Shining Force II is one of those classic Sega RPGs that still holds up today. You start off with this ragtag group of heroes—knights, archers, even a werewolf—and slowly build your squad through the story. The battles are grid-based, so positioning matters way more than just spamming attacks. Mess up, and you’ll watch your healer get swarmed by enemies real quick.

The pixel art has this cozy, detailed look, especially in towns where you can talk to villagers for hints (or just weird little side stories). And yeah, the story’s your usual "save the kingdom" deal, but there’s something charming about how it unfolds—like when your party gets framed for a crime halfway through and has to clear their names. Classic JRPG nonsense, but in the best way.

If you’ve played Fire Emblem or Final Fantasy Tactics, you’ll feel right at home here, just with more 16-bit personality. The music’s great too—that overworld theme still gets stuck in my head sometimes.