If you follow Japanese gaming trends, then you will no doubt have heard of the term 'Kusoge', which translates to 'Crap Game'. Apparently coined by Japanese essayist Jun Miura, Kusoge can refer to any video game which is just plain bad; it doesn't have to be broken or unplayable, just rubbish.
The game that inspired the creation of this term is Sunsoft's Ikki, released in arcades and on the Famicom in 1985 (it's known as Boomerang and Farmers Rebellion outside of Japan). Although the game sold well on Nintendo's console, it has gained a reputation as being a poor piece of software – but Sunsoft intends to redeem its reputation via Ikki Unite, an update which is coming to Steam this November.
“You can’t riot with just one or two people!” reads the game's Steam page – a reference to the fact that 'Ikki' means 'revolt' in Japanese. While the Famicom version was limited to two players, Ikki Unite will allow up to 16 people to participate – a proper rebellion, if you will.
You can check out some gameplay below.
Comments 1
I had a Famicom as a kid, and my brother and I would spend hours on this, since it was one of the few simultaneous two player games we owned. One of us would play guard duty, shooting oncoming enemies, while the other player (usually my brother) would run to grab the items that cleared a level.
I must admit I have a strong fondness for Ikki. There weren't many levels, but each was full of weirdness. A random single instance power-up, strange collectibles which seemingly did nothing, mazes you could get stuck in, a bonus level that was impossible, just really baffling "secrets" you'd stumble upon.
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