Solomon’s Key 2 is one of those NES puzzle-platformers that looks simple at first—just a little wizard hopping around—but then suddenly you’re staring at the screen, scratching your head, trying to figure out how to even reach the next block. You create and destroy blocks to climb, trap enemies, or redirect fireballs, and the puzzles get seriously clever by the third stage. I remember getting stuck for ages on one where you have to time block placements just right to avoid these floating eyeball things.

The controls are tight (Z to jump, X to cast spells), but the real challenge is thinking ahead—mess up a block placement, and you might soft-lock yourself. Also, the music? Weirdly catchy for an 8-bit game. That dungeon theme still pops into my head sometimes.

If you’re into retro games that make you feel smart when you finally solve a room, this one’s a gem. Just don’t throw your controller when you realize the solution was right in front of you the whole time.