Contra on NES is one of those games that looks simple until you actually play it. You start off running and gunning through jungles and alien bases, blasting everything that moves—until something blasts you first. Those one-hit deaths are brutal, but that’s what makes it so satisfying when you finally memorize the enemy patterns.

Controls are tight: arrows to move, Z and X to shoot and jump (good luck not hitting both at the same time when things get chaotic). Pro tip: the spread shot is your best friend, but good luck keeping it when you die—which will happen. A lot.

It’s short if you’re a god at it, but for the rest of us mortals, it’s a solid hour of swearing at the screen and trying to cheese the respawn points. Still holds up as one of the best co-op run-and-guns ever.