Double Yakuman is one of those Game Boy deep cuts that makes you realize how much personality they squeezed into those tiny cartridges. It’s straight-up Japanese mahjong—no frills, no gimmicks—just tiles, strategy, and that satisfying click of the Game Boy’s buttons as you decide whether to chase a risky hand or play it safe.

The AI opponents actually put up a decent fight, which surprised me. First time I booted it up, I figured it’d be a breezy nostalgia trip, but nope—some of these CPU players are sneaky good. The pixel art’s simple (it’s a Game Boy, after all), but there’s something weirdly cozy about the way the tiles shuffle and the little victory fanfare plays when you nail a big hand.

If you’ve ever wanted to learn real mahjong, this isn’t the worst place to start, though the menus are all in Japanese. Took me a few rounds to stop accidentally discarding the wrong tile. Still, once it clicks, there’s a rhythm to it that makes losing just as fun as winning. Just don’t blame me when you realize you’ve burned an hour trying to get that elusive yakuman.