Ultima: Quest of the Avatar on NES is one of those old-school RPGs that feels massive for its time. You start by picking a class—knight, mage, shepherd, whatever—and then you're just dumped into this world with vague hints about becoming this legendary "Avatar." No hand-holding here.

At first, it’s a lot of wandering around towns talking to NPCs who drop cryptic advice, and honestly, half the time you’re not sure if you’re doing it right. Combat’s turn-based but weirdly stiff, and the dungeons? Absolute maze nightmares. Still, there’s something weirdly satisfying about slowly piecing together how to actually be good in this world—like, who knew carrying a torch would stop monsters from ambushing you?

Controls are classic NES awkwardness: Z and X for confirm/cancel, arrows to move, and good luck remembering which button does what in menus. You’ll mash a few wrong inputs before it sticks. It’s janky, ambitious, and kinda brilliant in its own way.