Play Summon Night X - Tears Crown (JP) Online

Summon Night X - Tears Crown is one of those DS RPGs that flew under the radar outside Japan, which is a shame because it's got this weirdly cozy mix of tactical battles and relationship-building. You start off picking your main character (I went with the sword-wielder because, well, swords), and before long you're juggling grid-based fights with these little moments where you chat up your party members at camp—kinda like Fire Emblem if it had more downtime between battles.

The summoning mechanic is the real hook though. Instead of just grinding levels, you collect these elemental spirits that totally change how your units fight. Took me a few battles to realize ice types work stupidly well in forest terrain, but that's half the fun. Also, the pixel art for the summons is ridiculously charming—like someone drew Pokémon as medieval tapestry designs.

Fair warning: the story gets surprisingly dark for something with such cute sprites. You'll be making choices that actually lock you out of certain endings, so no pressure or anything. Definitely one to replay if you dig branching paths.