Lufia II: Rise of the Sinistrals is one of those late-era SNES RPGs that somehow flew under the radar—probably because it dropped in '95 when everyone was already eyeing the next-gen consoles. But man, it’s a gem. You play as Maxim, a monster hunter with a serious sword arm, and the story’s actually a prequel to the first Lufia game. That opening flashback from the original? This is the full tale behind it.

Right off the bat, you’re thrown into dungeon crawling with puzzles that actually make you think (none of that mindless tile-pushing). The combat’s turn-based but snappy, and there’s this weirdly satisfying capsule monster system where you raise a little critter to fight alongside you. Mine turned into a dragon halfway through and basically carried my team.

It’s got that classic SNES charm—bright colors, a killer soundtrack, and dialogue that somehow makes even the goofy NPCs feel memorable. If you missed this one back in the day, it’s still worth digging up. Just don’t blame me when you lose an afternoon to it.