Choplifter II on Game Boy is one of those games that looks simple until you actually try it. You're basically a helicopter pilot flying into enemy zones, dodging anti-aircraft fire while trying to scoop up stranded hostages. The controls take a minute to get used to—tilting forward speeds you up, but makes landing trickier when you're trying to grab people under fire.

What surprised me was how tense it gets. You can't just rush in guns blazing—if you hit a hostage by accident, mission over. The pixel art holds up, especially the little animations when your chopper takes damage. And yeah, it's definitely harder than the first Choplifter, with more aggressive enemy placements and tighter fuel limits.

If you're into retro games that don't hold your hand, this one's a solid pick. Just don't blame me when you restart the third mission eight times.