* AnnoyingVideoGameHelper:
** In the ''Wing of Madoola'' episode, Arino forgets to continue multiple times even after writing a note to remind himself to do so, to the point that the staff resorts to telling him how to continue every time he dies.
** Sometimes in tense scenes, the [=ADs=] will start shouting something. Arino often calls this out or discusses this with another AD.
* ArchiveBinge: To be expected of a LongRunner. At the time of writing, there's 25 seasons and 300+ episodes roughly an hour ''each'', save for the first season, not counting DVD-exlusive specials. Have fun. To be fair, the premise of the show has changed little through the years, but following the Assistant Directors that are in or off the team is rather impossible for a newcomer without the aid of an episode guide.
* SugarWiki/AwesomeMusic:
** The victory fanfares when Arino completes a game, or even a single difficult level. [[EarnYourHappyEnding Given how hard he's made to work for them]], it makes the celebration even more cathartic, especially when it plays at a live show for the entire audience to hear. It even works if it just plays [[MundaneMadeAwesome facetiously or sarcastically]] for minor accomplishments.
** While using his last continue in ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog1'', Arino notes how "The Last Continue" sounds good as a song title. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K09wv_7JuP4 The staff secretly created it for the Lemmings 24 hours challenge.]]
* BestLevelEver: While playing ''VideoGame/{{Battletoads}}'', Arino finds [[ThatOneLevel Turbo Tunnel]] very enjoyable, to the point that having to play it again is the bright side of running out of continues and even bemoans having to warp past it and similar race levels when time is running short. He goes so far as to (somewhat facetiously) declare it the top game of 2011, despite being released nearly 20 years earlier. It helps that its Japanese release is a lot less frustrating than the US and European versions of the game.
* DemonicSpiders: Arino considers Areemer of the ''VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins'' games this.
* EnsembleDarkhorse: Cameraman Abe, mostly because he's by far the most imposing crewmember. He used to be a JapaneseDelinquent when he was younger, is a motorcycle hobbyist and knows a lot about them, is a good artist and a great chef to boot.
* HoYay: Some of the clips from [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7XRbQKOtJYM 24 hour live Lemmings challenge]] were chockfull of this. To name: Abe in apron cooking for Arino, Nakayama and Inoko MAX wrestling, and Tanii and Toujima in a bath together, scratching each other's backs.
* {{Macekre}}: YMMV on this one. A large group of fans do not look kindly on Kotaku's incarnation of the show with its awkward narrator and bizarre choices in term translation. The translation staff seems not very familiar with the show or the games that are played on it. [[http://kotaku.com/5820329/this-thursday-retro-game-master-takes-on-solomons-key Kotaku's Solomon's Key episode]] in particular has moments of BlindIdiotTranslation. The King's and Queen's lines are left untranslated, as with all other onscreen text.
** And completely misinterpreting the ending of Mystery of Atlantis.
** A very jarring example: the English narrator calls cameraman Abe like Abe Lincoln, not "Ah-Beh" as it's supposed to be pronounced
* MemeticMutation: A screencap from an episode where Arino looks depressed and the subtitle says "His smile and optimism, gone".
* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: The first two ''VideoGame/RetroGameChallenge'' games are praised for both staying within the spirit of the show and for being genuinely good.
%% Zero-Context Example TheProblemWithLicensedGames: Despite the first two games' positive reception, the third game for the 3DS isn't seen to be as good as the first two; a likely reason being that the game has a different developer.
* TheWoobie:
** Inoue (Inoko MAX). Oh god, he's bad at video games, so awkward, and everyone's so mean and he's so short and... oh, the poor thing. What's that? His mom just texted him in the middle of assisting Arino? Oh lord... On the plus side, he got a short segment in one season: Shocking Videos MAX. He also competes in Barcode Battles. Arino decides to take his side at one point. [[spoiler: Inoue wins, thankfully.]]
** Nakayama is even more awkward and shy. He [[ApologisesALot bows and says sorry so much]], they insert a specific sound effect each time he bows. It should be noted, however, that these two, along with [[FirstInstallmentWins Toujima]], are the most recurring of the Assistant Directors.