Charitable gaming group takes on 60 hours of the worst video games ever

By Aemon Malone February 18, 2011

The charitable video game marathoners GameToAid are in the midst of a unique challenge: to play 60 consecutive hours of some of the worst titles in video gaming history. Any donations the group receives will be donated to charity:water, a nonprofit that helps bring clean drinking water to communities in developing nations. All 60 hours are being streamed live at GameToAid’s website.

GameToAid is comprised of four teenagers in Adelaide, Australia. The group selected thirteen titles which will be played continuously throughout the 60 hours. The dubious list includes:

Batman of the Future: Return of the Joker (Nintendo 64)
Power Rangers Lightspeed Rescue (Nintendo 64)
Charlie’s Angels (Playstation 2)
Superman 64 (Nintendo 64)
Big Rigs: Over the Road Racing (PC)
E.T. (Atari 2600)
Back to the Future (Nintendo Entertainment System)
Doctor Who: Return to Earth (Wii)
McFarlane’s Evil Prophecy (Playstation 2)
The Golden Compass (Xbox 360)
Shaq Fu (Super Nintendo)
Karate Kid (Nintendo Entertainment System)
Gods and Generals (PC)

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Charitable gaming marathons have become popular in recent years. The site ExtraLives.org has hosted several marathons including a Legend of Zelda marathon to raise money for Free the Children and “The Rise and Fall of Sonic the Hedgehog” to raise money for charity:water.

GameToAid’s ongoing “Worst. Marathon. Ever.” may not be the first gaming marathon, but it is probably the most masochistic — we can attest that some of those titles are truly terrible. GameToAid is hoping to raise $10,000 before the marathon ends on Saturday. Donations of $5 or more will be entered in a raffle to win t-shirts or, perhaps, a copy of one of the video games.

Former Digital Trends Contributor

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First impressions are important. That’s true both in people and video game consoles.

The first time you boot up a new gaming system can be a magical moment when done right. There’s always a built-in bit of tension anytime you get a new video game console, as you gingerly unbox it and set it up. That prelude can feel like an orchestra tuning its instruments, building anticipation for the moment where you’ll finally get to power it on and hear the opening notes of a long symphony. And I’m not just speaking in metaphor here; I’m talking about the all-important console startup sound.

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We’re witnessing a game preservation crisis, but there’s hope on the horizon

Gex holding a remote in the Gex Trilogy's reveal trailer.

Video game preservation continues to be one of the most strenuous topics in the game industry. While gamers would probably agree that companies should preserve the games they release, that’s not really the case in practice. In a new study organized by the Video Game Industry Foundation, we learned that only 13.27% of video games released before 2010 are in print in 2023. According to the Video Game Industry Foundation, that’s a level of availability on par with silent films and pre-World War II audio recordings. For something as popular and financially successful as gaming, its industry needs to do better.

Recent preservation efforts within the gaming industry show some improvement. Games like Atari 50 are setting new standards for re-releasing games, while a July 12 showcase from Limited Run Games highlighted a lot of retro titles, both good and bad, that will get a re-release thanks to the company’s Carbon Engine. There’s a long way to go until the game industry truly takes preservation and game availability seriously, and there’s a lot the game industry needs to do to improve that statistic.
The dire preservation situation
That 13.27% statistic, as well as recent events like the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U eShops shutting down, should be enough for most to understand why game preservation is such a problem. Gaming is a pivotal part of many people’s lives. Yet, many of the games that might have entertained, inspired, or otherwise helped people just aren’t officially preserved well enough for people to play them without resorting to piracy or other workarounds. But what was causing these issues in the first place?

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The worst Zelda games ever made are getting a spiritual successor

A shopkeeper that looks a lot like Morshu in Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore.

The Legend of Zelda series inspires tons of indie games every year. They just usually don't take inspiration from the bad ones. That's exactly what we're getting with Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore, a new indie that draws inspiration from Zelda's infamous Philips CD-i era.

During Limited Run Games' third annual showcase, Seedy Eye Software and Limited Run revealed Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore, an "animated adventure" game inspired by Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon that will release later this year. If you don't know about Link: The Faces of Evil and Zelda: The Wand of Gamelon, they are two infamously terrible The Legend of Zelda games that were officially licensed by Nintendo for the Philips CD-i. These side-scrolling adventure games played terribly and featured ugly full-motion video animated cutscenes with terrible voice acting. You've probably seen some memes featuring the characters and animation from these games. Because of how bad they are, these titles aren't really ones most developers look to for inspiration.
The developers of Arzette did, though.
Arzette | LRG3 Reveal Trailer
Its reveal trailer establishes that the titular Princess goes on a quest to defeat an evil being named Daimur. It's a 2D action platformer that looks like those two CD-i Zelda games, albeit one that looks a bit more fun to play. Its similarities to The Faces of Evil and The Wand of Gamelon become inescapable during cutscenes, as the characters, animation, and voice acting all look like they came straight out of those games.
In general, the Limited Runs Games Showcase this reveal was at was a wild one, with remasters for classic Jurassic Park games, Gex, Clock Tower, Plumbers Don't Wear Ties, Tomba!, and more announced. While we see odes to bad movies with films like The Disaster Artist and Ed Wood, we don't see that nearly as often with bad games.
That should make Arzette: The Jewel of Faramore enjoyable and terrible (in a good way) when it launches on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and Steam in 2023.