Oriental Blue: Ao No Tengai is one of those GBA RPGs that flew under the radar but absolutely shouldn’t have. Right from the start, you’re thrown into this gorgeous, folklore-steeped world where every village feels alive—like you could bump into some wandering swordsman or fox spirit around the next corner.

The combat’s got this cool twist where you can mix and match elemental stances mid-battle, which sounds simple until you realize how much it changes your strategy. I remember stubbornly sticking to fire attacks for way too long before realizing water was way better against those obnoxious desert monsters.

And the story? It’s got that perfect balance of grand adventure and quiet moments—like helping a tea shop owner track down a stolen recipe between saving the world. The pixel art still holds up too, especially the way magic spells light up the tiny GBA screen.

If you’ve got a soft spot for RPGs that do their own thing, this one’s a total time capsule worth digging up.