Takeshi no Chosenjo Summary
You just haven’t been performing well lately…
Well, not you, dear reader. You’re great! But that is the tagline to Takeshi no Chosenjo, or Takeshi’s Challenge. It’s a “troll” video game made by Tatio and directed by a Japanese comedian and film director, Takeshi Kitano. The player controls a salaryman (basically, a man who works in an office for a salary), and the game does everything it can to annoy the player. Like, most games do have annoying elements to them, but rarely are they intentional. In Takeshi no Chosenjo, however, it is very much on purpose. The player will have to sing with the second controller’s microphone, press a single button for hours on end, and hit the same enemy over and over, a thousand times. To put it simply, this game, from the ground up, was designed to annoy the user. Again, and again.
What’s more, the player character, the Salaryman, plays akin to a Grand Theft Auto protagonist. This is fitting, because the Salaryman can attack people at random, even his own kids, break up marriages, get fired and divorced, and drink until he is blind drunk. And he can learn new skills that way too!
Yeah, it’s that sort of game. To its credit though, it did sell 80,000 copies when it was released in 1986. Strangely, this game, which features a playable city and various elements, is a predecessor to the Grand Theft Auto games. But, in recent times, it has gained a more negative reception. Citing its unfair mechanics and downright hostility to the player as one of its negative points. In addition, its confusing progression makes advancing in the game downright impossible without foresight, or the use of a guide.
Also, it was made by a guy who really hates video games, funny how that works.
Takeshi no Chosenjo Premise
The plot is…well, a despondent salaryman has ventured to a remote island in search of treasure. Created when Kitano had an hour-long talk with his production company at a cafe, or so the rumor goes. Once he gets to the island in the South Seas, everyone and everything on it is trying to kill him. Given that he left his wife and family without any support, perhaps it is something this Salaryman deserves. But whatever the case may be, this rapscallion is out to get his treasure!
Takeshi no Chosenjo Main Characters
- The Salaryman. The player character. Once married to a wife and kids, and despondent at his job, he decided to say, “screw that,” and went off to find treasure. Given a map by an Old Man, he leaves everything behind, including his family, to find his destiny! Too bad that everything is trying to kill him, and he’s in the world’s most annoying game.
- The Old Man. The one who gave the Salaryman the map, to begin with. Probably a nice guy, or not.
Takeshi no Chosenjo Titles of Video Games in the Series
This is the only game in the series.
- Takeshi no Chosenjo (1986)
Takeshi no Chosenjo Cheat Codes
Alright, let’s cover some cheats!
Passwords.
Pacific Island Password
At the password screen, press left two times, down two times, and enter the Japanese character. Then up one time, right one time, and enter the Japanese character. Now repeat that same pair of Japanese characters eight more times. Then for the final two characters, press up one time, left six times, and enter the Japanese character. Right six times, down one time, and enter the Japanese character. Hit “End” to start on the Pacific Island.
Secret Japanese Soldier Password
At the password screen, press down one time and enter the Japanese character 20 times. Now hit “End” and you’ll start in a Jungle. Go left, enter the hut, and leave it right away. You’ll now be in a different area. Go left again to enter a jungle. Start counting the trees and hold Up in the middle of the 16th & 17th trees. If done right, you’ll enter a secret area with a Japanese soldier.
Treasure Room Password
At the password screen, press left four times, down thre times, and enter the Japanese character 20 times. Now press End and leave the password screen to start on the Treasure Room.
Revive yourself
If your energy gets drained, press the A and B buttons at the same time 3 times in a row. If done right, your character should get back up with full energy.
Easter Eggs
Secret Ending Message
At the ending screen, after the two initial messages disappear, wait for about five minutes without pressing any buttons and another message will appear. It translates to “What would you do if a game like this were serious?”
Sign-Off Easter Egg
Looking at the blank map for an hour the game will sign off. Three hours of a dark screen follow, then a test pattern, then one hour later, text reading good morning will appear, and the game continues.
Glitches
Clear the screen of enemies
While playing the game, you can clear the screen of enemies by just pressing Select to go to the menu screen and then exiting it. If done right, all the enemies will be gone. You can do this as many times as you wish.
Secrets
Microphone substitute
There are three parts in the game where you must use the Famicom’s 2nd controller built-in microphone, the Pachinko Parlor, the Karaoke Bar, and the map. If you don’t have the microphone available, you can alternatively press Down + A at the same time on the second controller to manually switch from microphone input to controller input. That way when you are required to use the microphone, just press the A button on the second controller and that will qualify as using the microphone.
Warp to the last room without playing the game
To reach the very last room (the treasure room) without playing the game, just press the A button (the punch button) 20 thousand times on the title screen. You will physically see the character punching the air, you can take breaks and move around if you wish, but you must punch 20, 000 times. If done correctly, you’ll be warped to the treasure room without having to play the game.
Takeshi no Chosenjo Cheat Code FAQ
Is Takeshi’s challenge the hardest game? Perhaps it would be easier to say “difficult” instead. This game was designed to be unfun and frustrating to play, as it was directed by a man who hates video games. With that in mind, don’t take it too personally.
What is the Takeshi Castle game? While it was directed by the same man, it is not a video game. It was a Japanese game show that aired between 1986 and 1990 on the Tokyo Broadcasting System.
Is Takeshi’s Challenge a bad game? That…is up for debate. On the one hand, it is certainly impressive that the game manages to be so annoying, but on the other hand, the point of a game is to be fun. So, while it accomplishes what it sets out to do, it doesn’t change the fact you could probably have more fun elsewhere.
Is it too hard? As Takeshi no Chosenjo was designed to be hard, or rather, frustrating, it can be a bit too much except for dedicated players. That’s not to say beating it is a test of skill, as it is with Dark Souls. Merely that the game itself is unfair to play.
And that’s all for now folks, stay safe!
The image featured at the top of this post is ©Tatio.