Nobunaga's Ambition on Sega Genesis is one of those old-school strategy games where you either conquer feudal Japan or get crushed trying. You start off picking a warlord—Oda Nobunaga's the obvious choice, but I always liked playing as the underdog clans just to see if I could turn things around.

The map's this beautiful pixelated mess of provinces, and half the challenge is figuring out which neighbor to betray first. You'll shuffle troops, manage rice supplies (seriously, never run out of rice), and occasionally watch your best general get assassinated because you forgot to bribe someone. The diplomacy system feels like herding cats—one minute you've got an alliance, next minute your "ally" stabs you in the back because it's Tuesday.

It's janky by modern standards, but there's something satisfying about slowly painting the map your color while samurai themes play in the background. Just don't expect the AI to go easy on you.