Famicom National Referendum - Japanese fan poll results (ongoing for the system's 40th Anniversary!)

[scaryice | 587]

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Famicom in July, Nintendo has been holding a "Famicom National Referendum" (ファミコン国民投票). It's basically a survey of the Japanese fans, with a new question every week. I thought it would be fun to share the results here in English, to see how their experiences differed from ours.

 

• Results
• Famicom40th Twitter

 

Question #1 (7/15-7/19) - What was the first game you bought (or had someone buy for you)?

1	Super Mario Bros.	14.4
2	Mario Bros.	9.2
3	Super Mario Bros. 3	3.5
4	Donkey Kong	3.0
5	Baseball	3.0
6	Xevious	2.1
7	Dragon Quest III	2.0
7	Kirby's Adventure	2.0
9	Excitebike	1.9
10	Donkey Kong Jr.	1.8
11	Lode Runner	1.6
12	Popeye	1.5
13	Kung Fu	1.5
14	F1 Race	1.5
15	Ice Climber	1.4
16	Clu Clu Land	1.2
17	Dragon Quest	1.2
18	Devil World	1.0
19	Mappy	0.9
20	Pinball	0.9

 

Question #2 (7/20-7/26) - When it comes to high scores, what game comes to mind?

1	Star Soldier	30.2
2	Zombie Hunter	18.7
3	Xevious	8.5
4	Star Force	7.8
5	Gradius	3.4
6	Super Mario Bros.	2.1
7	Tetris	1.9
8	Pinball	1.8
9	Twinbee	1.7
10	Mario Bros.	1.4
11	Balloon Fight	1.3
12	Dr. Mario	1.0
13	Starship Hector	0.8
14	Galaga	0.7
15	Bomberman	0.5
16	Super Mario Bros. 3	0.5
16	Yoshi	0.5
18	Pac-Man	0.5
19	Ice Climber	0.5
20	Donkey Kong	0.5

 

Question #3 (7/27-8/2) - When it comes to red carts, what game comes to mind?

1	Mother	16.0
2	Bases Loaded	15.1
3	Excite Bike	14.3
4	MUSCLE	13.9
5	Donkey Kong	13.1
6	Mega Man 2	6.3
7	Ninja-kun: Majou no Bouken	3.8
8	Robowarrior	2.0
9	Captain Tsubasa	1.5
10	Adventures of Dino-Riki	1.5
11	Captain Tsubasa II	1.4
12	Ninja Jajamaru-kun	1.1
13	Donkey Kong 3	0.9
14	Son Son	0.8
15	Donald Land	0.6
16	Lot Lot	0.6
17	Renegade	0.5
18	Super Mario Bros.	0.4
19	Puss in Boots (JP)	0.4
20	Zoids	0.3

 

Question #4 (8/3-8/9) - When it comes to competing against someone, what game comes to mind?

1	Mario Bros.	19.2
2	Downtown Nekketsu Koushinkyoku	13.9
3	RBI Baseball	9.9
4	Joy Mech Fight	5.2
5	Urban Champion	5.1
6	Ice Climber	4.7
7	Balloon Fight	4.6
8	Spy vs Spy	4.1
9	MUSCLE	3.6
10	Super Dodge Ball	2.8
11	Dr. Mario	2.3
12	Baseball	1.2
13	Musashi no Ken	1.2
14	Yie Ar Kung Fu	0.9
15	Gachapon Senshi 2	0.9
16	Keru Naguuru	0.8
17	Tennis	0.8
18	Super Mario Bros. 3	0.7
19	Bomberman	0.6
20	Yoshi's Cookie	0.6

 

Question #5 (8/10-8/16) - When it comes to using the mic, what game comes to mind?

1	Takeshi no Chousenjou	33.8
2	Raid on Bungeling Bay	24.7
3	Doraemon	18.5
4	Legend of Zelda	7.7
5	Kamen Rider Club	3.4
6	Star Luster	1.6
7	Kirby's Adventure	1.1
8	Star Soldier	0.9
8	Kid Icarus	0.9
10	Bakushou Jinsei Gekijou	0.8
11	Super Dodge Ball	0.5
12	Bakushou Jinsei Gekijou 2	0.5
13	Doraemon: Gigazombie no Gyakushuu	0.4
14	Karaoke Studio	0.3
15	Tag Team Pro Wrestling	0.3
16	Ganbare Goemon 2	0.3
17	Mike Tyson's Punch Out	0.2
18	Knight Gundam Monogatari	0.2
19	Atlantis no Nazo	0.2
19	Gradius	0.2

 

Question #6 (8/17-8/23) - When it comes to sports games, what comes to mind?

1	RBI Baseball	22.5
2	Hyper Olympic	16.1
3	Tennis	6.4
4	Baseball	5.7
5	Super Dodge Ball	5.4
6	Bases Loaded	4.1
7	Golf	3.6
8	Downtown Nekketsu Koushinkyoku	2.6
9	Volleyball	2.1
10	Soccer	1.6
11	Captain Tsubasa	1.5
12	Athletic World	1.3
13	Jumbo Ozaki no Hole in One Professional	1.3
14	Captain Tsubasa II	1.3
15	Excitebike	1.2
16	Famista 89	1.2
17	Ice Hockey	1.2
18	Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium 87	1.1
19	NES Open Tournament Golf	1.0
20	Family Tennis	1.0

 

Question #7 (8/24-8/30) - When it comes to white carts, what game comes to mind?

1	Doraemon	21.5
2	Final Fantasy III	7.0
3	Balloon Fight	6.7
4	Final Fantasy	5.7
5	Dr. Mario	5.6
6	Ikki	5.6
7	Adventure Island	5.2
8	Donkey Kong Jr.	5.0
9	Championship Lode Runner	3.0
10	Atlantis no Nazo	2.7
11	Hydlide	2.4
12	Momotarou Densetsu	2.1
13	Spelunker	2.0
14	Final Fantasy II	1.8
15	Pooyan	1.2
16	Zenou Senkan Galg	1.2
17	Thexder	1.0
18	Ninja Gaiden	0.9
19	Fantasy Zone	0.9
20	Mickey Mousecapades	0.9

 

Question #8 (8/31-9/6) - When it comes to mystery (nazo in Japanese), what game comes to mind?

1	Atlantis no Nazo	32.2
2	Transformers: Convoy no Nazo	19.4
3	Nazo no Murasame-jou	14.8
4	Super Xevious: Gump no Nazo	5.1
5	Dragon Power	4.2
6	Nazo no Kabe: Block Kuzushi	4.1
7	Mega Man 2	3.6
8	Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken	2.3
9	Nazoler Land	1.9
10	Pocket Zaurus	1.8
11	Legend of Zelda	1.6
12	Sanma no Meitantei	1.2
13	Famicom Detective Club (part 1)	0.7
14	Takeshi no Chousenjou	0.6
15	Famicom Detective Club (part 2)	0.4
16	Okhotsuku ni Kiyu	0.4
17	Mississippi Satsujin Jiken	0.4
18	Nazoler Land: Dai 3 Gou	0.3
19	Tower of Druaga	0.3
20	Nazoler Land Special	0.2

 

Question #9 (9/7-9/13) - When it comes to good BGM, what game comes to mind?

1	Dragon Quest III	9.2
2	Castlevania III	7.4
3	Mother	5.7
4	Final Fantasy III	4.5
5	Dragon Quest IV	3.4
6	Kirby's Adventure	3.2
7	Dragon Quest II	2.8
8	Legend of Zelda	2.5
9	Megami Tensei II	2.4
10	Mega Man 2	2.4
11	Lagrange Point	2.3
12	Castlevania	2.0
13	Mouryou Senki Madara	1.7
14	Milon's Secret Castle	1.5
15	Dragon Quest	1.5
16	Okhotsuku ni Kiyu	1.4
17	Super Mario Bros.	1.3
18	Shin Onigashima	1.3
19	Mega Man 3	1.2
20	Goonies	1.2

 

Question #10 (9/14-9/20) - When it comes to adventure games, what comes to mind?

1	Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken	22.7
2	Okhotsuku ni Kiyu	10.1
3	Sanma no Meitantei	9.7
4	Shin Onigashima	7.1
5	Famicom Detective Club (part 1)	6.6
6	Famicom Detective Club (part 2)	5.5
7	Princess Tomato	3.9
8	Metal Slader Glory	2.7
9	Challenger	2.1
10	Legend of Zelda	1.8
11	Shadowgate	1.6
12	Mississippi Satsujin Jiken	1.3
13	Idol Hakkenden	1.1
14	Suishou no Dragon	1.0
15	Yuuyuuki	1.0
16	Dead Zone	1.0
17	Tantei Jinguuji Saburou (FDS)	1.0
18	Ripple Island	0.9
19	Erika to Satoru no Yume Bouken	0.8
20	Jesus	0.7

 

Question #11 (9/21-9/27) - When it comes to "not being able to beat it", what game comes to mind?

1	Takeshi no Chousenjou	9.4
2	Ghosts 'n Goblins	6.8
3	Adventure Island	4.9
4	Transformers: Convoy no Nazo	4.8
5	Super Mario Bros. 2 (JP)	4.1
6	Mighty Bomb Jack	2.9
7	Spelunker	2.6
8	Chubby Cherub	2.3
9	Kamen Rider Club	2.3
10	Dragon Quest II	2.2
11	Dragon Power	2.1
12	Atlantis no Nazo	1.9
13	Championship Lode Runner	1.7
14	Ninja Gaiden	1.4
15	Challenger	1.3
15	Mississippi Satsujin Jiken	1.3
17	Tower of Druaga	1.2
18	Hoshi o Miro Hito	1.2
19	Elnark no Zaihou	1.2
20	Raid on Bungeling Bay	1.1

 

...

 

Edited December 14, 2023 by scaryice

[DefaultGen | 5,405]

Damn 9 games scored higher than Rockman 2 for best music. We are so basic compared to the Japanese. And Milon's Secret Castle is charting. How many Americans are going to vote Milon's Secret Castle for best in any category.

I would never have guess 10x as many people say Zombie Hunter is a more memorable high score game than Tetris. These polls are great. So different than US tastes.

[DefaultGen | 5,405]

The earlier games are just more represented in general. It's funny to see Japan's "NES hard" games include Spelunker, Mighty Bomb Jack, and Chubby Cherub when every American list is probably going to have Contra for some reason.

[tigerwolf | 79]

1 hour ago, DefaultGen said:

Damn 9 games scored higher than Rockman 2 for best music. We are so basic compared to the Japanese. And Milon's Secret Castle is charting. How many Americans are going to vote Milon's Secret Castle for best in any category.

I would never have guess 10x as many people say Zombie Hunter is a more memorable high score game than Tetris. These polls are great. So different than US tastes.

I'd much rather listen to DQ 1-4 and Mother before Rockman 2, too!

[Link | 2,712]

1. first game: SMB/Duck Hunt or Mario’s Cement Factory
2. best high score game: Defender II or Pac Man
3. red carts? What is this? Such a range of games. Some system far more convoluted than 3 or 5 screw and REV-A? Famicom cartridge colors were not categories… idk what this is so I will equate it to: NES carts with any different color from gray, or different form factor (Tengen, Color Dreams, etc). I’ll go with Zelda 2 overall, and Captain Comic for unlicensed form factor. 
4. games to play for competition: back in the day, the only game I really played to try to get a higher score than my brother was RBI Baseball, which we had cart only from FunCoLand. And that was just to win a game, not get a high score. As far as making high score although I’ve never been in a real competition community, I would say Pac Man or Defender II. 
5. microphone game: zero experience with this, so I would just say Zelda 1, the only such game I in America have really heard about having the feature. 
6. sports game: Man, if ExciteBike counts as a sports game, I am all in on that. I fuckin love that game. 
7. Famicom white cartridge: okay, still don’t know the deal with FC cart colors. Out of the listed results here, the one I would most want to play is Ninja Gaiden. 
8. mystery (nazo) game: I have no fuckin clue what that means, lol. Again I’ll go by what few games I’ve even heard of in the listed top 20. Zelda 1 is the first game in my favorite series, and Tower of Druaga is something I really wanna get deep into, but Mega Man 2 is consistently in my NES top 3. 
9. best music: Mega Man 2 what did I just say? The music is a huge part of why. Runner up, while I didn’t have any experience back in the day so I couldn’t have voted gor it thdn, Castlevania 3. It’s listed in the poll twice for a reason  
10. adventure game: again, only a few here I’ve even heard of. Is this like the Block Box “Series” categories? I’d go with the game literally “Adventure” in title, Zelda 2, but if it has to keep with the prior results, Zelda 1 is fine! 
11. too hard to beat: first answer: Battletoads or Impossible Mission 2.  Answer within the top 20: GnG

[Link | 2,712]

↑ I would like any #Werewolf players to take note of the text formatting of this long post I made which obviously has only my own words………

[tigerwolf | 79]

That post looks so whack on my phone in dark mode ngl

[Tanooki | 4,934]

@Link  Red cart, white cart... famicom carts were not uniform.  They came in a rainbow of color, the two most common were black, then white, after that you got into red yellow other colors, down to some where it was a one off like Salamander.  And nazo = mystery in Japan, so usually an adventure (played or text based) game usually with some mystery to unravel in the story, if not an actual literal mystery game.  Also you and Japan agree overwhelmingly with RBI baseball as that's #1 on their list as Pro Yakyuu Family Stadium.  I was surprised Castlevania III was that far down the list for them with that superior audio in that section.  And also GnG taking #2 in Japan isn't a surprise, that top one is a notoriously broken game that should never been released with all the problems it has, most people can't finish the first area/stage of the game it's that bad.

[scaryice | 587]

4 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

I would never have guess 10x as many people say Zombie Hunter is a more memorable high score game than Tetris. These polls are great. So different than US tastes.

It's because Zombie Hunter was published by a company named "Hi Score", and the first thing you hear powering up the cart is a voice saying that.

[scaryice | 587]

3 hours ago, Link said:

mystery (nazo) game: I have no fuckin clue what that means, lol. Again I’ll go by what few games I’ve even heard of in the listed top 20. Zelda 1 is the first game in my favorite series, and Tower of Druaga is something I really wanna get deep into, but Mega Man 2 is consistently in my NES top 3. 

 

best music: Mega Man 2 what did I just say? The music is a huge part of why. Runner up, while I didn’t have any experience back in the day so I couldn’t have voted gor it thdn, Castlevania 3. It’s listed in the poll twice for a reason  

 

adventure game: again, only a few here I’ve even heard of. Is this like the Block Box “Series” categories? I’d go with the game literally “Adventure” in title, Zelda 2, but if it has to keep with the prior results, Zelda 1 is fine!

 

All of the top ten for the mystery question have "nazo" in the title or subtitle, except for Portopia. The Japanese subtitle for Mega Man 2 is "The Mystery of Dr. Wily."

 

It should say Castlevania 1 for the second entry on the BGM question, my bad.

 

"Adventure game" would refer to graphic adventure or visual novel type games (like Shadowgate), rather than action-based games. Other than Zelda, all the answers there are that style.

[fcgamer | 4,723]

3 hours ago, Link said:

↑ I would like any #Werewolf players to take note of the text formatting of this long post I made which obviously has only my own words………

vote: Link 

Seriously though, great list, really fun seeing your choices here and why.

[Sumez | 2,952]

5 hours ago, DefaultGen said:

I would never have guess 10x as many people say Zombie Hunter is a more memorable high score game than Tetris.

Have you ever tried Famicom Tetris? If you did, you'd probably understand  

[Sumez | 2,952]

I dig Link's idea of people here giving their own takes!

 

What was the first game you bought (or had someone buy for you)?
Super Mario Bros

When it comes to high scores, what game comes to mind?
Star Soldier

When it comes to red carts, what game comes to mind?
Donkey Kong

When it comes to competing against someone, what game comes to mind?
Ninja Gaiden

When it comes to using the mic, what game comes to mind?
Zelda 1

When it comes to sports games, what comes to mind?
Nekketsu Kakutou Densetsu

When it comes to white carts, what game comes to mind?
Final Fantasy

When it comes to mystery (nazo in Japanese), what game comes to mind?
Nazo No Murasamejou

When it comes to good BGM, what game comes to mind?
Raf World

When it comes to adventure games, what comes to mind?
Sweet Home

When it comes to "not being able to beat it", what game comes to mind?
Battle Formula

When it comes to black carts, what game comes to mind?
Gimmick

Edited October 5, 2023 by Sumez

[scaryice | 587]

The results for the latest question were just posted today. Looks like they're gonna be doing a question for each color:

 

Question #12 (9/28-10/4) - When it comes to black carts, what game comes to mind?

1	Dragon Quest III	20.5
2	Dragon Quest	12.0
3	Bomberman	7.9
4	Raid on Bungeling Bay	7.1
5	Star Soldier	6.3
6	Wizardry	2.5
7	Dragon Quest IV	2.4
8	Gomoku Narabe Renju	1.8
9	Xevious	1.8
10	Ghosts 'n Goblins	1.4
11	Dragon Quest II	1.3
12	Gachapon Senshi 2	1.2
13	Famicom Jump	1.2
14	Legend of Kage	1.1
15	Fire Emblem	1.1
16	Portopia Renzoku Satsujin Jiken	1.1
17	Okhotsuku ni Kiyu	1.0
18	Gradius	1.0
19	Bases Loaded	0.9
20	Transformers: Convoy no Nazo	0.6

 

Couple interesting things here. You can continue to see how big of a hit Bungeling Bay was over there, since it seems to be well remembered. And of course, Dragon Quest gets all four entries in the top 11. Bases Loaded at 19 is neat, since it was also #2 in the red cart poll. That's because even though the vast majority of the carts were red, there's a black variant that exists as well.

 

The current question is for this week is, When it comes to a good protagonist, what game comes to mind?

Edited October 5, 2023 by scaryice

[Link | 2,712]

11 hours ago, Tanooki said:

@Link  Red cart, white cart... famicom carts were not uniform.  They came in a rainbow of color, the two most common were black, then white, after that you got into red yellow other colors, down to some where it was a one off like Salamander.

I’m aware. But why ask “what’s your favorite (color) game” when they’re otherwise unrelated? 

11 hours ago, Tanooki said:

And nazo = mystery in Japan, so usually an adventure (played or text based) game usually with some mystery to unravel in the story, if not an actual literal mystery game.

Yeah so, why does Mega Man 2 fit in this category? Answered by OP thanks scaryice

Edited October 5, 2023 by Link

[Tanooki | 4,934]

You know, maybe they knew they'd run out of good ideas having it strung out for so long?

[BlackVega | 583]

@scaryice thanks for bringing these events to my and our attention! I am a Famicom exclusive fan as well and always want to hear interesting news and whatnot. I like how unusual and enjoyable these Japanese exclusives are but at the same time I also can't get enough of that Japanese silliness that goes around sometimes. Like one of "the best adventure games" mentioned is a game called "Ripple Island". Like oh my gosh this is THE MOST JAPANESE you can ever get....... still good poll though

[BlackVega | 583]

On 10/5/2023 at 3:45 AM, Link said:

↑ I would like any #Werewolf players to take note of the text formatting of this long post I made which obviously has only my own words………

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA yeah right!!! Nice try, that was a good one! You know what I'd say you probably smell of something

Ban Link

[JamesRobot | 5,800]

What was the first game you bought (or had someone buy for you)?
Super Mario Bros

When it comes to high scores, what game comes to mind?
Blade Buster

When it comes to red carts, what game comes to mind?
Power Pak

When it comes to competing against someone, what game comes to mind?
Rampage

When it comes to using the mic, what game comes to mind?
Legend of Zelda

When it comes to sports games, what comes to mind?
Mike Tyson's Punch Out 

When it comes to white carts, what game comes to mind?
Eskimo Bob

When it comes to mystery (nazo in Japanese), what game comes to mind?
Deja Vu

When it comes to good BGM, what game comes to mind?
Castlevania 

When it comes to adventure games, what comes to mind?
Larry and the Long Look for a Luscious Lover 

When it comes to "not being able to beat it", what game comes to mind?
Battle Toads

When it comes to black carts, what game comes to mind?
Portopia Serial Murders

[Tanooki | 4,934]

Nice layout just above there.  Maybe we should you know, do our own 40 year on the FC(NES where applies though.)

 

What was the first game you bought (or had someone buy for you)?
(Pre)Deluxe Set Duck Hunt & Gyromite, got Super Mario Bros and Hogan's Alley same time (Christmas 85)

When it comes to high scores, what game comes to mind?
Tetris

When it comes to red carts, what game comes to mind?
My own off Super Mario All-Stars cart (Famicom style)

When it comes to competing against someone, what game comes to mind?
Super Dodge Ball

When it comes to using the mic, what game comes to mind?
Legend of Zelda

When it comes to sports games, what comes to mind?
Mike Tyson's Punch Out or Baseball Stars

When it comes to white carts, what game comes to mind?
Hello Kitty World (aka: reskinned Balloon Kid)

When it comes to mystery (nazo in Japanese), what game comes to mind?
Shadowgate even if Deja Vu probably makes more sense

When it comes to good BGM, what game comes to mind?
Akumajou Densetsu (CV3 Japan) the VRC6 tunes are on a whole other level

When it comes to adventure games, what comes to mind?
KHAN's port of Leisure Suit Larry (Glad I own it)

When it comes to "not being able to beat it", what game comes to mind?
Battletoads

When it comes to black carts, what game comes to mind?
Parodius (since I don't want to list Akumajou Densetsu twice)

[BlackVega | 583]

7 hours ago, Tanooki said:

When it comes to "not being able to beat it", what game comes to mind?
Battletoads

Illegal answer!

[Tanooki | 4,934]

Honestly I don't think the game is that bad, it's just the utterly unfair turbo tunnels because it's not even so much about fast twitch reaction, it's the stupid gates need basically full memorization of the pattern or you're dead.  I can't remember the pattern so it's luck if I make it.

[koifish | 556]

On 10/4/2023 at 9:36 PM, Tanooki said:

@Link  that top one is a notoriously broken game that should never been released with all the problems it has, most people can't finish the first area/stage of the game it's that bad.

I'm pretty sure they purposely made it wrong as a joke. Takeshi's Castle (the show rather than the game) was similar in that it made suffering a goal. IIRC Beat Takeshi hated games and wanted people to have a bad time, but he was also an entertainer comedian, so it was probably part of a bit as well.

I haven't played all of these, but I've seen a lot about them though game center CX and through some reading of JP sources. They give me a good case of secondhand nostalgia. Plus it's fun to see how much people like games that would never make the list in America. Mario Bros being so high up is testament to that, I would even be so bold as to argue that more people in the US remember the Atari ports of Mario Bros than they do the NES release, on account of how long it took to get to the states. A lot happened in the two year gap between famicom and NES, and a lot of people started on nes even later than 85.

My one irritation in the list presentation is that all games with US releases get renamed with the US version, even if they would probably be more famous in their first name. Sure, nobody in the US in the 80s (mostly) knew the source for Dragon Power, but nowadays it's easier, I think, to call it by it's original name, since Dragonball is now a globally known property. But this is probably more part of my slowly growing disdain for game references that bend over backward to use localized game names for something of foreign origin.

[scaryice | 587]

New result:

Question #13 (10/5-10/11) - When it comes to a good protagonist, what game comes to mind?

1	Super Mario Bros.	6.8
2	Dragon Quest III	6.2
3	Metroid	5.1
4	Dragon Quest IV	5.1
5	Legend of Zelda	4.3
6	Kirby's Adventure	3.4
7	Spelunker	2.9
8	Mother	2.8
9	Fire Emblem	2.6
10	Ninja Gaiden	2.5
11	Valkyrie no Bouken	2.4
12	Famicom Detective Club (part 1)	1.6
13	Shin Onigashima	1.6
14	Mega Man	1.6
15	Shadowgate	1.5
16	Ganbare Goemon	1.5
16	Super Mario Bros. 3	1.4
18	Castlevania	1.2
19	Final Fantasy II	1.1
20	River City Ransom	1.1
20	Adventure Island	1.1

 

Interesting to see Metroid so high in a Japanese poll. Spelunker's hero is kind of famous for being so weak. I'm guessing Shadowgate is there for a similar reason, as I wouldn't have guessed that making it. I wouldn't have predicted Valkyrie either, but I guess the arcade sequel was quite popular. If this was a western poll, I think the Legend of Zelda would've won just because of Link's popularity (he always won the Gamefaqs character battles).

This week's question is, When it comes to passwords, what game comes to mind? Spoiler: it'll probably be Dragon Quest. I'm sure Metroid would win an similar poll for the NES.

Edited October 12, 2023 by scaryice

[Tanooki | 4,934]

17 hours ago, koifish said:

I'm pretty sure they purposely made it wrong as a joke. Takeshi's Castle (the show rather than the game) was similar in that it made suffering a goal. IIRC Beat Takeshi hated games and wanted people to have a bad time, but he was also an entertainer comedian, so it was probably part of a bit as well.

I haven't played all of these, but I've seen a lot about them though game center CX and through some reading of JP sources. They give me a good case of secondhand nostalgia. Plus it's fun to see how much people like games that would never make the list in America. Mario Bros being so high up is testament to that, I would even be so bold as to argue that more people in the US remember the Atari ports of Mario Bros than they do the NES release, on account of how long it took to get to the states. A lot happened in the two year gap between famicom and NES, and a lot of people started on nes even later than 85.

My one irritation in the list presentation is that all games with US releases get renamed with the US version, even if they would probably be more famous in their first name. Sure, nobody in the US in the 80s (mostly) knew the source for Dragon Power, but nowadays it's easier, I think, to call it by it's original name, since Dragonball is now a globally known property. But this is probably more part of my slowly growing disdain for game references that bend over backward to use localized game names for something of foreign origin.

My understanding of what has been dug up about that game I mentioned was the fact that a comedian knew or was in the favor of the company that did it, and an idea was pitched over a very drunken night and the entire thing was designed while being utterly plastered.  Maybe it's mythos around why it's so bad, who knows, it could just be an early form of intended kaizo style game given the source material.

I do agree with you on the strange renaming of obvious stuff as Dragonball was just barely a blip in the US at the time, but now Dragon Power just comes off as some weird internet strange hot take maybe because it's known for being so bad.