Top Ranking Tennis on Game Boy is one of those simple-but-weirdly-addictive sports games that just nails the basics. You pick your player (I always went with the guy in the red shirt—no idea why, just felt right), and suddenly you're in this tiny, chunky pixel world where every "thwack" of the ball sounds like someone smacking a tin can. The controls are stupidly straightforward—just A to hit, B to lob—but timing matters way more than you'd think.

Matches start easy, but the AI gets sneaky fast. One minute you're breezing through, the next you're scrambling because the computer figured out your backhand sucks. The court zooms in and out depending on where the ball lands, which sounds gimmicky but actually makes rallies way more tense. And yeah, the graphics are pure 8-bit, but there's something satisfying about watching your little dude celebrate with a fist pump after an ace.

It’s the kind of game you play for "just one match" and suddenly an hour’s gone. Perfect for bus rides or pretending to listen to your cousin’s vacation stories.