Whenever the name "Nintendo" is heard, it calls to mind such big-time names as Shigeru Miyamoto, Eiji Aonuma and Koji Kondo, Reggie Fils-Aime and Perrin Kaplan. But few even remember Gunpei Yokoi, who deserves as much reverence as the above named superstars.

The Escapist pays tribute to the achievements of Gunpei Yokoi outside of the myth that he is but a Nintendo creation. Gunpei Yokoi is credited for the invention of the D-Pad, Game and Watch, R.O.B., Game Boy, Virtual Boy, a dozen or so children's toys and the creation of Super Mario, Fire Emblem, Kid Icarus and Metroid franchises.

Yokoi's childhood remains untold. His discovery came in 1970 when, working as a janitor for Nintendo, Nintendo's president at that time noticed Yokoi's creation of an extending hand toy. The company marketed this device, which quickly sold more than a million units, saved the company and had Yokoi promoted as researcher.

Yokoi went on to produce other hits for the company, such as the Game and Watch, the Famicom Robot and, working with young Miyamoto at that time, Donkey Kong and Super Mario Brothers. In 1993, he developed Virtual Boy, a gadget which did not sell. Yokoi was personally crushed by the flop of Virtual Boy and finally resigned from Nintendo.

Yokoi did try to put up his own company and a fresh start for himself, but an accident in 1997 ended his life at the age of 56. The Escapist Magazine honors him ten years after the year of his death, saying:

Gunpei is nothing short of an inspiration. He is proof that the best legacy is not a name place in the history books, but rather the gift of joy, be it to one person or 100 million people around the world.

Gunpey, Atari's adaptation of port of the classic musical puzzle Gunpei Yokoi for the DS and the PSP, will finally be available in Europe in March.

Gunpey's music-based puzzle action gameplay involves rows of panels climbing upwards from the bottom of the screen. Players must flip and move pieces to connect the lines inside the panels. The moment a line spans the width of the screen, the panels will explode making space for more. Game ends if the panels reach all the way to the top of the screen.

Gunpey (for the two handhelds) features wireless head to head play and various game modes including Single screen, Double screen, new Break Rule, and Time Attack. Exclusive to the PSP are up to 40 vibrant collectible skins in the Challenge Mode. In the DS version, players can launch special attacks to temporarily disrupt their opponent’s game and use the Sound Sets and Patternizer to create their own unique musical compositions.

It seems that Tetsuya Mizuguchi is someone that never fails to give credit to his senpai. Q Entertainment's new spin on the game Gunpey, previously released for the WonderSwan handheld, is actually dedicated to its creator, Gunpei Yokoi, who also made the D-pad and the Game Boy.

When asked whether he would want to have a game named after himself he replies, "I don’t care if it’s after my death! But I don’t want to play a game named Mizuguchi while I’m still alive though." In fact, this guy doesn't even want every Q Entertainment game labelled as "Mizuguchi's new game." Talk about humility.

Right now, he's a sort of Q Entertainment overseer, as he says he "wants to concentrate on his creations." Moreover, he says that the company is looking into networking, and online as well as mobile games might be expected from Q Entertainment.

So was it hard to start from scratch and build a new company? Mizuguchi admits that it was rather difficult. They only had few people, and had no money for office rent, so they would regularly meet at a karaoke box! Mizuguchi focused on the creative side, while his partner, Shuji, attended to the management side of it all. He admitted that they had a slow start, but it seems that the future is looking bright for Q.

Regarding games, it all boils down to simplicity for this guy. Being universal is something that he always take into account whenever he'd make a game, as he wants to "want to break the barrier between countries and markets."

Coming to the PSP and DS, Q Entertainment's take on the original Gunpey, released for the WonderSwan handheld by Bandai, is a homage of sorts to its creator Gunpei Yokoi. Gunpey, is derived by cleverly changing the I in Gunpei by the Y in Yokoi The same seamless connection, done with Yokoi's name, is the very essence behind Gunpey. You'd have to make a complete line from left to right, with the variety of angular shapes and bars ascending over five columns. As time passes, the tempo increases and it is up to you manage the five columns. No matter what happens, you don't want those lines to reach the top or it's game over for you.

Anoyo Records' talented techno artists provide the magnificent selection of music for the game. As with the music, expect nothing less from the game graphically. It offers more than 40 exciting skins, ad hoc wireless play and a monstrous Super Gunpey mode. Although, some might speculate that PSP owners might be getting the better deal on the two releases, the DS has an ace up its sleeve. Included within the tiny cartridge, is an awesome sound sequencer. It allows you to customize the levels much like in a professional 16-track mixer. A great idea is to hook up two DS' and create a live versus mix. Gunpey also features a versus CPU mode in addition to the standard Challenge mode.

Q Entertainment and NAMCO Bandai announced that Gunpey-R for the PSP and DS (take note that its title for the DS is Oto wo Tsunagou!) is heading to retail shops in holiday 2006. The game features exciting and innovative challenging puzzles that can only be expected from the legendary Gameboy creator Gunpei Yokoi. It will test your reflexes and dazzle your senses with the combination of dynamic music and colorful graphics.

Based on the 1999 Wonderswan puzzle, the creative minds at Q Entertainment combine groundbreaking music integration that will purportedly excite both the hardcore and casual gamers.

In Gunpey-R, as lines of various angles climb up the screen, you have to flip the lines located in squares to connect them over five columns. If an incomplete line reaches the top of the screen, the game is over. The game features 40 varied backgrounds and stylized music - a known trademark of the game's executive producer Tetsuya Mizuguchi. It supports two-player multiplayer over wireless ad-hoc connectivity.

  

  

LiraNuna has released his second emulator for the Nintendo DS, this time in the form of WonderSwan. The WonderSwan is a Japanese handheld game console released by Bandai in 1999. It was developed by the late Gunpei Yokoi's company Koto and Bandai. The WonderSwan was made to compete with the Neo Geo Pocket Color and the market leader Nintendo's Game Boy Color. It was later replaced by the WonderSwan Color. Changes in this release include:

- Added GBFS ROM Loading
– Minor speed boost

You can get it in our Nintendo DS Download section [here].