I love how they made the gag into a huge plot line in the near future chapter like they could have easily just kept it a joke but they decided to make it a whole damn storyline
Near Future was the last chapter I played (it was today, even. Gonna do Middle Ages tomorrow), so I was super intrigued and shocked that the running gag became a major plot point. Also, I missed the ones in Present Day and Imperial China.
Watanabe scenes 0:00 Prehistoric 0:38 Imperial China 2:08 Twilight of Edo 4:16 Wild West 5:15 Present 5:37 Near Future 8:46 Distant Future 9:25 Middle Ages 10:45 Final Chapter
Watanabe Father/Son status for each chapter: Prehistory: Father dies, son lives Ancient China: Father dies, son lives Edo Japan: Father either dies or lives, son lives Wild West: Father dies, son lives Present Day: Father and son lives (Father gets maimed, but is not killed) Near Future: Father dies, son lives Distant Future: "Father" dies, "son" lives Medieval Times: Father dies, son lives Final Chapter: Father and son essentially dead due to petrification
As much this running joke is... I kinda like someone thinking this as way represent how the humanity cycle will always continue to suffer. That aside the current time is funniest one
The wrestling one is so crazy I am surprised someone thought it up. I am guessing the bite part is supposed to be a Mike Tyson reference, but I think the game came out before Ron Artest/Metta World Peace jumped into the crowd.
Yeah that's exactly what it was intended to do. Honestly I didn't even take it as a joke when I played the game (to me the remake was my introduction). A kid running away crying after losing his dad, just felt sad to me. They're just normal people caught in the crossfire during these events, and paying the ultimate consequence. So at least what the creators intended resonated with me I guess.
Honestly thought edo era Watanabe was part of the chapter and I was supposed to prevent his death for something. Good to see it was just a running gag instead.
You can save him by killing the guy directly below him before entering the attic, which causes the Watanabes to successfully loot the chests and flee. Ironically, this means that a 0 Kill run must end up with Watanabe dead.
Let's see: Prehistoric=Idiot for not jumping over the pit, or crawling against the wall carefully. Imperial China=Killed by the villains, so it's not as tragic since that's the classic revenge story. Twilight of Edo=Killed by a subordinate enemy...and deservedly so for being an idiot! On the bright side, he can be saved as well. Wild West=Killed by the villains. Present=Idiot that's lucky to be alive! Near Future=Experimented on by the villains to the point there was no hope in saving him. Very tragic. Distant Future=ANTENNAS! Not tragic at all like the rest. Middle Ages=Killed by the villain...only problem was, that Streibough was NOT a villain when this happened, and the dad was NOT being an idiot here, but the irresponsibility of the kingdom/tournament organizers. In fact, that was an asshole thing to drag the dad's body out of there in front of the kid with no remorse or care for him! Final Chapter=Not sure how those two got captured here.
In the final chapter, there is a super boss that appears to strike out at cowards who flee from battle too much. He petrifies his targets, hence why they are stone. By reading their minds, you get clues that the boss exists and you can either go out of your way to fight him or wrap up the game before you encounter him.
Most people seem to miss the Martial Arts one as I seem to be one of the few people who picked the correct apprentice. The Wresting one can be pretty obscure for the people who did not know about the Tyson vs. Holyfield fight.
@@IAmTheHeroOfLight Well no, I actually noticed that one. The only one I didn’t get after my second time of playing was the Stone Age one, I mean cmon, they have the same voices as all the other NPCs
Oh so that's what the prehistoric scene was. I didn't think about that being a watanabe father and son scene lol. If a sequel ever becomes a thing I hope that gag stays or switch it around and have it be a mother and daughter. It never gets old.
@@IAmTheHeroOfLight I hope there will be a sequel, the prehistoric one at the very least felt unfinished or abridged. The girl barely got any playtime, there were refences (in the loading tips) to multiple artisans (there were only 2), and multiple games that the cavemen play (but there was only one).
@@FightingFoodonsFan If there is a new game, I expect a new cast. The only thing that might carry over is the poor Watanabe family. With all of the success SE is having on Switch, there's no telling which franchises they are going to continue.
@@IAmTheHeroOfLight Or a game in which you play as the Watanabes, with the game structured the same as the original Live A Live. Except that the ultimate end goal is to find a way to break the Watanabe family curse. Which is perhaps the result of Odio's residual influence on those time periods that, for whatever reason, affected the course of that one specific family's fate. Or some such nonsense.
@@IAmTheHeroOfLight - Let me repeat this message from *chrisx:* "Uh... I don't follow. I mean, for instance, the Wild West one... Boy's name is 'Watt'. Father must be something else, and he probably can't have the surname 'Watanabe' if he's American. This only works if we're in either Oboromaru, Masaru or Akira's (and maybe Cube's) scenarios. It just doesn't work if it's on Pogo (unknown nation due to prehistory), Earthen Heart (China) or Sundown (Wild West)."
Prehistory is interesting, there are apparently no cavemen children besides Pogo I guess, yet you can still tell which one is Watanabe because of the crying face. :P Also, when it comes to the Near Future, I think you left out the part where Watanabe's dad dies... which I think is the only instance where this rather morbid running gag is actually relevant to the plot of a story, since it's the moment Akira realizes what the bad guys have been doing with all the kidnapping victims. Though I guess you could also say the Watanabe antenna in the Distant Future are also plot-relevant since it's why the crew can't contact anyone outside the ship.
The Near Future and Distant Future chapters are probably the only times the Watanabe gag isn't done for the funnies. Near Future is dramatic for reasons obvious when you realize it, and the Distant Future gag essentially marks the beginning of the horror elements in that chapter.
@@psychopathyoutubeemployees280 It's a bunch of antennas sure, but it's what leads to Kirk's first death, essentially beginning the horror part of the Distant Future story.
Weird fact: In the Japanese version, Akira was supposed to steal Taeko's panties, not her pocket money. In other words, Akira is promoted from "dirty pervert" to "dirty thief".
I know it was like that in the SNES version, but I wasn't sure if it was one of the changes they made in this one like the removal of tobacco and alcohol.
@@IAmTheHeroOfLight Uh... I don't follow. I mean, for instance, the Wild West one... Boy's name is 'Watt'. Father must be something else, and he probably can't have the surname 'Watanabe' if he's American. This only works if we're in either Oboromaru, Masaru or Akira's (and maybe Cube's) scenarios. It just doesn't work if it's on Pogo (unknown nation due to prehistory), Earthen Heart (China) or Sundown (Wild West).