Anyone who has ever played through any of the classic Nintendo-made NES games should be familiar with the bizarre name "Ten-Ten" that frequently appeared in the ending credits of such games as The Legend of Zelda, Super Mario. Bros., Metroid and more. While it may appear that the thing behind the name could possibly be some kind of Madagascar-based primate, it's actually the code-name of long time Nintendo director/producer Takashi Tezuka. Tezuka has been involved in every major Nintendo release since 1984 (which is to say, pretty much all of them minus Donkey Kong)and is perhaps best known for creating the interactive world of Animal Forest (known in the US as Animal Crossing). The nickname Ten-Ten comes from poor Japanese/English translations, probably at the hands of fabled Ninja Gaiden translators "Kevin and Daniel". Apparently, hiring two editors didn't do anything to prevent the garbled mess of Engrish that so famously plagues most early NES titles.
Oh, and thanks for nothing long term memory: reading the Wikipedia entry on Animal Crossing, it mentions the game is influenced by Sylvanian Families, the collectable animal figurines from the mid-80's. Despite not having heard ANY mention of Sylvanian Families since at least 1989, what instantly jumped into my head? The song for the commerical on Nickelodeon:
The human brain is a facinating thing, isn't it? I mean, it completely ignores certain information I feel is important, such as my blood type or the location of my work office, yet recalls with great accuracy the lyrics and melody from an obscure commericial about toys I never wanted.
Anyhow-- have a happy Ten-Ten day! And see you next!
