Donkey Kong Land 2 on Game Boy is one of those rare handheld sequels that actually improves on the original. You play as Diddy and Dixie Kong—no Donkey Kong this time, since he’s been kidnapped by Kaptain K. Rool (classic villain move). The levels are tight, the controls feel snappy, and somehow they squeezed way more detail into the tiny screen than you’d expect. The first time you use Dixie’s helicopter hair spin to float over a pit, it just clicks.

It’s got that classic DK challenge, too—some of those later stages will make you sweat, especially with the Game Boy’s limited buttons. But the music? Weirdly catchy for a tinny handheld soundtrack. I still hum the minecart theme sometimes. If you missed this one back in the day, it holds up way better than most Game Boy platformers.