Ok, I caught some flack the last time I posted one of these (seriously, I still feel they were overlooked…sue me), but given that this is one song from a game that was only on a system that performed poorly and was taken from us before its time, I think I can get a little leeway on this one. Jet Grind Radio, one of the more innovative games of its time, single-handedly ushering cel-shading into the industry, not only had a great premise, memorable characters, and awesome gameplay, but a hell of a soundtrack. Fusing hip-hop, J-Pop, and some rock, it was totally eclectic, but it all worked together. Check out this song, called “Everybody Jump Around,” possibly the funkiest thing in games since Toejam & Earl.
Also, as a game, I’ve missed Jet Grind Radio. I may have to dust off the ol’ Dreamcast and suffer through the loud disc spinning to play it a bit.
A lot of people think Super Punch-Out is the sequel to Mike Tyson’s Punch-Out. A lot of people also think that crocs are cool footwear. Lesson? A lot of people don’t know what they’re talking about. Which brings me to something I stumbled across online, which converted me from one who doesn’t know to one who does. Back in 1992, Nintendo had every intention of releasing an NES sequel to Punch-Out, starring not Little Mac, but Iron Mike himself, along with the original King of Boxing - Don King. 17 years later, we’ve got actual proof of this game’s existence, thanks to Jason Wilson: Rare Game Collector Extraordinaire. Don’t believe me? Check out this youtube vid as proof:
I want to point out a few things here. 1) I love the alien sporting the Don King hair. 2) I also love that Tyson’s suffered one loss - I don’t know what the game is referencing exactly, but it’s cool to think that it’s talking about Little Mac. 3) Check out :43, where Don King goes Super Saiyan. 4) Ever notice that when a series or franchise goes stale, they either send the characters into space or through time? Gilligan’s Island did it, Happy Days did it, and now Tyson.
The best part of this (if the video didn’t turn you off from playing the game) is that the game is available for download as a free ROM here. It’s worth it just to say you’ve played a flavor of garbage that not many other people have played before.
