KBYCON1 concluded, and two pieces of news spread rapidly:
First, this year's conference had truly invited many high-profile guests!
At least by the standards of Japanese SF fans, their stature was considerable.
Some of these actors might be unknown to the general public, but to these enthusiasts, they were legendary figures.
Second, Project FF was playtested at KBYCON! It was nothing like Dragon Quest!
While the core rules were standard RPG fare, the gameplay mechanics were strikingly different!
Whether this was good or bad, people couldn't quite say. All they knew was that it was... different.
At Atlas's office, Kobayashi Tetsu, now free of his hosting duties, stretched out the drawing paper in his hands under the sunlight.
Akira Toriyama had drawn it specially at the hotel before leaving: a young Kakarot standing on the Flying Nimbus, with text at the bottom.
"To my friend, Kobayashi Tetsu, from the world's best game company. - Akira Toriyama."
"If this sells in a few decades, it'll fetch tens of millions of dollars, I bet!"
Kobayashi Tetsu carefully stored the drawing, planning to have it framed later.
Of course, he also left Akira Toriyama a signed shirt, so neither party was indebted to the other.
There was a knock on the office door. "Come in," Kobayashi Tetsu called out. Hideyuki Yokoyama, Koji Okada, and three other members of the five-person team entered the office.
"Oh? You're all here," Kobayashi Tetsu said, putting away the scroll. "This convention was planned exceptionally well. It achieved the results I expected, and the art style is quite unique. In short, it perfectly met my requirements."
Kazuma Kaneko straightened his posture, wanting to light a cigarette but realizing it wasn't appropriate. He suppressed the urge.
He was a heavy smoker; without a cigarette for a day, he felt restless.
Kobayashi Tetsu casually grabbed a whiteboard and said, "I've observed your abilities during the SF Convention planning period. You're all perfectly suited for employment at Atlas. So, consider yourselves hired."
He scribbled a few lines on the board. "I've already acquired the rights to a property I believe is well-suited for game development. You'll be responsible for developing it. If you need more staff, we can supplement from Atlas headquarters. First, gain some experience in RPG development by working with the Second Team. After FF is released, you'll start working on this new game."
Kobayashi Tetsu casually pulled open a drawer and retrieved a book.
Koji Okada was the first to pick up the book and look at it.
[ Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei ].
This was the original work of the [ Megami Tensei ] series, published by Tokuma Shoten. Kobayashi Tetsu had acquired the rights for a pittance.
Now, it was being entrusted to the official developers at Atlas to continue production.
Kobayashi Tetsu wasn't entirely sure how Atlas had managed to complete [ Megami Tensei ] with just seven people, but since it had been done historically, it could certainly be done now!
Holding the book in his hands, Koji Okada felt a genuine sense of awe.
So, did this mean they had joined Atlas?
"Thank you so much, President!"
The group bowed deeply.
With the production target set, all that remained was to execute the plan.
Atlas was a company that valued ideals, but not to an extreme. Since Kobayashi Tetsu had set the goal, they would simply focus on achieving it without questioning the target itself.
Just as Kobayashi Tetsu was about to speak again, he heard movement outside the door. He waved dismissively, allowing the group to leave.
Now that they had officially joined Atlas, Kobayashi Tetsu had no reason to turn them away.
After seeing the five off, Kobayashi Tetsu looked up and saw Koyakawa brushing past them to enter the office.
"Tetsu-kun!" Koyakawa exclaimed, enthusiastically showing off something in her hands.
She had officially joined [ Kadokawa Game Magazine ]! This was her first article since starting the job.
Kobayashi Tetsu casually picked up the magazine and, as expected, praised the art style of the current SF Convention, mentioning the various figures invited to the event. Then, the tone shifted as he began discussing the review of Project FF.
Koyakawa sat opposite him, her chin resting in her hands, her cheeks slightly rounded.
"Tetsu-kun, will Project FF be more fun than Dragon Quest?"
"If you ask me like that, I have nothing to say," Kobayashi Tetsu shrugged. "They each have their own audience. Dragon Quest is more traditional, but FF has its own unique charm."
Koyakawa nodded as if she understood. "Speaking of which, Rinko couldn't attend the main convention, but she did see the game demo. Has that branching choice system always been there?"
This time, Kobayashi Tetsu shook his head.
"Actually, only some missions have distinct branching paths. Implementing a system with multiple options and branches requires a long string of conditional logic in the code. To save space, only a few missions have this special feature."
After all, even the largest RPGs on home consoles were only this large back then.
It was nothing like a few years later, when Koei's Romance of the Three Kingdoms would be released on the Super Famicom.
That's right—
The Super Famicom had Koei's strategy games.
To think that such a massive game could be condensed onto the Super Famicom.
It's hard to say whether Nintendo's optimization strategies or Koei's were better.
Considering Koei was essentially a family business, Kobayashi Tetsu thought Nintendo's optimization strategies were probably superior.
Koyakawa looked somewhat disappointed and sighed.
If all the missions were like this, it would be so much fun!
But given the storage limitations, achieving this level of quality was still remarkable.
At least, the article praised Project FF extensively.
Since most of the information couldn't be revealed, Koyakawa didn't include it in her writing. Kobayashi Tetsu only shared what he could.
Kobayashi Tetsu casually asked, "By the way, why didn't you try to continue your university studies? Why start working so early?"
Koyakawa lowered her head.
Because I didn't want to live at home anymore.
Besides, she didn't think she could get into a top-tier university. If it was just a school you could buy your way into, she could have gone anytime.
Many Japanese celebrities buy their degrees after becoming famous. For example, the university Hiroko Yakushimaru attended was actually bought. She barely attended classes, and since she had already signed with Kadokawa, she was mostly focused on acting.
Koyakawa was about to say more when the door suddenly burst open, and Anegasaki Nene entered, clutching a magazine.
"Tetsu-kun! He's at it again, trashing—Oh, Kobayakawa-kun."
Koyakawa instantly turned to face Anegasaki Nene.
She didn't even knock!
He noticed this detail almost immediately.
Kobayashi Tetsu cleared his throat and took the magazine.
As expected, it's Tanimura Masahito again. The million yen wasn't wasted—he's really dedicated to his job.
"He's questioning some of the settings in Project FF. It doesn't matter. Let him talk.
3
Kobayashi Tetsu folded his hands and adopted a serious expression. "Here's what we can reveal next."
"Project FF will officially launch on December 21st! I can guarantee the price will be no higher than 8,000 yen! The cartridges will support save data, with an internal battery to allow players to save anytime!"
At the time, genuine RPG cartridges all supported saving, using an internal battery to prevent data loss.
Pirated cartridges, due to cost constraints, lacked this battery, making saving impossible.
In the era of pirated cartridges, players who managed to beat RPGs were true heroes. They soldiered on without understanding the plot or being able to save their progress.
Koyakawa quickly jotted it down.
Project FF can save!
This was another excellent improvement, actually more useful than skip codes. However, cost constraints often forced developers to stick with skip codes.
With this exclusive first-hand documentation, she was sure to attract a lot of attention.
When she finished, she glanced at Anegasaki Nene, then at Kobayashi Tetsu, and secretly tightened her grip on her pen.
Something's up! There's definitely something going on!
Just as she was about to ask, Kobayashi Tetsu cut her off.
"Anyway, after FF is released, we'll have a little breathing room. Let's have a proper celebration for Christmas!"
Koyakawa did her best to ignore Anegasaki Nene beside her.
"Just us?"
Kobayashi Tetsu fell silent. This question was difficult to answer.
How could I abandon someone?
In the deathly quiet office, Kobayashi Tetsu glanced at Anegasaki Nene. She remained silent, her head bowed over a magazine, seemingly indifferent to everything.
Secretly, Kobayashi Tetsu made a call.
Naka Yuji, get in here and save me!
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