Doubutsu no Mori Japan is the original Animal Crossing—before it even had that name. You wake up in a tiny village full of animal neighbors who all have their own weird little personalities, and from there, it’s just… life. No pressure, no real goals unless you make them up. You fish, dig up fossils, shake trees for bells (and sometimes get stung by bees), and slowly pay off your house loan if you feel like it.

The N64 version has this rough-around-the-edges charm—the graphics are simple, the music is nostalgic, and the villagers can be surprisingly blunt. It’s way more open-ended than most games at the time, and even now, there’s something relaxing about just wandering around, seeing who’s hanging out that day. If you’ve only played the newer Animal Crossing games, this one feels like stumbling into the cozy, slightly janky roots of the series.

Also, good luck getting all the NES games—some of them are ridiculously rare.