Romance of the Three Kingdoms II on SNES is one of those games where you boot it up thinking "I'll just play a quick round," and suddenly it's 3 AM. You pick a warlord—Liu Bei, Cao Cao, or some underdog—and immediately get thrown into managing armies, spies, and fragile alliances. The diplomacy is brutal; one wrong move and your so-called allies backstab you before lunch.

What I love is how messy it feels—like actual history. Your best general might randomly defect, cities rebel if you tax them too hard, and half your plans fall apart because someone got food poisoning. The menus are dense (this is a 90s Koei game, after all), but once it clicks, you’ll be scheming like a proper warlord. Just don’t trust Lu Bu. Ever.

Still holds up if you’ve got the patience for old-school strategy.