Shogi, a Japanese game similar to chess, is another genre of video games that you'll never find in the USA, simply because no one has ever heard of shogi! This game, Kyudan Shogi Hiden: Honshogi (True Shogi: The Secret to Top-Level Shogi) from Seta, is no exception to the rule and there's little of interest, admittedly, to those who've never heard of shogi before.

So why is this here? Well, let's take a look at the back. Famicom licensees were allowed to put whatever sort of warning label they wanted on the backs of carts, and this is the funniest one I've ever seen:

Warning labels are usually just stickers that tell you what you should know already. This label, however, gives some different cautions:

  • Do not set fire to your shogi cart (although I'd think you'd need a blowtorch to do that)
  • Do not break your shogi cart in half with a hammer (or else you'll have trouble inserting both parts into a Famicom)
  • Do not run your shogi cart under your faucet (it does not need watering)
  • Do not feed your shogi cart to any miniature alligators you might find on the street

Huh?

Pic: Randy Stoller

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