In November of 2003, unbeknown to the world at large, Fuji TV began airing a show by the name of
ゲームセンターCX (asshole points +10 for the use of actual Japanese script!), otherwise known as GameCenter CX. Starring "The Kachō", (section chief) Shinya Arino, GameCenter CX revolves around retro games and Arino's quest to conquer them. More often than not, Arino spends upwards of a dozen hours attempting to complete a specific challenge. Ranging from getting a perfect in a bonus stage of Galaga, to completing extremely difficult and aberrant games, such as Atlantis no Nazo, Arino often struggles with the challenge he's set with. Using the help of strategy guides, cheat codes, and sometimes more talented individuals, Arino tries his damnedest to complete the challenge he's faced with.

In what is probably the most fitting piece of license-based software to ever be released, Retro Game Challenge has you performing the same types of tasks Arino does on the show.

The basic premise of the story is that Demon Arino, the Retro Game Master, has torn you from the present time and flung you into the 80's in order to test your skill the way he once tested his. Arriving in the year 1984, you meet a much younger Arino, and proceed to face the challenges laid out for you. With each new game come 4 challenges. Some may take you 30 seconds, others will take longer, or require repeated attempts. They vary in scope, some involving simply beating a specific level, or defeating a certain number of enemies, while longer ones involve beating an entire dungeon in Guadia Quest, or completing Robot Ninja Haggleman.

The real draw for Retro Game Challenge are in the games themselves, each is modeled like an NES 8-bit game, and all of them bear striking similarities to classic 8-bit titles. You'll have to challenge games from all kinds of genres that were popular in the 80's, including shooters, platformers, and even an epic RPG. Amongst the 8 different titles you'll need to challenge over the course of the game, only one stands out as a bit of a let down, that being Rally King SP, a top-down racer which is essentially the same as the original Rally King you unlock earlier in the game. The rest are all true 8-bit throwbacks, and pretty much universally fantastic, with the Ninja Gaiden/Legend of Kage/Castlevania styled Robot Ninja Haggleman 3 being the real standout.

Adding to the simple allure of "new" retro games are all of the nods to the 8-bit era of gaming. Not only in the games themselves, but out. Things like the fictional GameFan magazine, which Arino brings home from time to time, will immediately strike a nostalgic chord for anyone who grew up reading old issues of Nintendo Power, GamePro or EGM. And while these magazines, and things like a nod to Nintendo's full-length commercial The Wizard, are more late 80's, early 90's, than mid 80's, they're still fantastic.

Other great little touches come in the form of Engrish translations, little nods to EGM HoF's Dan Shu and James Mielke, and seemingly endless little winks at games and companies from the era. If you don't get the significance of finding a duck in a graveyard, feeling asleep, or being a bad dude, you may not exactly feel the same way about the game as I do, but if you don't know who Meijin Takahashi is, or why 14 button presses is important, I'll forgive you.

I guess what I'm trying to get at here is that while the games included in Retro Game Challenge are good enough to entertain anyone, the real treat comes from all the nudge and winks that get thrown at you almost constantly. If you love games, it comes highly recommended. If you love, know about, or grew up in the 8-bit era, you need Retro Game Challenge.