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

[scaryice | 589]

Latest results:

Question #19 (11/16-11/22) - When it comes to "tag", what game comes to mind??

1	MUSCLE	42.2
2	Tag Team Pro Wrestling	24.9
3	Ice Climber	3.6
4	Mario Bros.	3.1
5	Twinbee	2.9
6	River City Ransom	1.9
7	Nekketsu Kakutou Densetsu	1.8
8	Binary Land	1.6
9	Double Dragon	1.5
10	Duck Hunt	1.3
11	Contra	0.9
12	Hana no Star Kaidou	0.7
13	Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki Dayo Zenin Shuugou	0.6
14	Mickey Mousecapade	0.5
15	Double Dragon II	0.5
16	Batsu & Terii	0.5
17	Konami Wai Wai World	0.4
17	Kung Fu Heroes	0.4
19	Tennis	0.4
20	Duck Tales	0.3
20	Mississippi Satsujin Jiken	0.3

 

As expected, the top two wrestling games dominated the poll, with many of the others featuring two characters working together or simultaneous two player action. The presence of the two duck games seems to be because the katakana are similar for tag and duck (タッグ vs ダック).

I was gonna predict Hana no Star Kaidou last week, but I wasn't sure it was well known enough to be on there. It's a platformer with really bad controls, where you control two guys at once. Just imagine Mickey Mousecapade with a lot more pits and precision.

Next week's question:

When it comes to "puzzle games", what comes to mind??

Surely Tetris and Dr. Mario at the top. I guess Lode Runner is a puzzle game, so that will probably be high too.

 

Edited December 7, 2023 by scaryice

[Tanooki | 4,943]

Hana no Star Kaidou is just terrible, and I think it's damn near unplayable if you want to actually try and finish it.  I'm a bit more surprised to see a few on here, but maybe they took tag also as just tag as a more general sense to simultaneous play too, not just like wrestling.  The nekketsu titles fit you can tag people even with people in that one.   I have to wonder if it was trolling for fun or if they have such poor taste to put Kinnikuman (MUSCLE) there in the top slot by that wide of a margin.  Just wow.

[koifish | 557]

On 11/23/2023 at 5:32 PM, Tanooki said:

Hana no Star Kaidou is just terrible, and I think it's damn near unplayable if you want to actually try and finish it.  I'm a bit more surprised to see a few on here, but maybe they took tag also as just tag as a more general sense to simultaneous play too, not just like wrestling.  The nekketsu titles fit you can tag people even with people in that one.   I have to wonder if it was trolling for fun or if they have such poor taste to put Kinnikuman (MUSCLE) there in the top slot by that wide of a margin.  Just wow.

I'm not too surprised, kinnikuman probably has a bigger impact on the memory just because it was a big comic. I'm more confused about the murder on the Mississippi game. What is the tag in that? Or is it a spoiler?

[koifish | 557]

it was a late release, but I bet puyo puyo gets mentioned, as does Lolo and Door Door. Maybe Wrecking Crew and Wario's Woods?

[Tanooki | 4,943]

16 hours ago, koifish said:

I'm not too surprised, kinnikuman probably has a bigger impact on the memory just because it was a big comic. I'm more confused about the murder on the Mississippi game. What is the tag in that? Or is it a spoiler?

It's based on a non-japanese computer game and I think book story from the west and was adapted to the FC as a point n click type title.  The problem is, the developer was dumb as a bag of rocks, made a terrible interface, made the game boring and just good enough maybe to confuse a 5yo, so it's largely reviled by those who grew up with it.

[Koopa64 | 51]

It deeply upsets me that it doesn't feel that long ago at all that we had the Famicom's 30th anniversary. I even got a Famicom around that time... 2013...

Time needs to slow way down.

[guitarzombie | 927]

Late on this but amazed to see how much Takeshis Challenge is still remembered by people haha.  Altho I cant disagree with their top 3 hardest, but I have beat Takeshis because at least there was a password :D.  Really fascinating lists.

[koifish | 557]

On 11/28/2023 at 8:27 AM, Koopa64 said:

It deeply upsets me that it doesn't feel that long ago at all that we had the Famicom's 30th anniversary. I even got a Famicom around that time... 2013...

Time needs to slow way down.

yeah, doesn't help there was basically no anniversary celebrations from 2020 to 2022. A shame, didn't get anything for super famicom 30th that I can recall.

[scaryice | 589]

Forgot to post last week, so now we have two results to talk about:

Question #20 (11/23-11/29) - When it comes to "puzzle games", what comes to mind?

1	Tetris	21.0
2	Dr. Mario	15.3
3	Solomon's Key	6.0
4	Babel no Tou	5.9
5	Flappy	5.0
6	Kineko	4.5
7	Yoshi's Cookie	4.3
8	Lode Runner	3.6
9	Yoshi	3.3
10	Namida no Soukoban Special	3.1
11	Puyo Puyo	2.5
12	Championship Lode Runner	2.1
13	Tetris 2 + Bombliss	1.9
14	Quarth	1.6
15	Wario's Woods	1.5
16	Flipull	1.2
17	Wrecking Crew	1.1
18	Mendel Palace	0.9
19	Binary Land	0.7
20	Clu Clu Land	0.7

Top two as expected. The Famicom BPS Tetris is really bad, so we definitely got the better release overseas. I thought Lode Runner would be a bit higher. Wrecking Crew is a great game, but it doesn't seem to get much respect in Japan either. That's a shame...

 

Question #21 (11/30-12/6) - When it comes to "a good instruction manual", what comes to mind?

1	Legend of Zelda	9.6
2	Dragon Quest III	8.6
3	Super Mario Bros.	4.9
4	Kaijuu Monogatari	4.9
5	Super Mario Bros. 3	4.3
6	Dragon Quest II	3.7
7	Mother	3.7
8	Dragon Quest	3.3
9	Dragon Quest IV	2.6
10	Metal Slader Glory	2.1
11	Kieta Princess	1.6
12	Suishou no Dragon	1.5
13	Genpei Touma Den	1.4
14	Valkyrie no Bouken	1.1
15	Commando	1.1
16	Kirby's Adventure	1.1
17	Bokosuka Wars	1.1
18	Final Fantasy III	1.0
18	Zelda 2	1.0
20	Momotarou Densetsu	0.8
20	Mega Man	0.8
20	Mega Man 2	0.8

This was interesting, since I have very little experience with Japanese manuals. Kaijuu Montogari being third was a surprise. The manual doesn't look too special, but maybe the voters are counting the whole package. I know Namco went all out for the packaging for that game and Juvei Quest (both rpgs).

I think Zelda 1 might win the NES equivalent of this poll, as well.

 

Next week's question: When it comes to tricks/cheats, what comes to mind?

Surely Contra would win the NES version of this poll? I think Gradius is a more likely first place choice over there, though.

Edited December 7, 2023 by scaryice

[Link | 2,715]

9 hours ago, scaryice said:

Forgot to post last week, so now we have two results to talk about:

I agree with both #1 choices as well. There are others, but if I hadn't seen the answers first I think I still would have come up with both of those. 

As for cheats and tricks, Contra is a good one. My choice is the high jump / invincible trick in Mega Man 3.

[DefaultGen | 5,415]

I really wonder what is in the Commando instruction manual. “Shoot da guys!”

[Brickman | 4,000]

53 minutes ago, DefaultGen said:

I really wonder what is in the Commando instruction manual. “Shoot da guys!”

I had a look and there's a comic in it which sets up the story for the game with Super Joe.

[elprincipe | 142]

SMB 3 will probably be high for tricks.

[Link | 2,715]

6 hours ago, elprincipe said:

SMB 3 will probably be high for tricks.

The manual is really good, too.

[Tanooki | 4,943]

Interesting that they took Babel no Tou to be a puzzle game, but if you think it out a bit it kind of is in a way, same with Mendel Palace(Quinty), and Wrecking Crew too.  They're more just old school arcade action titles with puzzle like elements to survive the stage.

 

And I'm curious now why no final fantasy game hit that manual list.  I just guess I never really went and looked them up, but the huge amount of use, detail, and art FF1 (NES) got I would think it would have been some kind of a local art style/utility gem there too but perhaps not and over 3 releases no less having the last barely make the list.

Edited December 8, 2023 by Tanooki

[Estil | 1,265]

You know how the Famicom cartridges come in different colors?  Did they actually mean anything?  Like did one color represent this kind of game and another color represented this other kind of game and so on?

[Tulpa | 3,526]

5 hours ago, Estil said:

You know how the Famicom cartridges come in different colors?  Did they actually mean anything?  Like did one color represent this kind of game and another color represented this other kind of game and so on?

Not really, no. You could find all sorts of games in all colors. Super Mario Bros (platformer) and B-wings (shooter) both had yellow cartridges.

Some publishers did have distinctive cartridges. Like, Konami had their own cartridge design (though they also used the common cartridge for a few games.) Namco, Taito, Irem, and Jaleco all had their names molded into the cartridge, and some had large size cartridges to accommodate a larger circuit board.

[Tanooki | 4,943]

The color was just a choice, meaningless, as there was no real guidelines for them on the color of it.  They did have some rules for form factor to a degree.  They had some set designs that Nintendo themselves used if you had them slap the game together.  But some developers had the power and control to do their own thing, so you got specific label and form factor moldings, even the unique stuff IREM did with a red LED light on the thing since the FC itself has no power light.  Other carts came taller, rounder, even some snapped shut with a cap on the bottom pin space.

[scaryice | 589]

This week's result:

Question #22 (12/7-12/13) - When it comes to tricks/cheats, what comes to mind?

1	Gradius	42.2
2	Super Mario Bros.	15.1
3	Xevious	5.5
4	Suishou no Dragon	5.1
5	Dragon Quest IV	2.9
6	Mega Man 3	1.7
7	Dragon Quest III	1.6
8	Super Mario Bros. 3	1.5
9	Tower of Druaga	1.4
10	Dragon Quest II	1.4
11	Star Soldier	1.3
12	Doraemon	1.2
13	Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki Dayo Zenin Shuugou	1.1
13	Final Fantasy III	1.1
15	Challenger	1.0
16	Lode Runner	0.9
17	Erika to Satoru no Yume Bouken	0.5
17	Star Force	0.5
19	Atlantis no Nazo	0.5
20	F1 Race	0.5

 

Not surprised by the Gradius win, but I am surprised that there's no Contra in the top 20. I know it's not nearly as popular in Japan, but to not make the list at all... Mega Man 3 is there as Link suggested, though. Nice call!

Funny to see Erika to Satoru no Yume Bouken, since it's known solely these days for the secret message hidden in there.

 

Next week's question: When it comes to blue carts, what game comes to mind?

We're getting all the color questions eventually, so this week it's time for blue. Baseball, Devil World, Golf, Rockman, Saint Seiya, Star Force... Let's see... Since Golf is kind of greenish, Baseball might have a path to victory. It's very very common, so it might beat out Rockman even though not many people actually care about the game itself these days.

Edited December 14, 2023 by scaryice

[scaryice | 589]

This week's result:

Question #23 (12/14-12/20) - When it comes to blue carts, what game comes to mind?

1	Baseball	14.9
2	Star Force	12.8
3	Mega Man	9.2
4	Devil World	5.3
5	Ice Climber	5.0
6	Urban Champion	3.7
7	Saint Seiya: Ougon Densetsu	3.7
8	Mach Rider	2.7
9	Life Force	2.1
10	Higemaru Makaijima	2.1
11	Mississippi Satsujin Jiken	2.1
12	Nuts & Milk	2.0
13	Joy Mech Fight	1.7
13	Dragon Power	1.7
15	Ginga no Sannin	1.5
15	Spy vs Spy	1.5
17	Dough Boy	1.4
18	Golf	1.2
19	Heracles no Eikou	1.2
20	Saint Seiya: Ougon Densetsu Kanketsu-hen	1.1
20	Magical Taruruuto-kun	1.1

 

Close contest, but Baseball came out on top. All of the old black box titles placed highly, since they're so well known. I was expecting Golf to be higher, but I guess it's more green than blue. That didn't stop Life Force (Salamander) from a top ten finish, though.

Next week's question: When it comes to co-op, what game comes to mind?

Contra would probably be the answer for many NES fans, but I noticed a lot of Japanese fans saying Twinbee, so maybe that'll be on top.

Edited December 21, 2023 by scaryice

[Link | 2,715]

[Tanooki | 4,943]

Strange how blue was perceived, for me I was more literal on the color and for me that's the Taito cart of Rainbow Islands I have, better than the release that left Japan too.

Next week yeah maybe Contra, maybe not, could be other popular Konami titles too like Salamander.

[Dr. Morbis | 2,091]

Why does #3 say "Mega Man" - is that a typo?

[scaryice | 589]

On 12/24/2023 at 2:18 PM, Dr. Morbis said:

Why does #3 say "Mega Man" - is that a typo?

I've just been using the western names for games released over here.

[scaryice | 589]

This week's result:

Question #24 (12/21-12/27) - When it comes to co-op, what game comes to mind?

1	Twinbee	19.2
2	Mario Bros.	18.6
3	Ice Climber	9.9
4	Konami Wai Wai World	4.5
5	River City Ransom	4.1
6	Kunio-kun no Jidaigeki Dayo Zenin Shuugou	3.6
7	Balloon Fight	2.3
8	Battle City	2.2
9	Contra	2.2
10	Binary Land	1.8
11	Clu Clu Land	1.8
12	Sky Kid	1.6
13	Stinger	1.5
14	Kung Fu Heroes	1.2
15	Double Dragon II	1.1
16	Erika to Satoru no Yume Bouken	1.1
17	Tag Team Pro Wrestling	1.0
18	Tennis	0.9
19	Ganbare Goemon 2	0.9
20	Ikki	0.8

 

Very close finish between Twinbee and Mario Bros. for the top slot. It's always interesting to think about how the Japanese fans had two years with the Famicom before Super Mario Bros. came out, so the orginal arcade Mario Bros. gets way more recognition over there.

 

Next week's question: When it comes to dragons, what game comes to mind?

Gee, I wonder what games will finish at the top? Though, they do specifically include the kanji as well as the katakana spelling - 龍/竜/ドラゴン, so expect to see stuff like Ninja Gaiden as well.

 

 

 

Edited December 28, 2023 by scaryice