The BEST episodes of GameCenter CX

#1 - Skykid

Season 17 - Episode 11 - Aired 9/19/2013

A shooter! As the show enters its 10th year it's finally time that Arino conquers his fear of the shooting genre and the challenge that will hopefully help him transition is Namco's Skykid. With such a cute aesthetic and a grinning plane as a protagonist Skykid seems like the perfect starting point but it's not longer before Arino begins to experience some turbulence. The attendees of 2013's United States Of Odaiba event were once again treated to an on stage live challenge. This time out Arino wanted to right a wrong that occurred during the recent Power Pad: Jogging Race challenge. In Project: Game Version 3 Arino shares some ideas with the staff at G.rev including an ingenious pitch for a versus game.

#2 - The Kacho Goes to the Cannes Film Festival

Season 9 - Episode 2 - Aired 7/2/2008

First there was South Korea, now the Chief is hitting the red carpet at the Cannes film festival to sell the show at the international film and TV market. It's not all business however as Arino visits a number of local stores and arcades. At one particular store Arino looks at their selection of Japanese games before blowing the mind of the owner with a little surprise. When they hit a local arcade, Arino and Tojima get the thrill of their lives in a full body roller coaster experience. Even with all of this we're introduced to a new segment for season 9, the Famicom Mange Café, which will focus on comic series devoted to video games. This first segment shines a light on one of the better known series of this type, Famicom Rocky.

#3 - Super Mario Land

Season 18 - Episode 8 - Aired 7/17/2014

For his first portable challenge Arino will be taking on the Game Boy classic, Super Mario Land. Released alongside the Game Boy in 1989 this Mario outing did an admirable job of emulating its console counterparts and is perhaps best remembered for its fantastic soundtrack. While very short Arino will have to contend with a unique aspect of this particular Mario game, shooting stages. More recreation center and less arcade, Chichibu Muse Park is today's TamaGe destination. While the park does offer a variety of activities Arino would rather take part in some virtual competition with the staff. Arino picks the perfect game to cool off after a hot bath in the latest NES Box segment when he sits down to play some Ice Climber. Arino sets himself a goal of beating 10 stages in 10 minutes which could prove tough in this slippery platformer.

#4 - Trip to Korea by Economy Class

Season 7 - Episode 6 - Aired 7/11/2007

It's the 50th episode extravaganza! Game Center CX is finally hitting the big times and going abroad to South Korea for their first ever international trip for a TamaGe In South Korea! Watch as Arino and staff visit the best of Korean arcades and stores including a stall jam packed with games of a questionable and mysterious origin. Arino even gets the chance to interview a professional StarCraft team when he isn't buying odd souvenirs at the many local vendors lining the streets. But that's not all as in the finale Arino risks the show's budget on a single round of roulette! It's an ending that can't be missed.

#5 - Quiz: The Feudal Lord's Ambition

Season 4 - Episode 5 - Aired 12/14/2005

It's all hands on deck for the first quiz challenge in show history when Arino takes on Quiz: The Feudal Lord's Ambition. Hopefully everyone is up to date on their early 90s Japanese pop culture. Arino visits an arcade with the unusual gimmick of having games priced as low as 10 yen but soon finds that it's too good to be true. Arino doesn't sweat that detail though as he enjoys taking down kids in Virtua Fighter 4 and Final Furlong. For a change of pace things get loud on Secret Trick Jet Stream when a listener requests a hot jam from Raid On Bungeling Bay. Secret Trick Jet Stream quickly segues into Project: DVD as Arino announces the final details about the launch of the first DVD box set.

#6 - Super Mario World (2)

Season 3 - Episode 8 - Aired 7/23/2005

We pick up right where we left off as Arino struggles to conquer Super Mario World. Watch as he ventures closer to Bowser's lair in what will prove to be the most dramatic episode yet! But if you can't handle all the stress you can calm your nerves with a little Ring Ring Tactics where we find Arino struggling to decipher a string of random letters.

#7 - Nintendo: Super Mario Bros 1 & 2

Season 1 - Episode 10 - Aired 3/31/2004

Arino is faced with the difficult challenge of beating Super Mario Brothers 2 for the Famicom Disk System. He first practices is skills with the original Super Mario Brothers before moving onto Super Mario Brothers 2; will he be able to beat the game? Or will he be defeated by one of Nintendo's own?

#8 - Ninja Ryukenden (Ninja Gaiden)

Season 4 - Episode 9 - Aired 2/22/2006

In this episode, Arino returns to another classic NES game. This time it’s the fan-favorite Tecmo game Ninja Gaiden. With a victory here, he can bring his record for the season to a tie, but the Ninja Gaiden series is considered one of the hardest game series ever made. After some time Arino comes to the realization that it may be the hardest game he's ever played in his life... even harder than Ghosts 'n Goblins and Adventure Island! Arino pays a visit to a nostalgic little arcade with a odd name which is enjoyed by children and adults alike. There he discovers a prize machine filled with a cornucopia of pop culture icons and some strange decorations adorning the outer wall.

#9 - Contra

Season 5 - Episode 2 - Aired 6/21/2006

The Konami classic Contra is the featured challenge for this episode and its renowned co-op gameplay may offer Inoko MAX a chance to redeem himself after his poor showing last episode. The TamaGe for this episode features a wonderful store with a variety of nostalgic candy and game machines. There's also a great cast of supporting characters including classic movie stars, robots, aliens and idols. Aces Of Hardware this time will focus on the the obscure Cassette Vision from the even more obscure manufacturer, Epoch. While most of its games require a lot of imagination to enjoy Pakpak Monster has a very recognisable protagonist.

#10 - Akumajou Densetsu (Castlevania III: Dracula's Curse)

Season 6 - Episode 2 - Aired 11/15/2006

One of the most revered and hardest series on the NES, Castlevania makes its challenge debut when Arino challenges Castlevania 3. Arino will have to call on everything he has learnt over the years in order to slay the prince of darkness once and for all. If that all sounds a but too heavy then there's a TamaGe to an establishment that is a mix of arcade and diner complete with sexy outfits for wall decorations. After some light gaming Arino decides to treat the staff to a meal of his choosing. A sexy moment from a decidedly unsexy game is shown in this week's The Romance Never Ends when we take a peek at the classic detective game, Murder At The Dragon's Temple In Kyoto.

#11 - Rockman (Mega Man)

Season 7 - Episode 2 - Aired 5/16/2007

It's time for Arino to step into the boots of the Blue Bomber once again as he challenges Mega Man. Being the first entry in the venerated series, Arino will have to contest with some of its less refined aspects and what some fans call the highest difficulty level to be found in the original 6 games. In the second instalment of Project: Game Version Arino visits the developer of the game, indieszero. Once there, Arino grills company head Masanobu Suzui about his mouse and the history of the company. The Game & Watches that can't be left alone this week belong to the Silver Series of games.

#12 - Super Mario 64 (2)

Season 4 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/8/2006

Join Arino for the exciting conclusion of his Super Mario 64 challenge. Arino has it all ahead of him though as he takes on the games toughest levels to try to increase his star tally and open up the doorway to the King Of The Koopa's himself, Bowser. A new and exciting form of transport delivers Arino to this week's TamaGe location but that's not before he samples the local delicacies in Enoshima. Once at his destination Arino drives a virtual train before trying to trick AD Urakawa in a plan that quickly backfires.

#13 - Ninja Ryukenden II: Ankoku no Jashinken (Ninja Gaiden II) (2)

Season 12 - Episode 8 - Aired 2/10/2010

Part 2 of the Ninja Gaiden II challenge. Arino continues to fight his way through the brutal game. In order to help him, Tojima returns with multiple AD's from past and present at his side. It will take the all of their combined power to finally put an end to Jaquio. In January of 2010, Game Center CX held a company day trip which doubled as a fan appreciation event. 120 lucky people were taken by bus to the event where they were greeted by Arino before moving on to a bowling alley, a picnic and finally a wrestling match which would be considered bizarre even by Japanese standards. In A Waste Of Color the first game that Arino plucks from Kibe's supply is the unique card focused RPG, Monster Maker. He then selects the Ghosts 'N Goblins spin-off, Gargoyle's Quest, a game that eventually went on to spawn a console exclusive series. The last game he chooses is a personal favorite of Kibe, Space War Of Mu.

#14 - Umihara Kawase

Season 5 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/7/2006

For the season 5 opener Arino must try to complete the cult classic, grappling hook platformer, Umihara Kawase. Perhaps the new AD can impress with his gaming skills and propel the Chief to victory. In the first TamaGe outing of the season Arino visits a quaint stationary store. With the sun glaring down he makes judicious use of the sun blockers so he is able to enjoy some Metal Slug co-op along side the elderly owner. This season will feature a new segment focusing on lesser known hardware called The Aces Of Hardware Won't Appear. The hardware Arino will be introduced to today is the Sega Mark III which had a number of notable titles including Alex Kidd In Miracle World.

#15 - Street Fighter II

Season 6 - Episode 1 - Aired 11/1/2006

The veritable masterpiece, Street Fighter 2, serves as the opener for season 6. Since this genre of game is atypical for the show it's decided that an ending that is as equally out of the ordinary is required. No arcade trip this episode but instead we have a report from the Tokyo Game Show including highlights from a Game Center CX stage show as well as Arino's visit to the show's merchandise booth. The new segment for this season will be The Romance Never Ends, a segment focusing on some of the most risqué moments in gaming. First up is a candid moment from the anime based game, Magical Taruruuto-kun.

#16 - Mighty Bomb Jack (Live Show Recap)

Season 6 - Episode 5 - Aired 1/10/2007

In front of a live audience, Arino tries to complete the game that he came close to clearing Mighty Bomb Jack. The immense pressure from hundreds of eyes watching his every move makes Arino and the staff much more susceptible to mistakes. Can Arino clear his first live challenge?

#17 - Hatena no Daibouken (Adventure Quiz: Hatena's Quest)

Season 6 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/24/2007

The best that Game Center CX has to offer must once again join forces to topple the Capcom character heavy quiz game, Adventure Quiz: Hatena's Quest. In order to best this mix of adventure and quiz game the staff will rely on a certain method that has proven to be successful in the past. For a change of pace this week's TamaGe features not one but two excursions. The first has Arino visiting a prize game heavy arcade where he tries out a unique method for winning and makes a pun of spurious quality. The next stop is Home Ground which doesn't fit any typical designation. It's best described as a themed restaurant that tries to replicate the experience of playing games at home including draws full of games and some oddly personal items.

#18 - Nintendo: Super Mario Bros Pt. 2

Season 1 - Episode 11 - Aired 5/30/2004

This week's challenge is a continuation of last week's and finds Arino attempting to finish Super Mario Bros.: The Lost Levels. Just as it looks as though Arino is no chance, Tojima presents him with a gift that could change the tides in this challenge.

#19 - Super Donkey Kong (Donkey Kong Country) (1)

Season 10 - Episode 6 - Aired 1/21/2009

It's been a while since the show has featured a bona fide classic but that's about to change when Arino takes on Donkey Kong Country. This being a Rare developed game Arino can expect great graphics and deceptively difficult gameplay. Arino travels to a restaurant with a gaming themed dish in the latest TamaGe, and while he's waiting for his meal he partakes in some retro games of chance. Project: Game Version 2 picks up steam as we step into the recording booth with Arino. We also get a sneak peek at a few staff cameos in the game.

#20 - Budokan Backstage Access

Season 17 - Episode 16 - Aired 1/9/2014

With the triumph that was the Budokan live challenge still fresh in the memory we're granted a behind the scenes look at how it all came together. From begging to end see exactly what went to plan and what didn't in this all access look at Arino's challenge in Budokan. Kibe is not easily deterred and so the SG-1000 anniversary party keeps on rolling. This week Arino will deliver his verdict on 3 genuine classics, the Yuji Naka made Girl's Garden, Flicky and Zaxxon.

#21 - Pilotwings Live In Iwate

Season 16 - Episode 7 - Aired 7/5/2012

The story of Arino and Pilotwings is not a happy one. This game was meant to serve as a victory lap during his 40th birthday challenge and instead it humbled him for the second time. Arino is not one to let sleeping dogs lie, and so he will once again challenge Pilotwings, but this time he'll be doing it in front of a live audience of hundreds in the city of Iwate. Before we get to the challenge proper it's decided that it would be remiss not to have the first ever TamaGe in Iwate. He stops by the Shizukuishi Retrospective Store which is brimming with nostalgic food, games and paraphernalia. Arino picks up some goodies, plays some games with local kids and then checks out some more traditional games being played in the store.

#22 - Yuu Yuu Hakusho: Makyo Toitsusen

Season 17 - Episode 12 - Aired 10/24/2013

#23 - Sonic the Hedgehog

Season 9 - Episode 1 - Aired 6/25/2008

The time has finally come for Arino to challenge Sega's blue blur when he takes on the first entry in the classic series, Sonic The Hedgehog. Unfortunately for him, Sonic won't have his buddy Tails until the sequel so he'll be flying solo on this one. This episode also brings us a special report from a Game Center CX museum exhibit which featured playable games, merchandise and memorabilia from the show. There were even a few stages acts including gaming themed comedy and a screening of a TamaGe starring Tojima. There's also a quick segment showing the Yamanote train line emblazoned with advertising for the new DVD box set.

#24 - Getsu Fūma Den

Season 25 - Episode 11 - Aired 11/11/2021

#25 - Sailor Moon

Season 24 - Episode 15 - Aired 1/14/2021