Last week I came across these knock off video game systems and games at a supermarket in the south of town.
I realize that the Mega Man series is notorious for having a silly number of (almost identical) sequels, but even this is pushing it.
As Shanghaiist noted, New York and Paris are usually the cities to get blown up in movies and games. So if this is any indication, Shanghai is well on its way to becoming Asia’s world city!
Before accelerometers and motion detection as in the Wii, and iPhone, the early 90s promised NES gamers new ways of interaction beyond anything imagined. Unfortunately, these promises were delivered through the Power Glove and the U-Force.
Everybody knows the Power Glove, which was made very popular through the 90 minute advert for Super Mario Bros. 3 known as The Wizard starring Fred Savage. The movie’s villain was some evil super-gamer kid who used the Power Glove. In the movie’s most infamous scene, after decimating some opponent the villain kids gives an evil glare and says, “I love the Power Glove. It’s so bad.”
Well it’s no mystery that the Power Glove was bad. But not in that way. It was pretty damn useless for any game other than Punch Out!!, and even then it barely worked. You’d wave your arm around wildly, and events would be triggered randomly, if at all. The technology at the time just wasn’t up to the job.
When I was 12, I couldn’t care less about the Power Glove, until I entered a Super Mario Bros. 3 contest at the North Bay Heritage Festival, and the glove was first prize. Some background: I obtained a Japanese Famicom copy of Super Mario Bros. 3 with adapater about 8 months before it was released in North America – before any kids in town had played it, I knew the game inside and out. Unfortunately, this wasn’t enough to win the obviously RIGGED contest at the Heritage Festival, since I only came in third place and got some crummy t-shirt.
This annoyed the hell out of me, and made me want that damn Power Glove. So much so that I eventually saved up newspaper delivery money and whined and complained for the rest, and purchased the stupid thing. Well played, Mattel. Well played.
After about an hour, I was sick of the thing. After losing to Glass Joe in Punch Out!!, I realized the Power Glove sucked and was completely useless. I couldn’t admit that though… because that would be admitting that I made a big mistake buying the damn thing. Also, the subsequent bragging I did to my friends at school of how awesome it would be would have made me the laughing stock of school yard video game players all over North Bay… maybe even Powassan.
Things became worse when a fellow classmate got the U-Force for his birthday. The U-Force was the same idea as the Power Glove, but it consisted of what looked like a Battleship board that sat in front of you, that you would perform motions in front of. Like the Power Glove, it too barely worked.
Unfortunately, his pride was at stake too, so he also kept playing up the greatness of the U-Force. This eventually turned into a pissing contest between the two of us, as we both tried to garner support from our schoolyard chums about which was better. Recess debates went something like:
“Why would I want to swing around at nothing? With the Power Glove, I put it on and I’ve got the POWER to control everything.”
“The U-Force is so advanced you don’t even NEED a glove. It just detects your movement, any movement! It’s the future!”
It was a strange situation: we both knew our device sucked, and we also knew the other’s device sucked just as much. It was hard to keep a straight face when arguing the merits of one over the other. The debates would always end with the promise of an epic battle:
“Fine. We’ll play Double Dragon 2-player using U Force and Power Glove. Whoever wins has the best device.”
“You’re on.”
Of course this battle never happened. If it did, time would’ve run out before anybody even hit anybody else. It’d be just two characters on the screen jumping backwards, kicking randomly, or banging into walls.
Fortunately – for the both of us – the SNES was soon released, and the Power Glove and U-Force quickly faded into irrelevance, ultimately ending up in garage sales and pawn shops across North America.
How I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall when this concept was being brainstormed:
Boss: Alright gentlemen, Contra is really popular, so let’s come up with a two-player game with two gun-toting Contra-like guys.
Executive 1: Great! But forget the aliens. Let’s have storm troopers!
Executive 2: Excellent! But hey… everybody loves Donkey Kong, right? Let’s also throw in some gorillas or apes.
Executive 3: I think we’re on to something here boys… now get this… Castlevania is popular too… so why not have it take place in a haunted house?
Executive 1: PERFECT! And Satan… no, wait… a satanic goat… is the last boss!
Tetris
Everybody knows somebody who is ‘great’ at Tetris. Maybe that someone is even you. If so, even you will say WTF when you watch this Japanese guy play.
After you shake your head and say “That’s impossible,” skip ahead to the end to where he does it during the credits with INVISIBLE Tetris blocks.
Ikaruga
Ikaruga is probably the coolest shooting game that I’ve ever played. It’s also the most difficult, frustrating shooting game I’ve ever played, and the one I hate more than any other.
It’s unique because it introduces an interesting twist to the genre: your ship can switch colors between black and white. When your ship is white, you can absorb white enemy fire without dying, and black fire kills you. When your ship is black, vice-versa.
Anyway, this game is hard. Damn hard. I have yet to beat it on NORMAL difficulty.
No trouble however, for this other Japanese guy who plays the damn game in two player mode BY HIMSELF with one hand on each controller.
Worst boss fight ever
The quality of this video isn’t the greatest, but you get the jist of it. The screen is filled with enemy fire, and this guy dodges everything.
Seriously. How many hours would it take to get this good? Imagine if this raw dedication were harnessed toward something useful!
Somebody had to say it.
I’m a huge fan of classic games, especially classic NES games. I’ll admit that I approached Capcom’s 8-bit sequel Mega Man 9 with apprehension, but after playing it and seeing that it was the real deal – a true 8-bit sequel with old school difficulty to match – it was like I was 12 years old again.
So, when I first heard that Konami was planning on releasing remakes of some of their classic titles through Nintendo’s Wiiware service, I was thrilled.
Unfortunately, Konami’s Rebirth series is no Mega Man 9.
Contra Rebirth
Back in the late 80s when Nintendo games were huge, some company put together a series of VHS videos called “Secret Video Game Tricks, Codes, and Strategies.” The series starred the U.S. National Video Game Team aka a few teenage boys with mullets wearing jumpsuits selected for the video.
The hosts would tell you tips and tricks that were common knowledge at the time, and perform these gems during the video in real time. For example, in one trick, you’re told to pause the game during a boss battle for one minute; the video shows the pause sequence for the entire minute. Other production magic included the hosts’ incessant plastic controller clicking and heavy breathing.
Hugely popular in Japan, Taiko Drum Master (Taiko no Tatsujin) is another in the long line of rhythm music games like Dance Dance Revolution, Guitar Hero, etc. But this one is based on traditional Japanese taiko drums… sort of.
I’ve been debating getting a video game system for a while, and decided to pick up a Nintendo Wii. I wanted to get an XBox 360 (primarily for Street Fighter IV and Katamari), but it costs significantly more, and a lot of the great 360 stuff is online which from my understanding is either inaccessible or a pain in the ass to access from China. Also, if I were to fork out for a 360, I’d have to get an HDTV to really enjoy it. 
You can buy Japanese or Korean Wii systems at little shops around the city (every neighborhood has at least one mom ‘n pop – or gangster and cronie – video game shop), and right now they seem to be selling for 1250 RMB or so with one controller. “Backup” games are pretty standard at 5 RMB. Since Nintendo doesn’t officially sell its products in China, I don’t think it’s possible to purchase originals.
I love China’s online auction site, Taobao, but sometimes it is just not the best place to find deals.
For example, this original Famicom (the Japanese version of the NES) version of Castlevania III is going for 9999 RMB (or about $1500 USD). I found the same cartridge (with box and manual!) on eBay for $7.50!
Or if you’re a real Castlevania fan, you could always pick up 3 Castlevania Famicom cartridges for 66666 RMB (or around $10,000 USD).
