December had arrived, bringing with it the biting winter winds off the sea. Though no snow fell, the coastal breeze remained as harsh as ever.
Despite the frigid weather, a crowd had gathered outside the game experience shop in Akihabara.
Iwasaki Isao looked up at his uncle, Iwasaki Daisuke. "Uncle, won't pretending to be father and son cause any problems?"
"Don't worry about it. Who's going to investigate whether we're really father and son? If your brother had time, he'd be here with you instead."
Iwasaki Daisuke straightened his collar and slicked back his hair with a quick spit and swipe. He'd heard there was even a TV crew filming today.
Isao remained concerned. "Uncle, are you really sure you can handle the game?"
"Trust me!" Daisuke pounded his chest. "Your uncle is a top-notch gamer!"
Isao still didn't believe him, but he nodded reluctantly. After all, they were already at the scene, and doubting his uncle now would be pointless.
As the store doors swung open, the crowd snapped to attention, rising like zombies from their seats.
Hideo Kojima and the sole staff member maintained order, registering participants one by one. It was impossible to keep track of who was whose father, so they simply recorded any middle-aged person who came with a child as a single unit.
This relieved Iwasaki Isao.
The challenge rules were straightforward: after watching a demo of the game controls, participants had to complete the first level before dying. Whether through luck or quick reflexes, as long as they cleared the first level—even if it was by sheer dumb luck and avoiding being killed by monsters—they passed.
Iwasaki Isao was a gamer at heart, and he had a particular fondness for Atlas.
He even owned a personally signed game cartridge from Kobayashi Tetsu, complete with original artwork of the male and female leads from *Jormungandr*!
That's why he'd come to the event. What if he won a prize?!
Iwasaki Isao and his companion had arrived early, so they quickly reached the front of the line.
Iwasaki Daisuke rubbed his hands together and stepped forward to try the game. Iwasaki Isao hung back, nervously watching from a distance.
The rules were straightforward, following the standard format of a space shooter game. However, it boasted a unique feature:
One-button transformation!
The MS controller closely resembled the Nintendo controller of the time, featuring a directional pad and two action buttons, A and B.
The rapid-fire button, which was present on the unauthorized controllers, didn't exist on the official ones.
Pressing the B button alone activated the safety mechanism, granting the player the ability to clear the entire screen of enemies. When combined with the directional pad, it triggered the transformation!
Allowing seamless transitions between fighter plane and mecha modes!
As Iwasaki Daisuke entered the game and began playing, a familiar melody began to play, nearly bringing tears to Iwasaki Isao's eyes.
To hear such beautiful music coming from a game console!
As a member of the "Konami Rectangular Wave Club" from another world, Higashino Miki's composing skills far surpassed Tsukasa Masuko's—by roughly two Naka Yuji's worth. This composition perfectly embodied Kobayashi Tetsu's requirements:
It needed to sound unmistakably like a track from *Super Dimension Fortress Macross*, yet also incorporate its own distinct melody.
The final result was this harmonious blend.
It wasn't just Iwasaki Isao. Even other parent-child pairs who hadn't yet taken their turn were watching intently.
The game's soundtrack was truly impressive!
Isao clenched his fists, silently cheering on his cousin.
"Go, Uncle! Ah, Uncle, why did you die?! Why did you die again?! You—"
Isao suddenly lost his voice.
It seemed Iwasaki Daisuke wasn't very good at video games.
"Ah ha ha—"
Daisuke put down the controller, offering a polite yet embarrassed smile. "The game's pretty tough."
Isao wanted to argue but held his tongue.
He was bitterly disappointed!
But Daisuke didn't seem to care about such things.
"Who cares about toys? Just have fun. Look at how many people are here. Go talk to them; you might make some like-minded friends."
Isao felt wronged. "But I want the Super Dimension Fortress Macross fighter plane toy!"
Hideo Kojima suddenly appeared out of nowhere.
"Failed the challenge? Don't be discouraged! Actually, our store has Bandai-licensed Super Dimension Fortress Macross toys! And there are different models too. If you buy one, you can start a new round of the challenge!"
Isao's eyes lit up instantly.
Iwasaki Daisuke was puzzled. "Why would I challenge myself if I've already bought a toy?"
"To get a different model!" Hideo Kojima replied. "Who doesn't want more toys?"
Iwasaki Daisuke fell silent.
He had to admit it.
He was tempted!
He wanted one too!
The two men, fresh prey, bought a perfectly packaged Super Dimension Fortress Macross toy. After waiting in line for ages, their turn finally came to play again.
This time, Iwasaki Daisuke handed the controls to Iwasaki Isao, who took a deep breath.
*For the toys! Charge!*
After a series of maneuvers, Iwasaki Isao, being younger, proved to be significantly more skilled than his uncle. He barely cleared the first level.
Though he died in the second level, according to the rules, he still earned another toy with a different design.
Holding two boxes, Iwasaki Isao was utterly satisfied.
If it weren't for the game cartridge in front of him, he might have forgotten they'd come to buy a game today!
Though he'd spent quite a bit on his nephew, Iwasaki Daisuke didn't mind. After all, he earned plenty—just a few thousand yen for some fun.
"So?" Iwasaki Daisuke crossed his arms, anticipating praise from Iwasaki Isao, something like: "You're the best uncle in the world!"
Iwasaki Isao nodded solemnly. "It's incredibly fun! The music is amazing—I can't figure out how they made it sound like that. The gameplay is different too, and it can even transform! The mecha mode has incredible firepower, but if you don't coordinate well, you'll die easily! The fighter mode is fast and hard to hit, but the damage output is pitiful. In terms of difficulty, it's about the same as Atlas's previous games—challenging, but not too hard if you know what you're doing."
*Iwasaki Daisuke: I asked about me, you fool! Who asked about the game?!*
Just as the uncle and nephew were preparing to leave, Hideo Kojima suddenly called out to them.
"If you two don't have anything else to do, why not wait a bit longer? There's a special event coming up."
The two Iwasakis exchanged glances.
A special event?
Now that was intriguing.
Since it was Saturday and they had nothing else to do, they decided to stay.
Throughout the morning, many people attempted the challenge, but few successfully claimed the toy. Most just joined the crowd, contributing to the amusement of the onlookers.
As noon approached, Kojima finally paused the challenge, clapping to draw everyone's attention.
The special event was about to begin!
Behind Kojima, two figures descended the stairs of the two-story building.
The crowd stared at the man and woman, puzzled. They looked completely unfamiliar.
Until they opened their mouths to speak.
In an instant, gasps and exclamations erupted throughout the shop.
It was the voice actors for the male and female leads from *Super Dimension Fortress Macross*! They had been invited to the event to personally play the game!
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