BS-X: Sore wa Namae o Nusumareta Machi no Monogatari

BS-X: Sore wa Namae o Nusumareta Machi no Monogatari
-	Titlescreen for the BS-X: Sore wa Namae o Nusumareta Machi no Monogatari interface cartridge
Developer(s)	Nintendo
Publisher(s)	Nintendo
Distributor(s)	Nintendo
First Broadcast(s)	February 13, 1995 Pre-order April 23, 1995 Regular retail
Rerun(s)	various
Required hardware	BS-X: Sore wa Namae o Nusumareta Machi no Monogatari casette
Hardcopy release(s)	Super Famicom-Satellaview

BS-X: Sore wa Namae o Nusumareta Machi no Monogatari (ＢＳ－Ｘ　それは名前を盗まれた街の物語) is a Satellaview-compatible slotted cartridge that served as the Satellaview's interface cartridge. A copy of BS-X was bundled with every Satellaview that was sold and for users of the Satellaview, the game was required to use any of the Satellaview's features.

Gameplay

The game aspects of BS-X are debatable. The title functions more as the interface for the Satellaview than it does as a game in its own right. After players select a name and gender for their avatar, they may explore Sore wa Namae o Nusumareta Machi - a small town consisting of 20 buildings, a telephone booth, a field, a pier, a train track, a talking tree, and a beach. From several of these locations the player is given the option of downloading game data, downloadable games, or downloadable magazines. If the player decides to download such data, the Satellaview would save it to the 8M Memory Pack inserted into the BS-X's top slot. Some data (such as SoundLink data) could only be accessed directly during broadcast hours, however other data (such as limited playthrough game data) could be downloaded for later play during off-hours when St.GIGA was not broadcasting.

Due to the purely functional aspect of the BS-X player's in-game actions and the near-total lack of a goal-oriented plot, the title is often viewed as nothing more than a complex menu system, however there are a number of other elements to the game that provide a distinctly ludological veneer to the title. Among others, the existence of an inventory, NPCs, in-game currency, a plot, and a closely-related series of follow-up games all argue in favor of the classification of BS-X as a game.

Geography

A labeled map of Sore wa Namae o Nusumareta Machi. (click the image found here to fully expand)

Buildings

• Watashi no ie (私の家) - My House (labeled "F" on the map)
• Minka (民家) - Private House (labeled "C" on the map)
• Idol no ie (アイドルの家) - Idol's House ("D" on the map)
• Bagupotamia Shinden (バグポタミア神殿) - Bagupotamia Temple ("B")
• Kyougijou (競技場) - Stadium ("G")
• Saotome Gakuen (早乙女学園) - Early-girl Academy ("H")
• Game Hakubutsukan (ゲーム博物館) - Game Museum ("K")
• Convenience Building (コンビニビ) - Convenience Store ("S")
• Department Store (デパート) ("R")
• Kouban (交番) - Police Station ("N")
• Soroban Building (そろばんビル) - Abacus Building ("J")
• Dentaku Building (電卓ビル) - Calculator Building ("I")
• Umi no ie (海の家) - Beach House ("V")
• Burger Shop (バーガーショップ) ("O")
• Kabe Shinbunsha (かべ新聞社) - Kabe Newspaper Company ("Q")
• Kuchi Bot Building (口ボットビル) - Robot Building ("P")
• Toufu Building (とうふビル) - ("L")
• Housoukyoku (放送局) - Broadcasting Station ("M")
• Game Koujou (ゲーム工場) - Game Factory ("A")
• Eki (駅) - Train Station ("U")

Other areas

• Event Hiroba (イベント広場) - Event Plaza (labeled "E" on the above map)
• Sewaya ki (せわや木) - Bothersome Bush (labeled "T" on the above map)
• Denwa Booth (電話ブース) - Telephone Booth (labeled "W" on the above map)
• Ike no Benches (池のベンチ) - Benches by the Pond (labeled "X" on the above map)
• Fountain (labeled "Y" on the above map)

References to BS-X in other Satellaview games

Games that take place in the world of BS-X

• BS-X Shooting
• The SatellaWalker and SatellaWalker 2 series

Satellaview games that feature elements of BS-X outside of the world of BS-X

The following games feature the player avatar as a playable character;

• BS Zelda no Densetsu Map 1 and Map 2
• BS Zelda no Densetsu: Inishie no Sekiban
• Nichibutsu Mahjong and BS Nichibutsu Mahjong

Other;

• The plot of Sutte Hakkun Event Version 2 says that the rainbow broke into pieces again "by popular demand from Satellaview users."

Prototype model

Aesthetic differences between the labels for the prototype and retail versions of the BS-X (bottom) the 8M Memory Pack (top)

In late 1994, pre-release photos of the Satellaview were released to the press for advertising reasons. These pre-release photos were images of a prototype model that was never released. The only known differences between the Prototype model of BS-X and the retail model are aesthetic. As can be seen from the image at right, the label of the prototype model shows concentric rings surrounding the legend, "BS-X". In the retail model, the background of the BS-X label is the cityscape from Sore wa Namae o Nusumareta Machi.

Further differences between the prototype and the retail models are apparent regarding the Satellaview and the memory pack.