Fortran / Dian Shi Ma Li ( 電視瑪琍 )

About

Dian Shi Ma Li (Chinese: 電視瑪琍 Television Mari) is an unlicensed bootleg Taiwanese gambling game for the Famicom. It is best known for Fortran, an unusually creepy-looking Mario look-alike, and the engrish phrase, "Push start to rich!"

History

Like many bootlegs, the origin of Dian Shi Ma Li is somewhat obscure and unknown. In 1989, a Taiwanese-based company under the name of Bit Corp. developed Dian Shi Ma Li, with Namco Corporation (not to be confused with the Japanese-based video game developer of the same name) to publish the unlicensed cartridge in Asian countries.^[1] The game appears to have been based off a ripoff of an already-pirated gambling video game called Xiao Ma Li (Small Mario).^[2] Like many official and bootleg NES games, the .ROM of Dian Shi Ma Li was eventually dumped online around 1996, and under unknown circumstances (presumably word of mouth) the bootleg became one of the more commonly known of pirated video games.

Submemes

Fortran

Fortran (a misspelling of fortune) Is the Mario lookalike featured in Dian Shi Ma Li. His rather abnormal and unsettling appearance makes him one of the most frequently discussed aspects of the game. Initially, Fortran was part of a YouTube Poop fad, initially started by DeviantART artist TheMarioBrother, where Fortran was supposedly the father of Weegee, and Malleo but has now long since distanced itself from YouTube Poop.^[3] One of the most discussed topics about Fortran is his resemblance to the now more popular bootleg character Grand Dad, which has most likely resulted in the revitalization of interest in both Grand Dad and Fortran.

Push Start to Rich

PUSH START TO RICH is Fortran's signature "catchphrase" within Dian Shi Ma Li. When the pointer lands on the coin card, the quote will appear to signal the player to push the start button, which will cause Fortran to rapidly punch the block above him, rewarding the player with 10 credits each time the start button is pressed.^[4] In some versions of Dian Shi Ma Li, the engrish phrase is changed to a more correct statement; "PUSH START TO GET RICH."

Search Interest

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