Golden Sun: Sealed Ancient Alchemy is one of those RPGs that just sticks with you. You start off as this kid, Isaac, in a quiet little village—until everything goes sideways, and suddenly you’re thrown into this wild quest to stop ancient alchemy from wrecking the world. The story’s got that classic JRPG charm, but with way more puzzles than I expected. Like, you’ll be pushing statues, lighting torches, and using magic outside of battles just to get through dungeons.

The Djinn system is what really makes it stand out, though. These little elemental creatures float around, and you can mix and match them to change your class mid-game. Took me way too long to realize swapping them around could turn my healer into a nuke-wielding glass cannon. Battles are turn-based but fast, and the sprite work? Still gorgeous, even on the Game Boy Color.

It’s got that perfect balance of nostalgia and depth—like if you took the best parts of old-school Zelda and Final Fantasy and mashed them together. Just don’t blame me when you lose track of time trying to solve that one obnoxious boulder puzzle.