Archive for TV

22 April, 2009 | 1 comment

Commercial Break: Supersonic Controller

Supersonic is the number one bet
it’s got no wires, it’s the one to get
Arcade action is where you’ll be
Supersonic will set you free!

No wires!

It works with Nintendo, it will do
Games for players one and two
Higher scores is what you’ll see
Supersonic will set you free!

No wires!

Supersonic!

Yes the SuperSonic, I honestly just heard about this controller today. Does anyone remember this thing? Did anyone have one? The claim to get higher scores in the rap seems misplaced as by the NES period kids were normally more concerned with beating the game. I am curious as to what wireless technology this thing used? What batteries did it take? Seeing it allow for unprotected space flight, it must have been amazing…

8 April, 2009 | 2 comments

Commercial Break: Microsoft Return of Arcade

This commercial caught me by surprise and just doesnt seem right. Listen closely to the announcers voice, why does he talk that weird way everytime Pole Position is mentioned? Maybe it reminds him of a club that he once visited and maybe taught him something about himself that he was better off not knowing. I am really glad they show us how to press F9, being one of the higher numbers that one gives me a problem. Finally, does anyone else think that the guy at the end looks like he is trying to dress a bit like the devil? Enjoy!

1 April, 2009 | No comments

Commercial Break: WOLFCHILD

I honestly did not know that this game came out for the Sega CD, or the SNES and Genesis for that matter. Wolfchild is a quite standard action platformer that offers solid enough control and varied surroundings, but is ultimately forgettable. I have continued playing it since it is one of the better Sega CD games in my possession, but that is surely no qualifier. Even this commercial fails to make Wolfchild look like much more than your standard fare. Did anything grab attention on this console? I am started to doubt it.

25 March, 2009 | 1 comment

Commercial Break: Sega CD

At least now angry black men won’t scream at me like the kid in this commercial. Do you notice that the gameplay in the commercial is all brief flashes and still looks bad? Does calling customers stupid really help sell more items? It sure did not help the Sega CD. Why is it that hair being blown up like you were electrocuted a sign of EXTREME in the 90s?

18 March, 2009 | No comments

Commercial Break: Ducktales

This weeks commercial is rather obscure. For my just past birthday, Chris from MMO-Corner.com picked me up a copy of Ducktales for the NES. As anyone that played them know that Capcom made numerous competent games based on Disney properties such as The Little Mermaid and Rescue Rangers. Ducktales stands out as the best one in my book, the music and the stages were all unique and wonderful. Scrooge was wonderful to control and had a number of useful moves at his disposal. Unfortunately I can find no trace of a U.S. released commercial for this game, so instead I offer you a Dutch commercial for the game, the music sounds odd and the scenes from the actual TV show seem to have been completely picked at random. I still to this day have not gotten to play Ducktales 2 for the NES, does anyone have any opinion of it?

11 March, 2009 | No comments

Commercial Break: Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening

The Legend of Zelda: Link’s Awakening followed the plot line of Mario Bros. 2, it is only a dream… But a great dream it is, the only tragedy with Link’s Awakening can only be enjoyed on the original Gameboy. That and for some reason Nintendo felt that a little elf guy in green still meant hiphop as we see in the American commercial.

When will Nintendo find a solution to let modern gamers gain access to the wealth of games on the original Gameboy. It is a console that had an unheard of lifespan and it is being lost. Without any collections or Virtual Console solutions important pieces of classic franchises are being forgotten, oh well I guess we can always play with puppets since it was good enough for Japan.

4 March, 2009 | No comments

Commercial Break: Super Metroid

So this week is Super Metroid. How was one of the most lauded games of all times marketed? It varies greatly depending on continent it would seem. America falls into what all game marketing was at the time, extreme. This game was so extreme it messes up dogs…that makes sense right?

Next is the German take on Super Metroid. From classical to straight butt rock, wailing guitar awesome. That is what Super Metroid causes. Nintendo seems very proud of that 24 meg regardless of nation and regardless of anyones knowledge of what 24 meg even meant at that time.

Finally we have what I feel is Super Metroid done right in the Japanese marketing take. Seriously this commercial could have been given an english voice over and would have turned alot more heads.

Regardless of the commercials though Super Metroid is one of the greatest games of the 16 bit era, if not one of the greatest of all time.

25 February, 2009 | No comments

Commercial Break: Konami

So this weekend I got down with a sweet game of Double Dribble. I was rocking those Frogs so hard with the Chicago Bul…Bison? Cows? Sure Double Dribble lacked real teams, but it is still one of the best basketball games around. This week I went hunting for a commercial tied to Double Dribble. While one does not exist I did dig up this old Konami commercial. This ad really reminds me more of what you would expect advertising to look like during the heydays of the Atari 2600. I have to agree that most of Konami’s offerings on the NES were top notch, but I think we could have had a better piece of music playing at the point the kid brings rocking up.  I wonder how many other publishers were out pushing there name in general and not just one game?

18 February, 2009 | No comments

Commercial Break: Dr. Mario

Sorry for a drought of posts, but I have caught some kind of bug. Being ill though made me think of Nintendo’s own mascot and how he deals with viruses. So here we have all of the Dr. Mario commercials. The first one is entirely standard fair, typical early 90’s effects and just hit you in the face at random imagery.

This second commercial is one of the few times that I think Nintendo was not afraid to use licensed music. Maybe using an older song to attract the Tetris loving adults?

Finally, the Japanese commercial sells with sex…I guess. Big thing about this commercial is in the middle of the shenanigans they actually show how the gameplay works.

Once my illness passes I will be starting another series here on RetroGoggles. The series will be RetroRepairs, where I will walk you through all the common repairs needed to keep classic equipment functioning. Until next time the power is yours…

11 February, 2009 | No comments

Commercial Break: Bonk’s Adventure

To accompany my newest TG-16 game I present you with the commercial for Bonk’s Adventure. Looking back I have to wonder what made the Turbo Grafx fail. With commercials like this one, it is easy to see that the games looked really great. Perhaps it was that the games came on small cards and at the time that must have meant they were smaller in content as well? While the game is great, is a cavedude a hero? Then again, is a plumber? My biggest disappointment with this commercial is it is very characteristic of the times, ultimately making it forgetable.

For an added bonus this week check out the Japanese commercial for Bonk’s Adventure. Seriously, this thing makes no sense. To me I want to see game footage, but does that make for a better commercial? Would this one get you interested in what Bonk had to offer, or were they just riding on Japan’s love of giant monsters?

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