Prince of Persia: The Dark Castle on SNES is one of those games that looks simple until you take your first step—then suddenly you're sweating over pixel-perfect jumps and timing your sword swings just right. You start in this eerie dungeon with these gorgeous (for the time) rotoscoped animations, and within minutes, you're dodging spike pits and trying not to get skewered by guards. The controls feel a little stiff at first, but once you get used to the rhythm, pulling off a clean combo or barely making a leap feels weirdly satisfying.

What really sticks with me is the atmosphere—the shadows in the corridors, the way the prince stumbles if you land wrong, even the sound of your footsteps echoing. Yeah, the story’s classic "rescue the princess" stuff, but the tension comes from how brutally fair it is. One wrong move and you’re back to the last checkpoint, muttering at the screen. Not for the impatient, but if you like a challenge that makes victories feel earned, this one’s still got it.