GameCenter CX

In what is a first for the show Arino's challenge of Donkey Kong Country 2 was stretched into a third day. With only the last world standing between Arino and victory he'll be praying that this challenge won't throw up any more surprises than it already has. For this week's TamaGe Arino is tipped off about a miraculous toy store. First up Arino plays a class beat-em-up before speaking to the owner in order to discover the true nature of the miracle of which the postcard spoke. Arino will have to deal with a special guest who's quick on the draw if he hopes to guess the game in Famicom Sniper. This Project: Game Version 3 segment brings us what will undoubtedly be the first of many production meetings to discuss ideas for the third Retro Game Challenge title.

After starting his Donkey Kong Country 2 challenge brimming with confidence Arino was quickly brought back to earth in the way only Rare games know how to do. With some 'words of encouragement' given by AD Matsui this is a quest Arino feels he must complete. A short GCCX News segment brings us to a press conference where a number of exciting announcements were made regarding the celebration of the 10th anniversary of the show. The size of Arino's ice cream is directly proportional to the size of the announcement so you know today's ice cream break is going to bring big news. Two suspicious fellows exchange a white package in the middle of a busy intersection but it's not the plot of a crime thriller, it's Famicom Sniper.

Season 17 is a special season, the 10th anniversary season! In the first episode of this special season, Arino plays his first Disney game, the Capcom-made Magical Quest for the SNES.

In celebration of the 150th episode of the show, Arino tries out his 4th PS1 challenge, Parappa the Rapper. It is the first music game to be challenged in the show. However in order to master a game about rap, he must become a rapper.

Arino once again heads for the sky in this live episode, seeking to clear the expert mode of Pilotwings.

Arino goes for the gold trophy in the first of Captain Tsubasa's Famicom adventures.

Kattobi! Takuhai-kun is a strange game on the PC Engine where the player takes the role as a delivery boy. Arino sits on his trusty moped and hopes to get the package delivered in time, but many obstacles are in his way.

Arino continues his struggle with the detachable hero, Dynamite Headdy.

Dynamite Heady is the strange hero of one of Mega Drive's finest, and hardest, platformers.

Arino goes HIYA! in the first installment of the Super Chinese series on the Famicom.

Arino takes on the unique Western Side scroller Battletoads. Known in the west for both it's unique gameplay, and it's difficulty, Arino finds himself doing something he hasn't done in a while on the show...

Mito Koumon is a Famicom game sort of based on the long-running historical TV drama of the same name, featuring the old adventurer Mito Koumon and his band of followers. It’s an action adventure a little bit like the Ganbare Goemon games, but with more "adventure" — in other words, figuring out what to do half the time. Arino has to get through seven stage, which sounds promising, but it is a Sunsoft game, after all.

It’s time to challenge Saint Seiya: Ougon Densetsu, the first Famicom game based on the popular manga/anime Saint Seiya. It’s a regular action game with some RPG elements and loosely follows some plot-lines from the manga.

Arino’s challenge this time is Hiryu no Ken for Famicom, a simple action game from the company that would become Culture Brain. You play as a young man named Ryuhi, martial arts master trying to recapture the secret scrolls of the Hiryu-no-Ken. The game alternates between platformer stages and one-on-one tournament battles, and Arino must finish the world tournament at the end of the game to win.

Arino takes on a Mega Drive game, and it’s another well-regarded title: Strider, Sega’s port of the Capcom arcade game. It’s a relatively short game — just five stages — and not as brutal as, say, Ghouls ‘N’ Ghosts, but it still has its moments.

Hello! Pac-Man," known outside Japan as "Pac-Man 2: The New Adventures." is a cartoony action-adventure where you guide Pac-Man through a series of missions. You can only direct him using a slingshot to fire pellets at things he should pay attention to, or a secondary "look" command. There are only four episodes ("rounds") in the game, but this likely won’t be a jolly stroll for Arino.

Battle Formula is hard, rare and expensive, making Arino even more nervous making sure he beats this hefty investment.

Daisuke Nagashima, the shows former producer, reappears before Arino. Like the Arinos, he had a baby girl and so he looks to the Kacho for advice on how to raise a child. In Arino's 3rd PS1 challenge he takes on Quiz My Angel which is both a quiz game, and a simulation game in which you raise a daughter to adulthood.

With a zit on his nose and a new hair style, Arino faces Metal Storm on the Famicom, a gravity defying action shooter.

Kirby Bowl (Kirby’s Dream Course) isn’t a regular Kirby game — it’s a crazy hybrid of mini-golf and elements of pool, with Kirby being the ball, and needing to get through the tricky courses by destroying all the enemies and dropping into the hole at the end.

Arino takes on Sega's unique comic book styled beat-em up.

Jaleco’s Bio Warrior DAN was an action game that’s filled with weird imagery, and is also a bit confusing at times.

For the first time, Arino challenges a mini-game compilation title, Tant-R on the Mega Drive.

Arino's F-Zero challenge has been lowered from Expert to Standard difficulty, but even so it proves to be quite a hurdle.

In his early 20's Arino played F-Zero on SNES more times than he can remember, because of this Arino must clear all of the original F-Zero's courses on Expert difficulty.

The game that opens this new season is Sunsoft’s Gimmick! This platformer came at the peak of the Famicom’s life, and is a fantastic production both visually and musically. And though it may look cute and possess only six stages, it’s designed for platforming pros; a nice send-off for a system that more or less made the genre.

Arino takes on this surreal side scroller, and makes amazing progess.

Arino challenged the original Star Force way back in season 1, and Super Star Force would make the second ever shooting game featured in full on the show.

Arino takes on one of the greatest games ever made, and luck may be on his side.

Jerry is turned into a slime by an evil magician who also goes ahead and steals the princess. For Arino, this means he must complete all eight worlds in this cute platformer before midnight.

Today’s challenge, Paris-Dakar Rally Special, is considered a bad one. It’s low-quality all-around, from a Famicom-era publisher (CBS Sony) that was never known for quality in the first place. It’s a racing game, of course — taking place in the real-life Paris-Dakar Rally — but calling it a racing game is not entirely accurate. You’ll see.

Arino challenges Super Puyo Puyo on the hardest difficulty, but it may prove to be to difficult even for the self proclaimed puzzle kacho.

Arino’s tasked with conquering Golgo 13 for Famicom, better known to English-speaking countries as Golgo 13: Top Secret Episode for NES. And coincidentally enough, it has 13 arduous stages for the kacho to try to get through as he assumes the role of the manga super spy for the first episode of the 13th season.