Originally planned as an 8bit version of his TV show Takeshi’s Castle, Japanese actor and director Takeshi Kitano instead got hands-on with Takeshi no Chōsenjō and created a game unlike any other – one whose packaging warned that “conventional gaming skills do not apply”. Loosely following a salaryman who dreams of finding treasure, Takeshi’s Challenge serves up a Game Over for innocuous “mistakes” like not quitting the character’s job, failing to divorce his wife, or not hitting the right people. You can get a Game Over on the password screen. Another challenge requires you leave the controller untouched for an hour. All games are arbitrary: only Takeshi’s Challenge glorifies in the fact.
