History VideoGame / SpaceChannel5

One of the most [[TheCameo cameo]]-able SEGA games, it is famous for its soundtrack, odd gameplay, and even odder premise.

The first game has you play as spunky reporter Ulala as she tries to save the day from the Morolians while getting the big scoop, and dancing well enough to keep her ratings up and stave off being cancelled. Along the way she'll meet local dreamboat Jaguar and her Rival from Channel 42, Pudding. You'll take them on multiple times to win the scoop.

The second game has a new threat to the galaxy: Purge and his Rhythm Rogues! Even worse, Jaguar seems to have disappeared while searching for information about Purge! It's up to Ulala and her co-worker Noize to save Jaguar and stop Purge from forcing the Galaxy to dance for him! Along the way she'll meet Pine, a beautiful woman who is the head of the Space Police; President Peace, the President of the Galaxy who has the Power of Song; and Shadow, Purge's second in command and ground leader of the Robo.

One of the most [[TheCameo cameo]]-able SEGA games, it is famous for its soundtrack, odd gameplay and even odder premise.

It's also known for its rather ''bright'' colours, making it look like a 60s psychedelic view of space. The first game even has a message which warns about epileptic seizures in one level.

** Music/MichaelJackson appears as... err... "Space Michael". Technically, this incarnation [[CanonWelding is the same one]] that appeared in ''[[VideoGame/MichaelJacksonsMoonwalker Moonwalker]]''.

* BattleOfTheBands: Ulala's team engages Shadow's like this in Report 5 of Part 2. Ulala plays the keys, Pine has drums, Pudding plays the guitar and Space Michael and a Morolian provide vocals.

* BilingualDialogue: Space Micheal only speaks in English, even in the Japanese version.

** Both the enemies and Ulala say their cues ['left', 'right', 'down', 'up', 'hey' and 'chu'/'shoot']. If they didn't, the game would be {{unwinnable}}.

* CaptainObvious: "Press LEFT for Left and RIGHT for Right!" Justified in that they want to make sure the gamer knows to use their own left/right for commands and not trying to match the facing-forward direction of the opposition (where their left is your right and vice versa). More of a necessity in the Japanese version of each game, as every button callout is [[GratuitousEnglish still in English]] with the tutorial giving the translations for each directional input.

* CoolShades: Blank in the first game; his were pink variants of the classic Kamina 'boomerang' shades. His 'turn' icon even had a glint next to the glasses!

* CuteAndPsycho: Purge is childish and playful at first... But then he starts going insane. This is especially shown in the English dub, in which he has an insane laugh that's reminicent of THE JOKER'S.

* DancePartyEnding: The ending of ''Kinda★Funky News Flash'' ends with Ulala proclaiming "Let's dance to the end of the galaxy!", as opposed to marching to it in Part 1 and 2. Sure enough, the space populace all dance away in celebration.

* DiscOneFinalDungeon: The fourth stage in ''Part 2'' is set up in a similar fashion to the fourth and final stage of the first game. But after a turn of events for the worst, it takes two more stages to get to the true final battle.

%%* DuelBoss: The dance off between Ulala and Purge.

* EnfantTerrible: One of the children you rescue in the first game is a genius. However, his parents think he's studying everyday, but in reality [[NightmareFuel he's plotting their demise.]]
* EvenTheGirlsWantHer: When Ulala rescues the cheerleaders on the way to save Space Michael, they chant "Let's dancing! Let's shooting! Sexy Ulala, yeah!".

* EvilLaugh: Purge's is 'nyeh-heh-heh-heh' in English, and 'ah-HAH-hah-hah-HAH' in Japanese. The first game's [[spoiler: Blank]] doesn't laugh, save for an 'ah-HA!'

* EvilTwin: Obviously, Evila. Padding and Texas of Part 2 aren't really evil, just... alternates.

* FakeDifficulty: The second boss, but in the Dreamcast version. The second boss fight throws rescuing children in, the only boss to have rescuable hostages. During the first phase, it's rather easy to tell the Space Children from the Morolians because the boss thrusts them in the player's face, making it quite easy to see them. However, during the part where you rescue them, the boss is notably further away and the space children look ''VERY'' similar to the aliens at a glance, causing many players to accidentally shoot the children or fire the rescue beam at aliens. The fact that in the first game, "Chu" was used for both the hostages and the aliens didn't help. The Playstation 2 version thankfully improves this by making the children glow blue. It's also obvious in the Game Boy Advance version, too.

* FinalBossNewDimension: The final bosses in both games take Ulala to a psychodelic dimension where they believe they have an advantage against her.

* GigglingVillain: Purge, especially in the Japanese version. In parts where the English version would be in full out insane laughter, all you hear is [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e_ZRTge29Tg&feature=related this sadistic giggle.]]
* GoingForTheBigScoop: Ulala will brave robots, aliens, and even naughty-tentacle plants to get the scoop/save the world/save the president.

* GuideDangIt: Wonder why you aren't getting 100% ratings in Part 2? There are secret commands you need to be inputting in between segments. While a lot of them are pretty formulaic and predictable, each chapter is likely to have a few hidden in moments you might not expect at first glance.

* InsufferableGenius: Purge may brag about how he's a genius and amazes himself, but he really is smarter than the average villain in the series. He has a plan for everything, should you beat him here, he'll have a backup idea at the ready. [[spoiler:That is, until the ending, when Ulala has him beat.]]
* InterfaceSpoiler: Well, that's odd; Shadow and [[spoiler: Jaguar]] have the exact same pose and dance moves. When you take on Shadow to rescue Space Michael, [[spoiler: you can hear Jaguar's battle theme in the backround from the first game, and Shadow does the same commands from the first game]]. But surely [[BlatantLies that doesn't mean a thing.]]
* InTheEndYouAreOnYourOwn: The final boss in both games starts off as this, then everyone joins Ulala to save the day.

** Purge, Pine and President Peace get their own unique themes.

* MasturbationMeansSexualFrustration: In the second game's English, if Ulala and Noise do good enough... then Fuse's comments sounds like he's doing something inside his ship.

* MysteriousPast: When putting all the pieces together, it's revealed that Jaguar [[spoiler: Originally worked for Space Channel 5, and saved Ulala when she was a child. He sensed that something wasn't right with Blank however, and soon left.]]

** Space President Peace is obviously influenced by Music/TomJones.
* NobodyCanDie: Nobody dies in the console games. Averted however in Purge's Cell Phone game, where he can die by running out of time, or being electrocuted to death. This makes his deaths the only time someone can actually die in the games.

* NonindicativeName: The 100 Stage Dance Battle in Part 2. [[spoiler:It actually has 200 stages.]]

* OldSaveBonus: In the Dreamcast version of Part 2, having save data from Part 1 allowed you to unlock Mr. Blank and Cecil right off the bat.

* OOCIsSeriousBusiness: In ''Kinda★Funky News Flash'' Ulala encountering Morolians that actually speak English instead of Morolian chatter is one of the first tips she gets that things are INCREDIBLY wrong.
* OurPresidentsAreDifferent: President Peace sings to purge evil and sadness of people's hearts, and he's used as a core for some of Purge's robots.

* ParentalAbandonment: Ulala was found alone in space when she was young and was saved by Jaguar - she was actually listed as the last "survivor" - implying her parents are dead.
* PeaceAndLoveIncorporated: [[spoiler: Space Channel 5]] itself actually starts out as this, with their attempts to brainwash everyone into watching their station and keeping them from the truth. They get much better after [[spoiler: Blank]] resigns.

** This gets reinforced during gameplay as well. Whenever Ulala saves a new group of citizens, they'll all start out just watching her dance and defend them. Then one by one they'll all start joining in and contributing their own dance energy. Do well enough consistently enough and you'll end up with an entire [[BadassCrew army of citizens providing backup for you.]] Made more apparent in Part 2 which includes special citizens that, when saved, will add something extra to the transition scenes to give Ulala some extra style and a morale boost. Sometimes they'll even [[GondorCallsForAid come rushing back to help Ulala out with the boss.]]

* PrettyBoy: In a bonus mission in Part one, Ulala says, "They got a boy toy!".

* RapidFireFisticuffs: After rescuing "Space Karate Man," Ulala and her followers incorporate the crane stance and air boxing into their dance routine.

** Ulala is not a rookie reporter and is instead a well-known savior of the galaxy. That role is shifted to Roo & Kie, the new recruits and stand-ins for the player and making Ulala the mentor to you.

** Oddly, it actually ends up being an aversion of the trope. Near the end of both games there's a moment where the [[InterfaceScrew music and sound system fail on Ulala]], making the music fade out and the commands harder to hear until [[SlidingScaleOfGameplayAndStoryIntegration she's left in complete silence, unable to fight back at all because she can't hear anything.]]

* WeAreExperiencingTechnicalDifficulties: Happens in both games, but most noticeably in Part 2 [[spoiler: when the loading screen is replaced with this right after Ulala is killed by Purge]].

* WhoForgotTheLights: One section in Part 2 has Ulala and friends trapped in a pitch black room. It lights up to reveal that they're surrounded by robots.

The console games were originally developed for the ill-fated Platform/{{Dreamcast}}, but were eventually ported to the Platform/{{Playstation 2}}. Part 2 is now available in high definition as part of the Dreamcast Collection, along with Dreamcast hits like ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' and ''VideoGame/CrazyTaxi'', and can be downloaded on the UsefulNotes/PlaystationNetwork, UsefulNotes/{{Xbox Live Arcade}} or Platform/{{Steam}}.

In 2020, a new game was announced for Playstation VR: ''Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda★Funky News Flash''. Developed and published by Grounding under license from Sega. It was released first on [=PlayStation=] VR on February 25, 2020 (NA) and February 26, 2020 (EU), UsefulNotes/OculusQuest on October 13, 2020, with HTC VIVE and Steam VR releases following after that.

In 2020, a new game was announced for Playstation VR: ''Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda★Funky News Flash''. Released first on [=PlayStation=] VR on February 25, 2020 (NA) and February 26, 2020 (PAL), UsefulNotes/OculusQuest on October 13, 2020, with HTC VIVE and Steam VR releases currently undetermined.

The console games were originally developed for the ill-fated Platform/{{Dreamcast}}, but were eventually ported to the Platform/{{Playstation 2}}. Part 2 is now available in high definition as part of the Dreamcast Collection, along with Dreamcast hits like ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' and ''VideoGame/CrazyTaxi'', and can be downloaded on the UsefulNotes/PlaystationNetwork, UsefulNotes/{{Xbox Live Arcade}} or UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}.

The console games were originally developed for the ill-fated UsefulNotes/SegaDreamcast, but were eventually ported to the UsefulNotes/{{Playstation 2}}. Part 2 is now available in high definition as part of the Dreamcast Collection, along with Dreamcast hits like ''VideoGame/SonicAdventure'' and ''VideoGame/CrazyTaxi'', and can be downloaded on the UsefulNotes/PlaystationNetwork, UsefulNotes/{{Xbox Live Arcade}} or UsefulNotes/{{Steam}}.

%% * GettingCrapPastThe Radar: Due to overwhelming and persistent misuse, GCPTR is on-page examples only until 01 June 2021. If you are reading this in the future, please check the trope page to make sure your example fits the current definition.

* WidgetSeries: Let's see, we have a space reporter who defeats aliens with song, dance, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking Michael Jackson]]; not to mention that the entire thing looks like the Jetsons on liberal amounts of [[WhatDoYouMeanItWasntMadeOnDrugs acid]].

As per TheWikiRule, Space Channel 5 has its own wiki [[http://spacechannel5.wikia.com/wiki/Space_Channel_5_Wiki here.]]

** Music/MichaelJackson appears as... err... "Space Michael".

%%* DelayedExplosion: Both games have this at one point.
* DissonantSerenity: Purge, no matter what happens, always seems to be calm. [[spoiler:Until his voice starts cracking when he begins to realize that Ulala has him beaten by the end.]]

* BootstrappedTheme: When Ulala appears in other games, The Reporter From Space Channel 5 is used due to licensing issues relating to Mexican Flyer. Coco Tapioca The Huge Dancer also gets used in some cases.
* BookEnds: The opening cutscene and climax in the first game features Jaguar scooping up a prone Ulala in space.

%%* WorldOfHam

%%* DarkSkinnedBlond: Jaguar.

* EvilTwin: Obviously, Evila. Padding and Texas of SC5P2 aren't really evil, just... alternates.

* UpToEleven: In the final boss battle of Part 2, the maximum score is 200% instead of 100%.

* VillainSong: Purge's Theme is so awesome. The Fear Lounge remix takes the awesomeness and [[UpToEleven cranks it to 11]].

%%* PantyShot: The games have more than a few.

* HypnotizeThePrincess: And how. "Oh, no! The _____ is being forced to dance!" Replace the blank with 'Space Bird Mistress/Space Dog Trainer/Space Tour-Guide/Space Michael' etc...

* FamousLastWords: "Dance yourselves to hell, see if I care!" Even though Purge doesn't really die, as shown in the credits...

* GettingCrapPastTheRadar:
** The infamous naughty tentacles scene. Even in the dub, Ulala says, "Oh, not there!" in a ''very'' suggestive way!
** Some of the outfits. In a bonus mission in Part one, Ulala says, "They got a boy toy!".
** The second boss of the first game, who elicited an equally suggestive-sounding "Oh, it's ''slimy''!" from Ulala upon wrapping her in its tongue.
** In the second game's English, if Ulala and Noise do good enough... then Fuse's comments sounds [[ADateWithRosiePalms like he's doing something]] inside his ship.
** When Ulala rescues the cheerleaders on the way to save Space Michael, they chant "Let's dancing! Let's shooting! Sexy Ulala, yeah!

In 2020, a new game was announced for Playstation VR: ''Space Channel 5 VR: Kinda★Funky News Flash''. Released first on [=PlayStation=] VR on February 25, 2020 (NA) and February 26, 2020 (PAL), with HTC VIVE, Steam VR, and Oculus Quest releases currently undetermined.

** This is, in fact, the main reason we haven't seen Part 1 get an HD re-release. The only models the game actually renders are the characters that are absolutely relevant to the gameplay (Ulala, civilians, enemies). Everything else is pre-rendered FMV. If they wanted to bring it to HD, they'd either have to go through the trouble of re-mastering the entire game in HD or upscale the video to run in HD, which would look like garbage.

* PreRenderedGraphics: All areas in the game were pre-rendered video footage, and the characters are 3D models put in front of the video. [[SpecialEffectFailure This would sometimes result in Ulala and the others looking as if they were floating because sometimes their character models would not be properly aligned with the background]].