Okay, so Uchuu No Kishi Tekkaman Blade on Game Boy is one of those late-era anime tie-ins that actually holds up. You start off with this armored hero blasting through waves of alien grunts—it’s got that classic side-scroller feel, but with way more laser spears than, say, Mega Man.

First thing you’ll notice? The sprites are surprisingly detailed for a Game Boy cart. Blade’s transformation sequence is just a few chunky pixels, but somehow it still feels cool. The controls are simple—jump, shoot, stab—but some enemies take actual timing to beat, not just button mashing. And those boss fights? They’re brutal in the best way. One wrong move and you’re back to the checkpoint.

It’s got that old-school difficulty where you’ll die a lot at first, but once you memorize enemy patterns and grab the right power-ups (the homing lasers are a lifesaver), it clicks. Definitely a hidden gem if you’re into 90s anime or just want a solid handheld action game that doesn’t hold your hand. Just don’t throw your Game Boy when the final boss wrecks you for the tenth time.