Phantasy Star – Sennenki No Owari Ni is one of those Genesis RPGs that still feels ahead of its time. You start off in this weird mix of sci-fi and fantasy—like, your party has a cat-girl and a robot, but you're also fighting with swords and magic. The dungeons are brutal first-person mazes (bring graph paper), but the story actually has weight to it, especially for a 16-bit game.

What surprised me was how much personality the world has. Towns feel alive with little details, and the turn-based battles have this snappy energy thanks to the slick animations. Yeah, the random encounters will wreck you if you're not careful, but grinding feels worth it when you finally take down some ancient mech boss that's been stomping you for an hour.

If you can handle old-school RPG jank, this one's still a blast—just don't expect hand-holding. That final dungeon alone will test your patience.