Derby Stallion - Zenkoku Ban is one of those deep, old-school NES horse racing sims that somehow makes breeding and training pixelated stallions weirdly addictive. You start off picking a foal, naming it something ridiculous (I went with "Thunder Hoof" because why not), and then spend way too much time micromanaging its diet, workouts, and races.

The races themselves are simple—just mash buttons at the right time—but the real hook is watching your horse improve over seasons, trying to breed a champion bloodline, and occasionally getting wrecked by some random underdog. The menus are all in Japanese, but if you’ve played enough retro games, you’ll figure it out after a few trial-and-error clicks. It’s the kind of game where you tell yourself "just one more race" and suddenly it’s 2 AM.

Definitely a niche pick, but if you like slow-burn sims, this one’s got charm.