Kinnikuman / Sky Destroyer / Ninja Jajamaru-Kun retrospective: Zero sum game | NES Works Gaiden

[@cerberus144]

I would love a "There have been Zero Days since mentioning Xevious" shirt, but I think mine would say "There have been 0 Days since last Simpsons reference"

[@RndStranger]

Kinnikuman has eight variants that are truly something wild. Bandai ran a nationwide tournament for the game and the eight top placing finishers won special versions of the cart where one of the characters in the game were replaced with a different Kinnikuman character of the winner's choice. There's also a green colored give away version of the cart that goes for way more than anyone should ever pay for that game.

[@TanookiSuit]

Wow nice selection. Sky Destroyer has been a favorite of mine since the mid later 90s when emulation was in its early days and I discovered it. Such a great game, shame it never made it over, even if it would have been surely re-painted to have the US looking like the good guys. ;) It's an oddly nicely well done third person shooter given when it arrived, far nicer than what we did get.

[@ValkyrieTiara]

This is what I was thinking. Maybe releasing a game in America where you pilot a Zero would have been in bad taste in the 80s when WWII was still in active living memory, but I doubt many kids of the day would have recognized the plane for what it is. Even if you were that worried about adults raising a stink, it would hardly have been the first game to replace a few sprites for the sake of western sensibilities. Any way I slice it, it seem an odd choice to leave in Japan. It looks like a decent game even by modern standards and I can guarantee my friends and I would have eaten it up back in the day. Zero, Mustang, or otherwise.

[@ralang999]

Just change the color on the wing insignia and it's an 8-bit US Navy fighter😁

[@MrJWTH]

Just checked a long play of Sky Destroyer and I can confirm it is always over water.

[@SBXIII]

Pausing at 1:44 to tyoe this: I can't help but wonder of the Nazi war criminal character in Kinnikuman was at least partially inspired by a Texas-based wrestler from the Territory days named Fritz Von Erich. He was around roughly 2 or 3 decades after WW2, so Fritz was working as a heel.

[@EnbyeonTTV]

Sky Destroyer was yet another semi-frequent Famiclone multicart release, although I don't recall ever beating it. As for Ninja Jajamaru-Kun, while none of the mainline games seem all that entertaining, it's kind of ridiculous how good the Great Yokai Battle + Hell is. Better than a Jaleco game has any right to be.

[@PrekiFromPoland]

Sky Destroyer was one of my favorites on the (in)famous 168 in 1 multicart.

[@daviddalrymple2284]

I really enjoyed Sky Destroyer, but it was so unforgiving. And since I had it on a multicart, I was always moving on to another game; I never had the patience to take the time to get really good at it.

[@salsarocket]

I always wondered what game Haggleman was a reference to. Enough of a nerd to own Retro Game Challenge, but not enough of one to know what it was talking about most of the time.

[@eishikibahamut]

When I saw ninja jajamaru-kun I instantly realized it was what probably inspired haggleman from the game center CX game and was really nice to see it mentioned at the end

[@hemangchauhan2864]

Jeremy = In Japanese, Kinnikuman basically means... Me (mumbling) = muscleman Jeremy = ....muscleman - Jeremy = Studio that Bandai hired was none other than... Me (mumbling) = TOSE Jeremy = ...TOSE - It's weird this has happened twice, if happened at all 😅

[@DirtiestDMusic]

My friends and I bought Ninja Jajamaru-kun as a joke when it released on the Wii back in the day. I wish we had some footage here of the ninja riding the frog in-game, because that blew our minds the first time we saw it!

[@dumpnchase]

Even those brief scenes of 1942 hurt my ears. Lol.

[@MattoMakesLetsPlays]

As a fan of Kinnikuman, I pretty much know Brocken Jr. is one of the sole reasons (along with all the other racial stereotyping) why the original manga and the anime (the original 1983 - 1986 run) won't ever be localized. The newer Kinnikuman series, like the 2011 manga revival, tones down the Nazi imagery to zero. The Scramble For The Throne anime series didn't have the Nazi imagery for Brocken Jr. though, so that's a plus, I suppose...?

[@LeoMidori]

I mean we got Ultimate Muscle back in the FOX-Box/4Kids era of Saturday morning cartoons in the early 2000's. I actually recall enjoying it a lot! I can't say I recall any racially insensitive characters other than maybe Ramenman?

[@BurnyToast]

Brocken Jr was even in it too! By then he had already been toned down to "German guy wearing military clothes" and not full on goose stepper. Didn't stop 4kids from making him sound like he should be interrogating Indiana Jones, but that's a whole other thing

[@thejackal007]

Didn't know Tose was responsible for Super Princess Peach! (sorry on going back to your 0 days of Xevious... you were doing so well too). Also, the guy in the ad for Sky Destroyer looks rather similar to the one used for Sky Shark!

[@milkcarton6654]

Sky destroyer DID make its way to north america... through one of those illegal 100 games in 1 cartridge thing. I had forgot about the game, but watching this review i remembered it as the stand out i'd always play on one of those cartridges a friend lent me for a few weeks circa 1990

[@AintNobodyAtAll]

Sky Destroyer looks kind of incredible. I loved the Ninja Jajamaru-kun style games in Retro Game Challenge... I should replay that someday.

[@FloatingSunfish]

Used to play Kinnikuman quite a bit on our Famicom back in the day. I always sucked at it, but it provided some nice variety at least.

[@johnnygrind77]

I had some of the MUSCLE toys in my youth and I think they came in a plastic container that kinda looked like a garbage can. A neighbor friend of mine had the game. I had way more fun playing with the toys than the game haha. Great work as always! I look forward to these videos every Wednesday.

[@RalphBarbagallo]

Wow, Sky Destroyer looks kind of awesome. I would have been all over it if it had been out near the NES launch.

[@seanshankredemption1603]

Xevious & Tower of Druaga references. Good to see we’re back on track.

[@jbanks979]

For 1985 famicom sky destroyer may have actually set a bunch of bars……for something we’ve never gotten an NES release of. For an original hardware game years before mapper chips, that’s easily the best scaling effect I’ve seen (and might be one of the best looking console games period in 1985).

[@absolutezeronow7928]

Well, Bandai finally makes their debut on the Famicom and thus begins the deluge of mediocre anime tie-in games. I've preordered that Ninja JaJaMaru Collection for Switch. I've played a little of JaJaMaru on NSO, it's not bad.

[@mariusamber3237]

Quite nice that now the RPGs are also localized. Gotta say, I did not expect a Ninja Jajamaru Collection of any kind, but that was a neat surprise!

[@LakituAl]

Things I've learned from NES Gaiden videos: - Copyright shenanigans that led to many franchises running concurrently - My taste in games is bad.

[@johnofthewired]

upvote for great video and iczer one

[@eldebo99]

Seconded on both counts

[@mendez704]

Sky destroyer!!! I havent seen that game in while. Had it in a clonic cartridge with 90 games, and I always fought the graphics were impresive.

[@joshuachristian5443]

I still like those "Millions of Unusual Small Creatures Lurking Everywhere". Didn't know they made a game until years later when received a bunch of ROMS. I was excited to try it...so disappointed I was. Cannot play that game for more than 30 seconds. I commend your ability to play long enough to get footage for this video.

[@Ultrapub]

Wow, I wasn't expecting you to actually mention "Retro Game Challenge" (it feels like no one ever does), but - I must admit - I spent pretty much spent the entire "Ninja JaJaMaru-Kun" section thinking: "I bet this is what Robot Ninja Haggleman was referencing".

[@TheXYZStrain]

As someone who grew up with a famiclone, Sky Destroyer is definitely a top game. Gotta try the arcade version sometime

[@jamesmoss3424]

Sky Destroyer should have been released in the USA in the first place. 😀👍🎮

[@LorenHelgeson]

Yeah. I only ever first heard of it a couple years ago on a video covering one of those pirate ROM consoles. Just bought it off eBay - it at least plays a lot better than the NES version of Afterburner, and I would have loved it as a kid.

[@HPRshredder]

6:05 - I kneel. o7 Also you never do make land in Sky Destroyer, but the land you see changes based on the level. There are a few differently themed island you can see but they loop eventually. Extremely hard game. But it's fun to blow up the bombers up top. I felt like sometimes I would snipe a battleship with a torpedo in the distance but that was mostly luck. Sky Destroyer is so impressive technically for its release year.

[@2dskillz]

Sky Destroyer has a great presentation.

[@winkhantaung8075]

Sky destroyer is setted during later staes of island hopping campagin enemy planes are us navy f6f hellcat(f4u coaisar in arcade) nad b 24(4 engined bomber appearing in the end of a section) which of these are late war planes

[@scootmcgee42069]

I played this when I was around 4 years old. I remember getting my ass kicked by my older cousins. I was furious. Good times.

[@XanthinZarda]

Kinnikuman: On wrestling games for the NES/Famicom, I feel that playing Tecmo Word Wrestling/ _"Gekitō Pro Wrestling!! Tōkon Densetsu"_ first sort of colored my biases. I know, it was a long road to that point and even that game had some issues, but they seem like graces compared to the rest of the stable. Sky Destroyer: It's not a technically bad game. But the Arcade idea was not a good idea; by which I mean the choice of "slam more quarters into your NES/Famicom". Ninja Jamamaru-Kun: That's not an easy mouthful. But it seems to have worked out for them, so...good I guess?

[@angelriverasantana7755]

Japan's seemingly lenient towards Nazi shenanigans, plus Brocken Jr. as a character basically abandoned many of the evil shit. His dad, Brockenman, was the prick, though Ramenman basically murked him. In the manga, he was literally split in 2 with a camel clutch and in the anime, he made noodles outta Brockenman and ate him in front of the audience

[@Henners]

After i sold my NES in 1998, in 2001 i had the bug for it again and found a PowerPlay III bootleg (the one in an n64 controller). My friends and I actually enjoyed Muscle lol

[@PrekiFromPoland]

Interestingly enough, the arcade Sky Destroyer is more accessible than its home port. Destroying a flying fortress in the Famicom version is really, really hard. Oh, and the arcade game has inverted controls, resembling the aircraft's flight stick. And speaking of that questionable wrestler in Kinnikuman... The recently reviewed Super Famicom Wars on HG101 has a character called Hetler in it. Yes, Hetler - go figure.

[@RetroHousecr]

Sky Destroyer takes a lot influence from Pearl harbor, the first level makes you bomb an Island, second one a naval base :) The colors of the planes don't lie

[@winkhantaung8075]

More like later staes of island hopping campagin enemy planes are us navy f6f hellcat(f4u coaisar in arcade) nad b 24(4 engined bomber appearing in the end of a section) which of these are late war planes

[@OzeroCa]

Heehee. I’ve had ore than enough exposure to MUSCLE. I THINK 2 figures are still in my dnd figures.

[@timallenbrown]

Castlevania, Fatal Fury, Ninja JaJaMaru-"kunn" ActRaiser, Blazing Lazers, Bases Loaded, Mega Turrican Cybernator, Rolling Thunder, Dynastic Hero Bubble Bobble, Double Dribble, Double Dragon, F-Zero!

[@GameplayandTalk]

Huh, I had no idea that Ninja Jajamaru-Kun was a rip-off of an existing game. Interesting stuff!

[@jasonblalock4429]

Retro Game Challenge was so great - and Robot Ninja Haggleman was one of my favorite games. I kept thinking Ninja Jajamaru-Kun looked familiar, and that was why, haha. I wish RGC had done better, but it was 80s nostalgia just a bit before the big nostalgia boom took off. (Also the terrible localized name and awful box art definitely didn't help. It was like the publisher *wanted* it to be mistaken for shovelware.)

[@PapiCuatro0221]

"So-called soundtrack". Perfect description of that awful noise emanating from 1942

[@lasskinn474]

it's not sometimes that they didn't know nazi stuff, it's that they don't care as much, time is a bit.. how you'd say, flexible and longer. in asia they will do stuff like put a nazi swastika shirt, an american ww2 star stripes shirt, a japanese rising sun shirt and ussr shirt on the rack side by side like it's no big deal(in a country that was in practicality occupied by the japanese during ww2 too).

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

It's a kind of innocence we don't have over here. We're dealing with a country that didn't flinch at prepubescent nudity in shows like Dragon Ball.

[@jasonblalock4429]

Not to mention Season 2 of JoJo's Bizarre Adventure featuring a Nazi as an enemy-turned-ally. (Which would be more upsetting if he didn't represent the true pinnacle of English dubbing. 😀)

[@Jordan3DS]

How bizarre, if a shop like that were in America there'd be insanely intense outrage

[@evanlindsey1100]

What appears to be a swastika on a lot of Japanese media is actually a Buddhist symbol called a manji. If you look carefully, a manji is rotating in the opposite direction.

[@nate567987]

uh that's not the word for that

[@gfhrtshergheghegewgewgew1730]

me when xevious gets mentioned: 😲 also you've been waiting so long to finally tear kinnikuman to shreds, i'm think you used frames from the kinnikuman nearly everytime you took jabs at tose or bandai

[@almightycinder]

There's actually two Nazi characters in Kinnikuman: Brockenman and Brocken Jr. Brockenman was killed off pretty quickly. In the manga, Ramenmanput him in the camel clutch, broke his back and ripped him in half. In the anime, he broke his back and... turned him into noodles and ate him.

[@ShinSHOGO]

LMAO @ Strictly Limited Games They skirt the line between being hilariously incompetent and/or just straight up being scammers. Shoutouts to how in recent times, they’re deliberately ignoring all inquiries about their Wonder Boy - Asha in Monster World MEGA Collectors Editions, that are over a year late from their initial release dates.

[@nate567987]

Bandai would get dev teams later like BEC and banpresto

[@raulbargas5021]

I actually like the jajamaru games. And the japananese did too: the one in this video sold better than friking Balloon Fight

[@rubberwoody]

I hope we get to see B wings!

[@JeremyParish]

Sorry, NES Works Gaiden only goes through Dec. 1985! Beyond that you'll have to refer to Chrontendo.

[@janlentan892]

Wait, so Bandai is a toy company which publishes games based on licensed properties, but has no internal dev team. Instead they hire third-party devs, and even when these devs are capable of great works, they tend to release mediocre games for Bandai. Is Bandai the Japanese LJN?

[@JeremyParish]

LJN put its chips on the wrong horse (realistic-looking paint guns) while Bandai went all-in on Gundam and other evergreen anime properties.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

@@JeremyParish Yep, that saved then.

[@user-a5Bw9de]

Not only Bandai. Takara and Tomy were sometimes the culprits too. They've even joined up to crank atrociousness to eleven. Thankfully, they dissolved their game division few years ago. Until now.

[@nate567987]

@@JeremyParish Tamagotchi and Digimon saved them from merging with sega.

[@Pezmergainax]

I’m missing the Evangelion theme music you use to play at the end of your episodes.

[@JeremyParish]

I don’t miss copyright claims on my videos.

[@Pezmergainax]

@@JeremyParish I understand 😅 you the best love everything you do!

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

@@JeremyParish HA!

[@charon59]

Ok, immediate question after first clip shown in this: does Kinnikuman wear a mask, or is that just his face? Because if it's the latter, dude is in the process of getting his face ripped off.

[@Obscusion2]

It's a mask. All members of his clan wear masks more or less since birth, with a common gag being that, despite the mask making each member of the clan look like a pig with fish lips, their actual faces are supposedly utterly handsome.

[@Jordan3DS]

I believe it's a mask, but he's also an alien or something which is why his head/face are shaped so weird

[@a.calder8217]

It's a mask. The law of Planet Kinniku dictates that if his mask is removed in combat, he must kill himself in shame. Later though, he gains the Face Flash (aka a Deus Ex Machina ability) which makes miracles happen.

[@evanlindsey1100]

He's an alien wearing a luchidore mask. There's laces on the back of it.

[@vrangermeier]

What's the story with the ninja enemies with black faces and big, red, lips? Is it what I think it is, or is there some yokai that *just so happens* to look like a minstrel?

[@JeremyParish]

I think they’re meant to be oni. Gross western imagery trickled into Japan through imported media and tended to be adopted by people who weren’t aware of the connotations of those images.

[@tipulsar85]

Time to get Shonen Jumped again...

[@serbonkers4130]

That wrestling game receives a lot of hate and bad reviews. It was one of the first games i had on my famicom. I kinda like it as i like wrestling as a kid. The cool thing about it is each character has their own special or finisher 🤣

[@JeremyParish]

It’s fine, M.U.S.C.L.E. is the epitome of games that people like while they are tiny and their brains aren’t fully developed! No shame in that.

[@ChristopherSobieniak]

@@JeremyParish How it was.

[@fettman17]

You're confusing Brockenman and Brocken Jr.

[@bobjames1933]

The nazi theme is true though the von Erics dad was a heel nazi in his career. Just outdated for our time and the 80s.

[@nate567987]

The Nazi is a face