He put his contempt on a cartridge and called it a challenge — and eight hundred thousand people answered.
Takeshi Kitano designed this game with deliberate contempt for the uncritical player. Progression requires things no rational person would attempt unprompted: leaving the controller untouched for sixty consecutive minutes, singing karaoke into the Famicom second controller's built-in microphone, punching a peaceful civilian. Kitano later admitted the game was a literal challenge — he wanted to see if anyone would bother. It ranked first in Famitsu's kusoge reader poll and became a cultural reference point for intentional obtuseness. Yet it sold approximately 800,000 copies in Japan, comparable to the original Dragon Quest, making it one of history's most successful bad games. When revised Famicom hardware removed the second controller's microphone, the karaoke section became permanently unsolvable on those units. It is studied today as a unique artifact of 1980s Japanese pop culture: an avant-garde act disguised as a product.
— inspired by Takeshi Kitano
About this game
Takeshi's Challenge is one of the most infamous games in Famicom history — designed by television personality and later filmmaker Takeshi Kitano ('Beat Takeshi') with deliberate absurdity and near-impossible obtuseness. Progression requires doing things no rational player would attempt: leaving the controller completely untouched for 60 consecutive minutes, singing karaoke into the Famicom's microphone, and punching a seemingly peaceful civilian. It sold approximately 800,000 copies in Japan — comparable to the first Dragon Quest — making it one of history's most successful bad games.
The Story Behind
The game ranked first in Famitsu's 'kusoge' (garbage game) poll and became a cultural reference point for intentionally bad or deliberately frustrating game design. Kitano later admitted the game was designed as a literal 'challenge' to see if anyone would bother — his personal contempt for uncritical consumers turned into an avant-garde artwork that outsold most 'serious' games of its era. It is now studied as a unique artifact of 1980s Japanese pop culture.
Tricks & Tales
One of the game's most notorious mechanics requires the player to use the Famicom second controller's built-in microphone to sing a karaoke verse and receive a passing score from the game. When later Famicom hardware revisions removed the microphone from the second controller, this section became permanently impossible on those units — making older hardware a prerequisite for 100% completion. The game contains no final boss and its ending is widely considered as anti-climactic as the rest of the experience.
Collector's Guide
Region & Compatibility
Famicom and NES are the same hardware family but use physically incompatible cartridge formats — Famicom carts have a 60-pin connector and a narrower shell, while NES carts use a 72-pin connector with a wider housing. You cannot insert a Famicom cartridge into a North American NES slot without an adapter, and vice versa. The Famicom itself has no lockout chip, so any Famicom cartridge from Japan will run on a Famicom console regardless of origin. If you are buying a Japanese Famicom cart to play on a NES, you will need a 60-to-72-pin physical adapter; if you own a Famicom, Japanese-market software is your native format and no workarounds are needed.
Maintenance Tips
The gold-plated edge connectors on Famicom and NES cartridges pick up skin oils and oxidation over decades — a gentle wipe with a cotton swab dampened in 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol, stroking along the length of the pins rather than across them, is the accepted standard. Let the alcohol fully evaporate before reinserting. The old habit of blowing into a cartridge is folklore: the moisture in breath causes slow corrosion of the contacts over time, and any improvement you felt came from the act of re-seating the cart, not from the breath itself. Nintendo eventually updated its own troubleshooting guidance to say explicitly: do not blow into your Game Paks.
Going deeper
Explore the machine this game ran on, and what to check before you buy or care for one:
What to Watch Out For
Before buying, these are the points worth knowing — from someone who handles original Japanese Takeshi's Challenge copies regularly.
Will this Japanese Famicom cartridge work on a North American Nintendo Entertainment System (NES)?
No, not without an adapter. The Famicom uses a 60-pin edge connector while the NES uses a 72-pin connector with a physically different form factor — the two are incompatible at the cartridge slot level. Third-party adapters exist that bridge the pin difference and allow Famicom cartridges to run in a NES. On a Japanese Famicom, NES cartridges face the same incompatibility in reverse. To play Japanese Famicom software, you need a Japanese Famicom, a Famicom-compatible clone console, or a NES fitted with an appropriate adapter.
How should I clean a Famicom cartridge to ensure reliable play?
Apply 90% or higher isopropyl alcohol to a cotton swab and gently wipe the gold-plated PCB edge contacts on the base of the cartridge. Never blow into the cartridge — breath moisture accelerates contact corrosion over time. If cleaning is needed inside, Famicom cartridges use 3.8mm security game bit screws (not standard Phillips); a security bit screwdriver is required to open the shell without damage. Note that most Famicom boot failures originate in the 60-pin console slot rather than the cartridge itself — cleaning the console slot contacts separately with a contact cleaning tool is often the more effective fix.
Before You Buy
Things worth knowing before you buy Takeshi's Challenge
A short checklist for buying a used Famicom cartridge wisely — useful with any seller, anywhere.
-
Choose a seller who tests it before shipping
A copy that has actually been powered on and checked is a known quantity. An untested one is a gamble you only settle after it arrives.
Look for a seller who states it was function-tested and says what they confirmed. A serious seller can tell you exactly what was checked.
-
Make sure it fits your console
This is a Japanese Famicom cartridge with a 60-pin connector; a North American NES uses a 72-pin slot, so it will not fit directly.
Play it on a matching Japanese console or a region-free system, and confirm the listing states the region.
-
If this title saves your progress, check the battery
Cartridges that save use a small coin-cell battery that fades over decades — a dead one wipes your save without warning.
Ask the seller whether the save function was tested. Replacing the battery is possible, but doing so erases any existing save.
-
Check that the contacts are clean
Dirty edge contacts are the most common cause of startup and sound trouble in cartridges of this age.
Choose a seller who cleans the contacts before shipping. A note that it was tested and cleaned means the basics were handled.
-
Confirm it is genuine, not a reproduction
Sought-after titles are targets for reproduction boards with replacement labels.
Ask for a photo of the circuit board and look for factory markings. Favour a shop with a licensed second-hand dealer permit (古物商) — by law its stock has a traceable origin, your simplest guard against fakes.
-
Read the seller's reviews and return policy
A 100% positive record across thousands of sales is close to a guarantee — packing, communication and problem-solving all work for everyone. A return policy protects you if something is off.
Read the feedback and confirm a clear return window before you buy.
The last step before buying anywhere is knowing what it's worth.
See what it's selling for on eBay →Unexpected Discoveries
Games you weren't looking for — but might be glad you found.
Rooms this game lives in
Wander deeper — explore the themed rooms where Takeshi's Challenge sits alongside its kin.
Memories from around the world
This is a young museum, and this page is still waiting for its first voices. The memories people send reach Taisei personally, and the ones that move him find a home here over time — always with the writer's blessing. Yours could be the very first for this game.
Share your memory ↑