Your Channel is amazing. It’s the perfect balance of entertainment and journalism. Your journalism videos are the most well researched that I’ve seen on the topics you address. Your entertainment videos are done with the upmost sincerity. The obscure retro video commercials are such a charming touch your videos as well. You always choose retro video games very a deep rich history. By the way my favorite nes game is monster party! Wanpaku graffiti AKA splatterhouse is my favorite famicom game.
Giana Sisters C64 rules! I grew up with that game and played it so many times, the music is magical! I met Chris Hülsbeck in the 90s, we became friends and I had the chance to make the music for Giana Sisters DS and Giana Sisters Twisted Dreams. Musical greets, Fabian
Most excellent video Sir, US Gold also developed a ZX Spectrum port of the game too, ready to ship but was axed just before release. Apparently some did slip through through.
Wow didn’t know that! Europe and its games are just as fascinating to me as japan. I’m very close to solving the Houlihan riddle too but the next video on the 16th you have to come see. I’ve found amazing photos of a super famous games developer when he was young that have never been digitized or deciphered as to what the story of these photos were.
We found this game by accident in some bootleg diskette that my uncle had in his C64 collection, and were instantaneously amazed by its quality and my uncle was crazy about the song. In time it became one of my favorites C64 games ever. My uncle passed away in 2019 and playing this game or hearing its tune always makes me remember him.
I've never even heard of this game before. Wow! I was born in 82' and started gaming in 88' when I was 6 years old. I'm 37 now and I'm still learning new things about gaming. Another gem of a video! Thank you Amigo! Salud! 🍻👌
Thanks Lupe! You can find it as a “rahm” pretty easy but getting a c64 started is a little tricky. My neighbor had it and it was great but the Atari style joysticks made it hard to play. This is actually just a misdirect kind of video because the next one is actually about a real Mario game that was an official hack and so much more! Thanks for watching!!
Great episode! I'm from Norway, and I grew up with both a Commodore 64 and an NES. I loved playing on both, and remember playing The Great Giana Sisters on a pirated copy on cassette tape. Strangely enough I didn't make the connection between this game and Super Mario Bros. at the time...
This was great! I had no idea of the depth of the Great Giana Sisters series!!! You always bring such a fantastic knowledge to your channel--thank you for sharing!
Monty on the Run & Little Nemo footage in the same vid? A man of taste. That box art is hilarious.. turns out the Germans weren’t just covering pop music to unintentionally comedic effect - they covered games too!!
I only know a few German groups. Trio, Nena, David Hasslehoff. I love Little Nemo! And it often say little Nemo over Samson when crazy internet people talk about rare/gem games just to mess with them. And to be correct! Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
There was an unreleased Spectrum version of the game, which was sue to be released in the second batch, but was cancelled after the game was taken off shelves.
Lol just started watching and saw that ranking... you're a legend hahaha After watching: wow I knew about the gianna sisters and the c64... being from Spain, and old already lol, I know about the predominance of computers over consoles in the 80s. There was a huge fanbase of c64 music even, so I understand it has become a cult classic. I didn't know it also had more features than smb, powerups etc. Very interesting video!!
Thanks Jordi! When I can I try to imitate the game visuals and last time I got a huge wave of awesome comments. The other top 5 are guys (girls? I don’t know) who have been around and consistently posting a long time. The number is the video they jumped in on. C64 music is really amazing stuff and it ranks up there with 16 bit stuff as far as I’m concerned. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
Yea! I also loved Summer Games a lot. Better get a fast load though. The boot ups are slow! This video is a prelude to the next one, also about a semi-real Mario game. Thanks for watching as always 👩🏻🎤
I really like the Giana Sisters franchise; I played the very first game back in '87 on my buddy's Commodore 64. This was extremely informative! Small note: Giana Sisters DS was ported to Mac OS X, Android, Ouya, Microsoft Windows, iOS and it's compatible with the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.
@@GTV-Japan Yes but the DS one is still the best version to play due to Nintendo's excellent d-pad. The DS also has nicer pixel art that was HDefied on later ports and it doesn't look as nice.
Never heard of this game until now but wow what a story! Thank you for all the research and time you put into your videos! Another fun and educational ride! :)
@@GTV-Japan Hi GTV Japan! I make game music since the 90s, and made the soundtracks for games like Bubsy - The Woolies Strike Back, all Giana Sisters games since the Nintendo DS game, Cultures 2, Dr Who Legacy, Tiny Thor (indie jump'n'run to be released soon), Inspector Gadget (Playstation 1), among numerous others. Cheers!
@@GTV-Japan Oh yes, I'd love to do it - provided that I can pre-record all my replies to your questions (these kind of interviews I can do). Is that possible? What is your email address? You can find mine on my YT profile. lets keep in touch! Cheers, Fabian
The world needs to see this video. I have played the original back in the day. I'm from Argentina. It got all the way here (thanks to pirates). Actually, almost all C64 software came from Europe in pirate form. At the beginning there was one guy from Argentina who got in cotact with some other guy from some obscure european country. This guy would send money in envelopes to Europe, taking the huge risk that meant, and this other european guy would send back pirated copys of software. Then, back in Argentina, the argentinian would redistribute it to the whole country. I can't even think how the communication was between the 2 parts. But thanks to them, we got The Great Giana Sisters in the 80's.
That’s cool! It’s funny to think there’s an honor system of sending cash in the mail for pirated games. My neighbor had a c64 and my cousin had an apple 2 and they both had almost 100% copied games. It was just so cool to get infinite copies that way. This video did well the first 12 hours so it has a chance of getting out there on the front page to people who have Mario in their view history. So let’s hope. I saw some things online before oh how commodores and amigas can still get online somehow and that’s pretty interesting. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
Another deftly executed video. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Makes me glad that I already own Twisted Dreams so now knowing the full back story I'll have an even more meaningful play through of it.
Thanks I’m glad you liked it! When that first got announced I just laughed but it ms a neat game and well if Nintendo gives it the ok then it’s all good!
Despite the game selling very badly at the time, it was widely pirated, so it was found on millions of home computers in Europe without the original packaging...
Had a copy before even knowing Mario - I was a Commodore kid ;-) Most Commodore kids had only a few original games; mostly tape games as those were cheap enough... The rest were copies.
I played this so much as a kid on the Amiga 500. Great fun, great music. I only learned about this Mario guy in my twenties, when I met my wife who grew up with a NES. This mario game felt like a rip off, but it was actially the other way around. I also played hard’n’heavy which was hard and not a lot of fun. Giana Sisters on the Playstation 3 was superb!
Hard'n'Heavy! What a weird sequel. I had it on a floppy disk as "Giana Sisters 2" and my 6 year-old brain just couldn't make sense of how these games are connected. But the music was amazing (Huelsbeck again), especially the "boss" levels.
@@GTV-Japan Word of mouth probably. I played these games in Eastern Europe years before the Berlin Wall came down. Western-made personal computers were banned from import through the COCOM embargo, and that included the Commodore for most of the 80s, so there was no legal game distribution. You'd be able to get unmarked floppy disks at flea markets, which were copies of copies of copies smuggled through from the West. Every floppy would have a random set of games to fill the available disk space. That's how I had most of my games growing up.
Are you from east Germany? I remember seeing the wall come down on tv and by the time I was a college student I saw Lech Walesa from Poland come give a lecture. But I can’t imagine it. I don’t want to use a word like “funny” but it’s unusual that places with the iron fist of government rule had such abuse of things usually enforced in free countries like copyright
Over the years I keep hearing about Giana Sisters and wondering how this random Super Mario Bros clone keeps popping up. So it's nice to hear about it in depth like this.
Thanks, I made this a long time back but it never really had an end to the story so I just sat on it till now. But it’s funny how Nintendo kind of just let it go, and these guys went on to great stuff!
Thanks for making this video, a great stroll down nostalgia lane. My parents had a Commodore 128 for work and Giana was the de facto platform game on it. I played it endlessly as a kid, years before even hearing of Mario or the NES. A couple of corrections though: * Maria is not kidnapped in the story. She functions as a second player. The point of the game is to get to the giant diamond in the final level. (This is even stated in the screenshot you used from the game box at 9:19). * The pipe-looking barrels do not have an actual function in the game. You can access bonus areas through fake drops on the bottom of the screen (marked differently to denote you won't die if you fall through) and underground levels are entered through elevator platforms that go up and down at the end of overground levels. * The water droplet is a much later powerup that helps against fire hazards. The ball-looking first powerup, the fire wheel gives that power along with Giana's punk look.
@@GTV-Japan no worries! :) I see now looking it up that even Wikipedia's reference quotes are weird - not necessarily wrong but off in certain details. So I can appreciate it is hard to determine accuracy of the data you can find for a 33 year old game -- and the time it takes to get a copy of the game and verify in-game information for yourself. Seeing this is one of the most-viewed videos on the subject, I wanted to add my two cents. :)
@@followthemoonrabbit no problem! Often I’ll revisit topics in future videos and make corrections I’ve learned so if Giana ever comes up I’ll add these!
Sucks then that they stole a ton of music for the original Super Mario Bros., or that Zelda 1 was pretty much an edit of hydlide. Nintendo borrows/steals from others as well.
@@DragonMasterSubo Technically we all do. Musically, chord progressions are NOT copyrightable (Listen to some popular music...ugh)...but melody lines ARE.
@@PianoMan-hx3ev It's not just chord progressions, but actual compositions (big one would be the world 1-2 bgm). It's just funny that the company that sues everything else into oblivion to protect itself has its own history of copying. Hell, if the shoe was on the other foot and Nintendo was the company that made the King Kong movie, they sure as hell would go after any company that made Donkey Kong. Nintendo is very hypocritical.
it might not have been *sold* in great numbers, but it was certainly *played* in great numbers. i would guestimate that simply *every* c64 kid had it in their collection back in the days.
Yeah you are right, I have been hit with dozens of comments saying they had a copied version and never bought it. I guess the guys who made the game are happy for that as if Nintendo stopped them, they'd not make money anyway and at least this way, their work was enjoyed. thanks for watching!!!
Giana Sisters might be a ripoff but this game was my first game I've ever played. And never played Mario Brothers. Giana FOREVER! And the music... Oh my God. Masterpiece!
2:35 we make players into beta testers now (or modders if they got a pc). And upcoming switch game touhou shoujo tale of beautiful memories blatantly rips off super mario rpg lol 😆. Nice that giana sisters had a more original sequel later on in twisted dreams. Magician's chase rips off megaman but you got 6 characters at least. In a way I suppose these knockoffs help if sequels are underused or as bad as some sonic games.
7:34 "There were things like pipes that you can also use to travel underground." Nope, that's a mechanic they didn't manage to copy from SMB. Underground bonus rooms are entered by falling into holes that have a blue wavy line, and level skips can be accessed by hitting invisible blocks hidden in certain levels. The pipes are simply platforms that can't be entered.
No biggie, just pointing it out. Also, the drop item doesn't give you an extra hit, but it makes you invincible against fires. ...not that I ever figured out how those items worked as a kid, playing my Super Mario sprite hack of Giana Sisters which I assumed it was the real deal official Super Mario Bros for C64.
That's great, I heard about this game back in the days but I simply dismissed it as a simple knock off but I was intrigued by the story of this game, like who did this and why. 25 years later, you provided me with more information than I asked for, that's awesome. I did play Giana Sisters: Twisted Dream but was not really impressed by the game (the music was great though Machinae Supremacy did a good job with the soundtrack) This is a nice part of gaming history to know I think and I thank you to take the time to create this most interesting video.
Cool I’m glad you liked it. I thought the modern game was ok. Not great. But then again not many 2d games left and it does look nice. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
In the Nintendo-dominated Sweden, this game disappeared like the wind back then. I never played it or even knew of its existence until I was a teenager in the early 2000's, which is when I played a homebrew version of the original for... Dreamcast of all consoles. I bought Giana Sisters Twisted Dreams on Wii U and I enjoyed it all the way up to the final boss who can kiss my ass because it was so annoying and tedious. Never beat that thing.
That’s great to hear! Sorry for the late reply. This somehow got marked as spam. Over the last year many Swedes have found this channel and told me how strong Nintendo is there which I had no idea. So it’s great to hear more. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
Your channel is legit my favorite gaming channel on UA-cam right behind doctor sparkles nes videos. I absolutely love your content and i love it how you kinda “place us” there as if we’re watching the video on Japanese television. Thank you for making them, I really enjoy them
Thanks Mark! The greatest honor is this kind of comment because you “get it” the whole point is to kind of make it look like jp tv. Even though this video has nothing to do with it. I’m off to edit the next one right now! 👩🏻🎤
Gaijillionaire I can’t wait dude. Like I said, it’s straight up my favorite channel. Because of your videos about goemon, I bought every single goemon famicom game including the 2 Wai Wai worlds (which I don’t know if you made a history of video on. I’d LOVE to see that maybe tied in with Konami cameos in other games. I think you talked a bit about them in the history of goemon vid) . I had all the carts translated and absolutely love them. With the famicom commercials, ya legit give me a feel as if I’m watching Japanese tv.
Thanks! You’ll make the top 5 for sure now! I will get to Wai Wai world eventually. Doing Parodius first that’s gonna be December. Unfortunately I don’t have the free time I’d like so 20-25 videos a year is all I can do. If I had a steady income and worked 8 hrs a day on videos I could get 90-100 a year because I’m so full on ideas. Actually many of the recent videos were scripts sitting around since 2017! But I’ll keep at it ☄️
Indeed, I didn't know anybody having a NES; Germany was Atari ST, Amiga and C64 all the way. Consoles had no real chance in these days because homecomputers offered (much more things you could not do with a console and) the possibility to get cracks for no money. I played (a crack of) The Great Giana Sisters a lot and when I was told it was a "copy", one explained to me that it was a copy of some Japanese game where they reused that "Jumpman" from Donkey Kong. I thought "Aha. Well." :-D It's very nice from you to mention these differences in the world of video games, as most retro channels from the USA seem to totally ignore that the way the Amercian market evolved was totally different from elsewhere in the world.
Thanks my friend! The next one on August 9th is the big “annual bomb” where I dig up photos video and info that’s never been put online so I hope you come back for it! 👩🏻🎤
Yes!! We ALL know! Every channel goes on about it forever! Oh yea while that is true, DDP was not shown publicly until May 29, 1987 when Fuji held a huge press conference for it in their studio. So it technically came second though I’m sure they didn’t know about it. Making it a crazy coincidence. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
Of course I reply to Any comment that is coherent! In 2 weeks the next video will be out and it deals somewhat with Doki Doki panic and how Fuji TV got into games and where it lead to so I hope you come back for that
@@GTV-Japan thanks :) I so a very detailed video about this history of doki doki panic, but will be interesting to see yours as well :) keep the good work :) greetings from Bulgaria bootleg region back in a day hehe we was lucky
Hey no problem with not liking it. Different opinions are welcome. I would love to see their notes as they made the game. They just played Mario and learned it. Really amazing and factor 5 turned out to be an awesome company. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
I once had a funny conversation with my brother about The Great Giana Sisters when he expressed interest in the game and I replied, "Oh, the Super Mario Bros clone." He then debated with me how it clearly wasn't a clone... we later realised that he was talking about the 2013 game and had never heard of the original 1987 game. Of course, I only knew of the game myself through magazines and the such; it was a bit before my time. Terrific coverage of the subject with some bits and bobs that I did not know about. For instance, at 14:11, whilst I had heard of Hard 'n' Heavy before, I had no idea it was a spiritual successor to The Great Giana Sisters. Ironic in the end how the uniquely stylised version never got continued whereas the original that cloned Super Mario Bros style prospered and eventually bloomed into it's own style. 15:17 - I also did not expect all these events to lead into Turrican, but my biggest surprise was certainly at 11:47. The idea of Rainbow Arts being threatened with legal action is so widely believed as fact that I'm surprised to learn that it was only rumoured at best. That is incredible to discover despite having previously watched and read articles on this subject before. 10:03 - One last little funny thing to mention is that along with the power ups that were eventually used in Super Mario Bros 2, the recoiling lightning bolt actually works in a similar fashion to the bouncing Super Ball in Super Mario Land. Like I said, this was a fantastic video that smoothly covered a lot of info on the subject in a decent amount of time. I learnt some surprising facts from this so thank you very much!
Hey no problem friend! It was fun to make, and certainly a strange family tree the games had. Factor 5 which was also these guys in part later made Bonks adventure for the amiga and that’s going in a new video soon. Thanks for watching !
Great video! I had Giana on my A500, though I never liked the "floaty" jumping that plagued a lot of the platform games on the system 😉 Being from northern Europe, we played alot of Amiga games.
You’re not the first to comment on the floaty jumps! I’m actually very interested in the European scene then as it’s very different to what I grew up with and in a hardware nut and just love seeing all kinds of computers that were active then. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
It's probably been said, but there is a contemporary version of SMB1 on some form of personal computer called 'Super Mario Bros. Special' made by Hudson.
Giana Sisters was a very entertaining and addicting game to play back then. The graphics, the gameplay, sound effects and ambient background music were really great.
Also, I don't know if this may have been possible, but the unlicensed Sega Genesis game called Super Mario World has Mario and Luigi collecting diamonds instead of coins and using boxes as weapons instead of power ups. It's like a Mario & Giana crossover. Just a slight bit. Also, another Sega Genesis game called Kid Chameleon had many similarities to Giana Sisters & Mario Brothers. Collecting diamonds, power ups, and flagpole endings.
I had an NES and an Amiga as a kid, so I owned Mario Bros and Giana Sisters (which for some reason, we called "Giana and Maria" instead of its actual name). Giana Sisters were cooler (punks are cooler than plumbers) but Mario Bros controlled way better and had more variety in levels (there were no underwater or castle levels in Giana Sisters). The composer of the GGS soundtrack, Chris Hulsbeck, is a legend in video game music, if an Amiga game had awesome music, there was a good chance Chris created it.
You’re right. I didn’t think of that, no swimming in Gianna! I think the controls are in part from the Atari style joystick. I used a ps4 controller on an emulator and to me it played fine, sure Nintendo has more time and resources to hone perfection..when I was making the video I found dozens of Chris Huelsbeck interviews all about music none about Giana sisters. He is a great composer. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
@@GTV-Japan I had a pretty good joystick back then (it even had microswitches!) but GGS just didn't feel as solid control wise. The jumping was floaty and busting bricks just wasn't as satisfying etc. Also, probably the biggest thing, there was no run button! Both games were still awesome.
It might be a rip-off but TGS is a fantastic game that made us feel a lot less detached from the mainstream gaming trends at the time. German teams like Time Warp and Factor 5 had a real understanding of what a console like experience on a home computer should be like and totally delivered. Too bad they never tried to bring us Ninja Gaiden!
Yea I agree! At first I thought it was just a quick copy but that team really really put out tons of good games, original and ports! Personally I see no difference between the nes and c64 they came from the same time and yeah have different parts but do the same thing and the right programmers can do magic. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
@@GTV-Japan Didn't get a Console before 5 years after PS2 launch. I did have a C64 in 1988 though. So..... yeah, I might be a bit coloured in my upbringing.
@Kar4ever3 I think they are all the same. Just that the c64 had a keyboard. So what? Why does that disqualify it as a game machine in the eyes of so many?
@@GTV-Japan I think the Amstrad was considered a console despite the keyboard as it used cartridges, where as the C64, was more reliant on tapes and later discs. Less "in one". But meh, I didn't care. Copying tapes and discs was so easy, that I had plenty of things to play. Man.... I wish they made Black Gold/Oil Imperium again. Adn Street Rod. Both 1 and 2. So many good games, lost to the ages.
I was so confused when I was little. I had a cracked version of this game where they replaced the character with Mario and called it super mario bros 2
Grew up in Croatia and this was one of my favorite games on c64 (which was my third computer at the time after Galaksija and ZX Spectrum). Never even saw Super Mario game until much later in life when I got interested in retro gaming. Same situation with the kids in my surroundings. Nobody owned NES, but many owned c64s and would usually gather to play Commando or Gianna or Bubble Bobble. Also nobody owned a single original game, but that just how it was back then...
@@GTV-Japan not just C64, everyone pirated every computer system back then. PC MS DOS later on especially when it ended up being the most popular computer rig. I know of zero people who had an original DOS game back in the early 90s. Not until CDs turned mainstream, but even then, pirating was still far more common.
“The brothers are history” - I always loved that tagline, the first time I saw it. 😂 I never got to play the game but maybe I'd get on better with it than SMB which felt like a nightmare to play.
I can remember the first time I played the NES, and Super Mario Bros. It was the coolest thing ever. I enjoyed my vintage games as a kid, which wasn't vintage when I played them lol
I disagree with that narrative. The arcade division of Atari was still profitable and games were regularly released from 1983-1986. Nintendo though came in and no one saw it coming. That’s for sure
@@GTV-Japan Yes, but still funny how Atari pacman (which I was ok with, it was the pacman i was raised on as a kid for years), which was reviled by many.....yet the clone of KC munchkin seemed to be the better of the two....according to many players I talked to. The home consoles was the gangrene bit I was referring to, my bad :D
Yea it did seem that there was the growing pains of transitions to new hardware which they reluctantly did. But Atari still sold a million 2600s in 85. Not so bad for a dead industry. I did a whole video about Pac-Man release day and how it was done back then. You might like it.
Giana Sisters does not get enough recognition. Imagine if Mario Brothers and Giana Sisters would have crossed over if Giana Sisters was just as popular.
Nintendo probably told the stores that if they sell the great giana sisters we won't sell you any more Nintendo products like they did like to do that back then so I wouldn't doubt it
The plot from The Great Giana Sisters you told isn't correct and came from Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams. The plot of TGGS is "Giana wake up in a dream world and she need to find the magic huge diamond to leave". Also, the Fire Wheel has the same power of the Super Mushroom, not the Waterdrop. Further more, no matter being punk or normal, Giana die instantly after touching an enemy. Anyway, your video is very informative :)
For years, prior to Internet, I believed that Mario copied Giana until I searched on the web. Anyway, GS was one of the best games of my childhood and it has a special place in my heart. Amazing video!
One of the best JumpNRun games and Twisted Dreams is one of my favourite modern games. So much fun to play with beautiful designed levels and great game dynamics.
Yes I did in the late 80s and early 90s at school in New Zealand! The NES was like it was in Europe, so we played more amiga/c64, sega master system and mega drive back then.
I remember finding out about this in 2008/2009 and being so freaked out by the C64's OST since this was the first game I ever heard from it. I was convinced that it was some sort of alien computer with how cool the soundtrack was! Then when I saw it in Nintendo Power I was shocked they made a sequel, but the US release was delayed so many times and eventually released exclusively to Walmart that I never got it until a Steam Port was made a while back. I did get Twisted Dreams on the Wii U though, and it's funny that these devs ended up making the newest Bubsy Game for PS4/PC, and it was really enjoyable, too!
@@GTV-Japan Yeah, they reviewed it in 2011 and mentioned the history and poked fun at it, but it apparently came out in PAL a bit before then. US' release was just delayed to hell and back
Terry's Big Adventure was more blatant (and also not nearly as good). TGGS seemed to have a rather strong emphasis on crumbling platforms, which weren't even a feature yet in Mario, with the donut lifts in the later Mario World being the closest analogue I can think of. Presumably this arose from the necessity of having to map jump to pressing up thereby making horizontal jumps more difficult, thus requiring a different approach to level design. Somehow, that alone makes it feel like its own distinct product. PS, don't spend money on the iOS/Android game. It's hella jank.
Yea I remember that one too. It did feel like in Gianna you had to keep moving along. And probably something to point out and say see!! It’s not mario!! It doesn’t have this!! Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
This reminds me of how when id Software was in its infancy, they basically made a PC version of Super Mario Bros and showed it to Nintendo in hopes (I think) to get Nintendo to hire them to make a PC port or at least hire them to develop something (Nintendo didn't though)
@@GTV-Japan I think it was more the id Software guys were young, ambitious, and kind of crazy at that time (the computers they used were ones they "borrowed" from their weekday jobs and then would "return" at the start of the work week)
That game lead to Commander Keen which turned into a DOS platformer classic. So they did them a favor IMO. When I was a kid (I was a DOS kid, didn't care for peasant gaming consoles lol), I'd take Keen over Mario any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
I used to have a cracked version of this game and I would play it all the time on C64 as a kid, (late 80s early 90s). Only difference is that this crack had sprites replaced to make the main character Mario, it felt so authentic back then and I had no idea that the game wasn't a real Mario game. It wasn't until later in life when I decided to revisit the C64 that I found out about the original. It's a great game either way.
Herh I got tjhat version too, it was sold/advertised as Mario for the c64 and hoped it would be different from the Great Giana Sisters, as I craved more after finishing the first one. Shame it wasn't. I did manage to get a hand on the unofficial Great Giana Sisters 2, which fulfilled that crave for a bit tho. Shame I didn't know or read Hard'n'Heavy was a true sequel, might have gotten it back then too. It did however drive me to seek out the actual Super Mario Bros. game, as I knew from hearing and reading that TGGS was basically a copycat of that. And a year later I managed to play the arcade version of that game. Spent a ton of coins on that one, until I was ldl enough to buy myself a NES with the actual home version. Been a Mario fan and Nintendo fan since hehe.
@@GTV-Japan It's probably hard to get an accurate picture as it was banned most people would have got a hooky copy like us, we knew a guy local to us who sold games and very cheap floppy's.
Yeah but I wonder if we’d be the same people we are if we had that stuff then. Anyway I used to make game videos with the camcorder all the time so some things never change
Ironically I played Giana Sisters first, my older cousins had it on C64, and when I saw Mario Bros later, I really thought it was inferior. The music especially was no match for what our SOUNDMAGIER Hülsbeck was capable of doing. Also Giana Sisters is more lively and vibrant. And to consider that the Japanese Mario Bros 2 was nothing but a clone of their first game with higher difficulty? Laughable! I of course own and love the Giana Sisters DS version and the Twisted Dreams, but I have to say I do not like the latter, it is not a good sequel in looks and feel if you ask me.
One week after SMB64 was released, Nintendo told the developer to stop distributing it. It's widely available everywhere. 🤣 So's The Great Giana Sisters, for that matter. Yarr gotta love the Internet.
I played Giana Sisters with my Sister when I was around six years old. (Born in 1986.) I'd always play as Maria, rockin that green hair. 😊 Of course I wasn't good at it. But it'll always be one of my few honorable and sweetest memories of my childhood. Giana Sisters will always have a special place in my heart. And, oh, the soundtrack! (I really enjoy some remixes with that!)
Did you ever play The Great Giana Sisters way back when? Or only heard about it? Discuss below!
My fiance is from Hungary and she grew up with that and not mario, as back then it was communist still.
I downloaded a version of it off a BBS in the early 90s. But in that version somebody had hacked the sisters sprite into Mario.
Gaijillionaire I only heard about this rude ripoff
Why would you say it’s rude?
Wow! That’s funny and enraging at the same time
Your Channel is amazing. It’s the perfect balance of entertainment and journalism. Your journalism videos are the most well researched that I’ve seen on the topics you address. Your entertainment videos are done with the upmost sincerity. The obscure retro video commercials are such a charming touch your videos as well. You always choose retro video games very a deep rich history. By the way my favorite nes game is monster party! Wanpaku graffiti AKA splatterhouse is my favorite famicom game.
Giana Sisters C64 rules! I grew up with that game and played it so many times, the music is magical! I met Chris Hülsbeck in the 90s, we became friends and I had the chance to make the music for Giana Sisters DS and Giana Sisters Twisted Dreams. Musical greets, Fabian
Wow that’s amazing! Thanks for sharing!!
@@GTV-Japan You're welcome, it's my pleasure!
Most excellent video Sir, US Gold also developed a ZX Spectrum port of the game too, ready to ship but was axed just before release. Apparently some did slip through through.
Wow didn’t know that! Europe and its games are just as fascinating to me as japan. I’m very close to solving the Houlihan riddle too but the next video on the 16th you have to come see. I’ve found amazing photos of a super famous games developer when he was young that have never been digitized or deciphered as to what the story of these photos were.
*Larry Bundy Jr* Hello you...
We found this game by accident in some bootleg diskette that my uncle had in his C64 collection, and were instantaneously amazed by its quality and my uncle was crazy about the song. In time it became one of my favorites C64 games ever. My uncle passed away in 2019 and playing this game or hearing its tune always makes me remember him.
I’m sorry to hear that. I hope this gave you nice memories of him
I've never even heard of this game before. Wow! I was born in 82' and started gaming in 88' when I was 6 years old. I'm 37 now and I'm still learning new things about gaming. Another gem of a video! Thank you Amigo! Salud! 🍻👌
Thanks Lupe! You can find it as a “rahm” pretty easy but getting a c64 started is a little tricky. My neighbor had it and it was great but the Atari style joysticks made it hard to play. This is actually just a misdirect kind of video because the next one is actually about a real Mario game that was an official hack and so much more! Thanks for watching!!
Great episode! I'm from Norway, and I grew up with both a Commodore 64 and an NES. I loved playing on both, and remember playing The Great Giana Sisters on a pirated copy on cassette tape. Strangely enough I didn't make the connection between this game and Super Mario Bros. at the time...
Thanks for sharing that story Bård! It sounds like it’s in Giana’s favor if you had both and didn’t make the connection! Thanks for watching 👩🎤
This was great! I had no idea of the depth of the Great Giana Sisters series!!! You always bring such a fantastic knowledge to your channel--thank you for sharing!
Hey no problem but next video is going to blow the roof off! This is just a warm up! Thanks for watching on day one!👩🏻🎤
Monty on the Run & Little Nemo footage in the same vid? A man of taste.
That box art is hilarious.. turns out the Germans weren’t just covering pop music to unintentionally comedic effect - they covered games too!!
I only know a few German groups. Trio, Nena, David Hasslehoff. I love Little Nemo! And it often say little Nemo over Samson when crazy internet people talk about rare/gem games just to mess with them. And to be correct! Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
This always fascinated me and it's great to see an in-depth video on it!
Thanks! I’ve seen people asking bigger channels but nobody seemed to want to do it. I think it’s a great topic. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
@@GTV-Japan Thank you!
There was an unreleased Spectrum version of the game, which was sue to be released in the second batch, but was cancelled after the game was taken off shelves.
Oh yeah. I’ve heard about that! With zero spectrum experience I don’t understand why it was so popular when to me, the games looked so strange
@@GTV-Japan The graphics were simpler than the C64 but the colours were better used than the C64 where all the colours were orange or brown.
Lol just started watching and saw that ranking... you're a legend hahaha
After watching: wow I knew about the gianna sisters and the c64... being from Spain, and old already lol, I know about the predominance of computers over consoles in the 80s. There was a huge fanbase of c64 music even, so I understand it has become a cult classic. I didn't know it also had more features than smb, powerups etc. Very interesting video!!
Thanks Jordi! When I can I try to imitate the game visuals and last time I got a huge wave of awesome comments. The other top 5 are guys (girls? I don’t know) who have been around and consistently posting a long time. The number is the video they jumped in on. C64 music is really amazing stuff and it ranks up there with 16 bit stuff as far as I’m concerned. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
the amazing clutch save at 12:55 distracted me so much i had to rewind and relisten. Great video!
Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
Same, I was on the edge of my seat.
I loved Giana Sisters! Remember my summers playing it on the c64! so good!! :D
Yea! I also loved Summer Games a lot. Better get a fast load though. The boot ups are slow! This video is a prelude to the next one, also about a semi-real Mario game. Thanks for watching as always 👩🏻🎤
I really like the Giana Sisters franchise; I played the very first game back in '87 on my buddy's Commodore 64. This was extremely informative! Small note: Giana Sisters DS was ported to Mac OS X, Android, Ouya, Microsoft Windows, iOS and it's compatible with the iPhone, iPad and Apple TV.
Nice! I didn’t know of all those ports but these days it seems everything is on everything thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
@@GTV-Japan Yes but the DS one is still the best version to play due to Nintendo's excellent d-pad. The DS also has nicer pixel art that was HDefied on later ports and it doesn't look as nice.
Arioca yea that makes sense since you’re making the game specifically for that machine
This channel is certifiably Radical! Pure Gold.
Thanks! Stay rad!!
Never heard of this game until now but wow what a story! Thank you for all the research and time you put into your videos! Another fun and educational ride! :)
Hey thanks Kevin! 👩🏻🎤
Terrific video! This was awesome on the C64 and Amiga back in the day!
eebuckeye I’m glad you like it thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
15:33 I made the music for Giana Sisters DS and 16:13 I also made the music for Giana Sisters Twisted Dreams! Musical Greetings! :)
No way!! I’d love to hear your story! What other games have you composed for? Cheers 🍻
@@GTV-Japan Hi GTV Japan! I make game music since the 90s, and made the soundtracks for games like Bubsy - The Woolies Strike Back, all Giana Sisters games since the Nintendo DS game, Cultures 2, Dr Who Legacy, Tiny Thor (indie jump'n'run to be released soon), Inspector Gadget (Playstation 1), among numerous others. Cheers!
That’s awesome! Would you ever like to do any interview and talk about these experiences?
@@GTV-Japan Oh yes, I'd love to do it - provided that I can pre-record all my replies to your questions (these kind of interviews I can do). Is that possible? What is your email address? You can find mine on my YT profile. lets keep in touch! Cheers, Fabian
Yeah that’s exactly how I do it. I’ll send ya a mail tomorrow!
I haven’t watched the video yet, but i know it’s awesome, so i’ll hit thumbs up now and watch it when im not busy.
All right take your time. Thanks
The world needs to see this video. I have played the original back in the day. I'm from Argentina. It got all the way here (thanks to pirates). Actually, almost all C64 software came from Europe in pirate form. At the beginning there was one guy from Argentina who got in cotact with some other guy from some obscure european country. This guy would send money in envelopes to Europe, taking the huge risk that meant, and this other european guy would send back pirated copys of software. Then, back in Argentina, the argentinian would redistribute it to the whole country.
I can't even think how the communication was between the 2 parts. But thanks to them, we got The Great Giana Sisters in the 80's.
That’s cool! It’s funny to think there’s an honor system of sending cash in the mail for pirated games. My neighbor had a c64 and my cousin had an apple 2 and they both had almost 100% copied games. It was just so cool to get infinite copies that way. This video did well the first 12 hours so it has a chance of getting out there on the front page to people who have Mario in their view history. So let’s hope. I saw some things online before oh how commodores and amigas can still get online somehow and that’s pretty interesting. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
Cool all Kids in EU whit a C64 had tapes Whit 1000s of
games on 1 :D so me to, My GS was a Paired copy to :D
I got from my Best GF :D
Another deftly executed video. I thoroughly enjoyed this. Makes me glad that I already own Twisted Dreams so now knowing the full back story I'll have an even more meaningful play through of it.
Thanks I’m glad you liked it! When that first got announced I just laughed but it ms a neat game and well if Nintendo gives it the ok then it’s all good!
Giana Sisters has superior music, in my opinion.
Yes! The 64 had awesome music! Real bass and synth! Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
Esta bien vererrrerrgas!!!! A hueeeeeevo pinches carnales a hueeeevo
Despite the game selling very badly at the time, it was widely pirated, so it was found on millions of home computers in Europe without the original packaging...
Thanks for letting me know! I never found sales data but you and others have filled in a lot of gaps here! cheers 🍻
@@GTV-Japan To be honest, I don't know the exact numbers, but it was widespread...
I’d imagine so
Had a copy before even knowing Mario - I was a Commodore kid ;-)
Most Commodore kids had only a few original games; mostly tape games as those were cheap enough... The rest were copies.
I played this so much as a kid on the Amiga 500. Great fun, great music. I only learned about this Mario guy in my twenties, when I met my wife who grew up with a NES. This mario game felt like a rip off, but it was actially the other way around. I also played hard’n’heavy which was hard and not a lot of fun. Giana Sisters on the Playstation 3 was superb!
Thanks for your comment! Actually a lot of people have said the same as you, finding Giana long before Mario!
Hard'n'Heavy! What a weird sequel. I had it on a floppy disk as "Giana Sisters 2" and my 6 year-old brain just couldn't make sense of how these games are connected. But the music was amazing (Huelsbeck again), especially the "boss" levels.
Interesting. I wonder how people knew of that then. Maybe inside info? Thanks for watching
@@GTV-Japan Word of mouth probably. I played these games in Eastern Europe years before the Berlin Wall came down. Western-made personal computers were banned from import through the COCOM embargo, and that included the Commodore for most of the 80s, so there was no legal game distribution. You'd be able to get unmarked floppy disks at flea markets, which were copies of copies of copies smuggled through from the West. Every floppy would have a random set of games to fill the available disk space. That's how I had most of my games growing up.
Are you from east Germany? I remember seeing the wall come down on tv and by the time I was a college student I saw Lech Walesa from Poland come give a lecture. But I can’t imagine it. I don’t want to use a word like “funny” but it’s unusual that places with the iron fist of government rule had such abuse of things usually enforced in free countries like copyright
I played this game on C64 back in the days but it was hacked to look like SMB
Oh man I missed your channel GTV. such classic nostalgia and Excellent information
Well hey welcome back! There will be a new video next Friday as well the 16th so I hope to see you there
Over the years I keep hearing about Giana Sisters and wondering how this random Super Mario Bros clone keeps popping up. So it's nice to hear about it in depth like this.
Thanks, I made this a long time back but it never really had an end to the story so I just sat on it till now. But it’s funny how Nintendo kind of just let it go, and these guys went on to great stuff!
Thanks for making this video, a great stroll down nostalgia lane. My parents had a Commodore 128 for work and Giana was the de facto platform game on it. I played it endlessly as a kid, years before even hearing of Mario or the NES.
A couple of corrections though:
* Maria is not kidnapped in the story. She functions as a second player. The point of the game is to get to the giant diamond in the final level. (This is even stated in the screenshot you used from the game box at 9:19).
* The pipe-looking barrels do not have an actual function in the game. You can access bonus areas through fake drops on the bottom of the screen (marked differently to denote you won't die if you fall through) and underground levels are entered through elevator platforms that go up and down at the end of overground levels.
* The water droplet is a much later powerup that helps against fire hazards. The ball-looking first powerup, the fire wheel gives that power along with Giana's punk look.
Oh yea. Well I took the info from some of these mags and so I guess it was wrong. I can admit my mistake
@@GTV-Japan no worries! :) I see now looking it up that even Wikipedia's reference quotes are weird - not necessarily wrong but off in certain details. So I can appreciate it is hard to determine accuracy of the data you can find for a 33 year old game -- and the time it takes to get a copy of the game and verify in-game information for yourself. Seeing this is one of the most-viewed videos on the subject, I wanted to add my two cents. :)
@@followthemoonrabbit no problem! Often I’ll revisit topics in future videos and make corrections I’ve learned so if Giana ever comes up I’ll add these!
So glad I found this channel, full of great videos!!!
Thanks! I appreciate that. Leave a comment anytime ⭐️
I agree w Nintendo. As an artist myself, I don’t want my creations ripped off.
I can see your point!
Sucks then that they stole a ton of music for the original Super Mario Bros., or that Zelda 1 was pretty much an edit of hydlide.
Nintendo borrows/steals from others as well.
@@DragonMasterSubo Technically we all do. Musically, chord progressions are NOT copyrightable (Listen to some popular music...ugh)...but melody lines ARE.
@@PianoMan-hx3ev It's not just chord progressions, but actual compositions (big one would be the world 1-2 bgm).
It's just funny that the company that sues everything else into oblivion to protect itself has its own history of copying. Hell, if the shoe was on the other foot and Nintendo was the company that made the King Kong movie, they sure as hell would go after any company that made Donkey Kong.
Nintendo is very hypocritical.
Great artists steal. As they say 🕹
it might not have been *sold* in great numbers, but it was certainly *played* in great numbers. i would guestimate that simply *every* c64 kid had it in their collection back in the days.
Yeah you are right, I have been hit with dozens of comments saying they had a copied version and never bought it. I guess the guys who made the game are happy for that as if Nintendo stopped them, they'd not make money anyway and at least this way, their work was enjoyed. thanks for watching!!!
@@GTV-Japan i enjoyed giana sisters a lot and i also enjoyed your video. thanks!
No problem
Absolutely brilliant documentary. Just beautiful. Congratulations....
Thanks! I’m glad you liked it!
Manfred Trenz is a legend.
Even when he is slumming it on a project like this, he does top notch work!
That’s because he’s awesome
Fantastic video. Thank you so much for this trip down memory lane.
You’re welcome !
Giana Sisters might be a ripoff but this game was my first game I've ever played. And never played Mario Brothers. Giana FOREVER! And the music... Oh my God. Masterpiece!
Yay! I’m surprised how many said they played this before Mario. Just goes to show it’s popular thanks for watching
2:35 we make players into beta testers now (or modders if they got a pc). And upcoming switch game touhou shoujo tale of beautiful memories blatantly rips off super mario rpg lol 😆. Nice that giana sisters had a more original sequel later on in twisted dreams.
Magician's chase rips off megaman but you got 6 characters at least. In a way I suppose these knockoffs help if sequels are underused or as bad as some sonic games.
@@GTV-Japangreat giana sisters game creator died?🥺🥺
7:34 "There were things like pipes that you can also use to travel underground." Nope, that's a mechanic they didn't manage to copy from SMB.
Underground bonus rooms are entered by falling into holes that have a blue wavy line, and level skips can be accessed by hitting invisible blocks hidden in certain levels.
The pipes are simply platforms that can't be entered.
Oh yea. Oops. Thanks for pointing that out. I guess I can’t change it now
No biggie, just pointing it out. Also, the drop item doesn't give you an extra hit, but it makes you invincible against fires.
...not that I ever figured out how those items worked as a kid, playing my Super Mario sprite hack of Giana Sisters which I assumed it was the real deal official Super Mario Bros for C64.
I appreciate the correction! I had much more experience with Mario than Gianna
That's great, I heard about this game back in the days but I simply dismissed it as a simple knock off but I was intrigued by the story of this game, like who did this and why.
25 years later, you provided me with more information than I asked for, that's awesome.
I did play Giana Sisters: Twisted Dream but was not really impressed by the game (the music was great though Machinae Supremacy did a good job with the soundtrack)
This is a nice part of gaming history to know I think and I thank you to take the time to create this most interesting video.
Cool I’m glad you liked it. I thought the modern game was ok. Not great. But then again not many 2d games left and it does look nice. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
In the Nintendo-dominated Sweden, this game disappeared like the wind back then. I never played it or even knew of its existence until I was a teenager in the early 2000's, which is when I played a homebrew version of the original for... Dreamcast of all consoles. I bought Giana Sisters Twisted Dreams on Wii U and I enjoyed it all the way up to the final boss who can kiss my ass because it was so annoying and tedious. Never beat that thing.
That’s great to hear! Sorry for the late reply. This somehow got marked as spam. Over the last year many Swedes have found this channel and told me how strong Nintendo is there which I had no idea. So it’s great to hear more. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
Your channel is legit my favorite gaming channel on UA-cam right behind doctor sparkles nes videos. I absolutely love your content and i love it how you kinda “place us” there as if we’re watching the video on Japanese television. Thank you for making them, I really enjoy them
Thanks Mark! The greatest honor is this kind of comment because you “get it” the whole point is to kind of make it look like jp tv. Even though this video has nothing to do with it. I’m off to edit the next one right now! 👩🏻🎤
Gaijillionaire I can’t wait dude. Like I said, it’s straight up my favorite channel. Because of your videos about goemon, I bought every single goemon famicom game including the 2 Wai Wai worlds (which I don’t know if you made a history of video on. I’d LOVE to see that maybe tied in with Konami cameos in other games. I think you talked a bit about them in the history of goemon vid) . I had all the carts translated and absolutely love them. With the famicom commercials, ya legit give me a feel as if I’m watching Japanese tv.
Thanks! You’ll make the top 5 for sure now! I will get to Wai Wai world eventually. Doing Parodius first that’s gonna be December. Unfortunately I don’t have the free time I’d like so 20-25 videos a year is all I can do. If I had a steady income and worked 8 hrs a day on videos I could get 90-100 a year because I’m so full on ideas. Actually many of the recent videos were scripts sitting around since 2017! But I’ll keep at it ☄️
Thanks my man ! Nbk! Nbk!
new video friday!! sega saturn shiro!!
Forgotten? Giana Sisters must be one of the most pirated C64 games. Everyone I knew had a C64 had it back in the days.
Forgotten as far as the mainstream Nintendo centered news goes. Of course I get your point! Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
Haven't heard about the Giana Sisters in a while. Great Video!
Indeed, I didn't know anybody having a NES; Germany was Atari ST, Amiga and C64 all the way. Consoles had no real chance in these days because homecomputers offered (much more things you could not do with a console and) the possibility to get cracks for no money. I played (a crack of) The Great Giana Sisters a lot and when I was told it was a "copy", one explained to me that it was a copy of some Japanese game where they reused that "Jumpman" from Donkey Kong. I thought "Aha. Well." :-D
It's very nice from you to mention these differences in the world of video games, as most retro channels from the USA seem to totally ignore that the way the Amercian market evolved was totally different from elsewhere in the world.
Hey thanks so much for sharing your story. I love hearing about how it was over there in the 80s-90s! 🍻
Well...at least this game is MUCH BETTER than Bob's World
Ha! Nice reference! Thanks for watching
@@GTV-Japan no problem!👍Good job!!!
And Microsoft bob as well
But not Bobby's world
What about Winblows 95?
Another awesome episode!
Thanks my friend! The next one on August 9th is the big “annual bomb” where I dig up photos video and info that’s never been put online so I hope you come back for it! 👩🏻🎤
10:26 actually doki doki panic came in 1987 the same year as giana sisters and as we all know mario 2 is just a doki doki panic hack! :)
Yes!! We ALL know! Every channel goes on about it forever! Oh yea while that is true, DDP was not shown publicly until May 29, 1987 when Fuji held a huge press conference for it in their studio. So it technically came second though I’m sure they didn’t know about it. Making it a crazy coincidence. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
@@GTV-Japan thanks for the replay and great video :)
Of course I reply to
Any comment that is coherent! In 2 weeks the next video will be out and it deals somewhat with Doki Doki panic and how Fuji TV got into games and where it lead to so I hope you come back for that
@@GTV-Japan thanks :) I so a very detailed video about this history of doki doki panic, but will be interesting to see yours as well :) keep the good work :) greetings from Bulgaria bootleg region back in a day hehe we was lucky
Actually I did the whole story of Yume Kojo and Doki Doki Panic a while back. This serves as a prequel to that
I had a friend that had this game and I hated it , but now after seeing this video I recognize the big effort the devs put in this game
Hey no problem with not liking it. Different opinions are welcome. I would love to see their notes as they made the game. They just played Mario and learned it. Really amazing and factor 5 turned out to be an awesome company. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
The Waterdrop dosent let you take 1 Hit from Enemys, it makes imune to Fire only!
Oops! Sorry for the mistake!! Thanks for clarifying
I once had a funny conversation with my brother about The Great Giana Sisters when he expressed interest in the game and I replied, "Oh, the Super Mario Bros clone." He then debated with me how it clearly wasn't a clone... we later realised that he was talking about the 2013 game and had never heard of the original 1987 game. Of course, I only knew of the game myself through magazines and the such; it was a bit before my time.
Terrific coverage of the subject with some bits and bobs that I did not know about. For instance, at 14:11, whilst I had heard of Hard 'n' Heavy before, I had no idea it was a spiritual successor to The Great Giana Sisters. Ironic in the end how the uniquely stylised version never got continued whereas the original that cloned Super Mario Bros style prospered and eventually bloomed into it's own style.
15:17 - I also did not expect all these events to lead into Turrican, but my biggest surprise was certainly at 11:47. The idea of Rainbow Arts being threatened with legal action is so widely believed as fact that I'm surprised to learn that it was only rumoured at best. That is incredible to discover despite having previously watched and read articles on this subject before.
10:03 - One last little funny thing to mention is that along with the power ups that were eventually used in Super Mario Bros 2, the recoiling lightning bolt actually works in a similar fashion to the bouncing Super Ball in Super Mario Land.
Like I said, this was a fantastic video that smoothly covered a lot of info on the subject in a decent amount of time. I learnt some surprising facts from this so thank you very much!
Hey no problem friend! It was fun to make, and certainly a strange family tree the games had. Factor 5 which was also these guys in part later made Bonks adventure for the amiga and that’s going in a new video soon. Thanks for watching !
Giana Sisters for Smash Bros. Ultimate!!!
Now that would make that game one worth playing!
YES :D yes plies :D
It would be nice to see Giana fight Mario for real!
Great video! I had Giana on my A500, though I never liked the "floaty" jumping that plagued a lot of the platform games on the system 😉
Being from northern Europe, we played alot of Amiga games.
You’re not the first to comment on the floaty jumps! I’m actually very interested in the European scene then as it’s very different to what I grew up with and in a hardware nut and just love seeing all kinds of computers that were active then. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
It's probably been said, but there is a contemporary version of SMB1 on some form of personal computer called 'Super Mario Bros. Special' made by Hudson.
Yea. Those are pretty neat too
Thanks for the comment!
5:13 Chris Hulesbeck?! As in the Composer from Star Wars Rogue Squadron!?
Yes. Certainly!
And Turrican. And so much more: ua-cam.com/video/KIO0DX02AGo/v-deo.html
Giana Sisters was a very entertaining and addicting game to play back then. The graphics, the gameplay, sound effects and ambient background music were really great.
*13:02** WAIT!!!* _Wouldn't Giana want to slip that item into her purse for later?_ 🤔
You’d think so right?
Also, I don't know if this may have been possible, but the unlicensed Sega Genesis game called Super Mario World has Mario and Luigi collecting diamonds instead of coins and using boxes as weapons instead of power ups. It's like a Mario & Giana crossover. Just a slight bit. Also, another Sega Genesis game called Kid Chameleon had many similarities to Giana Sisters & Mario Brothers. Collecting diamonds, power ups, and flagpole endings.
Oh yeah. Forgot about that one ☝🏻
Wow, you’ve had this one in the bag for 3 years?! Makes me wonder what else you have up your sleeve....
It’s part of the master plan!
These videos are incredible I’m shocked they don’t have the views they deserve
I hear that all the time! I’m glad you like them!! I’ll keep making them. Have a great day 🍻
I had an NES and an Amiga as a kid, so I owned Mario Bros and Giana Sisters (which for some reason, we called "Giana and Maria" instead of its actual name). Giana Sisters were cooler (punks are cooler than plumbers) but Mario Bros controlled way better and had more variety in levels (there were no underwater or castle levels in Giana Sisters). The composer of the GGS soundtrack, Chris Hulsbeck, is a legend in video game music, if an Amiga game had awesome music, there was a good chance Chris created it.
You’re right. I didn’t think of that, no swimming in Gianna! I think the controls are in part from the Atari style joystick. I used a ps4 controller on an emulator and to me it played fine, sure Nintendo has more time and resources to hone perfection..when I was making the video I found dozens of Chris Huelsbeck interviews all about music none about Giana sisters. He is a great composer. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
@@GTV-Japan I had a pretty good joystick back then (it even had microswitches!) but GGS just didn't feel as solid control wise. The jumping was floaty and busting bricks just wasn't as satisfying etc. Also, probably the biggest thing, there was no run button! Both games were still awesome.
That’s a good point too. Landing and controlling jumps was much better in Mario. A lot of games mess that up
It might be a rip-off but TGS is a fantastic game that made us feel a lot less detached from the mainstream gaming trends at the time. German teams like Time Warp and Factor 5 had a real understanding of what a console like experience on a home computer should be like and totally delivered. Too bad they never tried to bring us Ninja Gaiden!
Yea I agree! At first I thought it was just a quick copy but that team really really put out tons of good games, original and ports! Personally I see no difference between the nes and c64 they came from the same time and yeah have different parts but do the same thing and the right programmers can do magic. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
The Gianna Sisters theme is still one of the best and haunting scores in gaming. Granted it aged a bit since the C64......
Because the c64 is a “computer” and not muh “console” it gets overlooked but the music of a lot of c64 games were great and beat the NES by a mile
@@GTV-Japan Didn't get a Console before 5 years after PS2 launch. I did have a C64 in 1988 though. So..... yeah, I might be a bit coloured in my upbringing.
@Kar4ever3 I think they are all the same. Just that the c64 had a keyboard. So what? Why does that disqualify it as a game machine in the eyes of so many?
@@GTV-Japan I think the Amstrad was considered a console despite the keyboard as it used cartridges, where as the C64, was more reliant on tapes and later discs. Less "in one". But meh, I didn't care. Copying tapes and discs was so easy, that I had plenty of things to play. Man.... I wish they made Black Gold/Oil Imperium again. Adn Street Rod. Both 1 and 2. So many good games, lost to the ages.
Chris Hülsbeck is a legend among video game composers.
Boy the amount of quarters I spent on Super Mario.
Same here!
I wonder if the Giana Sisters game is still in the PlayStation Store? I'd love to play it.
I think so. It’s on PS4 now and steam is forever. ! Thanks for coming back again!👩🏻🎤
I was so confused when I was little.
I had a cracked version of this game where they replaced the character with Mario and called it super mario bros 2
Wow that’s cool! Kinda...
Another awesome video man. Some new Famicom stuff is up if you're bored :). Again thanks for the great work.
Thanks man! I have a lot of extra data to burn so I’ll even check it out in the park today! Cheers
Grew up in Croatia and this was one of my favorite games on c64 (which was my third computer at the time after Galaksija and ZX Spectrum). Never even saw Super Mario game until much later in life when I got interested in retro gaming. Same situation with the kids in my surroundings. Nobody owned NES, but many owned c64s and would usually gather to play Commando or Gianna or Bubble Bobble. Also nobody owned a single original game, but that just how it was back then...
That’s a great story thanks for sharing! And yes I’ve heard everyone pirated 64 games!
@@GTV-Japan not just C64, everyone pirated every computer system back then. PC MS DOS later on especially when it ended up being the most popular computer rig. I know of zero people who had an original DOS game back in the early 90s. Not until CDs turned mainstream, but even then, pirating was still far more common.
“The brothers are history” - I always loved that tagline, the first time I saw it. 😂 I never got to play the game but maybe I'd get on better with it than SMB which felt like a nightmare to play.
Like many games if that time the controls are weird and floaty
@@GTV-Japan So still controls better than SMB. 😂
Zinggg
I can remember the first time I played the NES, and Super Mario Bros. It was the coolest thing ever. I enjoyed my vintage games as a kid, which wasn't vintage when I played them lol
3:25 And Atari pretty much shot the game industry in the foot...and the slow infection went on for about 2 years, and gangrene almost set it. XD
I disagree with that narrative. The arcade division of Atari was still profitable and games were regularly released from 1983-1986. Nintendo though came in and no one saw it coming. That’s for sure
@@GTV-Japan Yes, but still funny how Atari pacman (which I was ok with, it was the pacman i was raised on as a kid for years), which was reviled by many.....yet the clone of KC munchkin seemed to be the better of the two....according to many players I talked to. The home consoles was the gangrene bit I was referring to, my bad :D
Yea it did seem that there was the growing pains of transitions to new hardware which they reluctantly did. But Atari still sold a million 2600s in 85. Not so bad for a dead industry. I did a whole video about Pac-Man release day and how it was done back then. You might like it.
Giana Sisters does not get enough recognition. Imagine if Mario Brothers and Giana Sisters would have crossed over if Giana Sisters was just as popular.
That’s a dream matchup I’d love to see
I had a bootleg copy where the sisters sprites were made to look like Mario. But the music and levels were not changed. Only the main character sprite
Wow! I had no idea. I’d like to
See that
I also played that!! I had no knowledge of the Gianna Sisters, and didn't ever know I was playing anything other than a direct knock off.
@@GTV-Japan yeah bbn itcwas pretty cool and I didnt even know of the actual game until years later.
@@SchardtCinematic still cool anyway
@@GTV-Japan I have a Commodore 128 out in my shed. But no room to set it up unfortunately
One old local adage once said, "Amati, Tiru, Modifikasi", which means "Observe, Imitate, Modify"
This is certainly the shining example.
A great phrase! Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
Nintendo probably told the stores that if they sell the great giana sisters we won't sell you any more Nintendo products like they did like to do that back then so I wouldn't doubt it
That’s possible!
Great video as always.
Hey old friend! Looks like this video is being back all the old timers
I was looking at that footage thinking to myself "This game looks kinda hard actually" a lot of disappearing platforms in a platform game.
It is hard! Thanks for watching
The plot from The Great Giana Sisters you told isn't correct and came from Giana Sisters: Twisted Dreams. The plot of TGGS is "Giana wake up in a dream world and she need to find the magic huge diamond to leave".
Also, the Fire Wheel has the same power of the Super Mushroom, not the Waterdrop. Further more, no matter being punk or normal, Giana die instantly after touching an enemy.
Anyway, your video is very informative :)
Well. Thanks for clearing that up
For years, prior to Internet, I believed that Mario copied Giana until I searched on the web. Anyway, GS was one of the best games of my childhood and it has a special place in my heart. Amazing video!
I’ve hear this from others. It must be a strange revelation. Thanks for watching
One of the best JumpNRun games and Twisted Dreams is one of my favourite modern games. So much fun to play with beautiful designed levels and great game dynamics.
Had GGS on my Amiga, ‘‘twas a fantastic game.
Yes I did in the late 80s and early 90s at school in New Zealand! The NES was like it was in Europe, so we played more amiga/c64, sega master system and mega drive back then.
That’s cool !! Funny how the world was back then with different territories having their favorites. Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
Wow, another great video,
Thanks Napoleon! Pass it on if you can 👩🏻🎤
Anyone i know had a copy of Giana Sisters in the 80s.
And to us kids, Super Mario looked like the blatant rip-off at that time....
I remember finding out about this in 2008/2009 and being so freaked out by the C64's OST since this was the first game I ever heard from it. I was convinced that it was some sort of alien computer with how cool the soundtrack was! Then when I saw it in Nintendo Power I was shocked they made a sequel, but the US release was delayed so many times and eventually released exclusively to Walmart that I never got it until a Steam Port was made a while back.
I did get Twisted Dreams on the Wii U though, and it's funny that these devs ended up making the newest Bubsy Game for PS4/PC, and it was really enjoyable, too!
You mean the DS game was in NP? Didn’t know that! I have heard the release was pretty limited though
@@GTV-Japan Yeah, they reviewed it in 2011 and mentioned the history and poked fun at it, but it apparently came out in PAL a bit before then. US' release was just delayed to hell and back
Wow I’d love to read that! If only I knew before!
Terry's Big Adventure was more blatant (and also not nearly as good).
TGGS seemed to have a rather strong emphasis on crumbling platforms, which weren't even a feature yet in Mario, with the donut lifts in the later Mario World being the closest analogue I can think of. Presumably this arose from the necessity of having to map jump to pressing up thereby making horizontal jumps more difficult, thus requiring a different approach to level design. Somehow, that alone makes it feel like its own distinct product.
PS, don't spend money on the iOS/Android game. It's hella jank.
Yea I remember that one too. It did feel like in Gianna you had to keep moving along. And probably something to point out and say see!! It’s not mario!! It doesn’t have this!! Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
Finally an english speaking person, who can say "Huelsbeck" correctly.
Thanks! Honestly I wasn’t sure as I’d never heard it spoken. Glad to know I stuck the landing!! 🍺
There is a copy in the basement. I had the C64 before the NES. Never thought about this...
Games are simular.
Yea very much
Ill keep an eye out for the great Giana sisters
Super!! Thanks for watching 👩🏻🎤
This reminds me of how when id Software was in its infancy, they basically made a PC version of Super Mario Bros and showed it to Nintendo in hopes (I think) to get Nintendo to hire them to make a PC port or at least hire them to develop something (Nintendo didn't though)
Yeah I recall that. Not their fault, but were they crazy think Nintendo would care about anything other than themselves?
@@GTV-Japan I think it was more the id Software guys were young, ambitious, and kind of crazy at that time (the computers they used were ones they "borrowed" from their weekday jobs and then would "return" at the start of the work week)
Ah yeah. Sounds like it
That game lead to Commander Keen which turned into a DOS platformer classic. So they did them a favor IMO. When I was a kid (I was a DOS kid, didn't care for peasant gaming consoles lol), I'd take Keen over Mario any day of the week and twice on Sunday.
I used to have a cracked version of this game and I would play it all the time on C64 as a kid, (late 80s early 90s). Only difference is that this crack had sprites replaced to make the main character Mario, it felt so authentic back then and I had no idea that the game wasn't a real Mario game. It wasn't until later in life when I decided to revisit the C64 that I found out about the original. It's a great game either way.
That must be funny to see! Thanks for sharing
Herh I got tjhat version too, it was sold/advertised as Mario for the c64 and hoped it would be different from the Great Giana Sisters, as I craved more after finishing the first one. Shame it wasn't. I did manage to get a hand on the unofficial Great Giana Sisters 2, which fulfilled that crave for a bit tho. Shame I didn't know or read Hard'n'Heavy was a true sequel, might have gotten it back then too. It did however drive me to seek out the actual Super Mario Bros. game, as I knew from hearing and reading that TGGS was basically a copycat of that. And a year later I managed to play the arcade version of that game. Spent a ton of coins on that one, until I was ldl enough to buy myself a NES with the actual home version. Been a Mario fan and Nintendo fan since hehe.
This was pretty cool! Who knew?
Not many my man
I loved the great Gianna sisters. Would love it if the original was either tweaked to work on modern PCs or completely remade.
A modern Giana Sisters 2D were sold on Steam since year 2015 and is still for sale.
@@V3ntilator I know. I have it and the DS version that came out a few years before that. I'm wanting a remake of the C64 one.
@@darthdemented You can play it in a emulator on anything.
I've never heard of it until now. Thanks for info
You’re welcome!👩🏻🎤
Me and a friend used to have this on amiga.
Awesome. I wonder if Amiga or C64 had the more popular version?
@@GTV-Japan It's probably hard to get an accurate picture as it was banned most people would have got a hooky copy like us, we knew a guy local to us who sold games and very cheap floppy's.
Yea I can imagine. I never had any experience with computers till the 90s outside of school but I can imagine I was pretty easy to “copy dat floppy”
My friend and I*
i loved giana sisters on my Amiga500. Thank you for this interesting video
You got it!
I loved TGGS when I was a kid - honestly, I feel like it's generally more fun than SMB, perhaps due to the variety in powerups.
I wonder if this case is why Nintendo is so aggressive with taking legal action on fan made games.
No. They’ve just always been a-holes regardless ha ha
You do a great job with these videos. I wish we had this kinda stuff as a kid. We have video game mags. I guess that was the UA-cam of its day
Yeah but I wonder if we’d be the same people we are if we had that stuff then. Anyway I used to make game videos with the camcorder all the time so some things never change
Ironically I played Giana Sisters first, my older cousins had it on C64, and when I saw Mario Bros later, I really thought it was inferior. The music especially was no match for what our SOUNDMAGIER Hülsbeck was capable of doing. Also Giana Sisters is more lively and vibrant.
And to consider that the Japanese Mario Bros 2 was nothing but a clone of their first game with higher difficulty? Laughable!
I of course own and love the Giana Sisters DS version and the Twisted Dreams, but I have to say I do not like the latter, it is not a good sequel in looks and feel if you ask me.
Thanks for sharing your story!
One week after SMB64 was released, Nintendo told the developer to stop distributing it.
It's widely available everywhere. 🤣 So's The Great Giana Sisters, for that matter. Yarr gotta love the Internet.
Yup! Good times
I played Giana Sisters with my Sister when I was around six years old. (Born in 1986.) I'd always play as Maria, rockin that green hair. 😊
Of course I wasn't good at it. But it'll always be one of my few honorable and sweetest memories of my childhood. Giana Sisters will always have a special place in my heart.
And, oh, the soundtrack! (I really enjoy some remixes with that!)
Great story! Thanks for sharing!