Play Super Shougi 3 - Kitaihei (Japan) Online

Super Shougi 3 - Kitaihei is one of those SNES games that slipped under the radar outside Japan, which is a shame because it’s easily one of the best digital versions of shogi out there. The pieces look tiny on screen at first, but you get used to it—and the way captured units can be dropped back onto the board as your own adds this wild layer of strategy regular chess just doesn’t have.

Don’t let the simple graphics fool you. The AI here is sharp, and even on lower difficulties, it’ll punish sloppy moves. I lost my first three matches before realizing how brutal piece promotion can be if you’re not careful. The controls feel tight, though, and there’s something satisfying about the click of placing a piece just right.

If you’ve ever been curious about shogi but found other versions too intimidating, this one’s a great place to start. It’s the kind of game where you’ll suddenly realize an hour’s gone by because you were too busy figuring out how to counter the CPU’s sneaky rook drop. Still holds up surprisingly well.