Play Kyukyoku Tiger II Online

Kyukyoku Tiger II is one of those arcade shooters that makes your palms sweat after about 30 seconds. You're dumped straight into the cockpit of a jet that feels way too fast at first, dodging bullets from every angle while enemy fighters swarm like angry bees. The screen gets absolutely chaotic—in the best way—with explosions, laser fire, and those satisfying little chime sounds when you nail a perfect bombing run.

It's tough as nails (I still can't get past stage 3 without continuing), but there's something addictive about how tight the controls feel once you get the hang of weaving through bullet patterns. The pixel art holds up surprisingly well, especially the massive boss fights that take up half the screen. If you miss the days of feeding quarters into arcade cabinets just to see how far you could push your reflexes, this one's a time capsule.

Just don't blame me when you start seeing enemy formations in your sleep.