The previous decade brought Shogun Warriors– toy maker Mattel’s importation of anime mecha, as well as the localization of television shows such as Ultraman, Star Blazers, The Space Giants, and Johnny Sokko and his Flying Robot.

Yet, this phenomena wasn’t restricted to SEGA Master System and Nintendo Entertainment System owners. Thanks to the localization of Japanese titles in the ‘80s, young videogamers across the globe shared a common experience, allowing Game Challenge’s retro ruminations to unite a scattered audience.

Much like the t-shirt and shorts clad youths portrayed in the DS cartridge, my friends and I spent our formative years transfixed by the mysteries held by the 8-bit era, with any free time consumed gleaning gaming tips from friends and magazines. Look past Retro Game Challenge’s collection of faux-Famicom titles, and the title divulges an implicit takeaway: despite cultural and geographical differences, the medium of gaming created an undeniable similarity across Eastern and Western childhoods.

Download attack of the friday monster