{"id":56637,"date":"2026-02-12T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/?p=56637"},"modified":"2026-02-13T10:02:13","modified_gmt":"2026-02-13T01:02:13","slug":"romeo-is-a-dead-mans-save-screen-is-a-reference-to-one-of-japans-first-eroge","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/romeo-is-a-dead-mans-save-screen-is-a-reference-to-one-of-japans-first-eroge\/","title":{"rendered":"Romeo Is a Dead Man’s save screen\u00a0hides\u00a0a reference to\u00a0one of\u00a0Japan\u2019s first\u00a0eroge\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As Suda 51’s first original IP since 2018\u2019s Let It Die, Romeo Is a Dead Man<\/strong> pays homage to a bunch of other works, not limited to his own past games. One obscure reference, as spotted by eagle-eyed fans on X<\/a>, can be found in the title\u2019s save screen, which serves as a homage to one of the first eroge (short for \u201cerotic game\u201d) made commercially available in Japan. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When saving in Romeo Is a Dead Man, a variety of multilingual texts appear alongside a red nurse character. This nurse is a reference to Megumi, a 19-year-old woman from Hokkaido who serves as your opponent in Yaky\u016bken. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Romeo Is a Dead Man<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Yaky\u016bken\u00a0is\u00a0an adult game\u00a0developed by\u00a0Hudson Soft\u2019s\u00a0Miso Ramen Group\u00a0for the Sharp MZ-80K\u00a0personal computer\u00a0in 1979, according to Gaming Alexandria<\/a>.\u00a0The game had you playing strip\u00a0rock\u2013paper\u2013scissors\u00a0against Megumi. Winning rounds against her\u00a0caused\u00a0her to remove her clothes, with the final \u201creward\u201d leaving her\u00a0completely\u00a0nude.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Yaky\u016bken\"
Yaky\u016bken, image via Gaming Alexandria<\/a><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Though Suda 51 never worked at Miso Ramen Group or Hudson Soft, the title must have left a deep enough impression for him to include it in Romeo Is a Dead Man. Thankfully, his version of Megumi is fully clothed and has taken up a more family-friendly profession since her strip game days. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romeo Is a Dead Man is available for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Windows (Steam<\/a>). A Nintendo Switch 2 version is currently in development.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Related: Romeo is a Dead Man uses no generative AI whatsoever, Suda51 assures<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Romeo is a Dead Man uses manga and pixel art to cut down on expensive 3D cutscenes, prioritizing AAA-grade action, Grasshopper Manufacture says<\/a> <\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Eagle-eyed players have noticed a hidden reference to 1981’s Yakyuken in Romeo is a Dead Man’s save screen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":67,"featured_media":56640,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_gspb_post_css":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[17],"class_list":["post-56637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-japan-related-news"],"blocksy_meta":[],"yoast_head":"\nRomeo Is a Dead Man's save screen\u00a0hides\u00a0a reference to\u00a0one of\u00a0Japan\u2019s first\u00a0eroge\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Eagle-eyed players have noticed a hidden reference to 1981's Yakyuken in Romeo is a Dead Man's save screen.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/romeo-is-a-dead-mans-save-screen-is-a-reference-to-one-of-japans-first-eroge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Romeo Is a Dead Man's save screen\u00a0hides\u00a0a reference to\u00a0one of\u00a0Japan\u2019s first\u00a0eroge\u00a0 - AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Eagle-eyed players have noticed a hidden reference to 1981's Yakyuken in Romeo is a Dead Man's save screen.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/news\/romeo-is-a-dead-mans-save-screen-is-a-reference-to-one-of-japans-first-eroge\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"AUTOMATON WEST\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-12T14:00:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-13T01:02:13+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/automaton-media.com\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20260212-56633-header-1.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1404\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"786\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Carlos "Zoto" Zotomayor\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@AUTOMATON_ENG\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Carlos "Zoto" Zotomayor\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Romeo Is a Dead Man's save screen\u00a0hides\u00a0a reference to\u00a0one of\u00a0Japan\u2019s first\u00a0eroge\u00a0 - 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