Probotector on the Sega Genesis is basically Contra but with robots—which, honestly, makes it cooler. You’re a cyborg blasting through waves of aliens, and the first level throws you right into the chaos: dodging bullets, jumping over pits, and praying you don’t accidentally pick the spread gun when you meant to grab the laser. (Happens more than you’d think.)

The controls are tight, the difficulty is brutal in that classic arcade way, and the soundtrack slaps—those synth beats somehow make getting wrecked by the second boss less painful. The robot designs are cheesy in the best possible sense, like someone took a ‘90s sci-fi B-movie and turned it into sprites. If you’ve played Contra, you know the drill, but the cyborg twist gives it its own weird charm.

Just don’t expect to beat it in one sitting unless you’ve got reflexes (or save states) to spare.