Support NeoGAF

[mattiewheels]

Q: What is Game Center CX?
A: Imagine a television show that directly accesses the gaming nostalgia center of your brain and won't stop poking it, hosted by a genuinely awesome bloke who happens to wear the same turquoise work-suit for a decade straight. He challenges himself to beat a different retro game each episode, he visits weird arcades and game shops, he seems dangerously underqualified for the job, and he shouts "ABUNAI!" every chance he can get.

Q: Since this show is Japanese, how can I watch translated episodes?
A: The Something Awful forums, led by the amazing Zari-gani, have been the driving force for translating Game Center CX for an English-speaking audience. Famed American webpage "KOTAK" made a deal a few years ago to air 12 fan-favorites, complete with English narration. Those episodes were subsequently released for sale in the US along with two additional episodes, with an improved translation by the SA team and optional English/Japanese narration. To purchase, check the link below. As far as the hundreds of other episodes not for sale outside of Japan, Something Awful has an episode guide with links, which I assume will stay put until any further episodes get released for sale.

Q: Too many episodes! Where am I supposed to start?
A: Here's a good breakdown of which episodes you should check out first if you're just starting to watch. But since there's rarely carryover from one episode to the next, starting wherever you want and going from there is a perfectly good way to watch, too.

Youtube channels of the collection pop up all the time, but because of a media deal pending, they are quickly deleted by the owning media company. To get a quick fix, the best place to look is Dailymotion. This thread will serve as a place for updates and translation news, or general fanwank.

L i n k s :

SA-GCCX's official translation release site

Comprehensive guide on subbed episodes, dated and annotated

Wikipedia's Episode Guide (Current)

Honorary Kacho Ray Barnholt Debunks Some Myths About the US Retro Game Master DVD Release

[URL="http://www.crunkgames.com/?p=87"]Ray's Fantastic Writeups of All Episodes Up To 2012

Former-Rebel Abe's Cooking Blog

Buy or sample "Kachou On!: The Unauthorized Guide to Game Center CX" on Amazon

Import the Game Center CX DVDs from CD Japan and Rakuten Global Market

Buy the 10th Anniversary Soundtrack from CDJapan and Amazon.co.jp

[/url]

BUY the US release of Retro Game Master at Amazon! The sales of this collection send the message that we want more episodes for sale in America, so buy it new!

And remember:

 

[Grimpadlock]

Love every aspect of this show. I hope it never ends.

 

[Kipe]

There's a lot of episodes; where's a good place to start?

The show doesn't have a whole lot of continuity so you can just pick an episode featuring a game you're interested in and go for it.

I would recommend watching an episode translated by the SA Team first. One of the focuses of our translation is accessibility; we want you to be able to enjoy the show even if you don't know a thing about Japanese television, gaming, or culture. Starting with an SA Team episode can mean a more welcoming experience.

The DVD set from Discotek media has a translation by our own zari-gani and that's the best way to see those licensed episodes.

With that in mind there's several options depending on what you want to see in a show:

I want to watch a comedian struggle to play games I love:
Super Mario World (17, 18), Street Fighter 2 (37), Sonic the Hedgehog (64)

I want to see strange Japanese games that we never got in the US:
Umihara Kawase (31), Bio Miracle Bokutte Upa (44), and Go by Train! (94)

I enjoy watching the depths of human suffering:
Attack! Takeshi's Castle (12), Adventure Island (23), Castlevania 3 (38)

I want something epic:
Mighty Bomb Jack (39, 40, 41), Quest of Ki (54, 55, 60), Lemmings (73, 89, Live Compilation)

How bad can games get:
Doraemon (26), Dragon Buster (90), Paris-Dakar Rally Special (107)

I love seeing Arino interact with the staff:
Quiz: The Feudal Lord's Ambition (25), Ninja Gaiden (29), Bomberman (DVD4)

The trips to arcades are the best part:
Game Center CX in Korea (50), Cannes Trip (65), Robocop (Game Center CX in the USA)

Can you solve the mystery?
Clocktower (53), Hokkaido Serial Murders (105), Night of the Sickle Weasel (113)

Reposting so people can see it whenever the SA thread gets locked out.

 

[ActStriker]

I need to start watching this.

 

[LiK]

someone finally made an OT for this.

 

[AgentOtaku]

Bless this thread <3

 

[Gunstarheroes]

Subscribed and supported. Gaf has needed an official Game Center CX topic for far too long.

To add to such, i bought River King off of the eShop this weekend after seeing the episode, and its far more enjoyable then i could have ever expected.

 

[BOTEC]

I support this thread. GCCX is a great show. I especially love the arcade visit segments. Despite the fact they cut those out for the overseas version, we need a new US box set.

 

[LayLa]

for the ultimate hardcore GCCX experience watch all 24 hours of the Lemmings live challenge

Spoiler

if you have done this i admire your insanity!

 

[Gunstarheroes]

for the ultimate hardcore GCCX experience watch all 24 hours of the Lemmings live challenge

Spoiler

if you have done this i admire your insanity!

I did it for Quest of Ki. I wanted to experience the hell.

 

[friskykillface]

i recently saw the mega man 3 episode and lmao at the entire thing, amazing and damn that dr wily

 

[jett]

GCCX is fantastic. Ever since I discovered it thanks to Kotaku's streaming deal, it has become my favorite TV show of all-time.

 

[Cess007]

I started watching the show recently (couple of weeks) and i've been totally hooked. I'm at Season 8, and now i'm happy to know there's still more Kachou in the future

Also. That Kacho face xD

 

[androvsky]

I did it for Quest of Ki. I wanted to experience the hell.

Did Tsuruoka really (actual Quest of Ki live episode spoiler)

Spoiler

direct Arino to pick up the warp on the last level?

 

[mattiewheels]

EX- Genki TV Interview

There's a new translation by zari-gani, it's a lengthy talkshow interview with Arino from around the time of his U.S.A. show, where they prod him about his fame and his inexplicable (?) status in America.

 

[LegatoB]

Is it really appropriate to be linking to torrents for the episodes here?

 

[Daigoro]

odd, i was just browsing the old thread and then clicked on Gaming when i was done and this was at the top. serendipity.

great show or GREATEST show?

can't say enough good things about this awesome program, and i hate watching other people play games. cant sit through a let's play for 5 seconds before i want to shoot myself.

Is it really appropriate to be linking to torrents for the episodes here?

is it really appropriate to back seat mod?

 

[Gunstarheroes]

Did Tsuruoka really (actual Quest of Ki live episode spoiler)

Spoiler

direct Arino to pick up the warp on the last level?

Spoiler

Not directly if i remember correctly, but he subtly hinted enough to get him to do it

 

[androvsky]

EX- Genki TV Interview

Btw guys, what do you think the protocol is on directly linking to torrents from the SA thread, have they said that's okay before?

I'd recommend sending a PM to a mod or two for the answers. Even if it is okay, I don't expect a public-facing post from someone with a name in red saying it's okay to link to torrents of copyrighted material. I don't think anime-gaf links to torrents of fansubs, so I'd be surprised if it's cool here. Try asking duckroll, he'd know about fansub protocol.

 

[John Rabbit]

i love this man.


i'm a little behind on the SA subs, i need to catch up; i always end up watching them in giant blocks because i can't stop at one episode.

 

[BOTEC]

for the ultimate hardcore GCCX experience watch all 24 hours of the Lemmings live challenge

Spoiler

if you have done this i admire your insanity!

I watched the entire Pilotwings 40th birthday special.

Spoiler

Even though the challenge was a failure,

the whole show was entertaining thanks to everyone's goofball antics.

 

[Gentleman Jack]

Those episodes were subsequently released for sale in the US along with two additional episodes, with an improved translation by the SA team and optional English/Japanese narration.

This I did not know about. It almost explains the brutal price on the box set.

 

[Gunstarheroes]

This I did not know about. It almost explains the brutal price on the box set.

I thought the price wasn't too bad, given the quality and amount of content.

 

[androvsky]

This I did not know about. It almost explains the brutal price on the box set.

The two additional episode are actually more like five additional episodes, since Ninja Gaiden 2 and Shiren the Wanderer are both two-parters, while Mighty Bomb Jack gets the (incredibly awesome) live challenge tacked on the end.

And everything except the dubbed narration gets the best quality translation these episodes will ever have.

 

[maquiladora]

Thank you for this, op. I knew of this guy and the show but didn't really know much about it. Info in the OT has been really helpful and I'm going to start on Ep 1 tonight.

 

[mktrOOp]

So far I watched the first three seasons and I'm SO glad that I only scratched the surface of this show.

Oh, and this scene was pretty hilarious:

 

[Tik-Tok]

Making these episodes work in XBMC is a huge pain in the ass

 

[Marcel]

 

[androvsky]

Making these episodes work in XBMC is a huge pain in the ass

What kind of problems are you having? Scraper or playback?

 

[mattiewheels]

The only problem I have with the DVD is the cheap packaging, for $50 I was expecting a nice little box like a lot of tv shows get. But it's a wonderful set otherwise, and anyone regretting the lack of arcade footage should realize that not even the Japanese DVDs have those on them.

 

[Larsa]

Best show of all time. Love it.

 

[jbug617]

Right Stuf had the box set on sale 2 weeks ago for $35. Good thing I picked it up then.

 

[Chrom]

Love this show. Looking forward to the new season.

 

[Gunstarheroes]

So, i think we should start talking personal favorites.

My top 5 in no particular order:
Ninja Gaiden
Tokimeki Memorial
Paris-Dakar Rally
Quiz: The Feudal Lords Ambition
Quest Of Ki Saga

Edit: Yoshi, i'm super pumped to see the Season 17 opener, as we know it will be a

Spoiler

Disney Game

.

 

[Tik-Tok]

What kind of problems are you having? Scraper or playback?

Scraping... the source I got the episodes one doesn't seem to have them labeled properly to scrape the right way.

 

[mattiewheels]

The Tokimeki Memorial episode was his chance to finally show off all his lady-skills.

 

[androvsky]

Scraping... the source I got the episodes one doesn't seem to have them labeled properly to scrape the right way.

Yeah, most (all?) sources just count up from one and ignore the seasons, which obviously doesn't work with XBMC. I just do a few at at time, you'll get there eventually. Bulk Renamer helps, but not by much since the seasons are so short, and you need every episode in the season to use it effectively.

I just wish I could get it to call the series Game Center CX (in English, not hirigana/kanji) instead of Retro Game Master.

 

[Jackano]

Really cool, an OT for GCCX!
I will recommand Balloon Fight special episode, for obvious reason

Spoiler

Iwata showing up

.

Japanese TV was kinda new to me when I started to watch GCCX online. So strange sometimes, so fun! I like how the staff said "woww" when Arino get something right. If anyone here havn't seen it, try it asap!
I will also recommand Mystery of Atlantis, one of the very first episodes, but very representative of the show.

 

[Like the hat?]

Really wish they would strike a deal with Netflix or something

 

[Bob Coffee]

looking foward to more game center cx. Hopefully someday the kacho will step foot on us shores once more.

 

[Samurai_Heart]

His videos are surprisingly very entertaining, I liked watching the Bomberman on NES when he tried to get the random icons appearing XD, also liked the Iwata ask version.

 

[Cess007]

Really wish they would strike a deal with Netflix or something

God no. I would never, ever be able to sleep again xD

 

[jooey]

The only problem I have with the DVD is the cheap packaging, for $50 I was expecting a nice little box like a lot of tv shows get. But it's a wonderful set otherwise, and anyone regretting the lack of arcade footage should realize that not even the Japanese DVDs have those on them.

maybe do one better than SA and link to this in the OP

 

[mattiewheels]

maybe do one better than SA and link to this in the OP

Great idea, thanks.

 

[mattiewheels]

By the way, is there actually a 24-hour-long video out there for his live show? That sounds almost unwatchable/undoable.

 

[jooey]

By the way, is there actually a 24-hour-long video out there for his live show? That sounds almost unwatchable/undoable.

It's in parts, but yes, there was a rip. There's also an official DVD but they truncated it to about 8 hours.

 

[mattiewheels]

Wow, I guess that was the Lemmings show right? How long did the Pilotwings live show last?

 

[jooey]

yeah, lemmings. pilotwings was 12, then later a stage show finale when they went on tour to tohoku.

 

[cj_iwakura]

The part in Umihara Kawase with

Spoiler

the original artist sending him a 'ganbatte!' picture

was amazing.

 

[BOTEC]

yeah, lemmings. pilotwings was 12, then later a stage show finale when they went on tour to tohoku.

Oh, cool. I haven't see that yet? Did he finish?