Shinobi

Nioh’s “masocore” description actually describes Sega’s Shinobi way better. While it starts out relatively fine, things quickly spiral into the deepest depths of hell. Are you constantly killing enemies? If not, you’ll die from the cursed sword which is slowly draining your health. Died from the insane platforming challenges? Have fun restarting the entire level because there are no checkpoints in between. The bosses are similarly torturous. You can unlock Joe Musashi from the original Shinobi, who doesn’t suffer from constantly health loss and has unlimited shurikens that deal more damage, but only after making significant progress.

Judgment – Golden Sun

Djinns in Golden Sun were fairly straightforward but combining them wielded some devastating results. The true power move was utilizing four of the same element to bring in the heaviest of hitters. While the main difference is the amount of damage dealt by a specific element, Judgment is still perhaps the most iconic. There’s nothing quite like a winged knight with a lion shield decimating everything on the surface in spectacular yet quick fashion.