Play Dungeon & Magic - Swords of Element (Japan) Online

Ever played an NES game that feels like Zelda if it had an identity crisis? Dungeon & Magic is exactly that—a weird little Japan-only dungeon crawler where you swap between elemental swords like you’re playing rock-paper-scissors with monsters. The fire blade melts ice barriers but sucks against water enemies, the ice sword freezes lava pits but shatters on fire types… you get the idea. It’s janky in that classic NES way, where you’ll die a lot just figuring out which sword works where.

What’s cool, though, is how the whole dungeon shifts based on your weapon. Hit a switch with lightning and hidden platforms appear; burn a vine wall and suddenly there’s a path. Boss fights are pure trial-and-error chaos—I spent way too long hacking at a fire demon with the wrong sword before realizing the ice blade one-shots him. Not gonna lie, the translation’s rough and the controls take getting used to, but there’s something weirdly satisfying about its clunky, elemental puzzle combat. Just keep extra lives handy.