The awfulness of the Japanese-only NES title Takeshis Challenge is legendary.
Some have pointed a trembling finger at 1999sSupermanfor the Nintendo 64, which appeared to be unfinished.
Others will tell you its the Atari 2600E.T.
But is it really as bad as its detractors claim?
Who made it, and why?
Join us, as we journey into the past to find out.
In 1986, Kitano turned his hand to game design, with infamous results.
Legend has it that Taitos designers met with Kitano in a bar to discuss his ideas for the game.
The result of that tipsy creative session was a truly strange mix of adventure game and side-scrolling platformer.
Wont you sing karaoke?
The path to that island is meandering and rather strange.
These strange activities are joined by some downright odd game design, which occasionally borders on the sadistic.
If the game decides your singing was lousy, youre forced to start again.
Complete this task, and an old man will hand the player a blank piece of paper.
Touching a button before the hour is up throws the player back into the karaoke competition mentioned above.
This Dadaist attitude remains right up to the games closing screen, which well come back to shortly.
Its no surprise, then, that Oota Publications put out a game guide a few weeks later.
Here, too, there was a problem.
CouldTakeshis Challenge,like an Egyptian pharaohs tomb, carry some sort of curse?
An enduring legend
Cursed or not, the legend ofTakeshis Challengehas endured.
Although never released elsewhere in the world, its fame quickly spread across the globe.
It coincidentally resembles another oddity from the 80s,Frankie Goes To Hollywoodfor 8-bit computers in the UK.
LikeTakeshis Challenge,Frankieinvolved wandering from place to place in a surreal side-scrolling adventure.
Takeshis Challenge, however, is much, much worse.
Or the frustration of having to wait for an entire hour for a treasure map to appear.
All other pretenders to the kuso-ge crown are as nothing.
You have been warned.
