Ghouls'n Ghosts on the Sega Master System is one of those brutally tough platformers that makes you question your life choices after the 20th death. You play as Arthur, a knight in heart-shaped boxers, tossing lances at zombies and demons while trying not to get one-shotted by literally everything. The first level lulls you into thinking "Hey, this isn't so bad," then suddenly you're getting dive-bombed by harpies and your armor gets knocked off, leaving you hilariously vulnerable.

The graphics were impressive for the time—spooky castles, floating wraiths, that weird green swamp level where everything blends together. Controls are stiff in that classic 8-bit way, so you'll miss jumps at first until you get the timing down. And good luck with the final boss unless you've memorized every attack pattern.

Still, there's something satisfying about finally beating a section that wrecked you for an hour. Just don't throw your controller.