Ever wanted to be a 16th-century merchant captain with a side hustle in piracy? Daikoukai Jidai II nails that fantasy—you start with a rickety ship, a handful of coins, and a map full of ports where prices for silk, spices, and cannonballs swing wildly. First time I played, I bought too much pepper in Lisbon and nearly sank before reaching the next harbor.

The real magic happens when you realize you don’t have to play by the rules. Sure, you could be an honest trader… or you could spot a weakly defended Spanish galleon and suddenly remember you installed those extra cannons for a reason. The naval battles are clunky by modern standards, but there’s something hilarious about watching pixelated ships broadside each other while your crew morale plummets because you forgot to buy lemons.

It’s one of those games where you lose track of time—one minute you’re checking commodity prices in Amsterdam, the next you’re three hours deep into a vendetta against the Dutch navy. Just don’t expect the graphics to wow you; this is pure spreadsheet-and-imagination gameplay dressed up in Sega Genesis charm.