three crude toads

Tonight somehow ended up turning into an all-nighter, and I’d like to blame some of that on the sheer enthusiasm that beamed straight from SAGCCX’s latest translated episodes of Game Center CX.

For those who don’t know, Game Center CX is pretty much the best show ever. Comedian/host Shinya Arino, AKA The Kacho (Section Chief), is tasked with completing old games, mostly from the Famicom/NES era. When I first got into the show I was so taken by its spirit that I crafted a glowing love letter article for the Otaku USA site. The latest two-parter, available for torrent and direct download via the translators’ facebook page, is none other than the notorious Battletoads.

The best part of these episodes isn’t just watching Arino struggle through the monumental challenge of completing this beast, but watching him do so with an unwavering smile and positive attitude. Some of the challenges beat him down and leave him hoisting a white flag, but he declared Battletoads “the most fun game of 2011” and boldly called it a “must-buy” while cracking up. Even starting over from scratch countless times after every available continue had been used didn’t destroy that fighting spirit. It’s a sight to behold.

I can’t recommend the show enough if you like games at all, and strongly encourage putting down some pre-order payola on Discotek Media’s upcoming DVD box, which actually features subtitles by the SA folks in addition to the dub that played on Kotaku. It only features the game challenge sections due to rights issues—which is a shame because the other segments of the show are a blast—but it’s worth supporting.