Wizardry Gaiden 1 is one of those Game Boy RPGs that feels like it crawled straight out of a dungeon—in a good way. You start by rolling up a party of adventurers (good luck picking classes—I always end up with too many mages), then dive into grid-based dungeons where every step could mean a trap or a nasty surprise. The pixel art is charmingly rough, and the spell names are just cryptic enough to make you feel like you're deciphering ancient magic.

It's tough, no lie—enemies hit hard, and resources are tight. But there's something satisfying about mapping out corridors on graph paper (yes, really) and finally cracking a dungeon's secrets. If you've played the original Wizardry games, this feels like a pocket-sized love letter to them. Just don't expect hand-holding—your first party wipe is basically a rite of passage.

Still, when your cleric pulls off a last-second heal or your thief actually disarms a trap, it’s pure old-school RPG joy. Just keep extra batteries handy.