Media Monday.

I know what you're thinking. Where is the review for Lone Wolf and Cub 4? Well, to be perfectly honest I wanted to take a little break from the series. Don't worry I'll finish the last three movies and and get my reviews up starting next week. This week I wanted to talk about something different. Check after the jump to learn what that above picture is about.

Today we are going to talk about GameCenter CX sometimes referred to as Retro Game Master. GameCenter CX is a Japanese TV show that follows Shinya Arino, a Japanese comedian, as he attempts to play and conquer some of the hardest retro video games ever released. The series began on November 4, 2003 and has run for 122 episodes over 15 seasons. The show usually featured Famicom (the Japanese version of the Nintendo Entertainment System) games. Although over the years games from other systems such as the Sega Mega Drive (Sega Genesis), PC Engine (Turbo Grafix 16), and Super Famicom (Super NES).

Other than the challenges the show features a number of other segments. Such as "You Should Visit this Game Center Sometime" in which Arino visits local arcades recommended to him by viewers. Some of these segments would be featured for only a few seasons. Such as "The Game Center CX Game-itization Project" which was all about the development of the GameCenter CX video game.

Speaking of which the game was released in America under the name "Retro Game Master". It is a Nintendo DS game that has a number of retro style video games, complete with cheat codes, you can play. The story has the main character teleported back in time and forced to play video games. The games start as simple 8bit games and become more complex as the story goes on. If you interested in game with varied gameplay and a retro feel I highly recommend it. There is also a sequel but it has not seen a US release and probably won't.

Apparently the Japanese think that Bald Eagles wear hats.

The fact that the game has been localized to the US shows just how popular GameCenter CX is becoming. Thanks to the Internet there are a number of episodes available for download. The website Kotaku has a number of episodes that are both subtitled and dubbed available for viewing here. Unfortunately Kotaku has not been able to retain the rights to the show and the episodes will not be available for much longer.

Luckily there are other places where you can get you Arino fix. Namely TV Nihon. TV Nihon is a fansub website that hosts a number of Japanese series that they subtitle for free. While this is somewhat of a legal grey area I have no problem downloading from them. It is the only way that you can find any of the shows they host with subtitles. You can see their GameCenter CX episodes here.

The look of a middle aged man beating a video game.

It may seem like an odd thing to watch another person play video games, but it is greatly entertaining. I don't consider myself much of a gamer. While I do enjoy portable games, I can and have gone long stretches of time without playing video games. Even with that I really enjoy this show. It allows me to see games I would never have known exist, watch how they are played, and how they end. All the while being entertained by a funny and likable host. Give it a shot you may just like it.