Wizardry Gaiden IV is one of those deep-cut SNES RPGs that never made it outside Japan—which is a shame, because it’s got this weird, grimy charm to it. You start off picking from the usual fantasy classes (fighter, thief, priest, etc.), but the dungeon crawling here feels heavier, almost claustrophobic. The first few floors are brutal if you don’t balance your party right—I learned that the hard way when my under-leveled mage got one-shotted by a random bat.

What really sticks with me is the atmosphere. The music’s got this eerie, looping synth that makes even basic hallways feel tense, and the enemy designs are these grotesque pixel-art hybrids of demons and machinery. There’s no hand-holding, either. You’ll be mapping grids on graph paper like it’s 1985, praying you packed enough antidotes for the next poison trap. Not for everyone, but if you like your RPGs punishing and a little surreal, it’s a hidden gem. Just save often.