Friday, 28 November 1992
After finalizing the plans for ZAGE's upcoming December releases on ZEPS and ZGB late the previous night, Zaboru returned to work early the next morning with renewed energy. The day was packed. Having decided to greenlight only two in-house games for December—Super Mario Land for the ZGB handheld and Bionic Commando for the ZEPS—he was eager to shift focus to external collaborations.
Today, one such collaboration would unfold. Akechi Hamazou, the enigmatic CEO of Akaishidan Studio, was visiting ZAGE to submit a new game. Akechi was not only a respected developer in his own right, but also the older brother of Zaboru's girlfriend, Ayumi Hamazou. Known in the underworld by his Yakuza codename "Rashomon," Akechi had an air of cool intensity, his face never revealing much. Ayumi, also a developer at Akaishidan and known in the dev scene as U-Bunny, would be accompanying him.
Ayumi burst through the office door first. "Zabo! I'm here!" she cheered, wrapping herself around Zaboru in a tight hug before he could even look from his computer.
"Oh, Ayumi and Akechi-san, welcome, welcome," Zaboru said, spinning around in his chair with a smile. Behind Ayumi, Akechi gave a small nod.
"Zaboru, I want to submit a game for December release," Akechi said, stepping inside, his tone as neutral as ever.
Zaboru leaned back and raised an eyebrow, smiling. "Oh? Another brother-sister collab, or are you flying solo this time?"
"Ayumi is developing her own project," Akechi replied. "This one is mine alone."
"I see. Interesting," Zaboru said, chuckling as Ayumi refused to let go, still hugging him like a koala. "And Ayumi, seriously, you can let go now. Your brother's here."
Ayumi just grinned. "Nii-sama doesn't mind, right?"
"Do as you want," Akechi replied without missing a beat. Zaboru sighs and pat Ayumi's head and lets her do as she pleases and Ayumi? She's satisfied and giggling while hugging her beloved boyfriend..
Reaching into his bag, Akechi pulled out a ZEPS cartridge. The label read Kabuto: The Speed Ninja. The cover art featured a bright yellow ninja with spiky hair, lightning crackling around him as he dashed at fast speed.
"Ooh, this looks promising. Great artwork," Zaboru said, taking the cartridge and sliding it into the ZEPS console beside his desk. The system lit up immediately, booting into the game's minimalist start menu. Only one option was available: "Start."
Zaboru pressed it. An 8-bit cutscene played.
"Kabuto, the young ninja, loves to prove he is the fastest! So he will run through anything with the fastest speed!"
"Short and sweet, so you choose a simple story line for this?" Zaboru commented, raising an eyebrow.
"I wanted something simple. I'm testing new mechanics," Akechi replied. "The concept is inspired by your game Sonic."
Zaboru's interest sharpened. He began playing. Immediately, the difference was noticeable. Kabuto was always on the run. The player didn't control his run movement—only his jumps, attacks, and dashes.
The level design was tight and demanding. Spikes, gaps, enemy ninjas throwing shuriken—all had to be reacted to quickly. Kabuto could double-jump, slash mid-air, or deflect shuriken back with precise timing. There was a satisfying sense of rhythm to it all. If a player hesitated or took too many hits, Kabuto would shout, "Too slow!" and abandon the mission, forcing a retry.
Power-ups between stages added more strategic depth: Dash Upgrades, Quicker Sword Strikes, Multi-Jump. Currency for these could be earned by beating stages efficiently or finding collectibles. The replayability was clear, and the skill ceiling surprisingly high.
The first boss fight was a good one. Set in a dense jungle, the screen scrolled rapidly as a massive serpent chased Kabuto. The player had to use every skill learned so far: jumping over vines, dodging falling trees, and attacking the snake when it lunged close. The combination of motion, action, and environment was exhilarating.
Zaboru was glued to the screen.
After finishing the first boss, he let out a breath and thought 'That was... wow. This feels like Canabalt meets Strider from my past life'.
Zaboru then turned to Akechi and said "Akechi-san, this is impressive. You've created something really special here."
Akechi nodded coolly, though the glimmer in his eye betrayed quiet satisfaction.
Ayumi smirked. "Heheh, Nii-sama is getting better, right? I told you he was working hard on this one, Zabo."
"Well, he is," Zaboru agreed, smiling. "I'm seriously looking forward to this release. It's got that pick-up-and-play charm, but also a real challenge. Definitely greenlit for ZEPS. I'll have my employee run it through final checks, but I don't see any issues."
"I designed it to integrate speed with ninja mechanics. Sonic's inspiration was obvious, but I wanted to give it a more aggressive edge," Akechi said.
"Mission accomplished," Zaboru replied. "I think this might become something truly fresh for players to enjoy. Gamers are always hungry for new experiences, and Kabuto delivers just that. Plus, he's got this charm—funny, quirky, and his wild yellow hair? That could absolutely become a trademark look, maybe he can be one of Iconic Characters for Akaishidan?."
Ayumi leaned over and whispered, "Maybe we can make a plushie of him next year."
"Not a bad idea," Zaboru chuckled. "The yellow hair is already iconic."
They spent another hour going over the game's development process and many thing
By the end of the meeting, Zaboru leaned back in his chair, satisfied. "Alright like I said earlier. Kabuto: The Speed Ninja is a yes for me and just wait for my employee to look for this okay?."
Akechi nodded again. "Thank you."
"No, thank you," Zaboru replied. "You just raised the bar for this month." Zaboru grinned it seems Zaboru The Gamer will have new thing to Enjoy on december
And with that, Akaishidan Studio delivered a title that not only impressed Zaboru but ignited a new spark of gaming desire of Zaboru The Gamer
To be continued.
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