Episode 351: Gunpei Yokoi (Pt. 2)
Added 2021-01-11 14:00:05 +0000 UTCExactly 10 episodes after the first part of this conversation, here is the second. I'm making a serious effort this year to be timely with multi-part topics like this—though of course the best-laid plans and all that. At least it's going well so far! (Less than two weeks into the year.)
Matt Alt, Bill Mudron, and I reconvene for another conversation about the work of Gunpei Yokoi, which ended last time around before we even got to his video game stuff, somehow. This time, it's all video games. Perhaps inevitably, the conversation expands beyond Yokoi's work alone to the larger context of Nintendo's history, and that of video games at large, and (given Matt's expertise) how it all lines up with Japan's growth in the latter 20th Century. There's going to be a bit of overlap between the chat in this episode and the upcoming Famicom Disk System episode, but that's history, baby!
Description: Jeremy Parish, Matt Alt, and Bill Mudron conclude their discussion of the life and times of Gunpei Yokoi (and the larger history of video games) by looking back at the inventions he helped spearhead, from Nintendo's Game & Watch to Bandai's WonderSwan. Art by Greg Melo. Edits by Greg Leahy.
Comments
Matt Alt's understanding of all things Japanese brings a lot to the chabudai.
Cajun Baz
2021-01-26 05:33:06 +0000 UTCThe Okada information here is fascinating. Didn’t expect to learn something that surprising!
Conner McCabe
2021-01-19 00:50:28 +0000 UTCMany thanks
Normallyretro
2021-01-18 14:19:21 +0000 UTCHere's the full listing of musical inserts for the episode: 14:28 - Super Smash Bros. Melee: Flat Zone 27:44 - Game & Watch Gallery 2: Ball 35:49 - Game & Watch Gallery 4: Mario's Cement Factory 48:42 - Popeye (Arcade): Level 1 =[Ad Break]= Famicom Tantei Club Part II (FDS): Title Theme 56:26 - Tetris (GB): B-Type 1:02:52 - Super Mario Land: Marine Pop, Sky Pop! 1:13:14 - Galactic Pinball (VB): Lucky Star 1:29:35 - Final Fantasy IV (WonderSwan): Cry in Sorrow (Part 2) Closing - Gunpey (PSP): Leftover From My Bestfriend I listened to quite a number of Virtual Boy soundtracks before I settled on the Galactic Pinball song; there's some other fun tracks in that game, including a version of Super Metroid's "Theme of Samus Aran" to go with her cameo.
Greg J
2021-01-15 18:31:08 +0000 UTCOMG. What is the sound of beauty at the 1:13:15 break??? I have to have that song.
Normallyretro
2021-01-15 14:27:52 +0000 UTCAhh...the Chaos Boys again
crystalhearts
2021-01-14 17:06:13 +0000 UTCI can’t feel offense when it’s true
Diamond Feit
2021-01-13 05:38:24 +0000 UTCBelieve it or not, those tabletop Game and Watches only *look* like they're illuminated by bulbs. You see that white plastic patch on top? That's where natural light comes in over a monochrome LCD that blocks the light when each character shape is on and filled. The light shines through colored acetate on the roof of the unit, and by way of a mirror, it looks like an illuminated VFD. Again, superb engineering using withered technology that feels premium! As for why such a low drain device would be churning through your C batteries, that's a mystery to me - maybe they were "Heavy Duty" which last 1/16th as long as their Alkaline equivalents.
2021-01-12 21:02:09 +0000 UTCMore retro episodes just like this please !!! This was a 10/10. No offense to the other Retronaut cohosts, but this trio is possibly my favorite configuration
The Real Stevie Lew
2021-01-12 03:02:48 +0000 UTCThat Mario’s Cement Factory tabletop came out the same day I did. April 28, 1983.
Eric Plunk
2021-01-11 21:44:25 +0000 UTC
