Sunday, 24 August 2001. One branch of ZAGE Store Japan, Osaka.
While Zaboru was busy playing The Dark Guild inside his office at ZAGE Tower, ZAGE Stores across Japan were experiencing a different kind of battlefield.
It was not a secret organization attack.
It was worse.
Middle school boys trying to choose one game.
August 2001 had become a ridiculous month for ZAGE fans. ZAGE had released five major games almost at the same time: DOOM 3 for PC, Winning Eleven 2001, NBA 2K1, Bomberman World, and Cyborg Kuro-chan. For adults, this was a dream lineup. For children with limited allowance, it was financial torture. Every shelf looked like temptation. Every game case felt like it was personally begging to be bought.
Inside one Osaka ZAGE Store, four middle school friends stood in front of the new release section, staring at the games like they were choosing a future career.
Technically, only one of them had money.
That boy was Yuta.
Yuta had received money from his mother after acing his exam, and he had entered the store with the proud expression of a man who finally had purchasing power. Unfortunately for him, his three friends had also entered the store with the proud expression of people who planned to spend his money through emotional manipulation.
Shoei, the loudest of the group, immediately grabbed Winning Eleven 2001 from the shelf and held it up like a sacred scripture. He was a football addict, the kind of boy who could turn any conversation into tactics, formations, and why strikers were misunderstood. "Yuta, listen to me carefully. You need to buy Winning Eleven 2001. Not should. Need. This is not a suggestion. This is destiny. We will definitely have a blast playing this."
Ishi clicked his tongue. Ishi was the sarcastic one, thin-eyed, sharp-tongued, and always ready to destroy someone's excitement with one sentence. "Don't listen to Shoei. He says every football game is destiny. Last year he said Winning Eleven 2000 would change our lives, and all it changed was the amount of screaming in your living room."
Shoei turned to him, offended. "Because you kept slide-tackling from behind like a criminal!"
"It worked."
"It gave away penalties!"
"Only because the referee was biased."
"The referee is not biased, Ishi. You are just violent."
Ishi shrugged. "Football has contact."
Shoei almost exploded. "Not that much contact!"
Haru, the smallest and most mischievous of the group, held Bomberman World with a suspiciously sweet smile. Haru was the type who acted cute for three seconds before ruining everyone's life in multiplayer games. "Anyway, both of you are wrong. Yuta-san should buy Bomberman World. Isn't that right, Yuta-san? Hehehe. Think about it. Four friends. Explosions. Betrayal. Tears. That is friendship."
Yuta stared at him. "Why does your definition of friendship always involve betrayal?"
Haru smiled wider. "Because honest friendship is boring."
Shoei pointed at Haru. "See? This is why we should not buy Bomberman. He will trap us in a corner and laugh."
Haru placed one hand over his chest as if hurt. "Shoei, how can you say that? I would never laugh."
Ishi narrowed his eyes. "You would."
Haru nodded. "Okay, I would."
The fourth person involved in this war was, unfortunately, Yuta himself. He was not the calm leader type, but he was the only one with actual money, which accidentally gave him authority. His personality was simple: easily annoyed, stubborn when pressured, but unable to hide that he loved hanging out with these idiots. He crossed his arms and glared at all three of them. "Listen, you bastards. This is my money. My mom gave it to me because I aced my exam. I can only buy one game. One. Not three. Not Shoei's football religion, not Haru's friendship-destroying bomb simulator, and definitely not something I cannot even play."
His eyes drifted toward a nearby shelf where The Dark Guild was displayed for the iPlay.
Yuta stared at it for one second, then scoffed. "And definitely not The Dark Guild. Who the hell even has iPlay anyway?"
All three friends nodded immediately.
Shoei crossed his arms. "Exactly. iPlay is like that one rich kid in class who has expensive shoes but still runs slow."
Ishi added, "The console looks like it was designed by someone who thinks fun is optional."
Haru leaned toward the iPlay shelf and whispered dramatically, "Poor Dark Guild. Born on the wrong machine."
Yuta snorted. "If The Dark Guild was on ZEPS 3, maybe I would care. But iPlay? Nah. I don't want to buy a whole console just to play one game and then stare at it like expensive furniture."
A random older teen standing beside them had been holding a copy of The Dark Guild, clearly considering buying it. After hearing their brutal iPlay roast session, his hand slowly lowered.
He looked at the game.
Then he looked at the boys.
Then he looked back at the game with visible hesitation.
While the boys argued, a ZAGE Store clerk behind the counter watched them with quiet amusement. His name tag read Nakata. He had worked at the Osaka branch long enough to understand one eternal truth: children never simply bought games. They debated them like national policy. Sometimes they entered as friends and left as political factions.
Nakata had already seen three groups that morning argue over Winning Eleven 2001 versus NBA 2K1. One father had tried to convince his son to buy DOOM 3 even though the child did not own a strong enough PC. Two brothers had almost started a civil war over Bomberman World. And now this group had arrived, with one boy holding the money and three boys trying to hijack his destiny.
Nakata leaned against the counter slightly and smiled.
"This is better than television," he thought.
Meanwhile, Yuta had reached his final two options: Bomberman World and Cyborg Kuro-chan. Winning Eleven 2001 and NBA 2K1 were out because he was not a big sports game fan. DOOM 3 was out because he did not have a PC strong enough to run it. And The Dark Guild was out because none of them owned iPlay, and none of them wanted to enter what Ishi called "Apple's expensive loneliness box."
That left Bomberman World or Cyborg Kuro-chan.
Honestly, Yuta was more interested in Cyborg Kuro-chan. He liked the anime like style , he liked the crazy mechanical designs, and the teaser had shown chaotic action with weapons, gadgets, and multiplayer. Bomberman was fun, but Haru was too dangerous with bombs. Buying Bomberman felt less like buying a game and more like giving Haru a legal weapon.
Yuta picked up Cyborg Kuro-chan and grinned. "I'm buying this."
The reaction was immediate.
Shoei groaned. "Yuta! Come on! Winning Eleven 2001 has updated teams, better animation, smoother passing, improved goalkeeper movement, and probably better shooting!"
Yuta looked at him. "You said probably."
Shoei froze. "I said probably because I haven't played it yet."
"Exactly."
Ishi pointed at Cyborg Kuro-chan. "Honestly, I respect this choice more than football, but are you sure? You're choosing robot cat violence?"
Yuta held the case proudly. "Yes."
Haru looked betrayed. "What about Bomberman World? Think of the chaos."
"That is exactly why I am not choosing it," Yuta said.
Haru looked even more betrayed.
Shoei tried again. "Yuta, think carefully. Winning Eleven is infinite replay value. Every match is different."
Ishi snorted. "Every match is different because Shoei screams a different excuse when he loses."
Shoei snapped, "I don't make excuses!"
"You blamed humidity once."
"The controller was slippery!"
"It was winter."
Yuta raised his voice, finally losing patience. "Enough! Listen here, you parasites! This is my money. My money. I suffered through exams for this. I studied. I answered questions. I earned this. And I want Cyborg Kuro-chan!"
The clerk Nakata lowered his face slightly to hide his smile.
Yuta continued, his frustration growing but his eyes clearly enjoying the argument. "Also, look at the teaser, okay? This game is multiplayer-based. Two people can play. That means you guys can still play at my house by taking turns like always. It is about a robot cat with weapons. A robot cat. With weapons BAZOOKAS!. If that does not impress you, your heart is already dead."
Ishi placed a hand on his chin. "That argument is strangely powerful."
Shoei muttered, "But football…"
Yuta pointed at him. "You can kick a ball outside for free."
Shoei looked horrified. "That is not the same!"
In the end, Yuta walked to the counter with Cyborg Kuro-chan. His three friends followed him like defeated advisors still trying to influence a king after the decision had already been made.
Nakata greeted him warmly. "Cyborg Kuro-chan for ZEPS 3, correct?"
Yuta nodded. "Yes."
Shoei leaned over the counter. "Is Winning Eleven 2001 really good?"
Nakata smiled professionally. "Very good."
Shoei immediately turned to Yuta. "See?"
Yuta glared at Nakata like he had been betrayed by an adult. "Clerk-san, please don't help him."
Nakata raised both hands innocently. "I only answered the question."
Ishi pointed at The Dark Guild display. "What about that? Is it actually good?"
Nakata glanced at the iPlay shelf. "The Dark Guild? Honestly it's just release and i'm not yet play it" he grinned
Haru hummed. "Tragic."
Nakata pressed his lips together, and shrug.
Shoei folded his arms. "If it was on ZEPS 3, maybe people would talk about it more. But now everyone is buying Black Berry, ZAGE games, or insulting iPlay."
Nakata carefully placed Cyborg Kuro-chan into a ZAGE Store bag. "Well, every console has its own battle."
Yuta took the bag and declared, "And iPlay is losing."
The older teen with The Dark Guild looked offended again, but after a long moment, he quietly placed the game back on the shelf and walked toward the ZEPS section.
Nakata watched him go and thought, "These kids are dangerous sales influencers."
After paying, Yuta left the store with his friends. He held the bag tightly, feeling proud of his decision. Unfortunately, peace lasted less than one minute.
The moment they stepped outside, Shoei started whining again. "I still think Winning Eleven was the better choice."
Yuta's eyebrow twitched. "We already bought the game."
"I know, but emotionally, I'm still in the argument."
Ishi walked beside them with his hands behind his head. "I think Cyborg Kuro-chan is fine. =."
Haru sighed dramatically. "Bomberman World would have changed our friendship forever we could have mor BLAST AND CHAOS!."
Yuta looked at him. "Exactly. I want our friendship alive."
Haru smiled. "Coward."
Yuta stopped walking. "Do you want to play at my house or not?"
Haru immediately became serious. "Cyborg Kuro-chan is an excellent purchase."
Shoei nodded reluctantly. "I will admit the robot cat has potential."
Ishi smirked. "Look at you both. So cheap."
Yuta pointed at him. "You are also coming."
"Of course. I never said I had principles."
As they walked toward Yuta's house, they kept arguing. Shoei complained that sports games were being disrespected. Haru kept imagining how good Bomberman World would have been if Yuta had courage. Ishi roasted both of them while pretending he was above the chaos, despite clearly being the most entertained. And Yuta, although visibly pissed, could not stop smiling whenever they were not looking.
Because honestly, this was part of the fun.
Buying the game was only half of it.
Arguing about the game, dragging each other, regretting nothing, regretting everything, and then all gathering at someone's house to play until someone's mother told them to stop shouting—that was the real experience.
By the time they arrived at Yuta's house, the argument had somehow shifted into whether Kuro-chan could beat Bomberman in a fight.
Shoei said Bomberman would win because bombs solved everything.
Haru said Bomberman would win because betrayal was a valid tactic.
Ishi said Kuro-chan would win because he had guns and did not need to wait for bombs to explode.
Yuta shouted that Kuro-chan would obviously win because it was his game and he was tired of everyone disrespecting his purchase.
They rushed into the living room and they ready for some Weekend "Gaming Session"
To be continued.
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