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Takahashi Meijin: Hudson planning Adventure Island sequel
If there's one person who would know the future of Adventure Island's Master Higgins, it's ... Master Higgins himself. According to statements made by Takahashi Meijin (the real-life basis for the Master Higgins character) in a conference call a few minutes ago, Hudson is in the earliest stages of planning a new Adventure Island game, "probably" for WiiWare. There are no details yet, but Takahashi expressed concern about "forcing" motion control into the game, saying it would "change what the game is about." Regarding other Hudson WiiWare, Hudson's Mike Pepe said that between Alien Crush, Blue Oasis, and Karaoke Joysound Wii, "two out of three" would be localized for North America, and that more details would be known about a month before the release date. We don't know for sure which is excluded, but two of those games don't rely on multiple music licensing deals. We didn't get to ask about Bomberman or Tetris, but is there any doubt that Bomberman is coming out everywhere in the world?In addition, Hudson is working on a "puzzle action" title that may use the Balance Board.
The VC Advantage: The Meijin Advantage
At last week's Hudson WiiWare event, two very awesome things were displayed: 1) Hudson's awesome WiiWare games, and 2) Hudson's spokesperson and mascot, Takahashi Toshiyuki, known to the world as Takahashi Meijin ("Famous Takahashi"). He's managed to carve out quite a career for himself based on his ability to jiggle his index finger sixteen times a second. He first came into the public eye for being awesome at Star Soldier, which, in the days of the Hudson Shooting Caravan (a national, traveling shooter competition put on by Hudson), was a big deal. Hudson even began selling a device called the Shooting Watch that gauged your button presses per second. Beat 16 and you've beaten the Meijin! (You can simulate the Shooting Watch experience on the DS, or pick up a miniature version from Play-Asia).Why do we bring up Takahashi now? Star Soldier R on WiiWare is based around the idea of the Shooting Caravan, with timed challenges designed to test your skill in a short period. Unlike previous Shooting Caravan games, you'll be able to compete from home, thanks to Wi-Fi leaderboards. With the competition opened up so, the next Takahashi Meijin could pop up any time now, from anywhere.Both Super Star Soldier and Soldier Blade on the Virtual Console feature timed "Caravan Modes," so you can start training your reflexes, and your index fingers, now. Or you could get a Hori Periborg Ore-Commander and become a Takahashoid cyborg.
DS Daily: Takahashi Meijin's challenge
Do you have what it takes to push a button really quickly a bunch of times? If so, you could be headed to an illustrious career at Hudson and even the chance to star in your own excellent game series. It worked for Takahashi Meijin, who became well-known in Japan for being able to push a button 16 times in one second. We'd like you to demonstrate your prowess the same way he did: by splitting a watermelon testing yourself with a Shooting Watch. Download the DS homebrew program, or try the PC version, and let us know how you stack up! No cheating with Hello Kitty toothbrushes. We won't say how we did, because we're, uh, too busy to try it. Yes, very busy.
Not for carpal tunnel sufferers: Shooting Watch DS
Who knew that a simple concept like the Shooting Watch, a controller that measures how many times you can tap a button in 10 seconds, would go on to sell over a million units? This year marks the 20th anniversary of the yellow device's debut, and to celebrate, the Hudson Caravan has been touring Japan, selling limited edition merchandise and hosting button-tapping contests. Takahashi Meijin's 16 presses per second set the pace.Hudson manufactured a commemorative batch of 10,000 Shooting Watch systems earlier this year, but they were all sold almost immediately. Upset that he wasn't able to grab one, homebrew developer Retrohead created his own Shooting Watch game for the DS. Just like the real thing, it counts the number of times you can push the A button in ten seconds. If you're fast enough, the on-screen watermelon will explode!Shooting Watch DS has four other diversions -- clock, stop watch, three slots, and four slots -- all of which are significantly less fun than the titular mode. Keep your thumb rigid and tap past the post break for screenshots of the homebrew game. We've also embedded a video of Takahashi Meijin using his button-pressing skills to blow up watermelons!
Hudson interviews the real-life Master Higgins
Takahashi Meijin ("Master Takahashi") is the nickname of a longtime Hudson employee named Toshiyuki Takahashi, who became famous in Japan for his ability to tap buttons really, really quickly -- up to 16 times a second. This amazing power lent itself to videogames, naturally.After making a few TV appearances, and becoming a Hudson mascot of sorts (along with that adorable bee), he lent his appearance to videogames, too. Specifically, the Adventure Island games, which were called Takahashi Meijin no Boukenjima ("Takahashi Meijin's Adventure Island") in Japan. When you play New Adventure Island on the Virtual Console-- which you should do, as soon as possible-- you're playing as a grass-skirted Takahashi Meijin.Hudson's US branch has posted an interview with this legendary figure, which is not only interesting for the novelty of being an interview with a videogame character, but because he really knows his stuff about Hudson and their history. We can't wait until they post an interview with Air Zonk.
