slap on some sunscreen and break out
your peeler cuz we're getting fruity
hello internet and welcome to game
theory the show that's gonna put this
game on the map literally this week
we're gonna put this game on the map
literally by the end we'll see that this
tropical romp is a key to unlocking a
real yet virtually unheard of war in
America's history
so enough pussyfooting around and let's
do this now I'm a fan of hard games
old-school hard Battletoads I want to be
the guy both on my top 10 list and man
the original adventure Island is
definitely in that league slippery
controls 1 it kills lack of continues
memorization glorious you play as Master
Higgins a baseball cap green short short
wear and Joe Schmoe who's not afraid to
let it all hang out as he skateboards
his way to rescuing his hot trophy
girlfriend princess leilani whose name
mysteriously changes to tina and credits
wait did she just break off the ropes
herself women unacceptable anyway Hudson
soft the developers and publishers
claimed the setting of the game this
so-called island of Adventure is located
in the South Pacific I say they need to
retake world geography let's look at the
gameplay like a lot of old platformers
this one doesn't let you daintily
saunter through its gauntlet of snails
frogs and jumping octopi Oh oh no you
best be running your rotund self to the
finish line before this bar runs out
what is it it's a starvation meter huh
that's right unless Higgins is
constantly stuffing fresh island fruit
down his gullet every couple of seconds
he loses all will to live and that's
where we find our first clue the local
cuisine here are all the foodstuffs that
appear in the game we have bananas and
this could be an apple or a cherry this
could be a tomato or an apple let's just
say that's a carrot and if Yoshi's Story
was a waste of money at the very least
it taught me that those are melons oh
and there's coconuts hanging from the
trees in the background coconuts and Ben
anas are the most common in the game so
we're looking for a place that has a lot
of both here are lists of the top five
coconut and banana producing nations in
the world
comparing the lists Brazil and India
aren't Islands leaving only the
Philippines but is it an island now mind
you geography was always my worst
subject in school so this was a
legitimate question but for those of you
playing at home yes yes it is however
never is it listed as part of the South
Pacific to make our case airtight let's
look at the rest of the pixilated
produce carrots are listed as one of the
most important vegetables found in the
philippine highlands so check there as
for the melon see the pattern on it
that's because it's a netted melon also
called a nutmeg melon a rock melon a
musk melon or most commonly a cantaloupe
that said does it exist in the
Philippines normally not so much but a
company named Agri nurture has created a
new strain of cantaloupe specifically in
the Philippines called the honey melon
this super fruit thrives in tropical
soil produces more frequent and sweeter
yields and is resistant to pests the
fact that it's rarer also reflects it
being the most prized fruit for Master
Higgins in the game cherries and apples
normally need cooler climates to
flourish but submitted for the approval
of the game theory society I give you
man's Anita's small trees spread
throughout the Philippines that produce
fruit the locals call Philippine
cherries as far as apples are concerned
check these out
they're called star apples for the star
pattern in the pulp and yes they grow in
the Philippines and to cover all our
bases if these poorly defined pixels
happen to be a tomato tomatoes ranked
second only to eggplant in production
area in the country eggplant which also
makes an appearance in the game to suck
the life out of our poorly protagonist I
don't know what it is about old NES
games but between this and Kid Icarus
it's no wonder that a generation of kids
grew up not wanting to eat their veggies
Matt Pat Hudson soft said the game is in
the South Pacific true but despite these
oceanic nations producing some amount of
coconut and banana the rest of their
crops are much more limited
Vanuatu coconuts Tuvalu coconuts Papua
New Guinea coffee and coconuts Tonga
squash and coconuts Micronesia taro and
sweet potato and it wouldn't be the
first time an old NES game had errors in
it I mean look at the games booklet King
Quiller as a final boss no such enemy
exists so are we really going to trust
their authority but yes you're right
fruit alone does not a meal make it's
only the garnish on this delicious
entree of proof we're making so let's
look at some protein we have red octopi
blue octopuses some long thin fish that
jumps out of the water to attack and a
fire spitting cobra there is also a
generic bird bat and spider but those
guys appear in every game so who cares
here's a video of a red octopus off the
coast of the Philippines so we know that
they're around but more interesting and
rare is the blue octopus or should I say
the blue ringed octopus the only species
in the world that features the color
blue found in the Pacific waters around
you guessed it the Philippines despite
being the size of a golf ball they're
one of the world's deadliest animals
they carry enough venom to kill 26 adult
humans in 90 minutes 10,000 times
stronger than cyanide and with no known
antidote and imperceptible bites
it's no wonder Higgins dies in one hit
from touching them when it's in attack
mode the rings on its body changed to a
bright peacock blue wild the long thin
fish looks a whole lot like a barracuda
and not only do they live in and around
the Philippines there's even a lake
named after them but most fitting of all
there have been reports of barracudas
jumping out of the water to attack
humans finally the fire spitting cobra
is actually an exact match to the
Philippine Cobra a highly venomous breed
of spitting snake found on the islands
and yes you heard right it's able to
spit its venom up to ten feet the
fastest recorded death caused by a bite
from these guys 30 seconds not quite the
instant kill featured in the game but
pretty darn close so I feel safe
in saying that between our flora and
fauna we have a good handle on the
location of the game but how does
knowing that Adventure Island is located
in the Philippines better our
appreciation of this NES classic well
that's my final thought look at Master
Higgins clearly a stereotypical American
overweight baseball cap prone to
shirtlessness hot trophy wife who
doesn't even know her own name now look
at the villains of the game all animals
or veggies found on the island with the
big boss being a voodoo wizard so one
well you've heard of the
spanish-american war right how about the
philippine-american war beginning in
1899 one that took more lives and cost
more money i hadn´t this is a much
abbreviated overview but during the u.s.
imperialist days after kicking the
Spanish out of the Philippines Americans
lingered a little too long in the island
that thought it had won its independence
realized that they had just changed
owners I propose that Adventure Island
is a symbolic representation of this
struggle between the natural old way of
life and the dominating American
influence that's why all your enemies
are nature themed but if you really
don't believe me consider this after
winning the war American settlers
develop the land using the rich soil to
start huge tropical plantations for
workers they hired the local Filipinos
don't you find it odd that the American
heroes name in adventure island is
master Higgins what kind of a name is
master or is it a title given to a
plantation owner an American plantation
owner in the Philippines I'll let you be
the judge but hey it's a theory a game
theory thanks for watching
the world in the world in the world