Hagane on SNES is one of those games that looks cool as hell at first glance—cyber-ninjas, giant robots, a soundtrack that slaps—but then absolutely destroys you five minutes in. You start off flipping between platforms like a badass, slicing drones with your sword, feeling unstoppable… until the first boss reminds you this isn’t some button-masher. Timing matters. Every jump, every roll, every shuriken counts.

The art style holds up surprisingly well—gritty industrial levels, enemies that explode into satisfying pixel chunks—but what really sticks with you is how tight the controls feel once you get the hang of them. That backflip move? Lifesaver. Mess it up, though, and you’re falling into a pit of spikes (again).

It’s brutal, but in that old-school way where finally beating a level feels like an actual achievement. Not for the faint of heart, but if you’ve got the patience, it’s worth every frustrating death. Just maybe keep a spare controller handy.