Retro Game Challenge

Retro Game Challenge[lower-alpha 1] is a Nintendo DS game developed by indieszero and published by Namco Bandai Games and Xseed Games in North America. It is based on the television series GameCenter CX, and Shinya Arino gave much input into the game creation process. The game was released on November 15, 2007 in Japan and February 10, 2009 in North America.

Retro Game Challenge
Developer(s)indieszero[1]
Publisher(s)
Director(s)Masanobu Suzui
Producer(s)Shinya Arino
Masanobu Suzui
Designer(s)Katsunori Yazawa
Ryoji Arisaka
Tadayuki Hikida
Composer(s)Koji Yamada
Naoto Ouba
Platform(s)Nintendo DS
Release
  • JP: November 15, 2007
  • NA: February 10, 2009
Genre(s)Minigame
Mode(s)Single-player

A sequel, Retro Game Challenge 2, was released in Japan on February 26, 2009 and was never officially localized into English by Xseed, but received a fan translation.[3] A third game, GameCenter CX 3, also saw a Japan-only release on March 20, 2014. A remaster of the first two games, named Game Center CX: Arino no Chousenjou 1+2 REPLAY, was announced for Nintendo Switch. At the time of the announcement, no news of English localization was announced.[4]

Gameplay

In the game, the player controls a boy or girl who plays retro games in order to appease the Demon Arino (based on the TV show's host Shinya Arino). The Demon Arino gives four challenges to complete for each game.

Each game is original but with graphics, sound, and game-play elements which make it look old or retro. Many of them are similar in both gameplay and appearance to real Famicom games. They come with fully illustrated manuals.

Occasionally there will be a fake gaming magazine, Game Fan Magazine, that has articles about the games, rankings (with other fictional games named), and "game advice" from GameCenter CX ADs who have appeared over the seasons of the TV show. In the case of the North American version, the pseudonyms of journalists better known in English-speaking countries were used.

Some parts of the various games are inspired by actual challenges that Arino has faced in his TV episodes. For example, the bonus character in the second half of stage 1 of "Star Prince" is taken from his attempt to get bonus points from playing Star Force in season 1. The various "special" continue tricks (like in Haggle Man) come from the several instances in which Arino must use these features to complete tasks on the show. Even the ending to the game pulls a trick from Takeshi no Chōsenjō from season 1.

Reception

The game received a score of 33/40 from Famitsu.

As of June 2009, Retro Game Challenge had sold fewer than 100,000 copies in North America. This was viewed as disappointing for its North American publisher, Xseed Games, discouraging them from also localizing the sequel.[5] Director of Publishing Ken Berry said that sales were initially strong but died down.[6]

Sequels

GameCenter CX: Arino no Chōsenjō 2 is the sequel to Retro Game Challenge and was released on February 26, 2009, in Japan. Like the original, it largely consists of NES-styled games reminiscent of actual games released in the late 1980s through mid-1990s. This game also features games styled after Super NES, Game Boy, Game Boy Color, and Famicom Disk System games, as well as variants on games included in Retro Game Challenge and a "game trainer" modeled after a Game & Watch. All together, this title has 15 games in one. The game received an English fan translation in 2014. A third game in the series, GameCenter CX 3, was released exclusively in Japan for the Nintendo 3DS on March 20, 2014, with the series switching developers to G.rev.

Reception

The magazine Game Informer put it on their list of the best games of 2009.

Notes
  1. Known in Japan as GameCenter CX: Arino no Chōsenjō (Japanese: ゲームセンターCX 有野の挑戦状, Hepburn: Gēmu Sentā Shī Ekkusu Arino no Chōsenjō, lit. Game Center CX: Arino's Challenge)

References
  1. "indies zero discography". Archived from the original on 2019-11-08.
  2. "Marvelous Entertainment USA and XSEED Games". Archived from the original on 2011-06-10. Retrieved 2008-07-11.
  3. Cowan, D. (2014-06-04). "Retro Game Challenge 2 fan translation released". Engadget. Archived from the original on 2022-05-05. Retrieved 2022-04-04.
  4. https://replaygccx12.bn-ent.net/
  5. "The State of XSeed Interview". Siliconera. 2009-06-24. Archived from the original on 2009-07-31. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
  6. "Retro Game Challenge 2 localization unlikely". Joystiq. 2009-05-04. Archived from the original on January 27, 2013. Retrieved 2009-07-27.
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