Our latest journey into the other side of Japanese gaming finds a 99 year old Bomberman Master; real-life sword fighting from Tales of Vesperia, and more!
Welcome to the fourth edition of "The Other Side of Japanese Gaming News," where I'll share with you the interesting, funny, and sometimes just plain weird part of the gaming net that rarely makes it into English. Some of the following originate in Japan, while others just trend here. Check them out below, and keep tuning in every other Tuesday for additional doses of Japanese gaming news and culture.
bombergran [jprobe] by peakfloods
The 99-Year-Old Bomberman Master
Meet Umeji Narisawa, a 99-year-old living in Sendai, Japan. A great-grandmother, she spends her days enjoying her retirement... by playing Bomberman.
Her story starts nearly 26 years ago in December 1985, when her grandchildren bought a copy of the original Bomberman for the Famicon (or the Nintendo Entertainment System as it's known in the West). After seeing how much fun they were having at it, the then 73-year-old woman decided to try it for herself. She found it to be so fun that once she picked it up, she wasn't able to put it down. Her grandchildren could do nothing but sit on the floor and wait. Before long it became a part of her daily routine and she has spent several hours each day playing it ever since. She has unequivocally mastered all 50 levels of the game; and as it only takes her two-and-a-half hours to beat it, she sometimes completes the game twice in one day.
Narisawa adds that playing Bomberman daily has had several beneficial effects. Not only does she find that it keeps her mind sharp, but it has also kept her fingers so nimble that she is still able to thread a needle to this day. And while she doesn't play any other games, like all true gamers, she is always careful to follow standard protocol and give a good hard blow into the cartridge before starting it up.
Source: Nanikore / Japan Probe
Lady GaGa vs Final Fantasy
While not quite as popular in Japan as in the West, Lady Gaga has had no problem climbing to the top of the international charts over the past few years. So following the success of "Born This Way," Lady Gaga spent a few weeks in late June touring Japan. As all actors and musicians do upon arrival in Japan, Lady Gaga made the rounds of all the popular variety shows including Tetsuko's Room. Host Tetsuko Kuroyanagi—a woman not afraid to dress a bit on the crazy side herself from time to time—came sporting a traditional kimono. Lady Gaga, on the other hand, had her hair up in a conehead-esque twist, while wearing foot-tall heel-less platforms, fishnets, and what can only be described as a large leather garbage sack.
This hideous image flew across the net within hours. The dress was Photoshopped to be everything from an angel in Evangelion to a mobile armor in Gundam. But what topped them all was an image from Final Fantasy V with a pair of 16-bit Lady Gagas taking the place of the monsters facing off against Bartz' party. Personally, I can't get over the look Krile is giving us. It just screams what we are all thinking: "Really Gaga? Really!?"
Source: ＬＯＶＥＲＳ ＬＡＤＹ ＧＡＧＡ★速報・来日目撃情報
Source: Daily News from GamePro.com
Tuesday, August 2, 2011