Royal Blood is one of those Genesis games that feels like it got lost in the shuffle back in the day—which is a shame, because it’s got this weird, moody charm. You start off in this gothic castle with these chunky 16-bit sprites, swinging your sword at bats and skeletons that explode into little pixel chunks. The music’s all dramatic synths, like someone went overboard with a Yamaha keyboard, but it somehow works.

At first, I thought it was just another hack-and-slash, but there’s actually some strategy—you’ve got to time your blocks, and some enemies hit way harder than they look. The levels get pretty wild too—one minute you’re in a dungeon, the next you’re fighting a floating wizard head in a room that looks like it’s made of stained glass. Definitely one of those "wait, how was this on the Genesis?" moments.

If you’re into retro action games with a bit of jank, this one’s worth dusting off. Just don’t expect it to go easy on you.