NBA All Star Challenge 2 is one of those early Game Boy sports games that somehow makes pixelated basketball feel intense. You pick from a roster of NBA stars (well, as close as 1992 Japan could get to the real thing) and jump into quick matches where every dunk and three-pointer actually matters. The controls are simple—pass, shoot, steal—but the AI doesn’t mess around, especially if you crank up the difficulty.

What’s cool is how fast-paced it is for a handheld game from this era. You’re not stuck in slow-motion animations; it’s just you, the ball, and way too many missed layups if you don’t time your shots right. The soundtrack’s got that classic Game Boy bleep-bloop energy, too. Not exactly NBA Jam, but for a pocket-sized hoops fix, it holds up better than you’d expect.

Emulator-friendly these days, but good luck finding a copy of the original cart without digging through eBay for hours.