Legacy of the Wizard is one of those NES deep cuts that feels way ahead of its time—you control a whole family of adventurers, each with their own weird abilities, trying to reclaim a dragon-slaying sword from a massive, maze-like dungeon. The wizard’s got spells, the knight can take hits, the thief jumps higher… honestly, I spent the first 20 minutes just figuring out who could reach which platforms.

It’s tough as nails—enemies respawn if you leave the screen, and some of those jumps require pixel-perfect timing. But there’s something weirdly satisfying about slowly mapping out the dungeon, finding hidden rooms, and realizing the dwarf can dig through certain walls. Just don’t expect hand-holding; this one makes you work for every discovery.

Controls are standard NES fare: arrows to move, Z/X for attacks. If you’re into retro action-RPGs with a side of cryptic exploration, it’s worth digging into—just maybe keep a walkthrough handy for the more obscure bits.