Okay, so Tales of Phantasia: Narikiri Dungeon is one of those GBC RPGs that flew under the radar—probably because it never left Japan. But if you’re into classic Tales combat with that side-scrolling action, this one’s a weird little spin-off that actually holds up.

You start by picking two characters to fuse into a single hero (sounds bizarre, but it works). I went with a swordsman/mage combo and immediately regretted not stacking more agility when the first dungeon mobs started outrunning me. The pixel art’s surprisingly detailed for a Game Boy Color title, and the music? Absolute bangers, like you’d expect from a Phantasia game.

It’s got that classic dungeon-crawler grind—expect to backtrack a bit—but the combat’s snappy, and mixing skills from different classes keeps things interesting. Just don’t expect a deep story; it’s more about the gameplay loop than epic cutscenes. If you’ve got a soft spot for late-era GBC RPGs, this one’s worth dusting off a ROM for.