Partial episode of The Krypton Factor, the short lived American version, circa 1981 (whereas the British original ran for many years, and was recently revived). As one might guess from the title alone, it featured challenges that only a person with superhuman attributes, both physical and mental, could possibly hope to meet. Simply skip to the 1:27 mark to see how reflexes are tested: via some old Atari 2600 game!

When it comes to game shows that utilize video games, Starcade immediately comes to mind for most, but because it wasn’t available in my neck of the woods during it’s original syndication run (though it became an instant favorite when G4 first hit the air, back when gaming was actually the focus for the channel originally), Nick Arcade will always be my personal favorite. Here’s a clip that’s notable for two entirely different reasons:

First is simply Melissa Joan Hart, who I was totally in love with at the time (hey, don’t judge). And watching her epically fail was indeed heartbreaking at the time, but somewhat understandable today, given the historical context. Which brings me to reason #2; The version of Sonic 2 that she was playing was an early pre-release build! For starters, there’s the music, which is obviously from Sonic 1’s Star Light Zone (I’m guessing the actual Emerald Hill track was not finished at this point). Tails is absent, though he might have been simply turned off for the sake of the show’s challenge. Sonic himself appears to be a mix between what he looked like in 1 and how he’d end up in 2, but that could be just me. The title screen is also completely different, though you’ll need to watch the early part of the video, frame by frame, to see what I’m talking about (long-time Sonic fans with good memories should recognize it from the word’s first look at the game, via the pages of EGM, circa the summer of 92).

Those who complain about Hart’s lack of skill — she foolishly didn’t utilize the spin dash, which would have easily allowed her to conquer that loop — need to remember that it was introduced in Sonic 2, so she had no idea of its existence. It could be argued that she could have (or should have) accidentally figured it out, which therefore leads to the possibility that the move wasn’t included in this particular version either. I know the beta rom is out there, somewhere, but I’m simply too lazy to find out for myself!

Guest post by Matt “Fort90” Hawkins