The Video Games Thread

[Garrett Gilchrist]

Donkey Kong Pauline Edition for NES: Play as "the girl" and rescue Mario!
http://www.mediafire.com/?ai0nc0nedqabuo6

[FloorMat116]

That's awesome! What emulator do I need to use to play?

[Garrett Gilchrist]

Any NES emulator will do; I use Nestopia or OpenEmu.

This was created [quite quickly] by a professional for his daughter, and a video of it went viral, as did the patch. But he'd actually modified a 2010 rerelease of Donkey Kong that's kind of hard to get. So I thought I'd do the patch work and upload it.

[Garrett Gilchrist]

Let's talk about Birdo. And the Satellaview.



Let's watch this video first.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGhv4Aixt6k

This is a Japanese commercial for Super Mario USA, a delayed Japanese release of the American Super Mario Bros 2., which began its life as a Japanese game called Doki Doki Panic.

Whatever you call it, the most popular character to come out of this game is Catherine, known in the US as Birdo. Birdo is a very persistent miniboss who you find yourself fighting constantly. Portrayed first as a pink dinosaur or dragon, Birdo shoots eggs and fireballs out of his/her mouth and guards the sphere you need to progress to the next level.

Mislabeling the character as "Ostro," the instruction booklet read as follows:
‘He thinks he is a girl and he spits eggs from his mouth. He’d rather be called Birdetta.’

When brought back for more recent Mario games, Birdo's gender identity remained a point of humor or confusion.

“She appears to be Yoshi’s girlfriend — but is she really his boyfriend?!”

The 2003 Mario Kart bio for Catherine not only admits that Yoshi and Birdo are dating, but is the first time they call Birdo Yoshi’s “boyfriend.”

The idea is that Catherine/Birdo was born male, but identifies as female. The character has become more feminine in appearance over the years. Early Doki Doki Panic artwork depicts a fairly masculine orange lizard with a small bow. The bow is also small in the original game itself. It was enlarged on the SNES and GBA. Birdo is usually depicted as pink, but had several other colors in the original game.

This is a case of mild "adult" humor on Nintendo's part. Birdo's gender identity has always been treated as a joke. I'll post this link again:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGhv4Aixt6k

In this Super Mario USA ad, Birdo is portrayed as essentially a drag queen, lounging on a fainting couch with cigarette holder and feather boa. In artwork and ads for the SNES Super Mario Collection [All-Stars in the US] the feather boa continues to be evident. She is Wart's date here ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R78ZutXsMn0

Much later, in Paper Mario: Sticker Star, Birdo appears with a drag queen style act.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... COzUBhcYQU

In Japan, the Famicom [Family Computer] systems, which were the NES and SNES here, were not portrayed as exclusively for children. Expansions for the Famicom allowed you to use it as a computer and program BASIC. Although Nintendo has always kept its systems and games as kid-friendly as possible, some material in the Japanese versions has wound up censored in the US.

Nintendo also helped set the standard in the US, that games should be kid-friendly. Ash, an offensive "Village Person" gay boss, was removed from Final Fight, and there's been some discussion about Poison, a Streets of Rage villain intended to be a transsexual. A DS game starring The Legend of Zelda's Tingle was not released in the US. Nor was Captain Rainbow, a Japanese game filled with offensive humor and profanity directed at lesser-known Nintendo characters. Catherine/Birdo is in this game [with a male voice] and is the butt of many jokes about her gender identity. She even swears.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... lOYrf0PD0#!

Vivian, from Paper Mario, is also a character born male who identifies as female. Vivian is much less of a joke, but is considered female in the American version. Gracie, from Animal Crossing, is also considered female in the United States, but is a gay male celebrity fashion designer everywhere else.

But let's get back to Catherine/Birdo. Click here:

http://telebunny.net/talkingtime/showthread.php?t=11420

BS Super Mario USA is a very rare game only available in 1996 on the Satellaview, an add-on for the Japanese Super Famicom [SNES]. A coproduction with the St. Giga satellite radio station, the Satellaview, or BS-X, broadcast videogames via satellite, as well as magazines about Japanese stars and pop culture, and original radio programming which went along with the games. Most of the games broadcast were original in some way. There were Legend of Zelda games which didn't appear anywhere else- the first being a sort of SNES remake of the original Legend of Zelda, with different maps, and another, "Ancient Stone Tablets," being a sort of sequel to Link to the Past.

http://bszelda.zeldalegends.net/bszelda.shtml

Obscure, sometimes independent games were broadcast on the BS station, including Radical Dreamers, a text adventure set in the Chrono Trigger series [which has been preserved and translated]. Games sold at retail might get unusual versions for the Satellaview. This being a CD-quality digital radio station, some broadcasts were hosted by Japanese personalities who might interact with Mario, Wario and pals. There were mini-magazines. There was a remake of Excitebike starring Mario characters.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8aQQthaZLXQ

Some of these games have been retained through people who saved their games at the time, and people clever enough to hack the roms to work on today's emulators. Many are lost. One hacker has brought the Satellaview's own built-in game back to some sort of life ...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2eqUuPoHzto

The system had its own mascots, and you could select either a boy or girl character and walk around a town, which would lead you to the day's games.

Looking for games which begin with "BS" at Coolroms turns up plenty of results, and the Zelda games have been hacked and translated, with music added. Radical Dreamers has also been translated.

One game was made as something of a joke- a spaceship shooter using the Satellaview mascots, satellite imagery and in-jokes. It was made using Dezaemon, part of a fairly popular series of Japanese games which asked players to design their own shooter games.
http://www.hardcoregaming101.net/dezaemon/dezaemon.htm

A lot of effort was clearly put into the channel by Nintendo at the time. This blog is doing a nice job of finding and preserving what still exists in fan hands ....

http://superfamicom.org/blog

Toad hosted a live voice-acted quiz show ...

http://superfamicom.org/blog/2009/06/sa ... /#more-515

... and Kirby made a few appearances.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... ZBJp7UFI_g

There's also the matter of the Mega Man-like Kaizou Choujin Shubibinman Zero.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bGA6nTWBTOg

I was always disappointed that the telephone-like expansion plugs on the US NES and SNES were never used for anything. Even in Japan they never got the long-rumored SNES-CD, but they did get this service, just as the internet was starting to replace the need for it. Online play was attempted for systems as early as Intellivision and the Atari 2600 in the early 80s, but was a bit too ahead of its time. There was no online play with the BS-X, but it certainly turned the SNES into its own TV station, and was popular at the time. I can see why ... it featured tons of original content. Sega Channel was nothing compared to this [although that had some rare original content too, such as a Mega Man remake, The Wily Wars].

Many Satellaview games are nearly impossible to emulate as originally broadcast due to "Soundlink" technology. These games could only be played at a specific time of day, and original voice acting and music would be broadcast over the radio station in sync with the game. In the Legend of Zelda games, the Old Man would talk to you at the beginning, and you would be carefully timed to complete the game objectives in about 50 minutes. Certain events would occur at specific times on the timer, and be accompanied by voice acting.

The audio for these broadcasts has sometimes survived on VHS tapes recorded at the time, however, the exception of one RPG game it is not "clean" and has game sound effects all over it.

BS Super Mario USA was a version of Super Mario Bros. 2 USA in which the goal was to retrieve gold statues of Mario. During each week's hour of gameplay, you'd hear voice acting by Mario, Luigi, Peach, Wart, Mouser, Clawgrip, Triclyde, FryGuy ... essentially a radio show which went along with the gameplay, accompanied by onscreen talking images of the characters. Apparently Peach gets more and more angry and eventually has to be bleeped out.

We learn a little more about Subcon. The King and Commander of Subcon appear here, two characters who only appear in this obscure game, and have speaking roles. The fairy-like Subcons themselves are also featured, drawn more clearly than I've ever seen them.

And then there's Birdo. So much Birdo. Birdo is all over the cutscene art. I count about nine new, big drawings of Birdo done specifically for this game.

http://telebunny.net/talkingtime/showthread.php?t=11420

The game was broadcast in four weekly episodes, and the title of the first episode specifically refers to the "Super Catherines." That is, there are three "Super Catherines" - Birdos - Red Catherine, Green Catherine, and the familiar Pink Catherine.

All three have male voices, although photos of the performers appear in the end credits and all three are dressed as and identify as female. The latter two seem to be onstage as drag queens. I don't know much about these voice actors.

http://www.vgmuseum.com/end/bsx/a/bsmario.htm

Catherine Pink is Jun Donna, "slightly mischievous." Catherine Red is Rika, "whose household finances are always in the red." Catherine Green is Akemi, who "always acts cultured and affluent, with a strong personality."

Although I can't speak Japanese, the effect is of three comedic gay voices mocking the player, with a final countdown as the game ends. Green Catherine seems to have a very deep voice compared to the other two, as a further joke. Apparently it's also somewhat hard to understand what they're saying.

A beat-up Red Catherine [with the King, Commander and Subcons in a thought bubble] is shown over the credits.

Here's a video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMOH3rTDF6c

Mario: *pant pant*
Luigi: Bro, we did it.
Peach: You two were awesome there!
Mario: Thanks, guy! But I couldn't have done it without your help.
King: Mario, Luigi, Toad and Princess Peach. As a reward, I have prepared a splendid game for all of you.
Commander: I hope you'll all have fun.

Announcer: Welcome to the King's Casino. Listen to the following instructions well in order to play the slot machine well and enhance your enjoyment. If the first symbol you'll get is a cherry, then you'll win two coins. If the second symbol is a cherry as well, that gets you four coins. If all three symbols are cherries, you will win you six coins. Three of any other kind is four coins, and a triple 7 is 20 coins. You can play the game until time runs out as long as you don't run out of coins. There are other winning combinations as well.

52:58
Mario: "Our job in this dreamworld is over. You have all done a good job. I'm grateful! Until next time, farewell."

53:15
Announcer: "As the power of the star was restored, Subcon slowly vanished into thin air. Nobody knew what became of the King and the Commander. Even people who suffered there like Super Catherine (Birdo), still enjoyed their time in that place. But it's alright. As long people remember the King and the Commander, they will come back someday. They will always welcome Mario and his friends. Catherine and her friends will be treated better next time. We promise."

Mario: "We guaranteed it."

"I am Tōru Furuya, voice actor for Super Mario. I hope you enjoyed the game. Go go Mario!"
"I am Ichirōta Miyakawa, voice actor for Luigi. Did any of you get a triple 7 on the slot? It's not easy, isn't it?"
"I am the King, Chikao Otsuka. I may be small, but I'm truly a King where it counts."

-----

And so on. It's a shame the entire broadcast hasn't yet been translated. It was probably comedic in nature throughout. Certainly Birdo and her gender identity is treated as a joke, in a not-for-kids way. Today, many transgender people would probably be offended - as with Captain Rainbow as well.

However, even though Catherine and gender confusion is treated as a joke, this version of the game has also clearly promoted her to a starring role. She's heavily featured in nearly all the cutscene art, more than any other character. And that's the thing about Birdo in general. Although treated, a bit cruelly, as a joke character, Birdo has always been a "star" nonetheless- the most popular character to come out of SMB2/USA, who kids and gamers loved then and still love now. And we knew back in the 80s that he identified as a she. And shot eggs.

The idea of three Catherines was actually resurrected, very subtly, for the Game Boy Advance remake of SMB2, Super Mario Advance. All three Birdos use a female voice, but the pink voice is higher and the green voice is deeper.
http://www.suppermariobroth.com/post/37 ... dvance-the

A Robo-Birdo was also present in this remake. Additional art of Birdo appears here, as it did in Super Mario Bros. Allstars [Collection].

In later games, Nintendo of America tried to promote the idea that Birdo is a she, and always was a she. This has only led to further confusion. In Mario Tennis, Birdo is given a female voice, and has been romantically linked to Yoshi. This hasn't stopped Nintendo of Japan from calling Catherine Yoshi's "boyfriend." It's fair to assume at this point that the American Birdo had an operation and has become more feminine with time. Previously something of a cruel punchline, Birdo remains a popular character, for the right reasons as well. The little jokes and digs about her gender identification aren't going to stop, but then neither is Birdo, who seems to be here to stay.


http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lv6qr ... o1_500.jpg

http://25.media.tumblr.com/4dcbc9af3580 ... o1_400.gif

http://25.media.tumblr.com/5d8aa83ddade ... o1_500.png

http://25.media.tumblr.com/d7daf63cb9d5 ... o1_250.gif

http://www.suppermariobroth.com/post/38 ... the-london

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mefg6 ... o1_500.png

[Garrett Gilchrist]

Bio Force Ape.
http://lostlevels.org/bio-force-ape/

[Garrett Gilchrist]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c5OWQzL6 ... ture=share

Fix-It Felix Jr. hits the Sega Mega Drive/Genesis. My problem with Disney's original was that Felix just pops from window to window rather than smoothly walking around. The movement of a platforming character was half the fun back in the day [Wrecking Crew, Popeye, Donkey Kong ...] Well, the Mega Drive version fixes that.

It's labelled as a Beta version, and the programming leaves a little to be desired - the transitions from screen to screen are pretty harsh - some of my emulators crash on the high score screen, and there appears to only be one level at this point, and no music. It's a terrific rendition of the game though.

Amusingly, there's also an Atari 2600 version which seems to be intentionally awful, like Donkey Kong and Popeye were.


EDIT: Arcade version! Much more accurate actually.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NtjCHG ... ata_player


For slightly more historical accuracy, I wonder if this could have been programmed for the Sega Master System. The gameplay here would have been acceptable around 1985 or so. The title screen suggests that it hit arcades in 1982, the same year as Popeye, which sounds about right, and that it was ported to the Mega Drive in [late] 1988, the first year of the system's existence. Very few Mega Drive games were released in 1988, and an old arcade game like this probably wouldn't have been acceptable at that point. Ms. Pac-Man was released for the system in 1991, so it's not without precedent, but most old arcade games were not re-released for Genesis.

There would certainly have been an NES version of the game, probably around 1986, which would have featured a much simpler color palette, as the NES could only handle three colors per sprite. Nintendo had exclusivity for most of those old arcade games, and their style of gameplay looked old-fashioned by that point. Mario Bros was 1983, and that fits Felix's gameplay, but Super Mario Bros was 1985, and really changed the face of gaming to be more about side-scrolling. Sonic the Hedgehog was released in 1991.

[I said this on Facebook and Alex D wrote: "It's also a good possibility that, like many simpler games like Tetris, Ms Pacman, etc. that the game would also have a release by the infamous Tengen."]

If anyone released this on Genesis/MD, I can see Tengen doing it, I suppose. It would depend on their relationship with Tobikomi. NES version would have probably been by someone else if it was released as an early NES title, but if the game hadn't been released on NES by 1987 or so I can see Tengen releasing both NES and Genesis ports in 1990.

This would be entirely a political move though, another example of Tengen saying "fuck you" to Nintendo and its contracts. Digging up an old arcade game whose 1986ish Famicom version had been delayed/cancelled for some reason, exploiting a legal loophole and putting it out on both systems just to show it was possible to do so, and perhaps start a trend of more recent arcade ports ignoring Nintendo's exclusivity. The game wouldn't have been much of a hit on Mega Drive/Genesis, at least not in the US/Japan.

I'm just amusing myself thinking about this. Obviously the creator programmed it for Genesis/Mega Drive because it's probably the first well-known system on which you could do an arcade-perfect translation. But arcade-perfect translations basically didn't exist.

Let's compare arcade, NES and Magnavox Odyssey versions of Popeye. And a general comparison ....
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WSAbZgWxG_g
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qf3161wYpso
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6xdAqHlkbhk
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2O-O0pkvaWM

[Garrett Gilchrist]

http://www.videogameden.com/fds/extra/dok.pdf

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=pl ... W2vldGyOQ#!

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Sq-queYmR04/U ... mo-art.jpg

http://www.videogameden.com/fds.htm?dok

http://zelda.wikia.com/wiki/Mamu

[Garrett Gilchrist]

http://www.suppermariobroth.com/

I followed this site on Tumblr and have not regretted it for a second.

[Dennis196492]

Some fans ported Sonic '06 levels into the Generations engine.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XlsLlc0KsS0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vblxMXG8848
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m03mCr8iMio

As well as a remake of Sonic X-treme

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m03mCr8iMio
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JFsh1BgPA8A
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ll_pilRws5I

[Garrett Gilchrist]

How can you remake Sonic X-Treme? I should look this up, but I wasn't aware that any detailed info about X-Treme had even leaked.


[looks at videos]

Wow, that Sonic X-Treme remake is pretty hardcore. I guess he's doing it based on E3 gameplay videos.


http://forums.sonicretro.org/index.php?showtopic=31255
http://sost.emulationzone.org/sonic_xtreme/

http://sagexpo.org/games/sonicgdk/


This one's subtle:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QtrGZeTJGnQ