Chuuka Taisen is one of those weird, late-era NES games that flew under the radar—probably because it never left Japan. You play as this little chef dude running through Chinese food-themed levels, whipping dumplings and noodles at enemies. The sprites are surprisingly detailed for an NES game, with these goofy shrimp and octopus bad guys that look like they escaped from a wok.

At first, I thought it was just another generic platformer, but the cooking twist actually makes it stand out. Your attacks are all food-based (obviously), and some ingredients work better against certain enemies—took me a while to figure out the fried rice was way more effective against the giant crab than the spring rolls. The music’s got this upbeat, almost carnival-like vibe that somehow fits the chaos.

It’s not perfect—hit detection can be a little wonky, and the difficulty spikes hard around the third stage—but there’s something charming about a game where you’re essentially battling with takeout. If you’re into obscure retro stuff, it’s a fun little oddity to kill an afternoon with.