Monday, June 30, 2014

The Gay Gamer Giveaway™: Osawagase Penguin Boy (GameBoy) Edition

Are you tired of being given the chance to win free Japanese GameBoy cartridges? I hope not, because I'm offering up another one today.

This Gay Gamer Giveaway™ is for the cart showcased in the photo below, which contains an adorably fun little ditty known in Japan as Osawagase Penguin Boy. (Elsewhere it went by the name Amazing Penguin.)

If you've never played this Natsume-made joint, it basically combines elements of Kickle CubiclePengo and Qix.


Should that mean nothing to you, just know that the mash-up results in an enjoyable time-waster that calls to mind the kind of classic "quarter muncher" gameplay (see: Dig Dug, Donkey Kong, Pac-Man and the like--not that Osawagase Penguin Boy resembles these particular titles in any way) that's rarely revisited these days, even in the retro-tinged releases that still seem to be all the rage.

Anyway, should you want to own a copy of this unique title, share the name of your favorite retro arcade game (there are no wrong responses) in the comments section below between now and the morning of Monday, July 7--which is when I'll randomly point to one of those comments and send the person who published it the rather ragged-looking cart (sorry about that, it came that way) seen above.

See also: previous Gay Gamer Giveaway™ posts

26 comments:

TheGameroomBlitz said...

Since I already own Amazing Penguin in its US form, I'll pass on the contest. However, I'd have to say that Galaga is the best arcade title from the early '80s, with Ms. Pac-Man following close behind.

Mahala said...

The arcade game that has impressed me the most has to be Virtual On, with it's fast action and unusual control scheme. One of the best games on Dreamcast, I'm looking forward to playing VOOT on a real cabinet sometime!

Thanks for all these giveaways, you seem to have good tastes

thegaygamer.com said...

You got it, Jess :) I definitely agree with you about Galaga and Ms. Pac-Man being great, although I'd probably put the latter before the former, personally...

thegaygamer.com said...

Oh, that's a great response, Mahala! Sadly, I've never even seen a Virtual On arcade cabinet, let alone played one.


BTW, does this mean you'd like to be considered for the giveaway? I'm guessing so, but I just want to be sure!

Justin Difazzio said...

My favorite arcade title? It's called Bubbles, and you play as a bubble in a sink, wiping out suds and things to get bigger and bigger until you can get safely down the sink's drain. It's pretty fun!

thegaygamer.com said...

Really? I've never even heard of this game, Justin! Guess I'll have to consult the Googles in a second :)

TheGameroomBlitz said...

It's on Midway Arcade's Greatest Hits, Midway Arcade Treasures, and Midway Arcade Origins if that helps!

thegaygamer.com said...

A Midway joint, eh? I don't have any of those compilations you just pointed out, by the way, but I'll definitely jot them down and consider them in the future :)

Kaze said...

I haven't played the others, but I'm sitll going strong with Tomodachi Life! lol Although that may start to taper off now that the Miis of my bf and I are married! It took my Mii forever to pop the question I guess he had cold feet! lol Also, I must have missed your Tomodachi Life QR code! I'll have to go double check your posts. ^^

So the original Denpa Men is your favorite in the series? I loved what I played of it but I need to finish it! (I have 2 waiting in the wings too just cuz I wanted to support the games) Are the random battles in the 2nd and 3rd a lot more frequent?

Kaze said...

I'm of course disqualifying myself from this giveaway since I just won a super cute penguin game, but just wanted to join in and say my favorite arcade game is Cadash! ^^ I've always been a big fantasy fan and I remember seeing this game in arcades as a kid with all the different character classes, as well as being able to have the option 4 players, and having my mind blown! lol

Kaze said...

OMG wait I can't believe I forgot my actual arcade favorite!! It's true Cadash is one of my favorites, but my real all time arcade favorite is D&D: Shadow Over Mystara, which just got that HD remake recently! Although I like it for the same reasons as Cadash, I really love all of Capcom's games during that era and the art is amazing! It's just such a blast to play and if I could choose one arcade cabinet to have some day it would have to be Mystara! ^^

thegaygamer.com said...

Cadash! Boy, does that bring back memories :) Not that I've actually played it, mind you, but I remember being very interested in it and its TG-16 port back in the day. Have you ever played that one, Marty? If so, how does it compare to the arcade version?

thegaygamer.com said...

Oh, yes, I know of this one, too--although I'm not sure I've played it, either. It definitely came out of a great era of Capcom's, didn't it? Anyway, maybe I'll have to check out the recent HD remake sometime soon...

thegaygamer.com said...

Hello again :) Oh, I'm still going strong with Tomodachi Life, too. Obviously! It's such a cute, fun time-waster, isn't it?


I shared my QR code on Twitter, by the way. Go there and look at my photos. It should be the most recent.


As for Denpa Men: yes, I liked the first best. There's just too much stuffed into 2 and 3 for my liking. I liked how the focus of the first game was on the dungeon crawling, while in 2 and 3 the focus spreads to about four or five other things, and as a result the dungeon crawling starts to take a backseat.


I can't say for sure, though, that the 2nd and 3rd games feature more frequent battles. It feels that way to me, but I have to admit battles were pretty darn frequent in the first one, too! Regardless, I've certainly found the frequency of battles in the 2nd and 3rd games to be more annoying.

Kaze said...

I haven't played the TG-16 version but I heard it's good! The sprites were all redone to make the graphics brighter although it doesn't have the seamless scrolling open world of the arcade version. It does have all 4 of the characters unlike the Genesis port which only got the Fighter and the Mage so it's the superior home version!


I'd definitely recommend the Mystara remake since if you love fantasy or classic Capcom era games. I feel like it really perfected the beat 'em up genre! Also, it comes with the original Tower of Doom D&D game! It's a shame I feel like the remake got overshadowed a bit because it came out right around the time Dragon's Crown did so I'm not sure how well it sold... =/

thegaygamer.com said...

Thanks for the info about the TG-16 and Genny versions of Cadash, Marty. I'll at least have to try the TG-16 version sometime, if not the arcade one, too.


As for Mystara, yeah, you're probably right that it didn't sell gangbusters or anything like that. Honestly, though, I'm not sure I would've expected it to sell a lot even if it hadn't been released alongside Dragon's Crown--but that's just me!

Kaze said...

Oh! Also, I remember with the TG-16 port of Cadash they rebalanced all the classes because in the original version picking the Priestess or the Ninja was like easy mode! lol

thegaygamer.com said...

Interesting! Kind of surprised they didn't leave that alone, to be honest.

Adam Lee said...

There's so many to choose from! The one game that stands out for me though has to be the original Outrun. I spent so much time on that arcade machine as a child - one of the most influential reasons why i'm still a gamer today. :)

thegaygamer.com said...

Outrun! I have to admit it's never really been my kind of game--in terms of gameplay--but, man, have I always loved the aesthetics! And I'm guessing this means you have the 3DS version--or is that still Japan-only at the moment?

Adam Lee said...

It's still Japan only at the moment, boo!

By the way Bryan, what's your favourite arcade game? :)

thegaygamer.com said...

Ah, drat. I didn't know that! You just know it'll come out here eventually, though.


As for my favorite arcade game: well, as I'm sure you can guess, I'm a fan of the "classics." So, I'd say either Ms. Pac-Man or Bubble Bobble are my favorite arcade games, followed closely by Dig Dug and Donkey Kong :)

Mahala said...

I forgot to check back, but yes, please.

thegaygamer.com said...

Thanks. You got it!

Adam Lee said...

Out of those that you have mentioned, Pac-Man is all I've ever played as an arcade machine, the rest being console ports

Hoping to change that later this year - going to a retro gaming convention, with hopes that those machines will be there. :)

thegaygamer.com said...

You've never seen any of the above-mentioned arcade cabinets in the wild, Adam? That's so sad! Of course, I've only seen a couple of them (Bubble Bobble and Dig Dug) a select few times, so maybe I shouldn't be surprised. Anyway, yes, I hope you encounter these games and many more at the retro gaming convention you attend later this year!