Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Acquisition #146: Otocky (Famicom Disk System)

My initial idea was to begin this post by saying, "I have no idea why I recently bought this game." I thought that because, truth be told, although I own a rather wonderful Twin Famicom system--a cherry red one; here's a photo of it, and here's another--I rarely play it or the many cartridges and disks I've acquired for it thus far. (Yes, that means I tend to play said games via emulation these days.)

As such, picking up yet another Famicom game--especially a disk system one, as I play them even less than their cart-based counterparts--seemed to me to be a waste of money at best.

So, why'd I go through with this particular purchase? Well, beyond the fact that this game--ASCII's Otocky, which was released in Japan in 1987--is completely awesome, I went through with it because I'd never before seen a complete-in-box copy of it for sale and I was worried I'd never come across one again.

Before I move on to some of the photos I snapped of this acquisition, I probably should share a detail or two about Otocky with those of you who've never heard of it. The main thing you should know: It was conceived and designed by the great Toshio Iwai, who later made Electroplankton for the Nintendo DS.

Otocky is every bit as experimental as the aforementioned DS game, although I personally find this one--which conceals its musical aspects within the confines of a side-scrolling shmup--to be both more accessible and more fun. (To catch a glimpse of the game in action, check out this gameplay video.)

With all of that background information out of the way, let's get to what most of you likely clicked on this post to see: Otocky's packaging. Here's the front of the game's box:



And here's the back of its box:



The game's box is larger than most Famicom games, by the way. In fact, I'd say it's nearly the size of a PC game box. Why? Don't worry, I'll get to that in a second.



The photo above shows off the case that contains the Otocky disk. Sure, the art is the same as what was used on the game's outer packaging, but it's so cute and colorful I'm not going to complain.



So, here we get to the reason for the outer box's girth: Otocky's manual. If someone were to tell me that it's the largest instruction manual to be included with a Famicom game, I wouldn't bat an eye. Not only is it large in terms of dimensions, but it's also large in terms of number of pages. It's 72 pages long!



Thankfully, it's not simply 72 pages of text. In fact, it includes a number of completely adorable illustrations--one of which can be see above, and one of which can be seen below--that are nearly worth the price of admission all on their own, in my opinion.



I also really like the pages shown in the photo below, which shine a light on a few of Otocky's enemies.



If you somehow haven't gotten your fill of Otocky information in this post, head on over to my Flickr photostream to see a few more photos of its outer packaging and its disk.

See also: Previous 'Acquisition #123' posts

11 comments:

RetroKingSimon said...

Every time I see this game I want to play it very much. But I don't think I can :(

sharc said...

nice find! i forgot you collect fds stuff. it's a really nice box; for whatever reason fds packaging is all over the map, with stuff like the wavejack boxed sets or bubble bobble coming in a zippered plastic pouch.

advance warning: if you settle down to beat otocky, be prepared for a fight!

Bryan Ochalla said...

What do you mean, Simon? You can't play it via emulation? I'm pretty sure I've done that in the past, although I can't remember which emulator I used...

Bryan Ochalla said...

Hey there, sharc! Yeah, I collect FDS stuff a *bit*. I'm more into Famicom carts, though. I just couldn't pass this up after coming across it on eBay.

Speaking of Bubble Bobble FDS: I vow to get it someday! I already have the disk itself, but I really want the pouch and manual, too :)

Thanks for the warning about beating Otocky. That actually makes me excited, as I thought the game was pretty easy when I first played it long ago. (Note: I didn't play it very long or get very far.)

warp said...

This looks amazing! BTW, I'm having trouble finding the Otocky photos on your Flickr -- do you have a better link?

Bryan Ochalla said...

Thanks, warp! I was blown away when I ripped open the package. I had no idea the box/manual were so big!

As for the photos -- I only just uploaded them, so if you checked earlier today you wouldn't have seen them. Sorry about that.

Just go to the front page of my photostream and you should see 13 of them -- http://www.flickr.com/photos/bochalla/

Tom Badguy said...

Cool find. I've never even heard of that before.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Really, Tom? Well, then, my work is done :)

Seriously, though, I've known about the game for years -- mainly because I'm a total nerd for anything related to the Famicom/NES -- and I've played it via emulation, but I've never seen it for sale on eBay. So, when I saw this rather pristine CIB copy of it a month or so, well, I couldn't pass it up.

Anyway, you should give it a go via emulation at some point. It's a very interesting hybrid of a shooter and a music game.

Melody (Lizzi) said...

Hey Bryan!
I just saw the european box-art of Paper Mario Sticker Star on Amazon.de!
Guess what?
We'll get the japanese cover... :(
Here's the link:

http://www.amazon.de/Nintendo-Paper-Mario-Sticker-Star/dp/B0071L2O32/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1352362318&sr=8-1

The cover and the manual of Otocky look so adorable!
I got Electroplankton for DS but never played it so much. Even if it was hard to get it in Germany.

By the way I preordered the black Wii U some months ago and found out now that it's completely sold out everywhere!!!
I'm so lucky that I preordered it as soon as possible.

Bryan Ochalla said...

Yeah, I came across the Euro box art for Paper Mario: Sticker Star, too. It's actually grown on me quite a bit, but it sounds like it hasn't grown on you?

I'm glad you like Otocky's cover and manual :) Have you ever played the game? If not, you should try it via emulation at some point. It's strange, but quite interesting and even fun.

I haven't played Electroplankton much either. I'm glad that I got a copy of it, but there just isn't much for non-musicians/non-artists to do, is there?

As for you and your Wii U: That's great! Are you getting about excited about it? I have to say, I'm starting to feel a bit sad that I decided to blow my birthday money on 3DS stuff rather than the Wii U. That's OK, though, as I'll get a Wii U sometime next year.

In the meantime, though, I hope you enjoy yours. Let me know what you think about it after you've spent some time with it, will you?

thegaygamer.com said...

Hello, Alvin! Thanks for the post. Always glad to meet another Otocky fan :)


As for me parting with Otocky: I wouldn't expect that to happen anytime soon, if ever. That said, I've seen other CIB copies of the game pop up on eBay from time to time, so if you're desperate for a copy of your own you may want to keep an eye on that site for a while.