Games I'd Like To See On GCCX

GCCX, or GameCenter CX, is a Japanese television show that's starting to see some exposure in the west, partly due to the abortive efforts of "Kotak" to translate it in as obnoxious a way as possible, but largely because of the focused efforts of a small group of translators and subtitle-ists on the Something Awful forums. I've seen all the episodes they've translated so far, and am very much a fan of Kacho Shinya Arino's struggles with the impossibly cruel games of Nintendo (and occasionally other consoles) past.

Anyone interested can check this YouTube playlist of the translated episodes, provided their disastrous new site update doesn't just eat the link and blow up your computers. Here's hoping that doesn't happen?

My criteria for this list are as follows:

1. It must be fun to play. Like, in theory at least. I don't want Arino to suffer. Much.
2. It must be difficult, or made to be difficult in the game's options. Not necessarily crushingly so, but enough to give Arino a run for his money. Which isn't a particularly high bar to set, to be honest.
3. It must be at least 10 years old. PS1 era or earlier, preferably. (I'll be making at least one exception to this rule, though.)

List items

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  1. Snake Rattle 'n Roll

  Let's get some requisite NES games out of the way first. Snake, Rattle & Roll is an absolutely absurd platformer that seems to take place in the extended Q*Bert universe. Importantly, it's full of secrets and warps that Arino will probably need to be told about after dying for the thousandth time.

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  2. Shadowgate

  Two reasons for this: A) As anyone who's played Shadowgate is aware, it is extremely easy - comically so - to get killed in the game and B) The Japanese localization of the ICOM classic has some really goofy, flowery lines that Arino will get a good chuckle out of.

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  3. Marble Madness

  Marble Madness is just one of those bastard hard games that I think everyone suffered with to some degree, whether they were lucky enough to have a version that used the trackball or not. I think it'd be a good fit. I also want to see a superimposed Arino face inside a marble, but that's probably just me.

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  4. Plok

  Plok's one of my favorite SNES platformers; fantastic music, colorful graphics and a goofy sense of humor. It's also incredibly difficult. What's more, unlike many of the games on this list, it actually did receive a Japanese release Arino can play with.

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  5. Equinox

  Equinox, another of my SNES favorites, is a lot more thoughtful and puzzle-oriented. I know Arino's good with the puzzles, but I imagine he'll still get killed over and over by the game's many trapped rooms and difficult jumping sequences. Could go either way, really.

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  6. Battle Clash

  Just for the novelty of seeing Arino shoot at cartwheeling robots with that enormous, ridiculous Super Scope. Everyone says the Power Glove is the one Nintendo peripheral that makes you look the most stupid, but I beg to differ.

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  7. Pokémon Snap

  Just because I want everyone who has a career in making video game footage interesting to watch to have a Pokemon Snap LP. Two Best Friends do, Giant Bomb does, that one guy who made the amusing Dubstep version too. Now it's Arino's turn.

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  8. Um Jammer Lammy

  The recent PaRappa episode, as daft as it was, made me think that Arino would be even better served with the superior sequel. Well, in terms of the songs at least. I had a lot more fun with it anyway.

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  9. Sid Meier's SimGolf

  Just so they could build a theme episode around it. Arino's played a few golf games, though they had crazy asides like an adventure mode (Battle Golfer Yui) and Kirby (Kirby's Dream Course). Country Club Arino building his own little golf course with all the goofy touches SimGolf has would make for a fun episode.

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  10. Oniken

  If the developers could mock up a Famicom cart version of it and somehow get it to Arino, I'd love to see how long it took him to figure out it was made earlier this year.

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  11. Spelunky

  Yes please.

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  12. Gekisha Boy

  As far as I'm concerned, it hits the three big requirements: Be an obscure Japanese game from the early 90s, be a game that Arino could beat but not easily and be a game that would be ridiculous fun to watch.