Okay, so Kingdom Hearts: Chain of Memories on the GBA is weird in the best way. You start off thinking it’s just another Sora-and-friends adventure, but then—bam—they hit you with this card-based battle system. At first, I was like, "Wait, why am I playing a Kingdom Hearts card game?" But it actually works. You’re still slashing Heartless, just with a deck of attack, magic, and item cards instead of button mashing.

The story picks up right after the first game, but things get trippy fast. You’re in Castle Oblivion, reliving memories (sort of?) of all the Disney worlds you visited before—except now everything’s a little off. The writing’s surprisingly solid for a GBA title, and the sprite work is gorgeous. Also, Riku gets his own playable side-story, which is way cooler than it sounds.

Fair warning: The card mechanics take some getting used to. I spent the first hour fumbling my deck, but once it clicks, chaining combos feels stupidly satisfying. Just don’t expect it to play like the mainline games. This one’s its own beast.