Rescue: The Embassy Mission is one of those NES games that makes you feel like a tactical badass—if you can survive the first five minutes. You start by picking your squad (I always went heavy on snipers, but the assault guys have their moments) and then it's straight into tense, shadowy infiltration. The embassy grounds are crawling with guards, and one wrong move means instant alarms, gunfire, and probably a game over screen.

What’s cool is how it mixes stealth with these sudden bursts of action—like when you’re scaling the building at night, praying a spotlight doesn’t catch you, or silently taking out a patrol just before they turn around. The controls take a second to click (why does crouching feel so awkward at first?), but once they do, it’s satisfying as hell to pull off a clean mission.

If you dig this, yeah, Metal Slug 3 or even the janky-but-fun Separation Anxiety might be up your alley. Just don’t blame me when you’re restarting the embassy mission for the tenth time.

• Movement: Arrow keys
• Start: Enter
• Select: Space
• A/B/C: Z/X/C
• X/Y/Z: A/S/D

Fair warning: the learning curve is brutal, but nailing a flawless run feels like a victory lap.