Kid Niki - Radical Ninja is one of those weird, janky NES gems that somehow sticks with you. You play as this little dude with a sword that spins like a helicopter blade—which is way more fun than it sounds—hacking through waves of ninjas to avenge his poor bird. The levels are short but brutal, with enemies popping out of nowhere and platforms that love to kill you if you mistime a jump.

What I love about it is how unapologetically weird it is. One minute you're fighting samurai in a bamboo forest, the next you're hopping on floating heads or dodging fire-breathing statues. The controls take a second to get used to (that sword spin has a weird delay), but once it clicks, you’ll be bouncing off walls and slicing through bad guys like a tiny, angry tornado.

Oh, and the music? Absolute 8-bit bangers. That first level theme lives in my head rent-free.

Controls are simple: arrows to move, Z to swing your sword, X to jump. Just don’t blame me when you get stuck on that obnoxious cloud level—everyone does.