Play Dragon Quest Monsters 2 - Maruta no Fushigi na Kagi - Iru no Bouken (Japan) Online

Dragon Quest Monsters 2 on the Game Boy Color is one of those sequels that actually improves on everything—more monsters, weirder breeding combos, and this neat key system that keeps exploration from feeling too linear. You start off with a couple of goofy-looking creatures (I always pick the Slime, no shame), and before long you're deep in the monster-scouting grind, trying to fuse the perfect team.

The battles are snappy, but there's real strategy in how you build your squad—some of the late-game fusions get ridiculous in the best way. And yeah, the pixel art still holds up, all bright colors and chunky sprites that just scream late-'90s Dragon Quest charm. If you ever wasted hours in Pokémon trying to breed the right stats, this game will feel weirdly familiar—just swap out Pikachu for a buffed-up Dracky.

Fair warning though: the key hunting can get a little cryptic, and the Japanese version has some quirks if you're not fluent. But stumbling through it is half the fun. You'll be yelling at your GBC screen when your freshly bred monster inherits the worst possible skills.