Challenge of the Dragon is one of those NES games that looks simple at first—another damsel-in-distress story—but the combat actually has some depth. You play as Sir Burkelot, who’s basically a knight with a black belt, and his moveset is way more fun than your typical sword swing. The knee strike feels brutal up close, and the flying dragon kick is just ridiculous (in a good way).

Demiwind’s minions swarm you pretty fast, so you’ll need to mix up attacks—spamming the sword gets you killed by level 3. The magic potions add a nice twist, though I kept forgetting to use them at first. The levels are short but punishing, and the music has that classic NES "you’re probably gonna die" vibe. It’s not the most polished game, but there’s something satisfying about nailing a perfect combo on a skeleton warrior.

Just don’t expect Ninita to thank you at the end—this is an NES game, after all.