Jeff Hong is something of a fringe celebrity in certain corners of the internet thanks to the Brooklyn, New York-based storyboard artist's recent “Disney Unhappily Ever After” illustrations, which took Disney princesses and transplanted them into dark, real world situations (my personal favourite featured the Little Mermaid washed up on a deserted beach covered in oil). The pop-culture obsessed artist has taken his love for mixing up beloved franchises to its logical conclusion with his latest venture however; Punktendo.
Punktendo takes classic games from the original Nintendo Entertainment System (or NES) and alters the sprites to insert icons from the world of Punk into each game
As you could probably have guessed from the title, Punktendo takes classic games from the original Nintendo Entertainment System (or NES) and alters the sprites to insert icons from the world of Punk into each game. So Mega Man is replaced with Glen Danzig (Danzig), Super Mario becomes Mike Erg (The Ergs) and the classic Nintendo Golf is given the Fat Mike (NOFX) treatment. It's not just punk idols given the NES treatment either. You haven't lived until you've played “The Original Gay Popeye” or “Racist's Alley.” The games don't even require an original NES console and they are completely browser-based. Simply download the NESbox companion plugin for Adobe Flash and direct your browser to the official Punktendo website to get involved with the future of retro gaming.
Mega Man is replaced with Glen Danzig (Danzig), Super Mario becomes Mike Erg (The Ergs) and the classic Nintendo Golf is given the Fat Mike (NOFX) treatment
Hong said; “It took a couple of weeks to learn how to mod my first Nintendo game and learn how to change the sprites in games, but there's a huge resource for learning that on the internet. Now it takes me a day or two to change a game.” The idea of combining the three-chord simplicity and intensity with the 8-bit simplicity of early Nintendo games is an inspired one indeed, and the alterations inside the games go further than simply swapping out the lead characters. For example, in “Super Mikey Erg,” instead of collecting mushrooms in order to power up, the punky protagonist chugs down cans of lager. It's hardly high-art, but it works as a nostalgia trip, with just enough window-dressing to keep the cobwebs at bay.
Hong says that now he's got the hang of it, it only takes him a couple of days to change a game. The possibilities are endless!
Hong has worked as an animator for 15 years working for everyone from Walt Disney to Fox and Nickelodeon. His site says that his personal work, however, focuses on “Bringing awareness to important social and environmental issues.” Whilst Punktendo is hardly as thought-provoking as his most celebrated work, it's certainly a great way to waste a couple of hours, and might even inspire other artists and designers to revisit their pasts in unique and subtly iconoclastic ways. The possibilities for Punktendo are surely endless. If anyone has any ideas for future titles (“Johnny Rotten's Castlevania” or “The Legend of Joey Ramone” perhaps?) feel free to let us know in the comment section below.
Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer, musician and lifelong Nintendo fan from Kidderminster in the UK. He watched the Nintendo Direct live feed last night with all the giddy enthusiasm of a child on Christmas morning.
