Japan has given us many wonderful things. Wasabi paste. The concept of tentacle erotica. Countless amnesiac heroes. Foremost of them all, though, is the marvel of Takashi's Castle. Not heard of it before? Think Gladiators meets Jackass. Yes, that awesome.

Still more awesomely, Newsground users Michael Swain, JohnnyUtah and Stamper have put together a Flash version. Of course, it's not explicitly a game based on Takashi's Castle because coughcopyrightcough. But the artistic debt is clear as water.

You play a hapless little runt named Ching. He wakes up one morning to find his brother has been abducted, and "the bad guys" want a champion thoroughbred horse as ransom. Coincidentally, one such horse is first prize in the Ching Chong Beautiful TV obstacle course show.

The basics are much as in many 2D platformers. Arrow keys move and jump, while shift (or A) is a sprint modifier. The differences are thusly: if you run face-first into a plank, it'll hurt and people will laugh; if you try to gallop up some uneven stairs, you'll trip and fall and it'll hurt and people will laugh; if you don't tread warily near an edge, you'll wobble and plummet and it'll hurt and people will laugh. You get the picture.

Luckily, Ching can't die (though he can be humiliated). Try to get to the end of the course in the shortest time possible. If the odd burst of swearing turns you off, kids, try Mirror's Edge and Rooftop Runner.

Thanks, E4.

Play Ching Chong Beautiful