Pokémon Conquest is this weird, awesome mashup of turn-based strategy and Pokémon battles—like if Fire Emblem and Pokémon had a kid. You start off picking a warlord (mine was this samurai dude with an Eevee) and then recruit more warriors and their Pokémon to take over neighboring kingdoms.

The battles are grid-based, so positioning matters way more than in regular Pokémon games. At first I kept losing because I’d just rush in, but then I realized you gotta think a few moves ahead—like keeping your water types near rivers for defense boosts, or baiting enemies into traps. Some Pokémon evolve mid-battle if they meet certain conditions, which is super satisfying when it clicks.

It’s got that “one more turn” addictiveness, especially when you’re trying to capture a new territory with your weird little army of Pokémon knights. The DS sprites are charming, and there’s just something hilarious about watching a Bidoof charge into battle for a warlord’s honor.