Okay, so Zone of the Enders: The Fist of Mars isn’t your typical GBA game—it’s a weird little tactical RPG spin-off where you’re piloting these giant mechs (Orbital Frames) in turn-based battles. At first, I thought it’d play like the PS2 ZoE games, but nah, it’s more like Fire Emblem with robots. You move units on a grid, flank enemies, and pray your attacks actually land because the hit percentages can be brutal.

The story’s surprisingly decent for a handheld title—lots of political drama, betrayals, and a protagonist who actually has a personality. Combat animations are slick for a GBA game, too. Watching your mech dash across the screen for a punch or beam attack never gets old, even if the missions drag a bit sometimes.

Fair warning: the difficulty spikes hard if you don’t grind, and some of the late-game enemy reinforcements feel downright unfair. Still, if you’re into mechs or tactical RPGs, it’s a solid hidden gem with way more depth than you’d expect from a ZoE side story.