Samurai Lord Musashi on the Game Boy is one of those hidden gems that makes you wish more people knew about it. You start off as Musashi—yeah, that Musashi—wandering feudal Japan with a sword and a chip on your shoulder. The pixel art is surprisingly detailed for a Game Boy title, with cherry blossoms drifting in the background while you square off against ronin in quick, brutal duels.

At first, I thought it was just another hack-and-slash, but there’s actually some strategy to it. Timing your strikes matters way more than button-mashing, and some enemies will wreck you if you don’t watch their patterns. The music’s got that classic chiptune vibe, all tense during fights and kinda melancholic when you’re just walking through villages.

It’s not perfect—some of the translation’s a little rough, and the controls take a minute to click—but once it does, it’s weirdly satisfying. You’ll lose a few fights, figure out the rhythm, and suddenly feel like an actual swordsman. Definitely worth dusting off the Game Boy for.