Man, Tecmo Super Bowl on the Genesis still holds up. The second you boot it up, you're hit with that chunky 16-bit football energy—those pixelated players, the crunchy sound effects, the way the camera zooms in awkwardly on the QB before the snap. It's janky in the best way.

What surprised me is how much strategy sneaks in between the chaos. Picking plays feels like rock-paper-scissors with shoulder pads, and if you pick the wrong one? Good luck scrambling with your QB while Lawrence Taylor bear-hugs him into the turf. The running game’s weirdly satisfying too—once you figure out the timing, you can juke defenders with this stiff little sidestep that shouldn’t work but totally does.

Also, playing as the ‘90s rosters is hilarious. You’ve got quarterbacks who throw like they’re launching bricks and receivers who either catch everything or drop passes because the ball grazed their pinky toe. It’s messy, loud, and somehow still more fun than half the football games coming out now. Just don’t blame me when you lose three hours to rematches against the Cowboys.