Dragon Quest: Torneko’s Adventure 2 is one of those weird little spin-offs that somehow ends up being way more addictive than it has any right to be. You play as Torneko, the merchant from DQ4, but instead of haggling over prices, you’re diving into randomly generated dungeons, grabbing loot, and barely escaping with your life. It’s a roguelike before roguelikes were cool—permadeath, limited inventory, the whole deal.

The GBA version keeps the charm of the original but tightens up the controls. First 10 minutes? You’ll fumble through your first dungeon, probably die to a slime because you got greedy carrying too much gear, and then immediately restart because "just one more try" is a lie. The shop management between runs is oddly satisfying, and the pixel art has that classic Dragon Quest warmth. If you like punishing but fair dungeon crawlers, this one’s a hidden gem.