Lord of King, The is one of those weird, obscure NES games that never made it outside Japan—which is a shame because it’s actually a solid little action-RPG. You play as this armored warrior dude (who may or may not be a king, honestly the translation’s rough) hacking through waves of monsters in side-scrolling levels. The combat’s simple but satisfying, with this clunky charm where your sword swings feel heavy, like you’re really whacking skeletons and demons.

First few minutes? You’re dropped into a castle, no explanation, just swinging at bats and picking up random power-ups that may or may not help. The music’s got that classic NES chiptune energy—all dramatic and slightly off-key. Graphics are basic, but the enemy designs are weirdly memorable, like some artist just went wild with sprites.

It’s not perfect—hit detection can be janky, and good luck figuring out the story—but there’s something oddly addictive about it. If you’re into retro hidden gems, this one’s worth a few hours of your time.