Ogre Battle: The March of the Black Queen is one of those SNES games that still feels fresh decades later—mostly because nothing else really plays like it. You start off leading a ragtag rebellion, but instead of direct turn-based combat, you’re moving squads across a map in real-time, tweaking their formations and watching them clash automatically. It’s half strategy, half RPG, and all weirdly addictive.

The alignment system is what got me—your choices actually matter. Liberate a town peacefully? Your reputation goes up. Burn it down? Well, you’re that kind of leader now. And your army’s morale shifts based on how you act, which affects who’ll even join you. I restarted twice because my first playthrough turned me into a tyrant by accident.

Recruiting units is half the fun, too. You’ve got knights, archers, even liches and werewolves if you know how to unlock them. The battles are chaotic in the best way, with hidden stats and terrain effects that make every skirmish feel unpredictable. Just don’t expect hand-holding—this game throws you in deep and lets you figure it out.

It’s a cult classic for a reason, and if you like strategy with real weight to your decisions, this one’s still worth sinking hours into.