Innovation and Revolution: Japanese Video Games Quiz

"Space Invaders", when released in 1978, was the first fixed shooter game and became a de facto template for the "shoot 'em up genre". It was invented by Taito's Tomohiro Nishikado, an electrical engineer from Osaka. He created the whole game by himself, including designing and programming it, but significantly he also created the artwork and sounds, and engineered the hardware for the arcade game it was. Taito sold the overseas rights to Midway (a subsidiary of Bally).

The aim of the game was to defeat endless descending hordes of aliens with a laser that could move horizontally (only). This was the first arcade game to include a continuous albeit simple soundtrack. After initial scepticism from Taito management and then amusement arcade owners, there were over 100,000 units in operation grossing $US670 million in 1978 alone. This game is credited with starting the golden age of video arcade games that lasted from 1980 until the 1990s. Subsequent game developers such as Shigeru Miyamoto ("Donkey Kong", "Mario" and "The Legend of Zelda") and Satoshi Tajiri ("Pokémon") were influenced by "Space Invaders".

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"Galaxian" (1979) is another video game in the "space shoot 'em up" genre. The game was produced by Namco, with designer Kazunori Sawano responsible for capitalising on the success of Taito's "Space Invaders" and following company orders to create the best post-Invaders game possible. Using a "simple is best" approach, frills were trimmed and there are only two enemy types. Attention was also paid to game difficulty balance. The resulting "game anybody could play" proved to be Namco's first major hit in the arcade video game marketplace. It was incredibly successful in Japan and North America between 1979 and 1982.

"WE ARE THE GALAXIANS. MISSION: DESTROY ALIENS". A Galaxip single-shot starship is controlled by the player to defend the earth against waves of aliens. In turn, the aliens sweep down the screen, shooting at the Galaxip. The player must wait for each shot to hit an enemy or leave the screen before being able to fire again. Protecting the aliens are two escort vessels, worth bonus points.

"Galaxian" spawned many sequels and spin-offs, with Namco later creating the theme-park attraction "Galaxian3: Project Dragoon" (1990). As an arcade game, "Galaxian" saw many technological accomplishments that would influence future video games. True colour graphics with multi-colour sprites, sprite animation, scrolling and synthesised sound effects were some of these hardware and software innovations.

Phoenix Rising's psnz recalls spending a lot of time and money in this era, playing games like "Space Invaders" and "Galaxian".

In this arcade video game, "Pac-Man" (originally "Puck-Man") had to eat a trail of pellets before he was caught by one of four different coloured ghosts. If he managed to do this, he moved to the next level. The ghosts have different behaviours. In the Japanese version, the ghosts are called "Oikake", "Machibuse", "Kimagure" and "Otoboke", which translate as, respectively, "chaser", "ambusher", "fickle" and "stupid". When Namco, the Japanese creator and manufacturer licensed the game to the American company Midway, they changed the names to "Shadow", "Speedy", "Bashful" and "Pokey", and their nicknames changed to "Blinky", "Pinky", "Inky" and "Clyde". Perhaps Clyde received a totally different format as his nickname and 'real' name would have been the same. The game was re-packaged for early computers such as the Atari 2600 in 1982, Commodore 64, Apple II, IBM PC and Texas Instruments TI-99/4A to name a few in 1983.

The game was received modestly in Japan but when released in the US, it was an immediate hit where it was America's highest-grossing arcade game of 1981. The transfer of the game to the start of the home computer boom was a major reason video games became so popular at home. In 2001, "Pac-Man" was voted the greatest video game (not arcade game) of all time by a poll in the UK. It has inspired other games like "Taxman" (1982), "Snack Attack" (1982) and many 3D variants of maze chasing games. The "Pac-Man" character is the mascot and flagship icon of Bandai Namco Entertainment in Japan.

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Nintendo released "Donkey Kong" in 1981 to compete with Namco's "Pac-Man", both in Japan and in the North American video games marketplace. "Donkey Kong" fits in the platform genre and was created by first-time game designer Shigeru Miyamoto and engineer Gunpei Yokoi who were the principal developers for Nintendo.

As "Mario", players need to scramble their way across a construction site, jumping or otherwise avoiding obstacles to save girlfriend "Pauline" who has been kidnapped by giant ape "Donkey Kong". (It is the "damsel in distress" meme picked up by many later games.) The "Donkey Kong" video game was spectacularly successful in its target markets, becoming the highest-grossing game in both 1981 and 1982. Its success was a major factor in Nintendo's later dominance in the video gaming sphere.

"Donkey Kong" led to the "Mario Bros." spinoff and the "Super Mario Bros." franchise. "Donkey Kong 3" was released in 1983. The "Donkey Kong" series was revived by Nintendo in the '90s which also saw several further "Mario vs. Donkey Kong" games.

"Donkey Kong" (1981) contained many innovations, including use of graphics for characterisation, use of cutscenes to move the game along, a complete plot and multiple levels.

Writing about these historic video game titles from the 1980s and 1990s proved a "walk down memory lane" for Phoenix Rising member psnz, who scrambled this question into the quiz.

Japanese video game company Nintendo developed and published "Super Mario Bros." in 1985. Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka were the designers. This 2D platform game followed on from 1983's "Mario Bros." and spawned the "Super Mario" video game series. There have been one or more "Super Mario" games for every Nintendo console and 23 titles (both 2D and 3D) in this series were released between 1985 and 2021.

In "Super Mario Bros.", the fictional Mushroom Kingdom sees player-controlled brothers Mario and Luigi attempting to rescue Princess Peach Toadstool from King Koopa, while avoiding hazards and finding power-ups to strengthen their abilities.

"Super Mario Bros." is one of the best-selling video games of all time, with sales of about 60 million copies. One noteworthy aspect of the game is its precise controls. A large-scale video game industry recession was termed the "1983 crash", and this game was widely seen as a major factor in helping to recover from that event. The game's soundtrack proved very popular, helping to make music a central aspect of game design. This really is a multimedia franchise with a television series and feature film also being produced.

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First released by Nintendo on 21 February 1986, "The Legend of Zelda" is a fantasy action-adventure game created by Shigeru Miyamoto and Takashi Tezuka (the team behind "Super Mario Bros."). The development of the game was inspired by Miyamoto's childhood experiences when exploring the countryside around his home in Kyoto Prefecture. On the other hand, Tezuka drew on literary sources such as J.R.R. Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" and the legends of King Arthur for the game's setting and storyline.

The game, which incorporates role-playing elements, as well as puzzles, exploration, and gameplay, is set in Hyrule, a complex fantasy world inspired by medieval Europe, inhabited by various races and creatures. Link, the main character, is a skilled warrior of the elf-like Hylian race, who fights against monsters and the villain Ganon to save Princess Zelda (whose name was inspired by F. Scott Fitzgerald's wife), the guardian of the magical Triforce of Wisdom.

By 2022, 19 versions in the video game franchise had been released, as well as a number of spin-offs and an animated TV series. "The Legend of Zelda" has had an enormous impact on the video game industry, and influenced the development of other popular games, such as the "Grand Theft Auto" series.

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Created by game designer Hironobu Sakaguchi for the Japanese company Square in 1987, "Final Fantasy" is a turn-based, role playing game for the Nintendo console system. The game follows the story of four 'light warriors' who carry damaged elemental crystals that must be repaired to save the world. The four are up against a corresponding four crystal fiends plus a wide array of other enemies.

The game is played across a map spanning three continents where the player has the opportunity to acquire and level up skills and equipment to assist with the battles. The player encounters a variety of races including humans, elves and dragons. The turn-based system means that during battle the player has a turn to do damage, then the enemy has a turn. This allows the player to plan for the best attack strategy. This system is in contrast to synchronous fighting where the player and the enemy (or another player) are fighting each other concurrently. This game spawned several sequels in the "Final Fantasy" franchise and over the following two decades was remastered and moved to other gaming platforms.

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"Sonic the Hedgehog'' was created by programmer Yuji Naka and artist Naoto Ohshima (later joined by designer Hirokazu Yasuhara) for video game company Sega, which needed a flagship series and mascot in order to compete with Nintendo's popular "Mario" franchise. The original work was released in 1991 for the Sega Genesis video game console - to great critical and commercial acclaim. In the following three decades, "Sonic the Hedgehog" would become one of the best-selling video game franchises, with over 140 million units sold by 2016. The franchise includes platform games, racing games, arcade games, and a long list of spin-offs - as well as comics, various animated TV series, and a live-action film franchise.

The game follows the adventures of Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog, in his fight against a mad scientist, the evil Doctor Eggman, who attempts to lay his hands on the Chaos Emeralds, seven magical jewels. The mascot's colour was chosen because of the Sega logo, which is also blue, while his trademark red-and-white shoes were inspired by the cover of Michael Jackson's 1987 album "Bad". As his name implies, Sonic can run at supersonic speed, and - not surprisingly - the gameplay is largely speed-based. Besides Sonic and his nemesis, the franchise features a large cast of characters.

The "Sonic" games have inspired a number of other video game franchises with animal mascots. The franchise is also known for its passionate (and somewhat eccentric) following, responsible for the production of a vast body of unofficial media.

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The "Pokémon" video game series began in 1996 with the Japanese release of "Pokémon Red" and "Pokémon Green". These role-playing games were developed by Game Freak and released by Nintendo for their Game Boy console. The creator of the "Pokémon" franchise was video game designer Satoshi Tajiri, with assistance from Ken Sugimori.

"Pokémon" (Japanese: "Pocket Monsters") involves navigating a character through the fictional land of Kanto, battling other Pokémon to become a league champion. Another goal is to collect all the available Pokémon, thereby completing the Pokédex by trading in multiplayer games. Four words that sum up the game would be: exploration, training, battling and trading.

Further "Pokémon" games have been regularly released, with 2022 seeing the appearance of "Pokémon Legends: Arceus" in addition to the announcements of "Pokémon Scarlet" and "Pokémon Violet". In March 2022, "Pokémon" was reckoned to be the third best-selling video game franchise after "Mario" and "Tetris". But it is more than just video games with the mixed media franchise of collectible creatures thought to be the highest grossing of all time. Included in the latter are an anime television series, manga series and trading card game. "Pokémon" has been one of the best-selling Nintendo games. Deep game design, complex strategies and multiplayer abilities by connecting Game Boys with Nintendo's Game Link Cable have all proved innovative.

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The Japanese video game development company FromSoftware released their first games in the mid-1990s, almost exclusively for the PlayStation console. Over the next 25 years they earned a reputation for creating visually appealing but challenging role-playing games typically with a horror theme. Hidetaka Miyazaki joined the company in 2004 as a designer for the Armored Core series and then directed a range of games including the Dark Souls series, Bloodborne(2015), Sekiro (2019) and 2022's release, "Elden Ring". These games were released on most major gaming consoles (although not Nintendo Switch) and on PC.

"Elden Ring" is a fantasy, open-world, role-playing game - meaning that the player can choose where they go and how quickly they level up as they quest to become the Elden Lord after succeeding in a range of extremely challenging boss fights. The player can choose between primarily spell-casting and melee fighting with weapons but can change if desired. The intricate and complex lore for this game was written by George R.R. Martin, so of course involves both dragons and a theme of battling for the throne! The game rapidly received extremely high acclaim from critics and players alike.

"Elden Ring" sold 12 million copies in the first seventeen days after release making it the company's most successful game. The massive response to this game indicates that this style of game creation and challenging, but accessible, game play may become a benchmark for gamers who want to take on difficult content with very little 'hand-holding' (e.g. no signposting of quests and no 'easy mode').

This question was directed from a safe distance into this quiz by Phoenix Rising member and "Elden Ring" fan, MikeMaster99, who admits he is most unlikely to defeat Malenia's notorious 'Water-Fowl Dance' katana flurry.