actually holding a bat—or at least as close as you could get on the Sega Genesis. The animations were smooth for the time, with bowlers charging in and batsmen pulling off those satisfying late cuts. I remember spending way too long in the menus tweaking lineups before even playing a match.

It had all the big names from the mid-90s cricket scene, and the controls were simple enough that you could pick it up fast, but mastering timing took practice. The fielding camera angles could be a little wonky, but hey, that just added to the chaos when someone skied a shot and you had to scramble to catch it. Still holds up if you're into retro sports games.