As many of you know, Japanese advertisments can be some of the most wacky and entertaining advertisments around. In December of 1991, the Japanese advertisment for Link to the Past started airing, and boy, was it wacky! Thanks to the outstanding help of our friend and Japanese translator GlitterBerri, we can now shed a bit more light on this wonderful comercial!
The commercial featured live actors portraying game characters and enemies on a set designed to look like a dungeon. The actors do an amazingly awesome (in my opinion) Michael Jackson-esque dance to hilarious early 90's Japanese rap music by the popular Japanese rap group, Scha Dara Parr.
Scha Dara Parr's music for this comercial was actually taken from their 1991 single, "Game Boys" which appeared on their album of the same name. The comercial's music takes the background audio from Game Boys and replaces the voice track with a new recording done specifically for the Zelda advertisement.
Below you can find the original Japanese lyrics featured in the comercial, and GlitterBerri's own English translation. The lyrics sound a little funny in English, but I have a feeling they sound a little funny in Japanese as well!
Short Version
It's coming coming, the Legend of Zelda
It's coming coming coming coming finally coming
Gorgeous! This adventure
Real! You too will soon experience it
Puzzle action that will leaving you gasping
I see! Super Famicom
Watch out! It's here!
Go! Link!
An unwitting serious contest
Tonight, Zelda's climax
Super Famicom, the Legend of Zelda
Long Version
It's coming coming, the Legend of Zelda
It's coming coming coming coming finally coming!
Gorgeous! This adventure
Real! You'll also soon experience
This one'll be difficult
Cunning ?? riddle-solving action
Make no mistake, you'll go crazy for it
Of course! Super Famicom
"Watch out, it's here!"
"Go, Link!"
An unwitting serious contest
Tonight, Zelda's climax
Super Famicom, the Legend of Zelda
It's coming coming coming coming, finally coming!
GO! GO! GO! GO!
The Main Players
And then there's the question of the actor playing Link. According to an interview with Yoshiaki Kuratsune, the comercial's creative director, the actor given the role of Link was actually a 16 year old female high school student who was selected from a group of 300 other audtioners! Mr. Kuratsune recalls that at the end of the audition, it was between this girl and Tomoya Nagase, a male performer who was at the time an unknown, but would go on to be lead singer and guitarist in the popular JPop group, TOKIO.
It was ultimately decided that a female actress was better suited to the role. She was a newcomer from Hyogo-ken, and her role in this commercial generated a lot of interest and popularity for her at the time. Interestingly, her identity was purposefully never revealed.
"I've never done this sort of work before, but I tried to play the role with no trouble and lots of energy," says the anonymous actor. "I haven't quite decided what I'm going to do from now on, but I'm thinking about only pursuing dance."
Our fair Princess Zelda was played by Yayoi Niijima, a performer from the suburbs of Osaka. She starred in the movie 'Oazuke' and has made several CD's, her debut record coming from Pony Canyon in January of 1992.
On the subject of playing Zelda, Ms. Niijima says, "It was my first time to do a commercial, but I was looking forward to it.
I've played things like Mario and sports games on the Famicom."
An Interview With The Creative Director
(Yoshiaki Kuratsune, Creative Director)
Profile
Name: Yoshiaki Kuratsune
Parodied the North American Royal Marine's exercise scenery
Creative Director for Nintendo's many memorable commercials,
appointed Schadarapaa for the Legend of Zelda's ad music
Currently attached to the Nintendo planning department
A by no means forward enigmatic personality.
Link's a girl!
A little while after the Fire Emblem commercial (1990) was made, the first in a trilogy of songs, we asked the rap group Schadarapaa to do the music for 1991's Legend of Zelda ad. Shall we take a look?
deru deru zeruda no densetsu
deru deru deru deru tsui ni deru
gojasu! kondo no bouken
riaru! kimi mo sugu ni taiken
ha tto iki nomu nazotoki akushon
naruhodo! suupaa famikon
abunai! deta!
ike! rinku!
shirazushirazu no shinkenshoubu
koyoi mo zeruda ha saikouchou
suupaa famikon zeruda no densetsu
deru deru deru deru tsui ni deru
(It's coming coming, the Legend of Zelda
It's coming coming coming coming finally coming
Gorgeous! This adventure
Real! You too will soon experience it
Riddle-solving action that will leave you gasping
Indeed! Super Famicom
Watch out! It's here!
Go! Link!
An unwitting serious contest
Tonight, Zelda's climax
Super Famicom, the Legend of Zelda
It's coming coming coming coming finally coming)
Do you know that Link was played by a girl?
We were looking for a female highschool student in the audition, you see.
Though the Legend of Zelda's main character, Link, is male, we thought that a boyish girl would be better than a real boy.
The only people left at the end of the audition were this girl and the then-unknown Tomoya Nagase, now a vocalist in the popular band TOKIO.
Link's actress was not a professional after all, however at the time of this commercial's airing, there was a flood of enquiries and popularity.
As for the music, we asked Schadarapaa to do it for us.
We gave them keywords to incorporate, but they basically created it themselves.
We were also Nintendo fans, and remember it as going very smoothly.
Making a game commercial with dance and rap is another technique of expressing something, but it basically follows the game's concept.
The filming of the Legend of Zelda was also unusual for the time, I think.
By expressing the commercials like this, I believe we also were able to make the games more attractive to adults.
If the product has personality, then the commercial will definitely have personality, don't you think?
It's the product that's the foundation, you see.
Original Japanese Source: http://www.1101.com/nintendo/nin25/nin25_3.htm
Translated by GlitterBerri.
The Choreography
GlitterBerri was also generous enough to go through the commercial step by step and create instructions on the dance's choreography! Impress your friends with these hot Hylian dance moves!
1. "Kickin' it" (x3)
Starting position:
Face forward.
Right hand at right side.
Left hand raised and angled horizontally at elbow towards body, chest height.
Legs together.
Keeping back straight
Left hand pushes down, fingers splayed.
Raise right leg to waist level, bent at the knee.
Left hand returns to starting position (raised and angled
horizontally at elbow towards body, chest height).
Hop onto right foot, raise and bend left knee (for hopping momentum).
Keeping back straight,
Left hand pushes down, fingers splayed.
Raise right leg to waist level, bent at the knee.
Left hand returns to starting position (raised and angled horizontally at elbow towards body, chest height).
Weight on right leg.
Left leg kicks straight out to waist height.
Bring left leg back in, return to starting position.
Turn head left.
Return to starting position.
2. "Kickin' it Variation" (x1)
Starting position:
Face forward.
Right hand at right side.
Left hand raised and angled horizontally at elbow towards body, chest height.
Legs together.
Keeping back straight
Left hand pushes down, fingers splayed.
Raise right leg to waist level, bent at the knee.
Left hand returns to starting position (raised and angled horizontally at elbow towards body, chest height).
Hop onto right foot, raise and bend left knee (for hopping momentum).
Keeping back straight
Left hand pushes down, fingers splayed.
Raise right leg to waist level, bent at the knee.
Left hand returns to starting position (raised and angled
horizontally at elbow towards body, chest height).
Weight on right leg.
Left leg kicks straight out to waist height.
Bringing left leg back, let left hand drop to side.
Legs together.
Jump out with knees bent, facing outwards.
Hands clenched into fists at sides.
3. "Strongman" (x1)
As you jump, turning your knees inwards,
Bring arms up and around to right-handed "Strongman" position.
Raise right arm up in a fist, bent at elbow, angled horizontally to your head.
Angle left arm horizontally downwards.
Jump, knees turn outwards.
Hands do not change.
As you jump, turning your knees inwards,
Switch the positions of your right and left arms, changing to left-handed "Strongman" position.
Raise left arm up in a fist, bent at elbow, angled horizontally to your head.
Angle right arm horizontally downwards.
Bending knees into a mid-air kneeling position, jump and land back in standing position, arms at sides.
4. "Superman" (x1)
Step out with right foot, raise right arm above head.
Step out with left foot, so your legs are spread, bringing right arm down to chest level.
Bring right arm horizontally across body to left shoulder in pushing motion.
Return right arm.
Bend at waist, dropping arms at sides, stoop towards floor.
Raise body up again, keeping knees slightly bent.
Thrust hands out straight, fingers splayed, with right hand over left.
5. "Crocodile" (x2)
Switch hand position so left is over right, hopping forward.
Switch hand position so right is over left, hopping forward.
Open hands wide like a crocodile's mouth, right up and left down.
Bring hands together, keeping fingers splayed and facing forward, right over left.
6. "The Roll" (x1)
Starting position:
Lean body to the left, rest head on right shoulder.
Hands maintain right over left position.
Roll body down and around to the right, then back up.
Turn head left.
Drop right hand to right side.
Roll left hand into stop position.
Lean on slightly bent right leg.
7. "Swirly Arms" (x1)
Bring left arm to side.
Bending legs, curl to the right.
Rise up, returning to spread-legged stance while swirling close-fisted arms two times.
Lower crossed arms to waist-level, straightening elbows.
8. "Hands Behind Head" (x1)
Uncross arms.
Bring right arm down to side, bring left arm up behind head, elbow bent, fingers splayed.
Bring right arm up behind head.
Pivot torso right.
Pivot to left side, leaning on bent left knee and getting ready to turn.
Jump and do a 180� turn to the right till you face the back, stretching right hand out to side as you turn.
9. "360(?)" (x1)
Dropping left hand to side, raise right hand up and chop, elbow bent behind head.
Again raise right hand up and do chopping motion.
Bring left hand up, elbow bent behind head. Again stretch right hand out to side.
Raise right hand up, elbow bent behind head.
Do a 360� hopping turn to the left till you face the back again.
Stretch left hand out to the side, legs spread.
Stepping forward on left foot, pivot to face the front.
While turning, bring left hand into a fist, elbow bent, at your side.
Punch forward with raised right hand while stepping forward with right leg.
***Interlude***
Insert original snazzy magic spell/ninja move/spin attack.
10. "Finale" (x7)
Face with body to the left, turn head to the front.
Raise left leg, bent at knee.
Bring left hand into a fist, elbow bent, at your side.
Punch raised right hand out to the side.
Switch legs so right leg is raised and bent at knee.
Look in front of you while punching straight out with left hand.
Have right hand curled in a fist, elbow bent, at side.
Going Forward
So hopefully this great comercial is a little less of a mystery, now knowing this information. It's one of the better game advertisments created, in my opinion. A little cheesy, yes, but sometimes I think that maybe off-the-wall advertising like this might actually be well-recieved outside of Japan, instead of always playing it straight like we tend to do in the West.
Keep on dancing, Link!
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