Hiryuu Gaiden is one of those Game Boy games that feels like it was made for late-night sessions under the covers with a dim backlight. You start off as this scrappy dragon rider—no fancy intros, just straight into dodging arrows and figuring out how to time your fire breath. The sprites are chunky in that perfect early-90s way, and the music has this weirdly catchy dungeon theme that’ll stick in your head.

What I love is how it doesn’t hold your hand. You’ll accidentally burn villages at first (whoops) before realizing you need to balance attacks with dodges. The quests are short but punishing—lose all your health, and it’s back to the last checkpoint with half your gold gone. Annoying? Maybe. Addictive? Absolutely. It’s the kind of game where you’ll mutter "one more try" at 2 AM.

If you’ve got a soft spot for games that reward patience over flashy moves, this one’s a time capsule worth cracking open.