The Forgotten Jaleco Logo

Did you know that Jaleco had a red logo from 2010 until Game Yarou's bankruptcy in 2014? It only appeared on the box art of WiZmans World for the Nintendo DS, and in a trailer for a port of Rod Land that DotEmu made for iOS. This version of the Jaleco logo was very obscure because WiZmans World never left Japan, and the iOS port of Rod Land was so mediocre that it was better off all but forgotten, just like some of the below average ports Rod Land had in the early 1990s.

Sadly, the red logo Jaleco had during the company's final years was all but forgotten because it became a reminder of Jaleco's last days before Game Yarou went bankrupt due to the ¥700000000 debt it took from Encom Holdings when it acquired Jaleco from them. The huge debt proved to be far too much for Game Yarou to repay, and they ended up having to file for bankruptcy in 2014 as a result. This in turn led to City Connection, a company named after one of Jaleco's games, acquiring Jaleco's IPs, including WiZmans World. City Connection gave WiZmans World a HD remaster, and the game was re-released in Japan in 2025 as WiZmans World Re;Try.

Worthy of a Second Look

Author's Note: All copyrights for the images in this comic go to their respective owners.

Today marks the 30th Anniversary of the launch of the Sony PlayStation in Japan. While it was the video game console that revolutionized the video game industry and gave us Twisted Metal, Final Fantasy VII, PaRappa the Rapper, Crash Bandicoot, Spyro the Dragon, Tomb Raider, Metal Gear Solid, Klonoa and too many other franchises to name, we must also remember the forgotten gems of the original PlayStation because they also made this console the icon of video game history. Here are just five PS1 games that deserve a second look.

1. The Sunsoft Memorial Series: Remember the Famicom/NES games that were conceived by Sunsoft? In 2001 and 2002, Sunsoft ported twelve Famicom/NES games to the PS1 in a six-volume compilation known as the Sunsoft Memorial Series. The twelve Famicom/NES games in this compilation are Ikki, Super Arabian, Route-16 Turbo, Mystery of Atlantis, 53 Stations of the Tokaido, The Wing of Madoola, Blaster Master, Ripple Island, Journey to Silius/Raf World, Hebereke, Super Spy Hunter/Battle Formula and Mr Gimmick. Give these NES games a try if you miss the glory days of Sunsoft.

2. Jaleco Collection Volume 1: Jaleco was also involved in bringing Famicom/NES games to the PS1 as well. However, they stopped making these compilations after Volume 1. The games featured in this compilation are Argus, City Connection, Exerion, Field Combat, Formation Z, Ninja Jajamaru-Kun and Rod Land. If you miss the glory days of Jaleco, this compilation is a must-try.

3. The Arika Cardcaptor Sakura Trilogy: Did you know that Cardcaptor Sakura video games exist? In fact, Arika made three Cardcaptor Sakura games for the PS1, and one of them happens to be a Tetris game, so give it a try if you like Tetris as well.

4: Puyo Puyo BOX: This was the very last Puyo Puyo game to be developed by Compile before they handed over the Puyo Puyo rights to Sega. It was also the first PS1 game to be published by Sega, and it was released on the PS1 months before Sega discontinued the Dreamcast. Awkward, isn't it?

5. Metal Slug (PS1 Port): While Metal Slug is best remembered for being the Run-and-Gun title that gave the Neo Geo a second wind, we should also remember that the PS1 version of Metal Slug has another game mode called "Another Story". It can only be unlocked by winning the arcade game once. Free space on the PS1 Memory Card is also required for this mode. This mode has four minigames. If you complete it, it will unlock "Another Story II" after pressing R1+L2+O while the title screen cursor is on "Another Story".

With all that said, Happy 30th Anniversary, Sony PlayStation! Here's to the next 30 years!

The Duality of Clarice

In the 2004 mobile game City Connection Rocket, Clarice is seen blushing when wearing a bikini after the player completes a level set in Hawaii. Three years later, in Jaleco Super Tennis, when Clarice wins, she is seen wearing a bikini, but she is happy and not blushing anymore. Perhaps Clarice did not want to be seen wearing a bikini in City Connection Rocket, but all of that changed by the time Jaleco Super Tennis was released for Japanese cellphones three years later.

Jaleco games and characters © City Connection.

Rejected Tetris Plus Endings

Author's Note: This was originally going to be the very first comic uploaded to Neo Retro Union, back when it was originally going to be called Gamers' Generation. But the name "Gamers' Generation" was already taken, so I chose Neo Retro Union instead.

The arcade version of Tetris Plus has ten different endings for the Puzzle Mode, eight of which are featured in the Standard version of Puzzle Mode. Of course, there may have been proposed versions of the endings that did not make the cut for the final product.

Here are three potential endings that I came up with that did not make the cut for the official version of the game.

Rejected Ending #1: In one of the Standard Puzzle Mode endings, the Professor's Assistant found an ancient bikini among the heap of treasures. For an awkward ending, this would have been a better ending than the ending where the Professor and his Assistant found out that the treasures are fake. Also found in the treasure heap is a magic wand from Rod Land, which, like Tetris Plus, is a Jaleco title that began in the arcade.

Rejected Ending #2: Endings 5 to 8 revolve around the Professor and his Assistant finding a switch. In this rejected ending, the Professor and his Assistant become invisible and cannot see each other. This would have made more sense than the ending where the pyramid turns into a robot.

Rejected Ending #3: Basically the Expert Puzzle Mode ending, but with the Professor's Assistant wearing the bikini from Rejected Ending #1. The final product version of the Expert Puzzle Mode ending arcade version of Tetris Plus had the Professor's Assistant wear a red swimsuit without shoulder straps, which would make more sense than a bikini found among a heap of treasures from an ancient pyramid.

It's disappointing that there is no video footage of the Expert Puzzle Mode of the arcade version of Tetris Plus or the Extra World Levels of Tetris Plus 2's Puzzle Mode. And don't even bother wishing for Tetris Plus 3 because Jaleco closed down when Game Yarou went bankrupt, unless City Connection decides to revive the Tetris Plus series, which is unlikely to happen.

On a related note, please enjoy the Professor's Assistant wearing a gold linen bikini that she found among a heap of ancient treasures.

Update: Sometime around May 2021, somebody actually uploaded video footage of the Expert Puzzle Mode of the arcade version of Tetris Plus, and the ending was featured as well.

Then and Now

Fun Facts: The first generation Honda City rolled off the assembly line as a hatchback. Honda retired the "City" name in 1993, only to revive the usage of the name as a sedan in 1996. The "City" name was never reused in Japan, however.

During the first generation Honda City's production run, which ran from 1981 to 1986, Jaleco created an arcade game called City Connection, which was released in 1985 and had a Honda City as the player's vehicle. Interestingly, City Connection, who currently owns the rights to Jaleco's intellectual properties after Game Yarou's bankruptcy, was named after the 1985 arcade game of the same name.

Cheapest Sell-off in history

Imagine a good deal involving buying a video game studio which has a rich history spanning more than twenty years for ¥1. It would have been possible for anyone, including an indie game studio to purchase Jaleco Ltd from Emcom Holdings if they had even heard about such a sale with an extremely low selling price.

Unfortunately for Game Yarou, by acquiring Jaleco, they had also acquired ¥700000000 in debts as well, which may have possibly caused Game Yarou to file for bankruptcy in 2014, five years after purchasing Jaleco from Emcom Holdings. With Game Yarou's bankruptcy, Jaleco closed its doors for good after nearly forty years in the amusement and video game industry. As for Jaleco's intellectual properties, they ended up under the ownership of City Connection, an indie game studio named after one of Jaleco's games, which was probably founded by former Jaleco employees.

Too many colours!!

This is why there are only four colours in Soldam and its sequel Soldam: Drop, Connect, Erase. Having eight or twelve colours would make things too complicated for a puzzle game that blends Tetris with Othello.

In 2017, Soldam: Drop, Connect, Erase was released on the Nintendo Switch to mark the 25th anniversary of the original Soldam that was released in 1992 in arcades and on the Game Boy.

Soldam is like Tetris, except the horizontal lines that have to be formed and cleared have to be of one single colour, and the O-Block is the only block in play, but it comes in different colours, especially when it comes in a combination of two, three or even four different colours. The instruction manual for Soldam: Drop, Connect, Erase calls the Othello method of changing colours sandwiched between two same-coloured pieces that are directly connected to each other vertically, horizontally or diagonally flanking.

Because Soldam was never launched in international markets, Soldam: Drop, Connect, Erase would be considered the first game in the series that is no longer exclusive to Japan. Credits to Dispatch Games for having this game available in international markets.

BTOOOM!

If you think Angry Birds was the only game where green pigs get blasted, then you should forgive yourself for being unaware about Butasan, a forgotten game that was conceived in 1987 as Jaleco's answer to Bomberman.

Butasan is a game about pigs blasting each other with bombs. In the game, the player's pig has to blast opponent pigs of various colors, including green pigs and light green pigs.

For those who do not get the title of this comic, the title of the comic and the explosion in the last panel are references to the manga and anime "Btooom!!!!!"

Butasan was also released internationally as Psycho Pigs UXB, yet nobody outside Japan played the original arcade version until it was released in 2015 through Arcade Archives under its original name. The sequel, Tatakae Butasan, or Psycho Pigs was released on the 3DS in 2015.

In addition, the pig from Butasan made cameos in several Game Tengoku games, Bases Loaded 2016 and other lesser known Jaleco titles. Other than that, Butasan would be considered as one of those underrated games that were overlooked.

Wardrobe Malfunction

It would be a lot less embarrassing for the female fencers from The Astyanax if they had been wearing any undergarments under their skimpy outfits.

But then again, it was the female enemies' fault for not wearing any underwear under their skimpy costumes.