Still Delightfully Weird! JJ & Jeff on the TurboGrafx-16!
JJ & Jeff is one of the strangest TurboGrafx-16 games ever released. Originally the Japanese hit Kato-chan Ken-chan for the PC Engine, this bizarre Adventure Island clone is a masterclass in 90s video game censorship and toilet humor.
That's because JJ & Jeff wasn't REALLY JJ & Jeff.
The PC-Engine original was based on the hit variety program, Fun Time TV with Kato and Ken, starring two members of the legendary comedy group The Drifters, Cha Kato and Ken Shimura. The show mixed slapstick, sketches, and viewer-submitted home videos — a format that feels strangely familiar today. This game was originally based on an on-going sketch from the show called, "Detective Story," where the duo played bumbling detectives who would meet clients in their office and then take to the streets to solve their cases.
When Hudson Soft brought the game west for the TurboGrafx-16, the celebrities were removed, the cultural context and half of the references to the show disappeared, and JJ & Jeff became one of the most misunderstood titles of the 16-bit era.
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*Timestamps:*
0:00 - Adventure Island with poop
00:18 - Show intro
00:35 - Introducing JJ & Jeff
00:57 - The story
01:11 - Gameplay
02:23 - Boss Fights
02:51 - Green springs
03:06 - Secrets
03:42 - Sleuthing
03:58 - Rolling Start!
04:07 - Sleuthing continued
04:44 - When Kato & Ken became JJ & Jeff
04:52 - Who are Kato & Ken?
05:45 - Regional differences
06:21 - Lost in translation
06:50 - Graphics & Presentation
07:20 - The verdict
08:25 - RNR Mailbag
09:37 - Plugs and ending
Sources.
JJ & Jeff and Kato & Ken gameplay captured from backed up ROMS and recorded using OBS Studio at 60 frames per second. Both are owned by Hudson Soft, and all footage is presented here under fair use.
RNR Theme:
Powerup!
Jeremy Blake
Red Means Recording - YouTube
RNR Interlude:
Itty Bitty 8 Bit by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/...
Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-...
Artist: http://incompetech.com/
Gameplay segments from other games and media included in the video are listed with their respective owners below.
Fun TV with Kato and Ken - Tokyo Broadcasting System
Adventure Island - Hudson Soft
Cho Aniki Bakuretsu Ranto hen - Masaya
Burning Rangers - Sega
American Dad - 20th Century Fox Television
The Simpsons - 20th Century Fox Television
Pee-Wee's Playhouse - CBS Television
The Amazing World of Gumball - Cartoon Network
Gran Torino - Warner Bros. Pictures
GoldenEye: James Bond - MGM/UA
Daytona USA: Rolling Start! - Sega
Last Battle - Sega
Hokuto-No-Ken - Sega, Toei Animation
Fist of the North Star - Fuji TV
Yume Kōjō: Doki Doki Panic, Super Mario Bros. 2 - Nintendo
Game Center CX - Fuji Television
Under A Killing Moon - Access Software/Big Finish Games
Super Troopers - Fox Searchlight Pictures
The Office - NBC Television
Dawson's Creek - The WB