Do you know the KACHO?

Once upon a time, the severe hardware limits of early games consoles forced developers to increase games' difficulty so they would last longer. Kids repeatedly suffered at the hands of of cruel game design, often giving up when the conditions were too strict.

Suddenly, this man enters: A middle-aged Japanese comedian who had such experiences as a child, and now as an adult, vows to show the endings of the hardest retro games to everyone, thus getting revenge on behalf of those who once knew this suffering.



# The TV Show #
 Shinya Arino, the Section Chief at fictional company 'Game Center CX', is given a full day to meet the Clear Conditions of a notoriously difficult retro game. The filming crew always provide good banter, and the skillful ADs (director's assistants), who test and clear games beforehand, can be called on to overcome trickier parts.

Episodes are typically an hour long (although some challenges spill over into multiple episodes), and in the TV broadcast version there are small gaming culture and 80's nostalgia segments.

The combo of Arino's quirks and humour, the standout personalities of the crew, and the genuine passion for gaming creates a "homely" and "involving" show that gets you laughing along with their jokes, sharing their pain during defeat, and being relieved when the challenges are completed against the odds.


Latest Episode (as of 2015/01/18) - #193: R-TYPE

Active Translation Groups:
 - SomethingAwful "SA-GCCX" (2nd group link)
 - Last Continue "LC-GCCX" (3rd group link)
 
Other Translation Groups:
 - Discotek (Produced the "Retro Game Master" DVD, with a choice between Japanese and mixed English/Japanese audio tracks)
 - /vr/-GCCX (Made a few releases, merged with SA-GCCX)
 - Clover (Former SA team collaborators)
 - TV-Nihon (Ignores other groups, infamously bad for translation errors; avoid their releases if an alternative is available)



# The DS Games #
 Released on Nintendo DS in Japan and the US (as "Retro Game Challenge"), the game opens with a brief (crazy) intoduction: Arino's constant desire to triumph over difficult games eventually overflowed, leaking into his own DS and creating a virtual version of himself. This virtual doppleganger is powerful, capturing skilled gamers and forcing them through torturous retro challenges for his amusement... and you're the latest victim!

You end up trapped as a kid in the 80's, fighting for your right to go home. Arino's younger self supports you the whole way, buying Famicom games & magazines, and telling you about interesting game rumours.

The 8 games have 4 challenges each, plus a final 'gauntlet' challenge where you must reach the True Ending screen of every one. They include:

 - Robot Ninja Haggle Man - (Mario + Mega Man)
 - Guadia Quest - (Final Fantasy + Dragon Quest)
 - Star Prince (Vertical scrolling shooter)

The DS sequel has 9 new games + 6 remakes, and has been translated by fans. A 3rd game for 3DS is available only in Japan.