Gunstar Heroes is one of those Genesis games that still feels wild even today. You start off picking between two characters—Red's got the classic run-and-gun moves, Blue's more about melee—and then it just throws you into chaos. The first level has you sliding down cables, dodging bullets, and scrambling to grab weapon pickups before some robot blows you up.

What makes it special is how the guns combine. Grab a flamethrower and a laser? Congrats, now you’ve got a fire laser. The combinations are ridiculous in the best way, and the bosses are these screen-filling monstrosities that feel impossible until you figure out their patterns (that minecart fight still gives me nightmares).

Also, the co-op is pure chaos—friendly fire’s on, so you’ll accidentally blast your buddy as much as the enemies. The music’s all crunchy synths and adrenaline, and the colors pop like crazy. It’s short but so replayable—you’ll wanna try different weapon combos just to see how stupidly overpowered you can get.

If you’ve never played it, it holds up way better than most 16-bit shooters. Just don’t blame me when you get stuck on Seven Force for an hour.