Dark Lord on the NES is one of those obscure JRPGs that slipped under the radar—probably because it never left Japan. It’s got that classic late-80s/early-90s vibe where you’re thrown into a fantasy world with minimal handholding. The first thing you’ll notice? The combat’s weirdly fast for an NES RPG—no sluggish turn delays here. You pick from a few classes (I went with the warrior first, because of course), and then it’s straight into grinding slimes in dimly lit caves.

Visually, it’s got that chunky Data East style—not quite as polished as a Dragon Quest, but the sprites have charm. The music’s surprisingly decent too, with these moody dungeon tracks that stick in your head. Just don’t expect a deep story—most of the dialogue feels like it was run through a wonky translation, even in the original Japanese. Still, if you’re into digging up forgotten RPGs with rough edges, this one’s a neat time capsule.