I’m not sure it was intentional, but I got a good laugh from Tsezguerra (who has a Satan-ish countenance to him) telling Gon and Killua they can’t play Greed Island, because it reminded me of the oh so wonderful “hardcore gamers vs. casuals” debate. You’ve got a bunch of people — including Phinks and Feitan of the Phanton Troupe — playing a video game with the utmost seriousness. It’s so real — so dangerous — that only the best of the best could hope to survive. It’s the Dark Souls of the Hunter x Hunter world is what I am saying. And because the people involved want to beat this Very Serious Game, they accept only those who have truly honed their Nen (read: gaming ability), because everyone else is a fucking casual scum of the Earth. (Note: I’m not applying this broad brush to Dark Souls fans, because I haven’t interacted with many of them. It’s simply the first game that came to mind!)
Just look at how smug Tsezguerra is in that screenshot! Such pure disdain in his eyes as he looks at two kids and sneers, “Fuck off, you little twerps, you’re not good enough to play this video game.” What a jerk!
The auction also made me laugh, because it’s a throwback to the days when certain games would be super expensive because they were rare and there was no other way to attain them since physical copies weren’t being made/sold anymore. Generally, I imagine digital distribution of many classic games has cut down the prices they used to command, though the novelty of actually owning a physical copy is still attractive. (And there are, of course, a few holdouts like Panzer Dragoon Saga.) This part of the manga was written before mass digital distribution was a thing game publishers took advantage of, though emulation was probably plenty strong by that point. In a way, though, it is sort of brilliant in limiting access. Jing would of course not take advantage of a digital distribution platform, because he doesn’t want any loser to hop into his awesome game. (Maybe he also hates casuals!) Limiting access to physical copies also ensures only people who truly want to play will get in.
Also, the JoyStation is tough like an original Game Boy because it won’t be destroyed even if you smack it with a comically massive mallet swung by Ben Grimm.
Oh yeah, also Killua shocks himself with a taser so that he can better visualize electricity coursing through his body and therefore be able to produce electricity of his own with Nen. Simple! This would probably be a bit crazier if we didn’t already know that electrifying barely fazes him at all. That said, it’s still kind of crazy. Electric powers aren’t exactly uncommon in anime, but I can’t recall a character who took this specific route to obtaining them, haha. Gon, meanwhile, doesn’t need to play around with any of that stuff because as an Enhancer, he can just bum rush people like Sabin in Final Fantasy VI. If only he had been able to see Uvogin fight once; Gon probably would have picked up on some things from that.
Nothing much else going on in this episode that I am interested in writing about, so I will close by saying that Gon and Killua are adorable in their tuxedos. Moe~
The Cart Driver 
I’m trying to recall if there was a specific reason that Ging created Greed Island… but I’ve got nothin’ – He really does hate casuals.
And ya there’s some SNES and other old console games that are worth a tonne now due to their rarity. Last time I checked, an in-box – sealed Chrono Trigger was something like $1500.00, but it seems more like a collectors item than a video game now.
I think Gon puzzles out a reason later on, but I didn’t get to the point where it could have been confirmed or denied by Ging.
And, yeah, back in the day people paid exorbitant prices for video games to actually PLAY them, but now they’re basically like really old comic books that people keep in the original shrink wrap and such. Never really got that mindset, myself, but to each their own!
Killua’s brother might be serious about playing the game, but I have no doubt that he wouldn’t last a day.
I don’t think he’d last long, either, but that’s mostly because his skills aren’t really suited for Greed Island … his real life skills, anyway. Maybe his video game knowledge would come in handy.
I dont think it is ever explained why the phantom troupe decide to play greed island instead of just leaving like they originally planned. Curiosity?
Also finally Biske …. one of my favorite characters in HxH đŸ™‚
Probably. They had to have heard there’s some kind of great reward or whatever in Greed Island. Why not try to get it?
The loss of Chrollo changed everything. Not only they don’t have a leader, but also the destiny has changed, as Hisoka pointed out the last episode.
So they doesn’t have any real reason to leave York Shin city. Also Feitan knew about Greed Island (he mentioned it when the Ryodan was introduced).
The opening is much better now, the music is slightly different and fits the Greed Island arc, ED as well.
Now that i remember, the old HxH never showed how the old Gin looked.
I like the comparison to Uvogin. Gon’s basically doing what Uvogin did – focusing all his Nen on his fist and then beating the crap out of whatever he stumbles upon.
Also, you mentioning the casual gamer vs. core game debate made me giggle, albeit for a different reason. See, there’s haughty Tsezguerra who’s a core gamer by its very definition and then there are Phinks and Feitan, far stronger than him, playing the damn thing just for… oh, why the hell not?
I look forward to Phinks and Feitan breaking the game!
Wait what, Ging created Greed Island? Spoilers!
Ging creating Greed Island is the entire point of Gon and Killua trying to play it. That was revealed before the Yorkshin arc even started.
I don’t think it was revealed that Ging created GI before this episode. While watching the GI OVAs for the first time, I remember half-expecting Ging to be actually a player in the game.
Love the videogame comparisons you have going on in this post, Shimaru! Haven’t watched this ep yet, but will soon because man, Killua and Gon look absolutely adorable in their tuxes.
Also everybody has sooo many questions but none of them are answerable without going into spoilers so I will simply sit here chortling with my monocle.
Seriously, the title made me laugh for 10 minutes straight. Stop that! PFFTT, BAHAHAHAHAHAAHHAAHAHAHAH!