Ikki V2.6 (00:00-20:00)

KT=King Text, ST=Screen Text, PT=Prince text, A=Arino, N=Narration, TJ=Toujima, S=Sasano
00:00-05:00
A - This special feature is only for people who bought the DVDs, so at the start, we should have it say, (cut at 00:10)
“Please don’t spoil this for anyone”, the way the DVD of 'The Sixth Sense' did.

ST
A request to everyone

This DVD's special features contain a “certain secret”.
For those of you about to watch this DVD, be absolutely certain not to spoil this secret to friends and family who haven’t purchased the DVDs yet.

Shinya Arino (of Yoiko)

PT – It’s a secret for us only, okay?

ST – Chief
	Shinya Arino (of Yoiko)

A – This special challenge is only for those who purchased the DVDs!
(Cut at 00:59)
A - We have another wonderful game for you this time, too.

A - This. . . Well, I guess . . .
(Cut at 01:06)
it’d be a waste to spend an hour-long normal challenge on this one, so it became a special feature!

A – It's ‘Ikki’

A – It’s finally time for ‘Ikki’.

A – I knew I was going to have to play ‘Ikki’ someday. . .


ST
Ikki
1985
Sunsoft
NES (Famicom).

N – Ikki.

N – Set in the Edo era, the farmer protagonist, Gonbe, rebels against an evil magistrate in this action game.

ST – This time’s objective
	    To see the ending screen

(from 01:36)
N – This audacious theme shocked gamers at the time, and even now it’s said that there’s no one who doesn’t know this game.

A – It’s a Famicom game, right? I think it’s probably simple.

(from 01:49)
A – I think I wanna make people laugh a bit, sail right to the ending, go home early, and make a really short special feature!

ST – The challenge against ‘Ikki’ begins

N – As always, he begins the challenge brimming with confidence.
But before that, there’s something that catches his eye.

A – Th. . . this thing. . .

A – For the woman opposite the main character, she sure is ugly!

A – Mario has Peach, right? This “Peach” is horrible! This game’s “Mario” won’t want to try very hard.

N – Refocusing himself, he begins the game.

A – Ah, it’s those guys who come out towards the end of 'Atlantis'.

A – This stooped-over guy was there, too.

N – The protagonist of 'Ikki', Gonbe, also appeared in the end screen of 'The Mystery of Atlantis' for some reason.

A – Did I beat it?

TJ – Yes.

A – Where’s the Master?

TJ – That’s him right there.

A – Isn’t that the guy from 'Ikki'?

N – Arino does a good job defeating the enemy ninjas while confirming how to control Gonbe, but. . .

A – Huh? Did he hit me right now?

A - That's mean. . .

ST (bottom) You lose a life when hit once
KT - Many difficulties lie ahead.

 N - Gonbe doesn't have a life gauge. Instead, he faces the severe 'one hit, one death' system.

A - The view is so close, I wish I could pull away just a bit more.

N - The unique scrolling, not found in modern games, also presents him with trouble.

A - It's so close! I wish he didn't have to be so close to the screen edge to make it scroll!
I want it to move a little bit sooner.
N - However, as he continues to avoid enemy attacks and gather gold coins. . .

A - Hm? It's over. Wait, it's over?

A - What is this? Oh, you get all the gold coins to finish the stage.
How many did I get before?

ST - Gather eight gold coins to clear the stage.
KT - Money talks.

N - Gonbe's goal is to gather the gold coins scattered around the map.
When he gets eight of them, he clears the stage.

A - The maps are so small.

N - Arino hopes to ride the wave and keep clearing stages easily. However . . .

A - What's that? Oh, I picked it up.

A - Wha? Oh, I got shot.

N - He still isn’t used to the game world of 'Ikki'.
He picks up a mysterious item.

A - Oh, it's a daikon radish.

A - Whoa, I'm really fast! He's fast now!
Too close, too close! That's way too close!

A - Man, it's so close, the edge of the screen. Oh, I'm slow again.
You! Don't attack so suddenly, it's not fair!

N - He loses three lives and gets a game over. Back to the title screen.

A - Huh? This `uprising` only has three lives!

A – Ah, I knew it. . .  from the start.

N - He starts over from Stage 1.

A - This'll be tough with no continues.

N - It's a strict condition on his journey to the ending.
He picks up a bamboo spear.

A – A bamboo spear? If this was Mario, would this be the same as a star?

N - He uses the item skilfully and easily clears Stage 1.

05:00-10:00

N – Stage 2. Arino’s getting used to the controls and smoothly gathers gold coins,
when a new enemy appears and attacks.

A – What’s this? Ah, watch out. Something came out.

I can’t move. What is this thing?

A – Ah, is it that ugly woman?

A – I bet it’s her!

KT – It’s a sin to be good-looking.
ST – Chamber Maid – If she catches you, you can’t move.

N – A character that latches on to Gonbe, the Chamber Maid.
If she catches you, you can’t move.

A – Some of these maps are really small.

N – A short while later, he finds the last gold coin.

A – Got it.

N – He safely clears Stage 2 and moves on to Stage 3.

A – Can’t get it. That one, either.  Ah, it’s a maze!

It’s a dungeon! This is a dungeon crawler now!

N – Stage 3 is set outside of the evil magistrate’s mansion.

N - On this stage as well, that woman appears.

A – She’s here! That ugly woman is here!

A – She’s getting really worked up over there.

A – Ah, she came out again. Damn you, you ugly hag!

N – He escapes the Chamber Maid's grasp, only to meet another new enemy.

A – Ah, he’s fast! That guy’s cool!

A – That cool guy is too fast. . .

N – Attacked by the extraordinarily fast red-suited ninja, he unfortunately meets a game over.

A – Agghhhhh. . .

A – Waugh, even though I made it to Stage 3. . .

ST – Restart from Stage 1.
A – Isn’t there any way to go back to three?
N – Faced with such a difficult game system, Arino begins to complain.

A – Shouldn’t an uprising be, y’know, more of a group effort?

A – This guy’s supposed to be some rebelling farmer, yet he`s runnin’ all over these vegetable fields.

A – Ah! Something’s comin’! Something’s comin’! Watch out! Oh, I got it.

N – Even as he complains, he works desperately to clear Stage 2.

N - And so, Arino gets a reward.

A – Huh? What’s this? What’s happening?

A – This stage wasn’t here before. . .

A – What’s he catching?

KT – Rice ball reward.
ST – If you collect the smoke item, you go to a bonus stage.

N – If you collect the smoke item and clear that stage, you move to a bonus stage.

A – I’m throwin’ it!
I’m throwin’ it to ya! Here it comes!
(This is pretty much gibberish)

A – I don’t think God ever throws rice balls, though.

N – Stage 3. Arino wants to ride this momentum and clear the stage, but. . .

A – Ah, she’s here! This ugly. . .

N – His old enemy, the Chamber Maid, stops him for a long time.
A – I oughta kill that ugly hag.

N – Even as he steadily collects the gold coins. . .
A – Watch out! Ahhhh, he got my head. He hit my head with a shuriken.

N – One life left. As he proceeds upward, a new item appears.

A – Oh, I got a shadow clone.

N – When you collect a leaf, you gain a shadow clone and become invincible. However. . .

A – Huh? Ah, he appeared just as the shadow clone ran out.

A – Ah. . .
They’re really throwin’ everything they have at me.

N – The highly difficult Stage 3. Even when he rechallenges twenty minutes later. . .

A – Watch out, watch out! You ugly hag! Get outta my way, you hag! Ah, they got me.

A – Curse you, you ugly hag!

N – Despite this, he somehow manages to collect six of the gold coins.
As he carefully moves ahead, he finds another. One coin remains. However. . .

A – Huh? It’s not here!

N – Unable to find the last coin, he backtracks.
And then. . .

A – Ah, I was so close!

N – Having missed his chance, once again it’s complaint time.

A – Now that I think about it, I’m pretty sure I submitted a request for childcare leave a while ago. . .

ST – Two weeks ago.

N – Two weeks before this shoot, (cut at 09:07)
Chief Arino submitted a request for childcare leave, and received a two-month vacation.

Newspaper article:
(Vertical yellow text) Arino’s daughter was born.
(Vertical red text) She’s cute! She looks like me and Fujio Akatsuka.
(Bottom white text) Sankei Sports, March 12th, 2006

A – So, just last week my daughter was born. Well, by the time the DVD comes out, this will be old news,  (cut at 09:24)
anyway, she was born on Friday last week, and she and my wife were hospitalized for a week.
Anyway, they’re both being discharged today!

ST – Chief Arino, Congratulations on the birth of your daughter!
From the Entire Staff

A – Woulda been nice to have a break during my vacation!

A – Jeez. . .

N – Giving up on his vacation days, Chief Arino continues the battle.

N – Thirty minutes later, he once again has a chance to clear Stage 3.

A – How many left? One more. . .ah!

A – He’s so fast. . .

N – He’s able to get the coin. Ahead of here, there should be one, too.

10:00-15:00

A – Got it! Alright!

A - Okay!
N - He clears the difficult Stage 3.

A - Oh? Stage 4.

N - Next is Stage 4.

A - Huh? It's a pyramid!

A - Oh, it's a Japanese-style room.

N - However, on this stage too. . .

A - Ah, that ugly hag is here! Ah, I was killed.

A - She's a damned stalker!

N - He desperately tries to gather coins, but. . .

A - So soon. Ah, it's over.

N - Regrettably, it's a game over.

A - This game's really got me.

N - Once again, he starts over from Stage 1.

N - As before, he gets stuck at the difficult Stage 3.

A - Ah, he got me.
Feels like I keep dying the same way.

N - His next chance comes forty minutes later.

A - How many more lives do I. . . ah, one more life.

N - He challenges Stage 4 with his last life.
N - He wants to proceed carefully.

A - This feels like the ending.

A - There's a lotta interesting stuff in there.

N - A stage that feels close to the end. Re-focusing himself, Arino's movements become more controlled.

A - There was another one over here.

N - He collects the fourth gold coin.

N - Entering the mansion, he gets the fifth coin.

A - A daikon radish.

N - Increasing his speed with a daikon radish, he gets the sixth coin. Two more remain.

N - However, that woman appears!

N - The seventh coin.

A - Huh? The eighth one isn't here.

A - Where is it?

N - He can't find the last one.

A - Ahhh, where is it?

A - Ah, she latched on.

A - This is my last life, y'know!

A - Move!
A - Where's the last one?

A - Ah, she's here again!

A - Eh? I already looked here.

N - Arino's captured by his stalker again. He's in a pinch.
However, he miraculously manages to escape! And then. . .

A - Found it!

N - He finds the last coin!

A - Alright!
I made it!
Wonder if the next level is in the mansion?

ST - Stage 5.
Awaiting Arino was. . .
N - Stage 5. An unbelievable sight was awaiting Arino.

A - Is it in the mansion? Or a boss fight?

A - I've seen this place before, right? I've seen this level before, haven't I?

N - Stage 5 is the same setting as Stage 1. For the time being, he continues playing.

A - It's the same as Stage 1. . .

N - The scenery identical to Stage 1 continues, and then. . .

A - Ah. . .

N. . . game over.

A - Didn't I already play through this once?
A - Huh? One, two, three. . .

N - Arino had hoped for a boss battle, but this development leaves him blank-faced.

A - . . . five, six, seven, something like that.

A - Maybe because I was returned to Stage 1, now I can go to five and six?

ST - Restart from Stage 1.
N - He has no choice but to start over from Stage 1.

N - One hour later, he manages to reach Stage 5 again.

A - Ah, he got me.

A - There's a lot more enemies than before.

N - Although it looks the same as Stage 1, it's much more difficult.

A - If they'd stop coming out. . . ah.

A - It's over.

N - Arino suddenly has a question. And so. . .

A - Toujima.

TJ - Yes?

N - . . . he calls for AP Toujima.

A - After I finished Stage 4, I went back to Stage 1. . .

TJ - Right.

A - Does this game not have an ending screen?
TJ - Well, you see, I was going to scout the game, but I figured "Since this time's a special feature, I don't have to" so. . . I didn't.
(cut at 14:05)
TJ - So I don't know if there's an ending screen or not.

A - Eh?! Y' didn't scout it?

TJ - Right.

ST - The chief scolds an under-prepared subordinate.

A - What're ya doing?

N - The chief scolds his under-prepared subordinate.

A - What're you gonna do if you get asked "Don't let the level loop" at this screen?!

A - Did you get permission to skip doing the scouting?!

A - What're you gonna do if a super-strong bad guy comes out?

A - Are you sure you're taking care of the star here?!

N - The Chief's stern lecture takes five minutes.

A - You're supposed to look that up by scouting the game!

TJ - I'm sorry.

N - The current problem is:
Does 'Ikki' have an ending screen?

A - Y' gonna look it up?

TJ - Um. . .

A - Ask Sunsoft.

TJ - Okay.

A - You give 'em a call. I'd end up asking them, "What's up with this game?!", so you do it.

15:00-20:00

 A - I'd be all, "What's with this!"

TJ - You can't do that!

A - They'd get mad at me for that.

TJ - They'd ask you, "Then please don't play it, okay?"

N - Toujima goes to call the company that made 'Ikki', Sunsoft.

A - So he didn't scout it. . .

A - Not doing it because it's a special feature. . . it's like a special feature just for him!

N - Arino plays as he waits for Toujima to return.

 N - However, as he waits, Chief Arino continues to lament over the young people of today.

A - In my company, Shochiku Talent, there's a new employee, Kontani, who's been there for about a year. . .
(cut at 15:47)

ST - Yoiko's Manager
        Kazunari Kontani

A - So, he says "Next week, you're challenging a game for the DVD Box-set."
(cut at 15:57)
A - So I asked him, "What am I playing?" and he goes, "It hasn't been decided yet"

(cut at 16:01)

A - So yesterday he tells me, "The game's been decided! Um. . . , " and he starts looking for a piece of paper,

(cut at 16:07)

A - Then he goes "Oh! Here it is! You'll be playing 'Itsuki'!"

A - So I'm all, "Itsuki?!", and he says, "That's right! Do you know about it?" And I say, "I have no idea what Itsuki is!"

N - Having finished his phone call, Toujima reappears.

A - I was just stabbing someone in the back right now!

YJ - So, I called Sunsoft. . .
A - Okay.
(cut at 16:28)

TJ - And I asked if 'Ikki' has an ending. . .
A - Right.
(cut at 16:30)

TJ - . . . but since it's a game from twenty years ago. . .
A - That's true.
(cut at 16:34)

TJ - . . . there was no one there who knew about it. . .
A - It came out in 1984.
TJ - Right.
(cut at 16:38)

TJ - . . . so I don't know.
A - But it's a game, so it's gotta have an ending, right?

TJ - I think there's one, but I can't say for certain.

A - So, you wanna end the special features like this?
TJ - No, not at all.
(cut at 16:52)
A - Left wonderin', "Is there an ending or not?"
(cut at 16:56)

N - Toujima then reveals something about the game that caught his attention.

TJ - I was just thinking. . .
A - What?

TJ - Well, when you clear a stage, a. . .  whatchamacallit, a secret letter from the alphabet appears.

A - Izzat so?
TJ - Right.

A - Hang on a second, I'll make it appear.

N - Just what is this "letter from the alphabet that appears when you clear a stage"?

A - Here I go.
TJ - Okay.

A - I did it.
TJ - That was fast.

A - There it is! Secret. . . 'E' wasn't it?

A - A secret letter? What do they mean, these secret letters?

TJ - I think it's some kind of secret word.
N - Could it be some kind of password to reveal the ending screen?

A - Ah, if it starts with 'E' maybe it has something to do with the 'Ending'?

A - If I write this down and end up spelling ending, I wonder what we'll do?

A - If that happens, it'll look so cool!

A - Okay, I got it. I'll give it my all.
TJ - Okay, please do your best.

A - Good night!

N - Seeking to solve the mystery of the secret letters, Arino's Challenge restarts.

N - He smoothly clears Stage 2. The letter that appears is. . .
A - 'R'

A -  Alright. So it's 'R'. . .

A - 'ER'? What words start with 'ER'. . .?

A - Is it 'Erin'? Erin. . .

N - Could there be a mysterious woman in 'Ikki'?!

A - Ah, the hag came out!

N - He enters the highly difficult Stage 3. Yet another new enemy appears before Arino.

A - Ah, something appeared! Somethin' appeared? What is it?

N - An enemy different from the Chamber Maid appears.

A - Whoa! Even though I died, I still can't do anything! What is this thing?
N - Completely captured, he can't even throw his sickles.

A - It's like being turned into an eggplant in 'Kid Icarus'!

ST - Spectre: You lose the ability to throw sickles.
KT - An unpleasant ghost.

N - An enemy even more troublesome than the Chamber Maid, Spectre.
Until you touch a Jizou statue, it clings onto you.

A - How do I drive this jerk away?

A - Can't attack, either. . .

N - Unable to attack with his sickles, he waits for an opening in the enemy's movements to run away.

A - Now!

N - He successfully makes it through!

N - He then somehow evades the enemy, and makes it through Stage 3.
A - Alright!

A - 'A'

A - 'A'?
N - He gets the third letter, 'A'.

A  - 'A'? Error?
Error?
Are they tryin' to say "There's no error in picking this game, thank you very much"?

ST - "There's no error in picking this game, thank you very much" (20 stages)
N - If he's right, then the road ahead is indeed a long one.