Super Hockey '94 is one of those SNES sports games that somehow nails the chaos of hockey without getting bogged down in realism. The Japanese version feels a little faster than the North American release, with these weirdly satisfying crunch sounds when you slam someone into the boards. First time I booted it up, I accidentally picked the team with the bright pink jerseys—no regrets, honestly.

Controls are simple (pass, shoot, check), but the AI actually puts up a fight, especially if you crank up the difficulty. The pixelated crowds in the background even do little animations when you score. It’s not perfect—the goalies sometimes flail like they’ve never seen a puck before—but that just adds to the charm.

If you’re into retro sports games, this one’s a solid time capsule from the 16-bit era.