Happy Bushman (1983)

Recently I played Genma Taisen, published by Pony Canyon in Japan in March 1983 to coincide with the accompanying film. It was an official conversion of an animated film to a game; the “first” from Japan, maybe, although there were Space Battleship Yamato games (like this one and this one) and I don’t know if any were “official”. In the same month, Pony Canyon released another game, Happy Bushman. It was based on the live-action film The Gods Must Be Crazy, from South African filmmaker Jamie Uys (Uys is pronounced “Ace”). Converting a slapstick comedy film might seem an odd choice, but there was logic to it. For me to fully explain what happened I need to start with Uys and the creation of the film: Uys made his first film, Daar Doer in die Bosveld (Far Away in the Bushveld), in 1951, with what he describes as a “two-man crew” with just himself and his wife (the only exceptions being a few more actors and music). The plot has Hans Botha (played by Jamie Uys) being tasked to pick up a…