Faustão's famous Olympics were revitalized with the great success of the Fall Guys Game. What few know is that these types of scavenger hunts popular in several reality shows around the world, had their origin in Japan by Takeshi's Castle.
Takeshi's Castle or Fūun! Takeshi-jō [風雲！たけし城] is a Japanese reality show launched in 1986 featuring comedian Takeshi Kitano. The show's name literally means turmoil at Takeshi Castle.
Known as Beat Takeshi, the comedian is a count who owns a castle full of difficult challenges for volunteer players. The game became a worldwide success having several copies all over the world.
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How did Takeshi's Castle work?
The original program involves 86 to 142 contestants in which General Tani (Hayato Tani) “forced” through a series of physical challenges, in some ways similar to It's a Knockout, eliminating many of the contestants. Similar to Fall Guys, being a true Battle Royale.
Each show ended with a "Final Showdown" in which Count Takeshi (Kitano) faces off against the remaining contestants. In the first few episodes, players needed to invade the castle and create a short-range water cannon attack.
Later episodes introduced carts with paper rings and eventually lasers and light-sensitive targets. If the competitor's weapon penetrated the paper ring or hit the sensor on Takeshi's cart, they took the castle and won.
During the water pistol version, if Takeshi was defeated, all surviving players split the prize among themselves. During the laser gun version, the player who stopped Takeshi won 1 million yen (around $8,000 at the time).
The series featured extensive landscaping of a fixed campus at TBS-owned Midoriyama (Green Mountain) studios, which included large artificial lakes and extensive permanent obstacles in Yokohama, Japan.
The final regular episode aired on April 14, 1989 followed by 4 one-off specials until October 19, 1990. A revival special took place on April 2, 2005 and featured the Lake of the Dragon God and the Strait of Gibraltar.
In the last episode of Takeshi Castle released on October 19, 1990, it had the incredible participation of 1000 competitors commanded by General Tani. During 127 battles, participants managed to defeat Takeshi Castle only 8 times.
The end of Takeshi's Castle
Once the final battle is over, fireworks explode over Takeshi Castle as if to praise the winning side.
If the attacking army is defeated, it shows Captain Tani fleeing, leaving a message of defeat, and Takeshi's troops on the walls yelling at Takeshi on top of the walls, followed by a challenger fight scene with the competitors and personnel rolling around. .
If the attacking forces win, the competitor who hits Takeshi's tank target receives 1 million yen from Captain Tani, and then he or she raises a shout with the other competitors who made it to the karting game and connects to the scenario of challenger battle.
In both cases, a sign was inserted announcing the call for new challengers written: Let's play with Takeshi-chan! The narrator's final sentence is basically "Thank you to all the people who participated".
The different Gymkhana Games
Many people know these games from Faustão's Olympics, or also from Silvio Santos' program in a section called Playtime. Both existed since the 90's and already had the program temporarily suspended for not having copyrights.
I remember playing a game on the Nintendo Wii called WipeOut, in which I even thought that the Brazilian TV competitions were based on this American reality show (my mistake). Now I know that each country has its own scavenger hunt show.
Several Asian television channels replicated Takeshi's Castle exactly, with the same characters, the same system, with a castle and with multiple simultaneous participants. You can even think that the Program is Japanese, because even the signs are in the language.
Several other programs have tried to use Takeshi Castle's premises, we have the famous Ninja Warrior, seguido do chão é lava disponível na Netflix e muitos outros. Conhece algum outro programa semelhante? Deixe nos comentários...
Most of them consist of challenges where the loser falls into the water or mud if he makes a mistake. Many of the challenges are similar, like the one to spin in Fall Guys. There are hundreds of different Takeshi Castle games and challenges.
The success of these competitions was great as there were toys based on the Program in Japan. Some political correctors questioned the show because of its warlike atmosphere, and the laughter when players lost.
The article is still halfway through, but we recommend also reading:
List of Takeshi's Castle Games on Brazilian TV
Many of the original Takeshi's Castle games were present in Faustão's Olympics and Silvio Santos' Program. See below for a list of games that were on those shows, also the original games from those shows.
There are 8 to 9 types of difficulties (games) waiting for you to get to the decisive battle with the castle's owner, Takeshi. More than 100 games were created from start to finish of the program. At Brazilian TV these games were presented separately without a plot.
The Falling River Bridge
This name is a pun on the movie The River Kwai Bridge. In the game, players cross a rope bridge with a item while henchmen shoot black volleyballs at the competitor, who is eliminated if he falls. The original game is called Bridge Ball.
No Takeshi Castle there were two cannons used to shoot the competitors. In a variation of the game, several stones are attached to the bridge to make the crossing even more difficult. This means that the competitor cannot run across, but must climb the rocks.
Only after this version was the version created in which you need to carry a golden ball. If you lose, you need to go back to the general to get another golden ball. It was probably from this version that the Falling River Bridge was inspired.
Faustão Olympic Games
Ball in the Bag (Catch It) - The players, wearing huge clothes and with nets, try to catch a ball thrown in the air. Whoever manages to catch it passes and gives chances to others.
Bowling (Skittles) - 10 players take a playing card and dress up as a bowling pin, and then a giant bowling ball comes to knock down the pins, winning those who are left in the race.
Raiders of Lost Falls (The Gauntlet) - The player must pass a course of events that involved a conveyor belt, a rotating bridge and a trampoline and reach the end without falling off it. However, the course must be completed in 30 seconds. The name is a parody of Raiders of the Lost Ark.
Cipó do Bozó (The Dragon Lake) - Jumping hanging from a vine, the participant must cross a lake and land on top of a fake elephant.
Mushroom (Mushroom Trip) - The player hangs from a giant fake mushroom, and crosses a pond. To win, he needs to launch himself on top of a floating platform in the water.
Camel Cross (On Yer Bike) - In a swimming pool, there is a wall with undulations and the player, on top of a bicycle, has to ride the wall on a bicycle, without falling.
Dominoes (Dominoes) - The participant has to step over several domino pieces without falling.
Slide and Crash (End Bell) - The player must go down a ramp on top of a board, slide it into the water, reach another ramp and climb it and ring a bell at the top.
Mud Flipper (Ball Cupping) - The player throws a ball into a giant pinball machine and runs under it with a pan. He must catch the ball with the pan before it falls into the mud under the end of the machine.
Fuça-Fuça (Mud Ball) - A soccer ball is thrown into the air, and the participant, walking in a quagmire, must catch the ball before it lands in the mud.
Gira-Gira (Bridge The Gap) The player must cross two rotating bridges going from one end of one of them, pass to the other and follow to the end.
Jet-Cup (Rice Bowl Downhill) - The player is launched from a wet ramp into a giant cup. At the end, she arrives at a pool. He should stay in the cup when he gets there, without falling out of it.
Stick Game (Poles Apart) - Players throw themselves into a pool, supported by an iron bar, to win, he must throw himself on top of a floating platform in the water, without falling.
Disc Game (Slipped Diskeds) - In a pool there are several disks of different sizes and they rotate in different directions. The player must cross the pool by stepping over the discs without falling.
Honeycomb Maze (Honeycomb Maze) - The player enters a maze with several hexagonal rooms and several doors in each. He must get out of there the right way, being careful with the monsters and the false exits.
Mortematic (The Run Way) - The player climbs onto a cart and is set to run. Beside, a mathematical expression is shown. At the end of the path, he must answer the correct result.
At the Foot of the Ear (Prod) - Two players are standing on narrow platforms and armed with 'giant cotton swabs'. Whoever pushes the other out first wins. It was divided into two versions (male and female), with two eliminations and a final stage each.
Skipping Stones The player must cross a river stepping on several stones, being careful with the false ones, which sink when stepping on them.
Pirates of the Caribbean (Turtle Hurtle) - The player must cross a bridge made up of several platforms floating in the sea. The platforms are slippery and, to make matters worse, a pirate goes after him to take him down.
Porta da Sacanagem (Knock Knock) - Four walls are arranged in parallel, each with four doors, two made of wood and two made of styrofoam. The participant must cross the four walls without bumping into the wooden doors, while people dressed as monsters try to stop him from moving forward. and one of the styrofoam doors has a net for the participant to curl up
Horse Trial (Dino Ride) - The participant must jump on a moving mechanical bull disguised as a horse, and stay on it all the way until reaching a bell and ringing it.
Roll the Roller (High Rollers) - To win, the player must pass over seven giant reels without falling into the pool beneath them.
Roulette (Roulette) - Three players, dressed as clowns, are on top of a roulette wheel, with a podium in the middle, all separated in a certain place. they take off their clown robes and then they have to wear the same outfit and get on the podium. Whoever does this function first wins, has the stages, male and female.
Lagoon Surf (Wipe Out) - The player climbs onto a spinning surfboard and must jump the dolphins and platforms in their path without falling.
Slap the Spider (Velcro Fly) - The player holds on to a rope and launches himself against a velcro with a spider web emblazoned on it and has to stick to the velcro without falling.
Teleférico (Up The Creek) - The player enters a wooden cable car and drags it with a rope to the left, underneath there is a quagmire and a platform. the participant must land on top of this platform without falling into the mud.
Takeshi Castle's Main Challenges
Although many challenges from Faustão's Olympics and other scavenger hunt programs are based on the Takeshi's Castle games, the English names do not equate to the japanese names. That's because the Japanese TV show follows a script, so the challenges are named after the game's castles and settings.
border wall [国境の壁] – Walk through a 2 meter high wall or more within the time limit. There is a drop on both sides of the wall.
Here's a list of Takeshi's games and challenges with his name in Japanese:
- Edge Slope [国境の坂]
- Border Wall [国境の関所]
- Border perfection [国境のパーフェクション]
- First Village [第一砦]
- Ryujin Pond
- Devil's House [悪魔の館]
- Second Strong [第二砦]
- Strait of Gibraltar [ジブラルタル海峡]
- Man-Eating Cave [人喰い穴]
- The Longest Garden [ザ・ロンゲストヤード]
- Adventure Zone [アドベンチャーゾーン]
- The Freedom Wall [自由への壁]
- The Long Wall of Freedom [遥かなる自由への壁]
- This is a Ball, Run! [これは玉RUN]
- Punk boy [どんぶらこっこ]
- Sumo Wrestler [すもうでポン]
- The condor will fly away [コンドルは飛んで行く]
- Pong with mushrooms! [キノコでポン!]
- With calligraphy [書道でポン]
- It's a perfect match [当たって完パイ]
- Heaven and Hell [天国と地獄]
- Castle War [城内戦]
- Cart Battle [カート戦]
