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japan
PC Engine Promo Video
Sep 11th
When I was young, which is several decades ago, I felt the urgent need to import a games console. I had to import it because Nintendo, SEGA and other hardware manufacturers just didn’t see a market in the backwards country I was living in (and still am, my life is going nowhere). Of course, only weeks after I bought my first console they officially sold consoles everywhere. For half what I paid.
However, I went for a SEGA Megadrive (the Genesis in the US, for all the spambots visiting and feeling the need to break out of their master’s code and wanting to leave a relevant comment). So I got my imported and overpriced Megadrive and hooked it up to the TV only to find out that the TV signal wasn’t compatible and that I could only play the games in black and white. That was worth my saved money for sure. All this 16bit glory and I felt like I was living in the 50s.
As a result I started hating SEGA. It was all their bloody fault. Surely not mine. I only got the Megadrive because I couldn’t afford the console that I really wanted, the PC Engine (NEC Turbo Grafx 16 in the US). In my opinion, it was the better console with cooler games (R-Type, Splatterhouse, Alien Crush).
Little did I know that it really was an 8bit console with a 16bit architecture graphics chip. Meh, semantics. By watching the video below you probably wouldn’t say that either. Like you know. Or care.
[via tiny cartridge]
Engine Sentai Go-Onger: Possibly the best TV show in the world. Ever.
Feb 6th
This TV show comes from Japan.
Japan, mysterious and magical land of Nintendo, Godzilla, Mazinger, School Rumble, and fish-flavoured ice-cream – amongst other things that have improved all our lives beyond measure.
The show is called Engine Sentai Go-Onger which roughly translates to Engine Squadron Go-Onger. At least that’s what Wikipedia has to say about the show.
The motif of this series is animals, the motor industry, and (what else?) environmentalism. That’s good enough for me to rank it somewhere between Sesame Street and Carl Sagan. And instead of muppets, there’s talking, fighting robots. Footage of this show is going to be used for the new Power Rangers RPM series in the US. And it kinda looks a little like Power Rangers, which may be a little deceiving at first.
The awesome clip shows how a giant robot ist formed out of a dozen or so other talking vehicles. Sort of like Devastator from the Transformers TV show (and isn’t Devastator going to be in Revenge of the Fallen?), but much, much cooler. More awesomer.
This giant robot can take on any other robot there ever was: any Transformer, Mazinger, Mazinger Z, Mazinkaiser, that big one with the drill, Goldorak, any EVA, all of the GoBots, Robby … any other robot is doomed to fail. Fail and die. Or at least go home crying, like a little bitch.
The Death Star might have a chance. A small one.
This is not Thomas the Tank Engine:
via Botropolis
Wikipedia Entry on Engine Sentai Go-onger
