Mega Turrican on the Genesis is one of those side-scrollers that just feels right—tight controls, chunky pixel art, and a killer soundtrack that somehow makes blasting through robot hordes even more satisfying. You start off with this whip-like energy beam (way cooler than it sounds), and before long, you're rolling into a ball like Samus to dodge attacks or squeeze through tight spots.

The levels throw everything at you—floating platforms, instant-death pits, and these weird organic-mechanical enemies that look like they crawled out of a sci-fi nightmare. The first boss took me a few tries to figure out, but once you get the rhythm down, it’s pure 16-bit action at its best. And yeah, the music slaps—those synth beats still get stuck in my head.

If you missed this one back in the day, it’s aged way better than most run-and-guns from the era. Just don’t blame me when you get obsessed with the power-up system.