Ironsword: Wizards & Warriors II is that one NES game where you think, "Okay, this looks manageable," and then immediately get wrecked by the first enemy. It's the middle child of the trilogy, and somehow, it decided to crank the difficulty up to "rage-quit-now" levels compared to the first game.

You play as Kuros, this armored knight who swings a sword, jumps like he's wearing concrete boots, and collects magic spells that barely help when a random bat knocks you into a pit. The levels are these sprawling, maze-like things where you’ll backtrack constantly—if you survive long enough to figure out where to go. And don’t even get me started on the final boss. You’ll need patience, luck, and maybe a walkthrough from 1990 to beat this one.

Still, there’s something weirdly satisfying about finally nailing a tough section after the 20th try. Just don’t throw your controller.