A few months ago, I received a patron request to create a video on a "controversial topic." So I thought to myself, "Alright, I should do something on that sketchy corner of the NES rental section they used to have at Hastings." I'd cover the Panesian trilogy, perhaps, and some other less blatantly objectionable material, like Menace Beach by Wisdom.
As I began sourcing ROM files for the episode — because there is no possible way I could afford to shell out the roughly $2500 it would cost to acquire those four games for a video that would stall out at 2500 views — I was surprised to discover that one of the critical pieces didn't seem to exist online in any form. Menace Beach saw release in Japan under the name Miss Peach World courtesy of Hacker International (who also released the Panesian games in Japan, because it's a small world after all)... but I couldn't find that ROM anywhere. A few delicate inquiries confirmed that it's never been publicly dumped or released — not for any respect of copyright or good taste, because you can find ROMs for plenty of other Hacker-published games (some of which contain content in much worse taste). I guess the game's obscurity, rarity, and cost have prevented it from making its way online.
Then I recalled seeing a tweet by Retronauts ally and Video Game History Foundation cofounder Steve Lin in which he tweeted a photo of the game, complete in box, which he had picked up for a remarkably reasonable price during his last trip to Japan. So, thanks to Steve, this video project slowly evolved from being a roundup of smutty NES bootleg games into a piece laser-focused on a single weird variant of Menace Beach/Sunday Funday. I didn't really discover any new information about the game, but I am 100% positive that I've created the only HD footage of the game that exists on the internet. Maybe even in the world, for the moment! To be honest, that's really not the claim to fame I was seeking in life, but I guess we take what we can get.
Anyway, yeah, this video is slightly unsafe for work due to the presence of 8-bit lady-nipples. Hacker International made their version of Menace Beach a bit saucier than the original, so exercise caution if someone uptight or particularly impressionable happens to be standing over your shoulder while you're watching this. It's all pretty harmless, but we are a puritanical people, ya know?