Hinotori Hououhen: Gaou no Bouken - A Deep Dive | Review & Retrospective for Famicom 1987

[@badarts]

This channel is an honest-to-god public service.

[@HPRshredder]

That is super kind - thank you

[@realsquirrelhours565]

Wow, man, this has got to be your best video so far in terms of content. It's rare to see someone provide such deep context on a game people otherwise would forget about and make it seem so much more worthwhile. As someone who was not familiar with either this game or the source material, it was very welcome and makes me want to check both out because the contents are intriguing. Wonderful work this time around.

[@averyrogers8103]

i like the little graphics of the animals in the booklet

[@plasticbutler]

I played this as a kid back when I still lived in the Philippines. Over there, we knew the game as Eagle of Fire.

[@ClassicCo-op]

I love these in depth reviews about obscure games. The shots from the manga and anime add a lot, and the story and lore information was great. Your videos always have the perfect balance between being super polished yet feeling relaxed and natural. Really nice work!

[@HPRshredder]

Really glad you enjoyed it, Classic Co-op! It was a lot to make but I’m happy with the way the video turned out. I still need to work on the thumbnail though. 😓

[@ThatArjun]

Most underrated channel of the whole KZbin!

[@HPRshredder]

Thanks, ThatArjun! I appreciate it.

[@Bargadiel]

Never thought id hear an Alan Watts clip with lofi beats in a famicom video about a relatively obscure game. You really have something special with this channel.

[@HPRshredder]

Thanks for watching! Glad you appreciated it. This is one of my favorite projects I've worked on so far.

[@Bargadiel]

@@HPRshredder amazing work, I binged a ton of your videos last night. You always give a lot of original thought and care to talking to the game mechanics, the cultural surroundings of each game, and how you felt about it and I deeply respect that type of long-form content, and it is articulated very well. Not to mention the attention to detail in your editing style and audio as well. I'm sure you get this a lot but keep up the fantastic work.

[@bigbadspikey]

I love this game as a kid. I was really very happy when I finally found the Apocalypse stage. I was in my 30s when I found out about the manga and the OVA and that's the only time I've read and watched it.

[@bromantictony9717]

I'm growing more and more convinced, as I binge every video, that this channel is just a craftily-hidden ARG, and we're all on the verge of having our mind's completely blown by an innocent-seeming retro review Trojan horse.

[@maxyliano]

You have no idea how much of a service this video has been to me. I used to have a famicom adapter for the NES, and during the weekends, sometimes my parents would let me rent famicom games (which where very abundant in Argentina). I once rented a double pack of Konami games, and there was Rush n' Attack and this one, whose name I never knew. I looked for years, until I found out it was known as "hi no tori", and managed to play it and even finish it. I, however, had no idea of the manga and OVA behind the game, and it makes SO much sense now... The game is fun, a bit repetitive really, but the story behind it is so very complex, I never would have guessed! it's a bit bittersweet story, mind you, kind of sad, but I'm happy it all came full circle with this game for me. Thank you :)

[@HPRshredder]

I’m glad the video meant something to you! Thanks for sharing your story and for commenting - I appreciate it!

[@Unquestionable]

Great story! I love hearing about people's personal connections with games, especially when they were growing up so they were viewing it all through a completely different lens than if they were older. I've been a fan of Tezuka's work for a very long time now and it's always interesting to me to see when very odd things were done with a property.

[@samuelbaugh4952]

You know I had to come back here to say I’m pretty sure the carver in Sekiro is inspired by Gaou. He also carves with only one arm, only carves angry faces and has just one arm. Cool to see the stuff Fromsoft takes inspiration from.

[@HPRshredder]

I had a few people mention this now! I agree it’s always very cool to see where a lot of modern developers like to pull from. I know with the Goemon video I had a friend messaging me about references to Goemon in One Piece apparently lol

[@TheCoOpBros]

Dang, this game looks super interesting! Really love all the ways you can use the blocks - especially how you can affect the paths of enemies, that's so cool! For such an old game, that's really groundbreaking honestly. Great work as always my dude, particularly love the context of everything given. Very enlightening!

[@HPRshredder]

Ty bros 😎

[@justin10054]

This is possibly the best review of a video game I've ever seen. I love the care and detail you put into it. The summary of the manga/anime was a great addition. I'm definitely gonna have to check those out. Thanks for making these NES reviews!

[@HPRshredder]

Thank you so much, man. This is probably my favorite video I've made so far.

[@Taldorin]

Wait hold up that monk that gave you a wooden arm in Sekiro that was carving sculptures, had his hand removed because he did terrible things. That was all a reference to this character Gaou? Unless thats come up before that seems like a whole lot of similarities

[@HPRshredder]

I haven’t played Sekiro, but looking into it and looking at the lore and setting for that gene I think you’re 100% right. It has to be a reference to Gaou. Tezuka was a massive influence in Japan and it definitely makes sense to me. Too many coincidences. Nice find!

[@Taldorin]

@@HPRshredder i am surprised you havent gotten to sekiro yet with your love of souls though you are being kept quite busy. Hope you get a chance to play it soon

[@HPRshredder]

@@Taldorin when it released originally I had already sold my Xbox and didn’t own a platform capable of running it. Otherwise I definitely would have played on release.

[@carlcouture1023]

I'd been so confused because any time I saw people talk about "hi no tori" I thought they meant the MSX game, which is based on the same volume but is a completely different game. Much more of a run n gun maze. Thanks for this great review.

[@The8bitFighter]

Geez that video went places. Good stuff

[@napkinx4341]

been binging your whole channel you genuinely deserve hundreds of thousands of viewers your videos are of the same quality as someone like summoning salt

[@HPRshredder]

Thank you! I appreciate that~ Maybe someday!

[@CerealCommander]

this might be my favorite video. The in-depth dives into story, the level of attention to detail, how the intro/outro hit, it's all packaged so well. Love your style. this is close to as good as Mario Kart 64

[@TheCrawl]

I wasn't expecting to get goosebump And chills during your story breakdown section, but I did. You nailed that part, duder. The work and research you put into this video and your experience with the entire franchise shows, and paid off. Such a great video -- it convinced me to give the manga, anime, and game a shot, and reminded me of some important ideas that this series focuses on that I had forgotten.

[@HPRshredder]

If you do end up reading more of the manga, like other chapters and such, please let me know what you think! I’ve been wanting to as well. I still can’t believe how good the manga is in relation to the year it came out.

[@Unquestionable]

@@HPRshredder Tezuka's work in generally is astonishing given he was basically crafting the medium from scratch. Phoenix was what he considered his life's work, unfinished yet what we got is amazing, but even silly stuff like Astro Boy and The Amazing Three have very deep messages that don't ignore the harshness of reality while also being all age friendly (well most of the time). His title of "The God of Manga" was very much well deserved and anytime I do a deep dive on him end up blown away by the depth and care put into his creations.

[@eheieh85]

Sweet Allan Watts intro dude! Love these reviews!

[@MattyStoked]

This was _so good_. I loved the deep contextual dive into the creator and the rest of the material. Really made this video stand out. Loving your stuff, mate.

[@HPRshredder]

Nice to see your name again, Stoked! So glad you enjoyed it, man.

[@aPonderousChain]

The use of Alan Watts is such a classy touch.

[@LimeCultivist]

This is a fantastic video. I only ever saw the phoenix anime (I think 2003 or 2004?) and I had no idea about the game or even the older ova. All the stuff about reincarnation and karma is fascinating and so moving, and I found this vid from looking up the anime because I remembered for the first time in years how impactful it had been. Thanks

[@HPRshredder]

Thank you so much! It definitely impacted me much more than I initially expected. I had originally only added this game to my list to play because it looked to have unique mechanics. I'm glad you found and enjoyed the video.

[@bananonymouslastname5693]

This was very interesting. I've owned this game for some 15 years and never really have taken the time to look into the source material in-depth. It's great that you took the time to take it all in and tie everything together.

[@HaydenTheHistorian]

Clean presentation as always! Love it, keep it coming

[@HPRshredder]

Ty, Hayden. Looking forward to your next video whatever it may be. Thanks for the comment! o7

[@ertuncdelikaya8237]

Your videos are great. Why is this channel so underrated!?

[@HPRshredder]

¯\_(ツ)_/¯ I don’t know for certain, but probably because I’m covering games people aren’t searching for and/or aware of leading to low numbers of impressions. I can’t complain too much though as I’ve been seeing slow but steady growth. I’m glad you like the videos, though! Thanks for commenting. It helps.

[@Sakeenster]

This is one of my favorite videos of yours so far, I think because the story is just so interesting behind this game. I love the artistic style of the manga and anime. Also love the quotes at the beginning and end 🙂

[@seneca3314]

lovely and well put together video. great work man

[@HPRshredder]

Thanks, seneca. Always nice to see your comments.

[@itsasecrettoeverybody]

Well, that was different. First, I don't know how you do it, but you always find new ways to improve the presentation. I didn't know the game, anime or the manga, I will have to check it out. Are the monologues you used in this episode records of Alan Watts? I'm not too into eastern philosophy, but I do like some of the Watts' work. Some times it reminds very little of Jung's as Jung's work was a bit about metaphysics too, but with a western-centric and a scientific frame of view. Great episode.

[@HPRshredder]

Thanks for the comment, David! I’m glad you enjoyed this one. The sound bytes I used to explain Karma were indeed Watts. He’s especially good at using western language to describe eastern ideas so it felt natural.

[@itsasecrettoeverybody]

@@HPRshredder Watts was a good choice. Thanks for the episode, the content and the delivering are amazing.

[@ragintombo]

Fantastic job on this video, super in-depth. Also was surprised to see a "future zone" in this sort of game. That triple ground pound though does look tedious but another Famicom title that I'll have to keep an eye out for when I'm in Japan next, or order.

[@HPRshredder]

Glad you enjoyed it! I would love to go to Japan. Would certainly save me money on some of these imports lol. But then again... not really. Either way, it seems like a lot of fun!

[@RetroZoltan]

This game is awesome! Great review, you have the best Videos!!

[@HPRshredder]

It certainly has a lot going on lol. Thanks, Zoltan!

[@tokugawa7]

Good gravy this was an incredible presentation. I love your grasp of things... Your unique intelligence. This is prolly your best video yet. This video also transcends being a video about a game as well. It's much more than that. Thank you and keep up the good work.

[@HPRshredder]

Thanks so much, I’m glad you got something out of it 🙏

[@JoshForeman]

Woah, I came compelled by curiosity about an 8bit game I hadn't heard of, and got so much more! Fantastic work. Really loved the summary of manga and video. I really appreciate the clarification on Karma. I like the symmetry of bringing in Alan Watts to make the correction, as he was one of the biggest popularizers of buddhist ideas in the west. Anyway, love this, and I encourage you to bring in more extracurricular material into your reviews.

[@HPRshredder]

I would like to bring in more in the future when it makes sense. I suppose I could always bring a little bit of what I'm currently looking into to each video, but it just felt like it fit so well for this one. This is one of my favorite videos I've made so far. Definitely my favorite bridge from intro to overview. Glad you enjoyed!

[@mr.g4990]

This thing is wild. Agreed having a good chunk of background is essential here, else it could be simply perceived as a platformer with the construction quirk. I was wondering if it has any continue or password system? I may have missed that. Thanks for sharing your non-run-of-the-mill of the day.

[@HPRshredder]

Good to see you back, Mr. G! To my knowledge there isn’t actually a continue code on this one. There also isn’t a password system. I will say though, the game is rather short. I failed to mention this in the review; but it can definitely be beaten in one sitting. If you know what to do it can be beaten in under an hour. If you include the time for learning how to play and restarting occasionally it still shouldn’t take more than 3-4 hours to complete. But the mechanics are fun to mess around with and the stages are fun little playgrounds to a degree.

[@mr.g4990]

Thanks, yeah feels like you missed some technical details along the way but it's understandable, considering the amount of extra detail needed to properly flesh out this title. Well, til next review I s'pose!

[@mrrodgerspaul]

This is an excellent video. Retro Odyssey has become my favorite form of video game journalism. Thank you Mr. HRP.

[@HPRshredder]

Glad you liked it! This might be my favorite video I've made.

[@Exmotable]

come for the game review, stay for the overview on the original manga plot. good shit. imagine being punished for some shit you did another life that you don't get to even comprehend, fuck that noise.

[@HPRshredder]

I lol’d

[@valeska_kevinleahy]

this is a fantastic video man. maybe my favorite of yours. gonna look up this OVA on youtube, sounds like a really interesting series!

[@HPRshredder]

Just know it leaves out a lot of really important story beats from the manga and doesn't make sense completely without knowing the story ahead of time. But thank you! I love this one too.

[@letrickyboy6552]

Gj always going above and beyond with your reviews! great video

[@HPRshredder]

Thanks, Trickboy. I’m glad you enjoyed it.

[@Jasiuuu]

wow what a great fucking review - iv been binge-watching ur stuff ( since i discover ur channel bc dark souls video) and this one takes the cake for me, and that outro.. just wow great stuff man

[@HPRshredder]

Really glad you enjoyed this one. This is one of my favorite videos I've made. Also encouraging you found the channel through the Dark Souls vid.

[@Rimoco]

There is also a Hi no Tori MSX game that follows the events from the manga more closely, I'd suggest you to check it out.

[@Unquestionable]

Okay I'm blown away there was a game based on just a single part of Phoenix, a series that I've been fascinated with for a long time now. I've been a huge Tezuka fan since I fell deep into the rabbit hole of his life's work back in 2004 (yeah the GBA Astro Boy game kick started my interest, meanwhile only bought it because Treasure makes quality games) and this might be one of the last choices I would pick to make a game based upon. And to be by Konami only makes it more insane to me.

[@HPRshredder]

This was my first real introduction to Tezuka. It was inspiring to me. I have to agree though that the choice to make this a game seems wild lol. And that it's so unique and that it came out so early in the lifespan of the Famicom. I really wish Tezuka would have been able to complete Phoenix. But thank you for the comment and for watching the video. It's one of my favorites I've made so far.

[@zenoslime]

fantastic video. really deserves to be seen!

[@HPRshredder]

Thank you, I'm glad you liked it. It's pretty niche, so I understand the low view count, but it makes it worth it when people find and get something out of it.

[@Elmalab]

is that the dude from Sekiro: Shadows die twice?

[@HPRshredder]

Just replied to someone else about this; but I think the sculptor from Sekiro is definitely a reference to Gaou after looking into it. Too many coincidences - very nice catch

[@davidcarmichael4006]

This is a great channel. I really enjoy the fds reviews. Hope you keep going!

[@HPRshredder]

Just wrapped up filming on the next one. Should be out in ~3 weeks

[@Ricky_Evans1611]

You taking a break from doing videos?? Don't give up, your channel is the shit!

[@HPRshredder]

I have another video fully filmed that is in the editing stage coming soon. I didn't mean for the gap to be so long. I got really sick for a bit, my AC went out, and then I had to travel to be in a wedding. A few other things that came up where I had to drive on a few weekends but this week and the weekend should be free enough for me to finish editing the next one. Thanks for checking in though, I appreciate that!

[@Ricky_Evans1611]

@@HPRshredder Keep it up. Mark my words, you'll have over 100k subscribers one day 🤞

[@HPRshredder]

Thanks, Ricky. I do plan to keep it up! I feel bad/behind for not posting for ~50 days but I’m looking to ease back in and slowly build towards a healthy consistency. Hoping Dragon Buster will be up by Monday. And Zelda II is the season finale after that!

[@TheKonamiMan]

Another great video

[@HPRshredder]

Glad you enjoyed it! Nice to see your name pop up again

[@Konstantin_Postizhev]

25:44 where is this from?

[@HPRshredder]

A snippet of an Alan Watts lecture. You can find it by searching "Alan Watts what is reality". There is a wealth of his lectures available on KZbin.

[@Konstantin_Postizhev]

@@HPRshredder good. thank you🤙

[@HPRshredder]

@@Konstantin_Postizhev No problem!

[@HPRshredder]

No problem! Thanks for the comment

[@samuelbaugh4952]

Nice outro! Who is the speaker at the end?

[@HPRshredder]

That would be Alan Watts

[@samuelbaugh4952]

@@HPRshredder Thanks, I'll look into his stuff. Cool game by the way.

[@HPRshredder]

There’s a lot to soak in of his on KZbin. Thanks for commenting.

[@Soberliving]

hey man I do not know why I have not seen this video but I am now inspired to go down to akihabara and find it! Thanks for another great video. BTW if you want me to pick you up anything you are looking for I could do that for you, probably cheaper then importing it? Just an idea buddy.

[@HPRshredder]

It's a really unique and interesting game! And I appreciate it, but I won't be needing to buy any games for a bit since I already have this season stockpiled. But thanks for looking out! If you're still in Japan when I'm gearing up for Season 4 I might have to hit you up!

[@LeilaniZ12]

Groovy✌🏿

[@Big_Dai]

@3:08 Oh! Sekiro?

[@HPRshredder]

Just wanted to let you know I’ve been seeing your comments and I really appreciate them - I haven’t had a chance to respond because I was in the hospital the past four days. Everything is okay! So no worries, but thanks for the comments. I will try to get to them!

[@Telecritter78]

BUT HOW DO YOU HOLD THE CONTROLLER WITH ONE HAND?!?

[@o_o_o_o_o-o_o_o_o_o]

Block placement mechanic reminds me of Solomon's Key. Only shallowly though, since I never played that much. Of course you will find lots more of that sort of tile-based, lightly editable world if you try Eggerland/Lolo or Lode Runner. But none of these games is action-focused like this one or tied to any kind of rich story like this one is.

[@HPRshredder]

I wish I had realized earlier that Eggerland was essentially Lolo before Lolo. I would have definitely done a video on it since it's a 1986 game. I do plan to make a Lolo video eventually though.

[@waxknucklebearingjuice5592]

Alan watts ! Absolutely my guy !

[@Lela_Dax]

Hello & very nice to meet you 😊. First of all, I really love you're content, i like that you focus on games that are not widely represented, i appreciate the thoroughness of details, the style of delivery, the quality & the subtle humor 😁. Second, I have to say, at risk of being awkward, lol because ....I believe it's important to give a compliment when it's due, I've.... so got a crush on you😊, lol...😍 you are so my type, you are so cute, intelligent, the right level of nerd-ness,...lol...yet still obviously big & strong 😁, you speak my language, I hope to find a guy like you one day. I also like that you are confident in your masculinity enough to use words like "cute" when appropriate. You certainly are a real catch & and your partner is absolutely very lucky to have you. I know that we are our worst critic, sometimes, so I jus felt compelled to share this with you. Anyway I so look forward to seeing what's to come from you & im sure you will quickly rise as a prominent video game reviewer on KZbin if you continue to do what you're so good at doing❤️💛💚 with love from Virginia 🙂😮

[@Zarathustra-rj4yz]

This one ended on a profound note overthinking over analyzing separates the body from the mind

[@HPRshredder]

Glad you enjoyed it. This is one of my favorite videos I've made.

[@ungurdagda813]

That ending sounded familiar, and then I remembered a song I used to listen to a lot while I was in college and struggling to find my identity as an artist. kzbin.info/www/bejne/oovUZYh6gM-UaJYsi=qvH4fGfD1Nu1EP6e I think you, and the others here, might like it a lot if you find yourself resonating with the messages in this video and its subject matter. I believe the monologue in the middle of this song is by the same person as did the monologue at the end of this video. Tom Watts, I think his name is, but don't quote me on it.

[@HPRshredder]

It's Alan Watts -- same voice in the beginning/end of this video! That's a nice track. 2013-2017 was a great time for good lo-fi tracks.

[@ungurdagda813]

@@HPRshredder AH! I was close, my apologies. Thank you for reminding me! I keep forgetting his first name for some reason. Yes, that whole album is absolutely peak lo-fi for me. It's intrinsicly tied to a very formative time in my life as an artist now, and because of that, I resonate a little with the themes of the story told in that volume of the Phoenix manga. Alan Watt's quote in the middle of that song is one I've etched into my heart, and hearing him again in this video filled me with nostalgia. Marvelous work, Shredder. ...If I may call you such.