Nemesis II on the Game Boy is one of those classic shoot-'em-ups that feels way bigger than it has any right to be. You're piloting a little ship through tight corridors and open space, dodging bullets and blasting enemies with a weapon that upgrades as you go—though good luck keeping it after a single hit. The chiptune soundtrack slaps, and the sprite work is surprisingly detailed for a Game Boy title.

First few minutes? You’ll be figuring out enemy patterns while your ship’s speed makes everything feel just a little too frantic. The Japanese version has some subtle differences—slightly tweaked difficulty, maybe a power-up or two swapped around. If you’ve played the first Nemesis, this one tightens up the controls just enough to make those narrow escapes feel possible.

It’s not the deepest shmup out there, but for a handheld game from 1991, it holds up way better than it should.