Trivia Browser
subdirectory_arrow_right Mach Rider (Game), Captain Rainbow (Game), Vs. Mach Rider (Game), Mach Rider (Collection)
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Both Mach Rider's identity and gender are ambiguous. They are portrayed with a muscular build, and the NES and Famicom versions' manuals never use any gendered pronouns to refer to them. The arcade port Vs. Mach Rider's stage clear screens slowly introduce piece-by-piece an image of a skimpily-dressed woman (bearing similarities to Jane Fonda's appearance in the 1968 film Barbarella) holding a dagger, but it is never specified if this character is Mach Rider, or one of the other wasteland survivors. However, Mach Rider's trophy description in Super Smash Bros. Melee years later lists them as a male character with he/him pronouns. Even later on, Captain Rainbow, a game centered around obscure and neglected Nintendo heroes, has an unused model for Mach Rider that, while not having visible breasts due to wearing armor, portrays them with a feminine skinny waist.
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After loading up the Commodore 64 version of the game and waiting until the title screen appears, going to address 8F40 with a memory viewer will reveal a hidden developer message. The message to discourage hackers from cracking the game is presumably from the game's creator Manfred Trenz, and reveals the date that the game began development:
"HI FOLKS, THE MANIAC IS BACK !!!
ONE QUESTION: WHY DO YOU WANT TO CRACK THIS PROGGY ???
CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW MUCH WORK I DID TO MAKE A GAME LIKE THIS ???
HERE SOME INFORMATIONS ABOUT: STARTING TIME: 01.02.1989 (OH YES)
ALL THE IDEAS,GAMEDESIGN,ALIENROUTINIES,GRAPHICS,PLAYBILITY,TECHNICAL
PROBLEMS AND MUCH MORE TOOK A LOT OF TIME AND WAS VERY OFTEN NERVE-RACKING!
ECHT AETZEND YOU WOULD SAY ...
SOMETIMES I WORKED MORE THEN 14 HOURS A DAY, ONLY INTERRUPTED BY ESSENTIAL
THINGS LIKE FOOD,COKE AND MTV.
I MADE THIS GAME NOT ONLY FOR TO EARN MONEY BUT NEVERTHELESS I'M SURE
YOU AGREE WITH ME, THAT I WANT TO EARN FOR MY WORK.
SO DO ME A FAVOUR AND DON'T CRACK AND SPREAD THIS GAME !! IF YOU HAVE
ANY QUESTIONS CALL: 0211/5280-0 BYE NOW AND THINK ABOUT !
PS.: DO YOU KNOW WHAT A GROELATZ IS ?? YOU BETTER DO NOT !"
ONE QUESTION: WHY DO YOU WANT TO CRACK THIS PROGGY ???
CAN YOU IMAGINE HOW MUCH WORK I DID TO MAKE A GAME LIKE THIS ???
HERE SOME INFORMATIONS ABOUT: STARTING TIME: 01.02.1989 (OH YES)
ALL THE IDEAS,GAMEDESIGN,ALIENROUTINIES,GRAPHICS,PLAYBILITY,TECHNICAL
PROBLEMS AND MUCH MORE TOOK A LOT OF TIME AND WAS VERY OFTEN NERVE-RACKING!
ECHT AETZEND YOU WOULD SAY ...
SOMETIMES I WORKED MORE THEN 14 HOURS A DAY, ONLY INTERRUPTED BY ESSENTIAL
THINGS LIKE FOOD,COKE AND MTV.
I MADE THIS GAME NOT ONLY FOR TO EARN MONEY BUT NEVERTHELESS I'M SURE
YOU AGREE WITH ME, THAT I WANT TO EARN FOR MY WORK.
SO DO ME A FAVOUR AND DON'T CRACK AND SPREAD THIS GAME !! IF YOU HAVE
ANY QUESTIONS CALL: 0211/5280-0 BYE NOW AND THINK ABOUT !
PS.: DO YOU KNOW WHAT A GROELATZ IS ?? YOU BETTER DO NOT !"
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In the Commodore 64 version of the game, there are two known messages written with destroyable blocks that are hidden out-of-bounds in two levels of the game. In Level 1-1, the year "1989", referring to the year the game began development, can be found in the middle of the map. The other message is hidden in Level 1-3, where the letters "DTE" can be found in the middle of a land mass in the bottom-right corner of the map.
subdirectory_arrow_right Sega Top Ten (Game)
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The Commodore 64 version of Bionic Commando has a soundtrack provided by chiptune composer Tim Follin. Every song begins as a direct cover of its source material, but eventually completely changes into a techno-inspired tune with a more unique sound. The composition of these pieces was, according to Follin in the C64 disk magazine Lethal News, quite reflective of their production, where the job began as a port of the original song before naturally changing to something different:
"Actually it's an arcade conversion... or lets say it started like an arcade conversion! what happened was, i started converting the titletune, and it just developed, slipped out of my grip and became something, what was very different from what i had in mind, at the beginning. quite messy!"
Tim Follin interview talking about Bionic Commando:
https://csdb.dk/release/?id=8763
Bionic Commando Arcade Music:
https://youtu.be/IZ8GyH6ZyLk
Bionic Commando C64 Music - diverges from its source material at 0:38:
https://youtu.be/V1wsC-YdL-U
https://csdb.dk/release/?id=8763
Bionic Commando Arcade Music:
https://youtu.be/IZ8GyH6ZyLk
Bionic Commando C64 Music - diverges from its source material at 0:38:
https://youtu.be/V1wsC-YdL-U
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In the original release of the game, the hidden ending that follows the optional final boss battle against Hasebe and Mami reveals that Spoiler:Kyoko and Misako are not actually Kunio and Riki's girlfriends, but rather are simply delusional stalkers, with Hasebe and Mami being the boys' real partners; Kyoko and Misako then angrily punch Kunio and Riki into the sky after being reminded of this. This was written as an inside joke regarding the Kunio-kun franchise's convoluted localization history, specifically the fact that River City Girls Zero (the only prior game where Spoiler:Kunio and Riki actually dated Kyoko and Misako) had not yet received an English localization at the time of this game's release. As River City Girls was developed with Western audiences in mind, the joke was thus meant to be that Spoiler:Kunio and Riki have no memory of a title that wasn't officially available for this game's target audience.
However, the esoteric nature of the gag and the plot holes it opened regarding the game's premise resulted in it generating backlash from players who were not in on it. Because of this, the game was updated on January 18, 2020, changing the secret ending so that Spoiler:Kunio and Riki go out for food with Kyoko and Misako, implying that the latter two actually are their partners.
However, the esoteric nature of the gag and the plot holes it opened regarding the game's premise resulted in it generating backlash from players who were not in on it. Because of this, the game was updated on January 18, 2020, changing the secret ending so that Spoiler:Kunio and Riki go out for food with Kyoko and Misako, implying that the latter two actually are their partners.
SiliconEra article about the original ending:
https://www.siliconera.com/river-city-girls-ending-and-secret-boss-fight-allude-to-the-series-jumbled-history/
Screen Rant article about the original ending that mentions the update:
https://screenrant.com/river-city-girls-ending-meta-joke-ransom-reason/
SiliconEra article about the ending update:
https://www.siliconera.com/the-secret-river-city-girls-ending-has-been-changed/
Footage of the original ending:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyWKFQ7bklQ
Footage of the updated ending:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOOm9t14YZs
https://www.siliconera.com/river-city-girls-ending-and-secret-boss-fight-allude-to-the-series-jumbled-history/
Screen Rant article about the original ending that mentions the update:
https://screenrant.com/river-city-girls-ending-meta-joke-ransom-reason/
SiliconEra article about the ending update:
https://www.siliconera.com/the-secret-river-city-girls-ending-has-been-changed/
Footage of the original ending:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kyWKFQ7bklQ
Footage of the updated ending:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOOm9t14YZs
subdirectory_arrow_right Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door (Game)
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Both the original GameCube release and the Nintendo Switch remake are rated E by the Entertainment Software Ratings Board (ESRB), but the GameCube version's rating was simply given the descriptor "Mild Cartoon Violence". The remake’s ESRB rating was updated to replace it with the descriptors "Mild Fantasy Violence" and "Mild Suggestive Themes". These "Mild Suggestive Themes" most likely refer to flirtatious dialogue (i.e. "Aren’t you a fine specimen of a man"; "Perhaps if I…grabbed you and gave you a little sugar") and a character with a large chest/exaggerated proportions, referencing Madame Flurrie.
Remake rating article:
https://gonintendo.com/contents/30407-the-switch-remake-of-paper-mario-the-thousand-year-door-has-gotten-its-esrb-rating
GameCube version ESRB page:
https://www.esrb.org/ratings/10462/paper-mario-2-the-thousand-year-door/
Switch version ESRB page:
https://www.esrb.org/ratings/39494/paper-mario-the-thousand-year-door/
https://gonintendo.com/contents/30407-the-switch-remake-of-paper-mario-the-thousand-year-door-has-gotten-its-esrb-rating
GameCube version ESRB page:
https://www.esrb.org/ratings/10462/paper-mario-2-the-thousand-year-door/
Switch version ESRB page:
https://www.esrb.org/ratings/39494/paper-mario-the-thousand-year-door/
subdirectory_arrow_right Pico's School (Game)
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A popular belief within the Friday Night Funkin' fandom is that the game's main protagonist Boyfriend used to be in a relationship with Pico, the main protagonist of Pico's School and the opponent of Week 3. This gained so much traction that Tom Fulp (the creator of Pico's School) jokingly said it was "official Pico 2 canon". Programmer NinjaMuffin99 initially claimed this was just a joke, but later changed his mind and confirmed it was canon. The cutscene for the song "Stress" alludes to this, as Tankman mockingly refers to Pico as Boyfriend's "sexually ambiguous, angry little friend."
On April 1st, 2021, Tom Fulp updated Pico's School as an April Fools Day joke, with this version ending with Pico revealing to Cassandra that he and Boyfriend are dating and that everybody in the school accepts them. The next day, this version would be released as a separate game called Pico's School: Love Conquers All, being set in an alternate timeline. Given that the game portrayed Pico and Boyfriend's relationship in a positive light, some fans have taken this as a sign that Tom Fulp approves of the idea that they were at one point a couple.
On April 1st, 2021, Tom Fulp updated Pico's School as an April Fools Day joke, with this version ending with Pico revealing to Cassandra that he and Boyfriend are dating and that everybody in the school accepts them. The next day, this version would be released as a separate game called Pico's School: Love Conquers All, being set in an alternate timeline. Given that the game portrayed Pico and Boyfriend's relationship in a positive light, some fans have taken this as a sign that Tom Fulp approves of the idea that they were at one point a couple.
Tom Fulp statement:
https://twitter.com/TomFulp/status/1338559842890493955
NinjaMuffin99 statements:
http://web.archive.org/web/20201214004812/https://twitter.com/ninja_muffin99/status/1338284520836124675
https://www.twitch.tv/ninja_muffin99/clip/MiniatureExquisiteMochaRickroll
Pico's School: Love Conquers All playthrough:
https://youtu.be/liCu_CYI1xk
https://twitter.com/TomFulp/status/1338559842890493955
NinjaMuffin99 statements:
http://web.archive.org/web/20201214004812/https://twitter.com/ninja_muffin99/status/1338284520836124675
https://www.twitch.tv/ninja_muffin99/clip/MiniatureExquisiteMochaRickroll
Pico's School: Love Conquers All playthrough:
https://youtu.be/liCu_CYI1xk
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The Game Boy Color version of Frogger's second print of US cartridges replaces the non-gameplay menu graphics, turning the 2D frog illustrations into promotional CGI images from the PS1 Frogger. While most of these replace the 2D images outright, the Game Over graphic simply copy-pastes a CGI Frogger head onto the 2D image from the earlier version.
subdirectory_arrow_right Full Tilt! Pinball (Game)
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Space Cadet: 3D Pinball was a demo for a game called Full Tilt! Pinball. Full Tilt! Pinball had two extra boards compared to 3D Pinball, with the main differences in Full Tilt's Space Cadet board specifically being an expanded soundtrack, a more realisitc CGI side-art as opposed to the Buzz Lightyear-esque 2D cartoon art, and a multiball feature.
Full Tilt Space Cadet - expanded soundtrack starts at 1:19:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zi7kCqtN1M
Video of Multiball in Full Tilt, note that when the video says "Windows version of the game", it means "the version bundled with Windows":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cvzf8vHzhw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Zi7kCqtN1M
Video of Multiball in Full Tilt, note that when the video says "Windows version of the game", it means "the version bundled with Windows":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6cvzf8vHzhw
subdirectory_arrow_right Kirby’s Return to Dream Land Deluxe (Game)
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Kirby's Return to Dream Land Deluxe redesigns Wing Kirby's costume, changing the pattern on the headband to a series of straight lines, adding a red jewel on the front (similar to the kind seen on other Copy Ability hats), and replacing the rows of feathers on the back with arrangements that more closely resemble a bird's wings. As the original design was based on a Native American warbonnet, the redesign was likely to avoid cultural appropriation, as real-life warbonnets are regarded as sacred in tribal cultures and consequently can only be worn by those who have earned the right to do so.
YouTube video highlighting various changes made in the Nintendo Switch remake:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiLRSBsOiFA
Indian Country Today article on cultural appropriation of warbonnets:
https://web.archive.org/web/20170706114746/https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/culture/sports/houska-i-didnt-know-doesnt-cut-it-anymore/
Native Appropriations article on why wearing warbonnets as generic headgear is considered offensive among Native Americans:
https://web.archive.org/web/20160513074733/http://nativeappropriations.com/2010/04/but-why-cant-i-wear-a-hipster-headdress.html
Texas Law Review paper on Native American perspectives on cultural appropriation:
https://texaslawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/RileyCarpenter.FinalPDF.pdf
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kiLRSBsOiFA
Indian Country Today article on cultural appropriation of warbonnets:
https://web.archive.org/web/20170706114746/https://indiancountrymedianetwork.com/culture/sports/houska-i-didnt-know-doesnt-cut-it-anymore/
Native Appropriations article on why wearing warbonnets as generic headgear is considered offensive among Native Americans:
https://web.archive.org/web/20160513074733/http://nativeappropriations.com/2010/04/but-why-cant-i-wear-a-hipster-headdress.html
Texas Law Review paper on Native American perspectives on cultural appropriation:
https://texaslawreview.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/RileyCarpenter.FinalPDF.pdf
subdirectory_arrow_right Batman: Arkham Trilogy (Game)
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The Nintendo Switch version of Batman: Arkham Trilogy pays tribute to Kevin Conroy, a long-time voice actor of Batman including the Arkham Trilogy, who passed away in November 2022. Once the credits roll on the first game in the trilogy, Batman: Arkham Asylum, a black and white drawing of Gotham City appears with the text: “In memory of Kevin Conroy”.
Batman: Arkham Trilogy on Switch pays tribute to Kevin Conroy:
https://www.eurogamer.net/batman-arkham-trilogy-on-switch-pays-tribute-to-kevin-conroy
Batman: Arkham Trilogy on Nintendo Switch Includes Tribute to Voice Actor Kevin Conroy:
https://www.ign.com/articles/batman-arkham-trilogy-on-nintendo-switch-includes-tribute-to-voice-actor-kevin-conroy
Batman: Arkham Trilogy on Nintendo Switch Includes Tribute to Voice Actor Kevin Conroy:
https://nordic.ign.com/batman-arkham-trilogy/76292/news/batman-arkham-trilogy-on-nintendo-switch-includes-tribute-to-voice-actor-kevin-conroy
https://www.eurogamer.net/batman-arkham-trilogy-on-switch-pays-tribute-to-kevin-conroy
Batman: Arkham Trilogy on Nintendo Switch Includes Tribute to Voice Actor Kevin Conroy:
https://www.ign.com/articles/batman-arkham-trilogy-on-nintendo-switch-includes-tribute-to-voice-actor-kevin-conroy
Batman: Arkham Trilogy on Nintendo Switch Includes Tribute to Voice Actor Kevin Conroy:
https://nordic.ign.com/batman-arkham-trilogy/76292/news/batman-arkham-trilogy-on-nintendo-switch-includes-tribute-to-voice-actor-kevin-conroy
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The Japanese and Korean releases radically alter the final boss theme, adding a second movement and raising the pitch of the French horn soundfont. This version of the music also changes the loop to start at the added portion rather than going back to the beginning of the song. The extent of these changes implies that the music was unfinished when the original international release came out.
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Within the code of the Atari 7800 version is a hidden developer message stating, "Mommy and me are one". In 1985, experiments to gauge the practice of subliminal messaging had used this exact phrase, which is alleged to have raised self-motivation in test subjects.
The Cutting Room Floor article:
https://tcrf.net/Karateka_(Atari_7800)
"Mommy and I are one: Implications for psychotherapy" by Lloyd H. Silverman and Joel Weinberger:
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1986-15022-001
https://tcrf.net/Karateka_(Atari_7800)
"Mommy and I are one: Implications for psychotherapy" by Lloyd H. Silverman and Joel Weinberger:
https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1986-15022-001
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The Sega Genesis version of Action 52 was directed by a young Jay Phillip Obernolte, who would later succeed Paul Cook as a Republican member of California's House of Representatives on January 3, 2021.
City of Big Bear Lake official biography for Obernolte's time on the City Council as Mayor, including description of him founding FarSight Studios:
https://web.archive.org/web/20140415120336/http://www.citybigbearlake.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=302%3Ajay-p-obernolte-biography&catid=45&Itemid=57
FarSight Studios website listing for Action 52:
http://farsightstudios.com/portfolio/1993-action-52/
Action 52 Genesis longplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsg2n6TvKYM
https://web.archive.org/web/20140415120336/http://www.citybigbearlake.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=302%3Ajay-p-obernolte-biography&catid=45&Itemid=57
FarSight Studios website listing for Action 52:
http://farsightstudios.com/portfolio/1993-action-52/
Action 52 Genesis longplay:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gsg2n6TvKYM
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High Boo's Thought Peek quote, "*sigh* ♪Stomp, stomp, clap. Stomp, stomp, clap.♪", references the 1977 song "We Will Rock You" by English glam rock band Queen. The song famously features a percussion section consisting of two stomped eighth notes followed by a clapped quarter note. Uniquely, this reference is a new addition to the remake; in the original SNES version, High Boo (known there as Li'l Boo) says "Beep pa doodle-dee!♪"
Compilation of Thought Peek quotes in the remake (High Boo appears at 14:34):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwAq8OWJvUk
Compilation of Psychopath quotes in the SNES version (Li'l Boo appears at 22:38):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO2sMCZMLME
Queen - "We Will Rock You":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tJYN-eG1zk
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwAq8OWJvUk
Compilation of Psychopath quotes in the SNES version (Li'l Boo appears at 22:38):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JO2sMCZMLME
Queen - "We Will Rock You":
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-tJYN-eG1zk
subdirectory_arrow_right Mario Bros. Classic Serie (Game)
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In 1993, an enhanced version of the NES Mario Bros. was released exclusively in Italy and Germany, under the "Classic Serie" label, which reimplements the enemy introduction cutscenes and icicle hazard from the arcade version, and allows Mario to turn in the middle of jumping.
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The Virtual Console versions of Mario's Super Picross replace three puzzles, likely due to legal issues:
• The likeness of Marilyn Monroe, which was replaced by a tortoise.
• A set of Tetrominos from Tetris, which was replaced by a hermit crab.
• The painting The Scream by Edvard Munch, which was replaced by a chameleon.
Despite The Scream and Monroe's likeness entering the public domain in 2015 and 2012 respectively, the Wii U; New 3DS; and Switch versions of the game keep the replaced puzzles.
• The likeness of Marilyn Monroe, which was replaced by a tortoise.
• A set of Tetrominos from Tetris, which was replaced by a hermit crab.
• The painting The Scream by Edvard Munch, which was replaced by a chameleon.
Despite The Scream and Monroe's likeness entering the public domain in 2015 and 2012 respectively, the Wii U; New 3DS; and Switch versions of the game keep the replaced puzzles.
Version Changes:
https://tcrf.net/Mario%27s_Super_Picross
Marilyn Monroe public domain:
https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2012/10/marilyn_monroes.htm
The Scream public domain:
https://qz.com/320717/youre-about-to-see-a-lot-more-legal-versions-of-the-scream
https://tcrf.net/Mario%27s_Super_Picross
Marilyn Monroe public domain:
https://blog.ericgoldman.org/archives/2012/10/marilyn_monroes.htm
The Scream public domain:
https://qz.com/320717/youre-about-to-see-a-lot-more-legal-versions-of-the-scream
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The cutscene for the final stage in Um Jammer Lammy has Lammy, Ma-San, and Katy Kat all rush to the same door and apologize for being late as they got in a "lot of mess", implying that Katy and Ma-San had similar adventures to Lammy. In the American version of the game, Lammy gets to the door in her camouflage outfit from the censored island stage, and to adjust for this, Ma-San gains a Middle Eastern turban and camel, while Katy gains a military helmet and bullet strap, giving a further clue as to what adventures they could've gone on.