Desert Strike on SNES throws you straight into the cockpit of an Apache helicopter, and man, does it feel good. The first mission drops you into this sprawling desert map where you're dodging anti-aircraft fire, rescuing POWs, and blowing up enemy bunkers—all while your fuel gauge ticks down. It's tense in the best way.

What I love is how it mixes arcade action with actual strategy. You can't just spray bullets everywhere—you've got limited ammo, so picking your targets matters. The first time I ran out of missiles mid-mission and had to improvise with just the machine gun? Pure panic. The isometric view takes some getting used to, but once it clicks, weaving between palm trees and sand dunes becomes second nature.

Yeah, it's from '92, but the mission design still holds up. Each level feels like a mini sandbox where you decide how to tackle objectives. Just don't get too cocky—those SAM sites will ruin your day real quick. If you missed this one back in the day, it's worth firing up an emulator for.