Play Lost Word of Jenny - Ushinawareta Message (Japan) Online

Game Overview

Lost Word of Jenny—or Ushinawareta Message if you're going by the Japanese title—is one of those NES games that feels like it got lost in translation, in more ways than one. You switch between side-scrolling brawler sections (where you punch and kick your way through waves of enemies) and weirdly stiff overhead segments that remind me of the first TMNT game. The controls take some getting used to, and the difficulty spikes are brutal, but there's something oddly charming about its janky, late-'80s anime aesthetic.

Also, good luck figuring out the story unless you read Japanese—half the time, I had no idea why I was punching guys in suits or jumping over pits full of... whatever those spiky things were supposed to be. Still, if you like obscure NES action games with weird vibes, this one’s a trip.