Little Nemo - The Dream Master

Game Overview
Little Nemo: The Dream Master came out on the NES in 1990, developed by Capcom. It was part of that wave of late-era platformers that really pushed the console's limits, with big, colorful levels that felt like a real cartoon. The game was based on the Little Nemo comic strip, but you didn't need to know that to get pulled into its strange world.

You control a young boy named Nemo, moving screen by screen through a series of surreal dreamscapes. Your main goal is to reach the end of each stage and eventually rescue the dream king, Morpheus. The signature mechanic is using candy to befriend and then ride different animals; a frog lets you jump incredible heights, a gorilla smashes through obstacles, and a mole digs through soft earth. The pacing is deliberate, almost puzzle-like at times, as you figure out which creature you need to progress, and the difficulty can be surprisingly tough, especially in the later stages. It feels like navigating someone else's wonderfully bizarre subconscious.