Play Gaia Crusaders Online

Gaia Crusaders is one of those late '90s arcade brawlers that somehow slipped under the radar—which is a shame, because it's got this weird charm to it. You pick from five characters (I always go for the guy with the sword, obviously), and then it's just you and a friend smashing through waves of enemies in that classic side-scrolling way.

The special moves are satisfyingly over-the-top—like, one character literally turns into a tornado—and the pixel art has that slightly janky but endearing quality of arcade games from this era. It's not as polished as, say, Final Fight, but there's something about the weird enemy designs and the way your character grunts when they get hit that makes it feel oddly authentic.

If you're emulating it, grab a buddy—it's way more fun when you're both yelling at the screen after getting ganged up on by yet another group of inexplicably buff dudes.