Super Pika Land DX is one of those Game Boy gems that somehow makes jumping on mushrooms and dodging Zubats feel fresh again. You start off as Pikachu—no surprise there—but the way they animate his little sprint and thunderbolt attacks still puts a dumb grin on my face. First level’s got this candy-colored forest with platforms that crumble if you hesitate too long, and yeah, I fell a few times before getting the timing right.

The music’s pure 8-bit nostalgia, all bouncy and slightly tinny, like someone stuffed a pop song into a Tamagotchi. And the enemies? Classic Pokémon riff—think Geodudes rolling at you like grumpy bowling balls, but with way more personality than they had in the actual Red/Blue games. There’s even this one boss fight against a giant Meowth where you have to ricochet your thunderbolts off metal platforms, which took me way too many tries to figure out.

It’s not just a reskin of some old Mario clone, either. The puzzles actually make you think, like when you have to chain Pikachu’s quick attack to dash through disappearing blocks. I might’ve yelled at my Game Boy a couple times. Worth it, though.