Ryuuki Heidan Danzarb is one of those weird, obscure SNES games that never left Japan—which is a shame because it's actually pretty fun once you figure out what's going on. You control this little dragon mech thing that can transform between three different forms (ground, flight, and submarine mode), blasting enemies and solving puzzles in a side-scrolling action-adventure hybrid. The controls take some getting used to—I kept accidentally switching forms at the worst possible moments—but once it clicks, zipping around levels and uncovering secrets feels surprisingly smooth for a 16-bit game.

It's got that classic '90s anime aesthetic with chunky sprites and bright colors, plus some legitimately cool boss fights where you're dodging attacks while figuring out which form works best. The submarine sections are a bit clunky, but the flying parts make up for it. Definitely one of those hidden gems worth emulating if you're into retro mecha games.