On November 22nd was announced on the Asobi Motto website, from BANDAI NAMCO Entertainment, that Pac-Man would appear in a short video in the theaters of 109CINEMAS, a cinema network in Japan.
Pac-Man appears with the ghosts with a look that refers to the first game, for arcade.
Puck Man arcade game flyer (in Japanese: パックマン; romanized: Pakkuman). The sentences on the flyer says: "Danger! Eat the flashing Power Food!" (in Japanese: 危い！点滅するパワーエサを食え！; romanized: Ayaui! Tenmetsu suru Pawā Esa o kurae!)
Click on the image above to enlarge it
Download: Front side
Watch the video and see more details in the following lines!
This article was originally posted on December 12, 2013 in the Passagem Secreta (in Portuguese) blog, and with the permission from the author (Rafael Fernandes) and the founder of the blog (Marcos Valverde), I publish it here translated into English.
Racism in Front Mission: Gun Hazard?
Another quick video about trivia on games. This time, the agenda is about a hidden audio file on the cartridge Front Mission: Gun Hazard, released in 1996 for the Super Nintendo in Japan only. The recording is somewhat controversial, with a biased message against blacks. Where did it come from? See here 🙂
This article was originally posted on October 14, 2013 in the Passagem Secreta (in Portuguese) blog, and with the permission from the author (Rafael Fernandes) and the founder of the blog (Marcos Valverde), I publish it here translated into English.
Find out who is the model of Super Monaco GP!
You who played Super Monaco GP probably must have wondered who is that swimsuit model who appears on the screen title. Is it a subcelebrity, one of those women who are on the grid, the girlfriend of a driver? Who knows.
After chasing rumors and make a very nice search, here I am with this exclusive video showing where did this woman come from. Undoubtedly, there is no one talking about this elsewhere on the Internet, so have fun and spread the curiosity out there – but first giving that smart like and subscribing the YouTube channel, huh.
This article was originally posted on June 28, 2013 in the Passagem Secreta (in Portuguese) blog, and with the permission from the author (Rafael Fernandes) and the founder of the blog (Marcos Valverde), I publish it here translated into English.
Videocast – 5 Old Games of Sex and Eroticism
And another video of the Virtua Gamer series is on the air (screams.wav)! Do you like… eroticism? In this episode, I made a list with some retrogames with an erotic theme, and they are quite lame indeed. From Atari's X-Man, passing through Divine Sealing for the Mega Drive and even a game called Yakyuken Special, it can be said that the list is filled with filthiness! Remembering that the video is not recommended for the youngsters, for containing foul words and expressions – despite that adolescence is even more precocious.
Suggestions for future videos, reviews, partnerships, name-calling? Comment there (or here), and share it with your friends and family – well, not the family, right…
This article was originally posted on March 14, 2013 in the Passagem Secreta (in Portuguese) blog, and with the permission from the author (Rafael Fernandes) and the founder of the blog (Marcos Valverde), I publish it here translated into English.
Video – Remembering International Superstar Soccer 64
Another video of the "Virtua Gamer" series, in which I spoke of various subjects about old games and (maybe one day, the current generation as well) in a very quick, dynamic, informative, humorous way, but without losing the nostalgia (gee, all this?). This time, the game in question is International Superstar Soccer 64, a classic of the video game soccer!
This article was originally posted on February 5, 2013 in the Passagem Secreta (in Portuguese) blog, and with the permission from the author (Rafael Fernandes) and the founder of the blog (Marcos Valverde), I publish it here translated into English.
Video – 4 Things You Did Not Know About Golden Axe
Anyhow: after a break of over a year, I finally got back to make a video about games! In this one, some curiosities and myths unveiled about Golden Axe – including that nonsense about the prisoners that broke out recently.
The idea was not to do a thorough review; here things are much faster, muuuuuuch faster (in Portuguese), trying to show some interesting facts. I believe that there will be other opportunities to do something more meticulous about this great game, then let's let it aside for now.
By the way, I did a kind of "reboot" on my channel. Under the pseudonym "Virtua Gamer" I want to do more videos, proceed professionally, you know? So, I count on your support. Comments are warmly welcome, as well as suggestions for future agendas, etc!
Tec Toy is a well known company in Brazil among the gamers who lived the 80s and 90s. It was responsible for the establishment of Sega's leadership in the Brazilian video game market during this period. Today I bring to you a 1992 article from the Brazilian magazine Exame about the rise of the company, which was heading to the leadership of the toy market, surpassing its rival: Estrela.
Click on the picture above to enlarge it
Download: Front cover
Above you can see the cover of the magazine. Its original measurements are: 21 cm x 27.5 cm. The pictures shown here were scanned with the resolution of 1200 ppi (pixels per inch), and have the measurement of 3500 x 4570 pixels. Check out more details about it and the cover story in the following lines!
This article was originally posted on December 15, 2011 in the Passagem Secreta (in Portuguese) blog, and with the permission from the author (Rafael Fernandes) and the founder of the blog (Marcos Valverde), I publish it here translated into English.
"What I Played in 2011" Meme – Part 1: Video Review of RayForce
And, being part of the meme organized by Marvox Brasil (in Portuguese) and Ighor from Videogame.etc (in Portuguese, archived), I present you another videocast from Passagem Secreta! Instead of preparing a text about like most other blogs will do, I just ended up arranging an excuse to make another episode of reviews in video, what do you think? By the end of the year, I will also present two or three games I played well in 2011, and in the first part of this series, I talk about a game that inevitably would have a review here: RayForce, for Arcade and Sega Saturn! Also known as Gunlock or Layer Section or Galatic Attack, the game definitely caught me throughout this year by a number of factors: stupendous soundtrack (yes, I picked up the game at first because I couldn't stop listening to its songs), challenging difficulty, very good retro graphics and a decent fast arcade experience that would not hold me, since this was not a very favorable year to exercise my gaming. Anyway, let's go to the video then. If you enjoyed it, be sure to like, bookmark, or subscribe to the channel to watch the other videos in this series!
And be sure to follow other blogs that are also adhering to the Meme. If your blog is not on the list, just curse me here in the comments and I will add it. The list is as follows:
This article was originally posted on October 5, 2011 in the Passagem Secreta (in Portuguese) blog, and with the permission from the author (Rafael Fernandes) and the founder of the blog (Marcos Valverde), I publish it here translated into English.
Video Review: Typing of the Dead – Exterminating Zombies with the Power of… Typing
And here, out of nowhere, arises another episode from Passagem Secreta's Videocast, that is always a huge success with the public and critics, plus it conquers a new generation of fans with every video released. This time, the game rated is called Typing of the Dead, that, in a nutshell, is a version of House of the Dead II that changes the gun for a… keyboard! That's it! Now, to kill zombies, you must type the words that appear in the shortest time possible. It is an ideal game for those who enjoy dilacerating zombies, practice typing, or procrastinate during work hours! In fact, the game was so successful in Japan that soon after they launched a special version that would send your result in the game for a cadastral database of jobs as a "résumé" for companies that recruited professional typists.
You became curious? Then watch this review and laugh at the awful dubbing of the game, the rough words that appear on the screen, and of the funny voice of this guy talking over the 'ibages', wanting to be a reporter. And be sure to comment, of course!
And for those who might be wondering, it's likely that the next video will not be released any time soon. The capitalist system requires that I study and work at the same time, what changed my routine for the whole week. Not to mention my notebook, whose graphics card is melting from the inside out… I need to fix that here. Be warned: Do not buy anything from HP! Unless you are also in need of an iron or a toaster…
This article was originally posted on June 20, 2011 in the Passagem Secreta (in Portuguese) blog, and with the permission from the author (Rafael Fernandes) and the founder of the blog (Marcos Valverde), I publish it here translated into English.
Videocast – Sonic CD, the Most Controversial of the Franchise?
It could not be different: Sonic CDwon the poll held (in Portuguese), with more than 50% of the votes! In the second place, with only 13%, Knuckles Chaotix, and in the last place, Sonic R, for the Sega Saturn.
Check out the results of the poll
For a moment I had thought that people were voting just to screw me, due to a recent post that showed I was not very favorable to the game (in Portuguese). But then I realized that the game deserves to be loved, because I have played enough to understand it in another way, and I had much fun with it.
This article was originally posted on May 28, 2011 in the Passagem Secreta (in Portuguese) blog, and with the permission from the author (Rafael Fernandes) and the founder of the blog (Marcos Valverde), I publish it here translated into English.
Videocast: Road Rash Retrospective
More than 10 hours and 100 GB of crude pictures. Approximately 15 hours editing. 8 hours uploading. 5 minutes gargling. All that hard effort to provide you another Videocast for Passagem Secreta!
This time, the idea is to review each game of this franchise that is missed: Road Rash, one of the coolest racing games from past generations. Therefore, the video turned out to be the longest so far, with 20 minutes in length – which is still pretty fast, is not it? But rest assured, because before boredom fall over the montage, I bring a joke to break the ice! Needless to talk about the roller coaster pace of the edition, indeed!
Since YouTube let me grounded for six months due to an infamous video of Street Fighter, I had to split the Videocast into two parts to fit the 15 minutes limit on the website. Alternatively, however, I uploaded an uninterrupted version on Vimeo, for those who want to watch it there.
This article was originally posted on April 6, 2011 in the Passagem Secreta (in Portuguese) blog, and with the permission from the author (Rafael Fernandes) and the founder of the blog (Marcos Valverde), I publish it here translated into English.
Video Review – Streets of Rage Remake
One of the most acclaimed projects of the Internet had its final version released last day 3, for the surprise and happiness of the retrogaming fans. In relation to the previous games, the game doesn't have less features than they, quite the opposite: is the closest it can get from a definitive version of the series, bringing together the best of each game in the franchise and adding new elements to the gameplay that just add fun and longevity to the remake. And the best of all: it's free!
Thousands of reviews and comments acclaiming the game will come with time, so there is nothing better than present they with the specialty of this house: through a video review! To those who are already with laziness to download (because of its "gigantic" 200 MB of size) or playing it in front of a computer, watch this video and discover why this game is a real must-play!
This article was originally posted on February 8, 2011 in the Passagem Secreta (in Portuguese) blog, and with the permission from the author (Rafael Fernandes) and the founder of the blog (Marcos Valverde), I publish it here translated into English.
Videocast – Sonic and Blade Runner: the Similarities (Or Coincidences)
Do you like of "four"? Because this is the number of the newest episode of the Passagem Secreta Videocast! All right, I know the joke was horrible and many of you stop reading right there, but let's go ahead.
In this video we decided to extend the controversy regarding the post that compared the similarities between Sonic and Blade Runner (in Portuguese), published last year and that generated some controversy. To give hints about the music theory part, we invited none other than Eric Fraga, from Cosmic Effect (in Portuguese), to clarify all the similarities that the song of Scrap Brain Zone have with the main theme of the film, composed by Vangelis.
I hope you like the silly jokes, the performance of Cosmonal, and the usual narration. By the way, do not forget to comment if you still believe that this all is a big folly, or if you were blessed with the wisdom and the knowledge that only this Videocast could provide you!
Moreover, as always, I would like to thank Eric Fraga himself, for ceding his image and his time to participate here. I hope he liked this "joint contribution".
This article was originally posted on January 11, 2011 in the Passagem Secreta (in Portuguese) blog, and with the permission from the author (Rafael Fernandes) and the founder of the blog (Marcos Valverde), I publish it here translated into English.
Videocast – Galaxy Force Retrospective
This is the third video I make to the blog… Consequently, I can state that we have a Videocast, right? Well, we will see! The idea is to make at least one video per month related to some topic little known in gaming, which would deserve at least a little bit of prominence among the crowd of the Retrogamer Folliesphere. But of course I can not promise anything, all the more so because video editing is very exhaustive, although pleasant. Without further ado, let's get straight to the topic.
Galaxy Force is a game quite remembered among fans of Sega. But I doubt very much that few have actually played the arcade, that is light years ahead of ports released for the Mega Drive and Master System, which are the most popular. In fact, there should be S.S.T. Band fans here who barely have any idea of how this game is (#ThereISaidIt). In the following video, I point out the series, as well as deal with these terrible ports, with some trivia and jokes.
This article was originally posted on December 13, 2010 in the Passagem Secreta (in Portuguese) blog, and with the permission from the author (Rafael Fernandes) and the founder of the blog (Marcos Valverde), I publish it here translated into English.
Special Video – The Most Bizarre Endings of Mortal Kombat 4
With the expectations around the release of Mortal Kombat 9, what about remembering when the series was still switching from 2D to 3D? This video is an edition I made selecting the most horrendous endings present in the conversion of Mortal Kombat 4 from the arcade to the Nintendo 64. Due to memory limitations of the console, the opening and ending in CG had to be replaced with rendered animations in real time, in order to save the extremely limited space of the cartridges. So, things we witness in Mortal Kombat 4 are what we can say of the greatest representatives in graphics of the 32/64-bit era: few polygons, low resolution textures, animations deprived of characteristics, between other visual errors and failures that, although there are plenty, impressed us all somehow. So, press play and (re)discover how things evolved – a lot! – to where we are today!
If possible, be sure to comment if you also liked it, in other words, if I should do more videos like this or if I have to urgently retire! As this is my second adventure in video – the first you could check out on Children's Day – I am still collecting opinions!
This article was originally posted on October 12, 2010 in the Passagem Secreta (in Portuguese) blog, and with the permission from the author (Rafael Fernandes) and the founder of the blog (Marcos Valverde), I publish it here translated into English.
Retro Children's Day: World of Illusion Video Review
In contribution to the Children's Day Meme (in Portuguese) in which several blogs are joining, I bring you something a little different. Since we all have enough stuff to read today, we found interesting the idea of doing a video review, testing a formula that I was trying to implement some time ago on the blog ― and that was never implemented due to the lack of time resulted from the proletarian exploitation which we suffer daily. But let's not deviate from the main subject, so let's get right to the topic.
Again I present you another introduction of a video game. Since earlier this month Iwakura Productions, which was founded last year with the intention of translating games for the English-speaking public, announced that initiated the translation of Shadowrun for the Mega-CD, I decided to show you here the scene from the beginning of this game, which was released only in Japan. Watch it!
The city in a near future/A.D. 2053 TOKYO.
There are people who bravely run through that world of shadows.
They who wear the modern miracle in their bodies are called "shadowrunners".
"The last strongest Mega-CD's RPG‼"
"The last strongest!" original scenario
"The last strongest!" adventure mode
"The last strongest!" mission mode
"The last strongest!" tactical combat
"The last strongest!" Matrix mode
Kinmirai toshi/AD. 2053 nen TOKYO.
Sono kage no sekai o shitataka ni kakenukeru mono ga ita.
Gendai no kiseki o mi ni matotta karera wa "shadōrannā" to yobareta.
"Saikyō saigo no MEGA-CD RPG‼"
"Saikyō saigo!" no orijinaru shinario
"Saikyō saigo!" no adobenchā mōdo
"Saikyō saigo!" no misshon mōdo
"Saikyō saigo!" no takutikaru konbatto
"Saikyō saigo!" no matorikkusu mōdo
The text of the back cover is quite interesting when we relate it to the game's history. They present it as the "The last strongest Mega-CD's RPG‼", and it was not only the last RPG to be released to the Mega-CD, and it has also been one of the last games released to the add-on (the antepenultimate, to be exact), exactly on February 23, 1996. As for being the "strongest RPG", I can not state this with conviction.
I stay here thinking: did Compile, the company that developed the game, already know the fate of the Mega-CD and then used the information in their advertising? I confess that I did not research the subject, but it is very likely.
Well, are you curious? By the description of the box, did you like to play it?
Feel free to express your opinion and until next time!
Despite its popularity, the particularities that I will show you here went unnoticed by most players. In the game modes Senna GP and Free Practice, there are messages from the driver giving details about the circuits and the driving on them, in Japanese and English, and there lies the curiosity.
Many of you know the game I will mention here today: Shadow Dancer. It was first released for arcades and later for consoles and computers. In this text I will highlight some details of the original version of the game that, so far, have not been reported anywhere else.
Promotional flyer for the Japanese version of the arcade game Shadow Dancer (in Japanese: シャドー・ダンサー; romanized: Shadō Dansā)
Click on the image above to enlarge it
Starting with the game's introductory scene, we soon see a detail that catches our attention.
Greetings to all readers!
Today I start a new section, that I will call Video Game Introductions. It will bring videos of the aforementioned introductions, in order to instigate the curiosity of those who do not know the games that I will show here, or make those who have played them recall this moment.
The first video I present here is from a Mega-CD game, released only in Japan. I present to you Earnest Evans Series - Annet Futatabi!
Run! Ruin the ambition of "Nexesis", which acts secretly in Europe‼
Dance! Throws, defenses, continuous attacks, melee fights with various attacks and defenses‼
Color! Boasts the best of the series with super beautiful colors in full visal animation‼
Hashiru! Yōroppa ni an'yaku suru "Neguzeshisu" no yabō o kudake‼
Odoru! Nage, bōgyo, renzoku kōgeki, kōbō tasai na kakutō akushon‼
Irodoru! Shirīzu saikō o hokoru chōbisai furu anime bijiaru‼
A tiny curiosity: there is a typo in the words of the back cover described above, more specifically the word ビジアル (Romanized: bijiaru), that correctly would be ビジュアル (Romanized: bijuaru), meaning "visual".
Well, with only these information, could you imagine how is the game? For those who already know it, what memories this introduction brings?
Feel free to express your opinion and until next time!
