NHL '96 on the Sega Genesis is one of those games that just feels right when you pick up the controller. The second you drop into a game, the organ music kicks in, the crowd roars, and you're immediately in that zone—skating down the ice with pixel-perfect controls that somehow make even a 16-bit hockey game feel fluid.

I love how the players actually have weight to them—no floaty nonsense here. Checking someone into the boards has a satisfying crunch, and the one-timer shots feel stupidly rewarding when you pull them off. The AI isn’t a pushover either; even on medium difficulty, the computer will absolutely punish you if you leave your goalie hanging.

Sure, the graphics are dated now, but back then? The animations were smooth, the jerseys popped, and the ice actually looked like ice. Plus, the commentary (as basic as it is) somehow never gets old. If you’ve got a Genesis lying around, this one’s still a blast to fire up with a friend.