History YMMV / RetroGameChallenge

* EndingFatigue: The very last challenge from Game Master Arino involves reaching the ending screen of every game (just like in the show!). While the cheat codes give you some slack in some games ([[spoiler:a hidden NPC allows you to warp to the credits of Guadia Quest, a hidden warp in Cosmic Gate instantly teleports you to level 64]]), this means you have to beat Rally King effectively ''twice'' (default and SP)... and finishing in first place in all four races, which is an incredibly difficult endeavor, unless you use the "No opponents" cheat, turning it into a 20 minute drive. [[spoiler:Also you have to beat ''Star Prince'' and ''Haggle Man 1'' and ''2'' twice too, as all three demand you to beat a second loop to see the ending a la ''Ghosts N' Goblins'', which is aggravating considering you already "beat" ''Haggle Man 2'' as part of a challenge.]] Oh, and if you made the mistake of having already beaten a game you liked in Freeplay Mode, [[GuideDangIt it didn't count]].

* SugarWiki/NoProblemWithLicensedGames: Granted, it's loosely based off of the show, but it's a really good experience, especially if you know Japanese, play that version, and know all of the references to the show's Running Gags and memorable moments.

* {{Woolseyism}}: The Japanese version, ''Arino's Challenge'', contains several in-jokes towards Japanese gaming culture (including the title, a jab at ''Takeshi's Challenge'', which was one of the worst games played by Arino on the actual TV show). Naturally these were converted to western in-jokes in ''Retro Game Challenge'' with the fictional "[=GameFan=] Magazine" being changed from a Famitsu parody to an [=EGM=] one. Some are fine with, some are really upset that most of the references to the show are gone.

!!Rally King series
* BreatherLevel: The third challenge Game Master Arino gives for the ''SP'' version is to get a turbo when a race begins. Amusingly, both he and Kid Arino comment positively on the great effort he's doing for the challenges. Then he admits how pathetic it was after you're done.
* {{Padding}}: ''Rally King SP'' is essentially the same game. At least the challenges are different.

!!Guadia Quest

!!Robot Ninja Haggle Man 3

** Probably invoked, as when it comes to games, Arino is known for having a "bird phobia," making it one of the many nods to the show.

!!Wiz-Man
* ThatOneLevel: The final level is much harder than any of the preceeding levels: this is mostly due to the final boss, which shoots magic shots in the 4 cardinal directions that freeze you in place (compared to the other wizard enemies in the game, who only slow you down to a various degree) and remove your currently used rod, making you easy prey to the other enemies. It's also extremely easy for his shots to stunlock you completely if he decides to teleport towards you after connecting with one of his shots, making it extremely difficult to not die afterwards. What's more, the requirement to get the golden rod to appear is ridiculously specific (collect EXACTLY 25 red and blue crystals each), and you only get 1 chance to get one per continue. The above might be at least somewhat bearable, but there's also purple knights that only be killed with the golden rod, and in order to truly beat the game, you first need to kill the final boss instead of just taking the level exit when you've collected all the crystals: trying to do so just sends you back to the final level to try again. Killing the boss is also an exercise in frustration, since he takes 3 hits and attacks so quickly that you get frozen 90% of the time if you try to attack him between his shots even if you manage to land a hit on him, and he also teleports quickly after his second shot. Finally, if you take too long to finish the level, and it's practically guaranteed that you will, the game also starts spawning white wizards, who attack as quickly as the final boss and slow you down to a crawl and remove your rod if they hit you, and even if you manage to kill the boss, you need to finish the level the normal way for it to count.

** It's also partially a ''Magazine/NintendoPower'' parody, although they did leave the console you play on as a mash-up of the Famicom and Master system.

* MostAnnoyingSound: Kid Arino's constant comments get really annoying. Especially once you reach Guadia Quest, since he makes ''loads'' of them throughout the course of the game, which is rather lengthy. Whether or not you consider Arino himself to be more or less annoying is another matter entirely, but at least his vocabulary in the second game is vastly more varied (150+ vs 1290 quotes).

* NoProblemWithLicensedGames: Granted, it's loosely based off of the show, but it's a really good experience, especially if you know Japanese, play that version, and know all of the references to the show's Running Gags and memorable moments.

* JustForFun/XMeetsY:
** Just about every game in here is an already existing product with a new gimmick, either new or reimagined from somewhere else. In particular, ''Rally King'' can be best described as ''Road Fighter'' meets ''R.C. Pro A.M.'', ''Guadia Quest'' is ''Dragon Quest'' fused with the monster recruitment scheme of ''Shin Megami Tensei'' and ''Haggle Man 3'' is basically ''Ninja Gaiden'' on {{Metroidvania}} rails.
** For the sequel, Wiz-Man is essentially ''VideoGame/PacMan'' combined with ''VideoGame/TheTowerOfDruaga''[='s=] ridiculously obscure requirements to make hidden items appear, Mutekiken Kung Fu is {{Karateka}} meets Manga/FistOfTheNorthStar and Demon Returns is VideoGame/SuperMarioBros meets VideoGame/AdventureIsland and VideoGame/GhostsNGoblins.

* ItGetsBetter: You probably won't get much mileage out of the game if you don't know/aren't a fan of ''{{Galaga}}'', but once the easy challenges of ''Cosmic Gate'' are completed, the selection of game genres opens up quite a bit.

* {{Woolseyism}}: The Japanese version, ''Arino's Challenge'', contains several in-jokes towards Japanese gaming culture (including the title, a jab at ''[[BeatTakeshi Takeshi's Challenge]]'', which was one of the worst games played by Arino on the actual TV show). Naturally these were converted to western in-jokes in ''Retro Game Challenge'' with the fictional "[=GameFan=] Magazine" being changed from a Famitsu parody to an [=EGM=] one. Some are fine with, some are really upset that most of the references to the show are gone.

* Padding: ''Rally King SP'' is essentially the same game. At least the challenges are different.

* MostAnnoyingSound: Kid Arino's constant comments get really annoying. Especially once you reach Guadia Quest, since he makes ''loads'' of them throughout the course of the game, which is rather lengthy.

* ThatOneLevel: The final level is much harder than any of the preceeding levels: this is mostly due to the final boss, which shoots magic shots in the 4 cardinal directions that freeze you in place (compared to the other wizard enemies in the game, who only slow you down to a various degree) and remove your currently used rod, making you easy prey to the other enemies. It's also extremely easy for his shots to stunlock you completely if he decides to teleport towards you after connecting with one of his shots, making it extremely difficult to not die afterwards. What's more, the requirement to get the golden rod to appear is ridiculously specific, and you only get 1 chance to get one per continue. The above might be at least somewhat bearable, but there's also purple knights that only be killed with the golden rod, and in order to truly beat the game, you first need to kill the final boss instead of just taking the level exit when you've collected all the crystals: trying to do so just sends you back to the final level to try again. Killing the boss is also an exercise in frustration, since he takes 3 hits and attacks so quickly that you get frozen 90% of the time if you try to attack him between his shots even if you manage to land a hit on him, and he also teleports quickly after his second shot. Finally, if you take too long to finish the level, and it's practically guaranteed that you will, the game also starts spawning white wizards, who attack as quickly as the final boss and slow you down to a crawl and remove your rod if they hit you, and even if you manage to kill the boss, you need to finish the level the normal way for it to count.

* {{Padding}}: One of the challenges is to get the 3-shot. The challenge after that requires you to destroy something that requires the 3-shot...but it didn't save your progress. This happens again after that challenge. Fortunately, the final challenge doesn't require you to buy it ''again''.

** It's also partially a ''NintendoPower'' parody, although they did leave the console you play on as a mash-up of the Famicom and Master system.

** Probably invoked, as when it comes to games, Arino is known for having a "bird phobia," making it one of the many nods to the show.

* GoddamnedBats: There's three kinds, and they're all birds. The red birds fly down to your level and hover ''just'' outside the range of your shurikens, before charging at you. Black birds fly down and immediately careen towards you. Brown birds fly in the same wavy pattern as Castlevania's Medusa Heads. Oh, and guess what? All three varieties appear ''nonstop'' in the most hazardous parts of the levels, especially the red and black ones. Admittedly, their appearance is telegraphed by a sound effect, but they almost always show up when you're in the middle of a jump or otherwise don't have room to maneuver.

* {{Woolseyism}}: The Japanese version, ''Arino's Challenge'', contains several in-jokes towards Japanese gaming culture (including the title, a jab at ''[[BeatTakeshi Takeshi's Challenge]]'', which was one of the worst games played by Arino on the actual TV show). Naturally these were converted to western in-jokes in ''Retro Game Challenge'' with the fictional "[=GameFan=] Magazine" being changed from a Famitsu parody to an [=EGM=] one.

* BreatherLevel: The third challenge Game Master Arino gives is to get a turbo when a race begins. Amusingly, both he and Kid Arino comment positively on the great effort he's doing for the challenges. Then he admits how pathetic it was after you're done.