Play Alpha Mission Online

Alpha Mission on the NES throws you into this bleak sci-fi scenario where the last survivors of a galactic war stumble upon Earth—and naturally, things go sideways. You pilot the Syd, a defense ship that starts off feeling a little underpowered (seriously, those first few enemies are brutal). But here's the fun part: you collect these floating power-ups mid-flight, and suddenly your ship evolves into something way cooler—like swapping out a bicycle for a fighter jet mid-race.

The whole thing scrolls upward nonstop, so you're constantly dodging enemy fire while trying to bomb ground targets. It's one of those games where memorizing enemy patterns is half the battle. And that final boss? Let's just say I lost a few controllers to it back in the day.