Cho Aniki
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Cho Aniki (超兄貴 chō aniki?) is a Japanese video game series that debuted in 1992 for the Turbografx system. The game's sequels and spin-offs later appeared on the Super Nintendo, Wonderswan, Playstation and PlayStation 2. A side-scrolling shooter in the vein of Gradius, Cho Aniki is best known for its wacky humor and vivid, surreal imagery. None of the games have ever seen release outside Japan, but the series title loosely translates to English as "Super Big Brothers."
Occasionally, the title is transliterated as "Choaniki", "Chou Aniki", or (erroneously) "Cho Eniki".
For various reasons, the popularity of the Cho Aniki games has endured since the series' debut. Depending on which specific title one looks at, highlights include in-game music, innovative control schemes or sheer kitsch value. In Japan, these games are examples of baka-ge, a type of kuso-ge. "Baka-ge" literally means "idiot game" while "kuso-ge" literally means "shitty game" or "shit game". Baka-ge's appeal lies in its campness. Indisputably, the game's aesthetic sense — semi-nude men in suggestive homoerotic poses — is a unique one, certainly a quality that has given the series a cult popularity among Western gamers. Though the graphics are more risqué than pornographic, the series references homosexuality and gay sex more directly and more often than perhaps any other video game series in history.
Contents |
[edit] The games
[edit] Cho Aniki
| Cho Aniki | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Masaya |
| Publisher(s) | Masaya |
| Platform(s) | PC Engine, Virtual Console |
| Release date | JPN 1992 EU 2008 |
| Genre(s) | Horizontal scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | 1 Player |
| Media | PC Engine Super CD, Downloadable Media |
Released by Japanese game developer Masaya for the PC engine, the first title in the Cho Aniki series is perhaps the least outrageous of the series. Players choose between controlling one of two characters: Idaten, a young man wearing a cape, and Benten, a beautiful blue-haired maiden. They fly about the screen and fire shots at approaching enemies. Idaten and Benten are assisted in their heroics by Samson and Adon, a pair of nearly identical musclebound men clad in Speedos. The two hover about the hero in a satellite-like manner, firing shots from the holes in their bald heads. The pair eventually became the series' mascots, so it's quite likely that Samson and Adon are the "brothers" mentioned in the title.
The game's plot, while minimal, involves the heroes moving through various locations — space, urban environments, elaborate ruins — and fighting alien invaders. Bo Emperor Bill (Botei-biru, a pun of bodibil, a short of bodybuild in Japanese), the man who achieved ten consecutive victories in the Great Galaxy Bodybuilding contest, faces an ever decreasing supply of protein. He unilaterally invades neighboring star systems, in order to establish protein factories to replenish his supply. Feeling threatened, the heaven realm sent Idaten and Benten to vanquish Bo Emperor Bill. Thus the sweaty hot battle between the muscle brothers (aniki) and Builders Army begins. The music is composed by Koji Hayama
Cho Aniki was released on Wii's Virtual Console service on May 9th, 2008, as part of their Hanabi Festival lineup. So far it is only available in Australia, Europe and Japan.
[edit] Ai Cho Aniki
| Ai Cho Aniki | |
|---|---|
 PC Engine Cover for Ai Cho Aniki |
|
| Developer(s) | Masaya |
| Publisher(s) | Masaya |
| Platform(s) | PC Engine, Virtual Console |
| Release date | JPN 1995, 2007 |
| Genre(s) | Horizontal scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | 1 Player |
| Media | PC Engine Super CD, Downloadable Media |
The sequel — Ai Cho Aniki which translates to "Love Super Big Brother" — was developed by Masaya and also released for the PC Engine. In this game, players controlled Samson and Adon directly. A key difference in the control scheme of Ai Cho Aniki is that instead of rapidly pressing buttons as a means of firing at enemies, players now had to input intricate button combinations, Street Fighter-style. By and large, Cho Aniki and Ai Cho Aniki play very similarly.
In the second game, Ai Cho Aniki, Bo Emperor Conshyasu (BoteiConshyasu, a pun of "body conscious") raise the Neo Builder Army to fight Idaten and Benten. However, the two fall in love and elope. This leaves Samson and Adon to fight the new threat, Su Emperor Roido (SuTeiLoido, pun of steroid). This time Taku Iwasaki scored the soundtrack.
The game was released on Nintendo's Virtual Console service in 2007. So far it is only available on the Japanese VC library.
[edit] Chō Aniki Bakuretsu Rantō Hen
| Chō Aniki Bakuretsu Rantō Hen | |
|---|---|
 Super Famicom Cover for Chō Aniki Bakuretsu Rantō Hen |
|
| Developer(s) | Masaya |
| Publisher(s) | Masaya |
| Platform(s) | Super Famicom |
| Release date | JPN 1995 |
| Genre(s) | Fighting |
| Mode(s) | 2 Player |
| Media | Cartridge |
A departure from the typical Cho Aniki formula has characters from previous games — heroes and villains alike — battling in one-on-one fights. Playable characters include the following.
- Idaten, a warrior with long spiked hair who uses a variety of attacks with his body
- Benten, who in this game is flanked by two cherubs who can transform into mini-hunks
- Samson/Adon, attacks by gyrating and flatulating.
- Sabu, a pagoda-shaped ship with an Elvis Presley-looking figurehead
- Mami 19, a strange amalgam of a cute girl and a battleship transporting three naked, frolicking men
- Adam, a naked man riding in half a moon. He is intended to resemble Adam from the The Creation of Adam portion of Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel.
- Botei, a berserker, likely to be Bo Emperor (Botei) Bill from the first series
- Uminin, an odd latex creature that resembles a condom
This game was the last of the series to be developed by Masaya. It was released in 1995.
[edit] Chō Aniki: Kyūkyoku Muteki Ginga Saikyō Otoko
| Chō Aniki: Kyūkyoku Muteki Ginga Saikyō Otoko | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Pre-Stage |
| Publisher(s) | Masaya |
| Platform(s) | Sony Playstation, Sega Saturn |
| Release date | JPN 1995, 2001 |
| Genre(s) | Horizontal scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | 1 Player |
| Media | CD-ROM |
Released for the PlayStation and Sega Saturn the same year as the previous two titles, this game features digital photography instead of the hand-drawn anime-style art from the other titles. The subtitle of this game loosely translates to "The Ultimate, Most Strongest Man in the Milky Way" or "The Ultimate, Invincible, Most Galactically Powerful Man." The game is based on the engine of the first Cho Aniki. As such, Idaten and Benten are again the main two characters. The game is often derided as having the worst play mechanics in the series. Even some of the most fervent fans of Cho Aniki claim that the campy fun is inhibited by poor control and impossible difficulty. Koji Hayama returned to score a few songs for the soundtrack, along with Don McCow, Taku Iwasaki and Sanae Kasahara
[edit] Chō Aniki: Otoko no Tamafuda
| Chō Aniki: Otoko no Tamafuda | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Masaya |
| Publisher(s) | Bandai |
| Platform(s) | Wonderswan |
| Release date | JPN 2000 |
| Genre(s) | RPG |
| Mode(s) | 1 Player |
| Media | Cartridge |
This twist on the Cho Aniki universe pits the heroes of the previous games on an RPG quest in which battles are fought with playing cards. According to an article on the game at the Hardcore Gaming 101 website, the title of the game is a pun. The title translates to "Man's Tamafuda," with tamafuda being a portmanteau of tamashii — Japanese for "soul" — and hanafuda — a Japanese card game. It is also likely that the pun extends to another meaning of tama, "balls".
The game was released for the portable Wonderswan system in 2000.
[edit] Chō Aniki: Seinaru Protein Densetsu
| Chō Aniki: Seinaru Protein Densetsu | |
|---|---|
 PS2 cover for Chō Aniki: Seinaru Protein Densetsu |
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| Developer(s) | X-Nauts, Psikyo |
| Publisher(s) | Global A Entertainment |
| Platform(s) | Sony Playstation 2 |
| Release date | JPN 2003 |
| Genre(s) | Horizontal scrolling shooter |
| Mode(s) | 1 Player |
| Media | DVD-ROM |
The most recent of the Cho Aniki games was released for the PlayStation 2 in 2002. The game's subtitle translates to "Legend of the Holy Protein." With Masaya now defunct, the game was co-developed by X-Nauts and Psikyo. This team also developed Sengoku Blade, and this game plays much like it as a result.
The plot of this game centers on the Holy Protein, a deity-like glob of what may be semen[original research?]. Samson and Adon hover around the glob, absorbing enemy fire as they did in previous games. This game lacks characters from previous titles, such as Benten. Some of the enemies include a giant, cross-dressing man in an Alice in Wonderland costume and a Mona Lisa painting that fires lasers from its eyes.
[edit] Music
The music of Cho Aniki is critically acclaimed and many fans view it as the best aspect of every game. The first game was composed entirely by Koji Hayama, who states on his website that Cho Aniki is his favorite work to date. Numerous soundtracks from the various games have been released on CD, Maxi-Singles and even a live performance has been released on VHS. Later games in the series were composed by Taku Iwasaki, Isao Mizoguchi (under the alias Don McCow) and Sanae Kasahara.
Some claim that the music was more successfully sold than the main Cho Aniki series
[edit] Cho Aniki in pop culture
[edit] Appearances in other games
Masaya also developed the Langrisser series, where Samson and company make a cameo. A hidden level takes the party to an area called the Muscle Shrine, where they must fight Samson. If victorious, the party can then use the Aniki summon, the most powerful in the game. The cameo exists in the Sega Mega Drive, Super NES and PlayStation ports of the game.
The Capcom video game, God Hand, pokes fun of Samson and Adon as powerless yet flamboyant drag queens who are the first boss of the game.
[edit] Samson and Adon
These series mascots are the personification of phallic imagery. They shoot white energy beams from the holes in their heads, for example. The pair are never specified as lovers or even necessarily homosexuals in the earlier series. However, in "The legend of Holy Protein", both Samson and Adon's preference are spelt out as "men". This type of character shows up elsewhere in such video games as Street Fighter II — the sexual orientation of series regular Zangief is a matter of some contention among fans — and Final Fantasy VII — with the character Mukki, the bodybuilder who hangs out in the bathhouse of the Honeybee Inn with his similarly fit friends.
[edit] Cult popularity
Few gamers outside Japan have played the Cho Aniki series, but many know of the game through articles written about it on such websites as I-Mockery, Encyclopedia Obscura, Hardcore gaming 101, and Something Awful. The series is often mentioned in lists of outrageous, peculiar or sexual video games.
Some time around 1999, gaming magazine EGM ran a passing comment about how the US was thankfully spared this homoerotic shooter (Referring to Cho Aniki for PS1, although the comment was followed by "Not that there is nothing wrong with a homosexual shooter"). For the next few months EGM's letters to the editor were dominated by remarks lambasting the editors at EGM for making fun of the game, even after the editors repeatedly told their readership that the game was horrible.
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ Cho Aniki. Hardcore Gaming 101. Retrieved on October 29, 2005.
- ^ Sexual Moments in Video Game History. I-Mockery.com. Retrieved on October 29, 2005.
- ^ EGM's 10 Naughtiest Games of All Time. Seanbaby.com. Retrieved on October 29, 2005.
- The official site of PS2 version. [2]
- Encyclopedia Obscura [3]
- NFGgames [4]
- PCengine.com [5]
- hardcore gaming 101 [6]
- Seanbaby's "Cho Eniki" page
[edit] External links
- Hardcore Gaming 101: Cho Aniki - In depth article about the Cho Aniki series
- Encyclopedia Obscura - Choaniki - Article about Chō Aniki Bakuretsu Rantō Hen SNES fighting game
- Universo PC Engine - Choaniki - Review of the original Cho Aniki game for PC Engine
- PC Engine Review: Masaya's Ai Cho Aniki - Review of the PC Engine game "Ai Cho Aniki" by NFG/Games
- HonestGamers: Ai Choaniki - Review of "Love! Super Big Brother" for PC Engine
- HonestGamers: Sei Naru Protein Densetsu - Review of "Legend of the Holy Protein" for PlayStation 2
- Sexual Moments in Video Game History: THE "CHO ANIKI" SERIES! - A humorous but in depth review of the Cho Aniki series, centred on the homosexual aspects of the game
- Seanbaby's "Cho Eniki" page
