Play Dezaemon (Japan) [En by Aeon Genesis v1.1] Online

Ever wanted to make your own NES shooter but had no idea how to code? Dezaemon was basically the Mario Maker of 1993—except nobody outside Japan knew it existed until fan translations showed up. You boot it up and suddenly you're staring at this janky but weirdly powerful editor where you can place enemies, draw bullet patterns, and even compose chiptune tracks that somehow don’t sound completely terrible.

The first time I tried it, I accidentally made a level where squid enemies flew in formation while shooting giant smiley faces instead of bullets. That’s the charm—it’s half serious shmup builder, half chaotic toybox. Yeah, the interface feels like wrestling a fax machine at times, but once you get the hang of it, you’ll be tweaking boss patterns until 3AM. Just don’t expect your friends to play your cursed creations without bribing them first.

It’s the kind of game that makes you appreciate how much work went into even the jankiest NES shooters.