Difference between revisions of "Osomatsu-kun Hachamecha Gekijou"

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Fujio Akatsuka, author of the original manga, was outspokenly critical about video games and considered them to be a problem plaguing Japanese youth. After the release of ''Osomatsu-kun Hachamecha Gekijou'', the author was so offended by its poor quality that during a meeting with developers [[Sega R&D 2]], Akatsuka became enraged and threw an ashtray at one of the developers. Confirmed by multiple employees of both [[Sega]] and [[SIMS]] (which many ''Osomatsu-kun'' staff later migrated to), the story of Akatsuka's thrown ashtray spread to other employees within the company, and eventually to the gaming public.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20180917164355/https://mdshock.com/2018/09/16/osomatsu-kun-the-bizarre-story-of-the-mega-drives-most-infamous-game/}}
 
Fujio Akatsuka, author of the original manga, was outspokenly critical about video games and considered them to be a problem plaguing Japanese youth. After the release of ''Osomatsu-kun Hachamecha Gekijou'', the author was so offended by its poor quality that during a meeting with developers [[Sega R&D 2]], Akatsuka became enraged and threw an ashtray at one of the developers. Confirmed by multiple employees of both [[Sega]] and [[SIMS]] (which many ''Osomatsu-kun'' staff later migrated to), the story of Akatsuka's thrown ashtray spread to other employees within the company, and eventually to the gaming public.{{ref|https://web.archive.org/web/20180917164355/https://mdshock.com/2018/09/16/osomatsu-kun-the-bizarre-story-of-the-mega-drives-most-infamous-game/}}
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==Quotes==
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{{quote|[[Sega]] was thinking about what titles to release with its new [[Mega Drive|16-bit platform]]. They ended up losing [[Tetris]], and the titles they did release were just no good. [[Altered Beast]] and Osomatsu-kun… the quality of that one was really “shoddy.” They were worthless titles. For Altered Beast, I wanted to use the same large amount of memory as the [[Altered Beast|System 16 arcade version]]. In that case, it would have been much better. However, when you significantly reduce the memory, the end result is not good. This happened with three or four titles.
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At the time, we held this huge promotional event. We had [https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q11259796 Seikō Itō] [a Japanese celebrity] there. We announced that the 16-bit era had arrived, and we showed off several games. Everybody there was dumbfounded at how bad the games were.
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When I saw this, I thought that I had made a huge mistake in the design of the [[Mega Drive]]’s architecture. I thought that the hardware was only capable of putting out games like that. A bit later, I saw the shooting game [[Thunder Force II]], which made great use of the specific functions of the 16-bit platform, such as line scrolling. And this was from a third party developer. When I saw that game, I finally felt relieved that I hadn’t been so wrong in the design of the architecture. Up to that point, the titles Sega had put out were worthless.{{ref|Hideki Sato, Oral History 3.1. February, 2018, p.24}}|''Sega R&D Head and [[Mega Drive]] designer [[Hideki Sato]]''}}
  
 
==Reception==
 
==Reception==

Revision as of 18:27, 14 August 2021

n/a

Osomatsukun MDTitleScreen.png

Osomatsu-kun Hachamecha Gekijou
System(s): Sega Mega Drive
Publisher: Sega
Developer:
Licensor: Fujio Pro, Kodansha, Studio Pierrot
Genre: Action[1][2]

















Number of players: 1
Release Date RRP Code
Sega Mega Drive
JP
¥5,5005,500 G-4005

This short article is in need of work. You can help Sega Retro by adding to it.


Osomatsu-kun Hachamecha Gekijou (おそ松くん はちゃめちゃ劇場) is a Sega Mega Drive action game developed by Sega R&D 2 and published by Sega. Based on the Japanese media franchise Osomatsu-kun, it was released exclusively in Japan in December 1988, and alongside arcade ports like Super Thunder Blade and Altered Beast, was the first original game developed for Sega's new 16-bit platform. Notable for its overwhelmingly poor critical reception, the game was universally panned for its short length, maze-like gameplay, frustrating controls, irritating soundtrack, and frequent crashes, and has gained a cult reputation as one of the worst games on the Sega Mega Drive.

As Osomatsu-kun predates the development of the TradeMark Security System, it will only function properly on pre-VA6 revision Model 1 Sega Mega Drive hardware.

Story

Iyami and Chibita have kidnapped Karamatsu, Choromatsu, Ichimatsu, Jyushimatsu, and Todomatsu in retaliation for being attacked by them and Osomatsu. Osomatsu sets out to rescue them, armed only with a slingshot. The plot of the game is presented in a short manga in the manual.

Gameplay

B shoots balls from a slingshot that only go a short way before disappearing. C jumps; Up+C jumps higher. Up enters doors. Down crouches.  START  bring up some sort of items menu; Up in the pause menu select the item and A use that selected item.

Stages (incomplete)

The game is divided into three main stages, which are subdivided into four areas (the main area, the sky area, the water area and the underground area).

OKHG MD Stage1A.jng Stage 1 - Momotarou Densetsu (Legend of Peachboy)
Sub Boss: Momotarou Chibita
Boss: Kabuki Iyami
Stage 2 - Snow White
Sub Boss: Witch Dekapan
Boss: Snow White Iyami
Stage 3 - Prehistory
Sub Boss: Smilodon Iyami
Boss: Dinosaur Iyami

Development

Osomatsu-kun Hachamecha Gekijou was originally developed for a 4MB cartridge, but due to chip shortages being experienced by Japan, the game was notably reduced to a 2MB cartridge. To accommodate this, Sega R&D 2 removed the second half of the game entirely, from the levels to the end-game credits.[3]

Fujio Akatsuka, author of the original manga, was outspokenly critical about video games and considered them to be a problem plaguing Japanese youth. After the release of Osomatsu-kun Hachamecha Gekijou, the author was so offended by its poor quality that during a meeting with developers Sega R&D 2, Akatsuka became enraged and threw an ashtray at one of the developers. Confirmed by multiple employees of both Sega and SIMS (which many Osomatsu-kun staff later migrated to), the story of Akatsuka's thrown ashtray spread to other employees within the company, and eventually to the gaming public.[3]

Quotes

Sega was thinking about what titles to release with its new 16-bit platform. They ended up losing Tetris, and the titles they did release were just no good. Altered Beast and Osomatsu-kun… the quality of that one was really “shoddy.” They were worthless titles. For Altered Beast, I wanted to use the same large amount of memory as the System 16 arcade version. In that case, it would have been much better. However, when you significantly reduce the memory, the end result is not good. This happened with three or four titles.

At the time, we held this huge promotional event. We had Seikō Itō [a Japanese celebrity] there. We announced that the 16-bit era had arrived, and we showed off several games. Everybody there was dumbfounded at how bad the games were.

When I saw this, I thought that I had made a huge mistake in the design of the Mega Drive’s architecture. I thought that the hardware was only capable of putting out games like that. A bit later, I saw the shooting game Thunder Force II, which made great use of the specific functions of the 16-bit platform, such as line scrolling. And this was from a third party developer. When I saw that game, I finally felt relieved that I hadn’t been so wrong in the design of the architecture. Up to that point, the titles Sega had put out were worthless.[4]

Sega R&D Head and Mega Drive designer Hideki Sato


Reception

Universally panned upon release, the game has gained a cult following as a classic kusoge (shit game), and was frequently voted one of the absolute worst Sega Mega Drive games by readers of Beep! Mega Drive magazine.[3]

Magazine articles

Main article: Osomatsu-kun Hachamecha Gekijou/Magazine articles.

Promotional material

Logo-pdf.svg
Print advert in Beep! MegaDrive (JP) #0: "Extra issue of Beep!" (1989-04-27)
Logo-pdf.svg

Physical scans

Sega Retro Average 
Publication Score Source
{{{{{icon}}}|L}} Division by zero.
Based on
0 review
Sega Retro Average 
Publication Version Score
Aktueller Software Markt (DE)
64
[5]
Beep! MegaDrive (JP) NTSC-J
40
[6]
Famitsu (JP) NTSC-J
58
[7]
Joystick (FR) NTSC-J
75
[8]
Mega Drive Fan (JP) NTSC-J
51
[9]
Sega Saturn Magazine (JP) NTSC-J
33
[10]
Sega Mega Drive
53
Based on
6 reviews

Osomatsu-kun Hachamecha Gekijou

Mega Drive, JP
OsomatsuKun MD JP Box.jpg
Cover
Osomatsukun MD JP CartTop.jpg
OsomatsuKun MD JP Cart.jpg
Cart
Osomatsukun MD jp manual.pdf
Manual

Technical information

ROM dump status

System Hash Size Build Date Source Comments
Sega Mega Drive
CRC32
MD5
SHA-1 ?
256kB 1988 Cartridge (JP)

References