Chapter 136: The Era of Arcade Fighting
"What's this?"
"Half-fish kick. Don't you know?"
"I don't!! Seriously!"
In the end, Junpei was defeated by my play using the bug.
I tried to recall old memories just in case, but it's the same. I should ask Capcom to fix it later.
At that moment, the door to the development room opened, and the employees who had gone out for lunch returned.
Now, there are 12 people, including Morita and Hayashi, in the 2nd development team. We have enough manpower to even have interdepartmental soccer games, and it would be fun during the summer break.
Hayashi, who had finished his meal and returned, sat next to me and asked Junpei.
"Oh? Mr. Junpei, the chief and the others finished their meal already?"
"I was too curious about the new game console, so I finished quickly and came up."
Thanks to that, I still feel a bit bloated.
"What do you think? The screen is a bit small, but can you manage?"
"I was surprised. I never thought I'd be playing Street Fighter II on a handheld game console. It's really amazing."
Honestly, I agree with Junpei's words.
Perhaps because of the resistance to Mintendo, Capcom seemed to pay a lot of attention to this port.
Junpei, who had experienced Street Fighter II to some extent, asked me.
"Can I try playing Street Fighter II now?"
"Well, but Street Fighter II for the arcade and this one might feel a bit different."
"Really? How is it different?"
"Try it once. I was quite surprised too."
I handed the Raon to Junpei and pressed the eject button on the top of the device. A black cartridge popped out as if it were a 3.5-inch floppy disk.
"Oh, that's cool! But, won't it break?"
"It's not a spring mechanism. It's designed to push the cartridge up when you press the button, so the chance of malfunction is minimized. But you never know. Some kids use it pretty roughly."
I took out the cartridge of Street Fighter II and, from the drawer, retrieved Street Fighter II Turbo, then handed it back to Junpei.
Without needing much explanation, Junpei, who activated the Raon on his own, stared at the screen with expectant eyes. And after a while...
"Cute... so cute!"
Junpei exclaimed as he saw the adorable, chibi-style Guile and Cody, and the boss's appearance in Street Fighter II.
Usually, at this time, most players would choose the relatively easy-to-play character, Cody. Without hesitation, Junpei selected Cody.
Then, the first stage, decorated in a comical, cartoony style, appeared.
The yellow-haired boss with a heroine clinging to his side, running away while holding the player like a shield, was one of the bosses that would have been difficult to clear without the 'tactics' technique at the time. This technique involved hitting the opponent, then quickly reversing the lever and performing a fake hand motion before delivering another punch. If you had played Street Fighter II, you would know this technique.
"The base is similar to Street Fighter II, but the characters and backgrounds are completely different, right? It feels like they put a lot of effort into it."
"Originally, we were going to port the arcade version as it was, but because the screen is smaller on the Raon, they completely revamped the graphics exclusively for Raon. Thanks to that, it's delayed, and it's supposed to be released in the fall."
"Is it a delay? Well, it's almost like creating a new game. It's better to release it quickly in the fall. So, is Street Fighter II Turbo and Street Fighter II Super your launch titles for Raon?"
"For now, yes."
"For now? I don't like the sound of that."
"I've been hit in the back of the head so many times. I'm afraid you'll say, 'Actually, Pentagon Soft is mine too,' someday."
"..."
Should I tell this guy to go get a job somewhere else besides being a game journalist?
The SD version of Street Fighter II that Junpei played was originally supposed to be released as 'Mighty Final Fight' in 1993. Of course, Raon was a much higher-end system than the Family Computer, so the graphics were different from what I had played, but the gameplay was quite similar.
Back then, Capcom was famous for being a third-party company with a solid concept among third-party game developers. They had released several variations of Street Fighter II, including 'Street Fighter II Dash,' which allowed players to use the Four Kings as playable characters, 'Super Street Fighter II' with new characters like T. Hawk and Cammy, and 'Super Street Fighter II Turbo,' which added 'Gouki' as a powerful boss character.
Although four different versions of the game were released, at that time, I ran to the arcade after school not thinking of the balance, but the excitement of using new characters.
"Considering that third-party developers have come this far, we can't just sit still with our Dragon Emblem that we're working on."
"Of course, we have the pride of a first-party developer."
Our team, which is currently working on the Dragon Emblem remake, was motivated by my words, and they started shouting 'Fighting!' here and there. (Actually, Dragon Emblem already surpasses the graphics of the previous version, but still...)
At that moment, Morita, who is in charge of character design for the 2nd development team, spoke up.
"Boss, there's something I'd like to talk to you about."
"Hmm?"
"Hey, what's this?"
"A leg kick. Don't you know?"
"No! Come on!"
In the end, Junpei was defeated by my play exploiting a bug.
I tried to recall some old memories just in case, but it still works the same way. I should ask Capcom to fix it later.
As the development room's door opened, the employees who had gone out for lunch returned.
Now, the second development team had twelve members, including Morita and Hayashi. We had enough manpower to play soccer by department now. It would be fun to have a company retreat in the summer, wouldn't it?
After finishing their meal and returning, Hayashi sat next to me and asked Junpei.
"Oh, Junpei. Did you finish your meal with the manager already?"
"I was too curious about the new game console, so I ate quickly and came back."
Thanks to that, I still felt a bit bloated.
"What do you think of it? The screen is a bit small, but can you play it like that?"
"I was surprised. I never thought I'd be playing Street Fighter II on a portable game console. It's really amazing."
To be honest, I agreed with Junpei's words.
Perhaps because of the backlash against Nintendo, Capcom seemed to have put a lot of effort into this port.
After experiencing Street Fighter II to some extent, Junpei asked me.
"So, can you play Final Fight '89 now?"
"Well, but Final Fight Arcade and this one have a slightly different feel."
"Oh, really? How is it different?"
"Just try it once. I was quite surprised too."
I took Raon from Junpei and pressed the eject button on the top of the device. A black cartridge popped out, like a 3.5-inch floppy disk.
"Oh, that's cool! But, I hope it doesn't break."
"It's not a spring mechanism; it's a button that pushes the cartridge up when pressed, so the chances of it breaking are minimized. But who knows? Some kids really play these devices roughly."
I took out the cartridge of Street Fighter II, retrieved Final Fight '91 from the drawer, and put it back in. Then I handed it to Junpei.
Like a true game magazine reporter, Junpei started the game without needing additional instructions. He focused on the screen with anticipation in his eyes. And a moment later.
"Cough... Cute!"
Junpei exclaimed as the cute, cartoonish Guy and Cody appeared on the screen, along with Haggar.
Usually, during this era, Cody was a relatively easy character to play in Street Fighter games, so Junpei chose him without hesitation.
The first stage, featuring an SD character, was displayed. The yellow-haired boss, who clung to the heroine's side and ran away, was one of the challenging bosses at that time. Without the "wiggle" technique, it was tough to defeat him. The "wiggle" involved moving the lever in the opposite direction after a hit to perform a quick jab when the enemy was stunned. It was a technique that any player familiar with Final Fight would know.
"The basic gameplay is similar to Final Fight, but they've completely redesigned the characters and backgrounds, right? It feels like they put a lot of effort into it."
"Originally, we were planning to port the arcade version as is, but because the screen is small, they decided to create new graphics exclusively for Raon. As a result, the simultaneous release got delayed, and it's now expected in the fall."
"A release delay? Well, it's like creating a completely new game. So, is Final Fight '91 the launch title for Raon?"
"At least for now, that's the plan."
"For now? That 'for now' part bothers me."
"I see. You're not so gullible anymore, after getting backstabbed many times. I'm afraid you might say something like, 'Actually, Pentagon Soft is mine too,' in the future."
"This guy... maybe I should tell him to go lay a rug somewhere."
When Junpei had experienced Street Fighter II on Raon for a while, he asked me.
"Can I try Final Fight '89 now?"
"Well, but Final Fight for arcades and this one have a slightly different feel."
"Oh, really? How are they different?"
"Try it once. I was quite surprised too."
I took Raon from Junpei, pressed the eject button on the top, and a black cartridge popped out, similar to the floppy disk.
"Well, that's cool! But I hope it doesn't break."
"It's not a spring mechanism; it's a button that pushes the cartridge up when pressed, so the chances of it breaking are minimized. But who knows? Some kids really play these devices roughly."
I took out the Street Fighter II cartridge, retrieved Final Fight '91 from the drawer, and put it back in. Then I handed it to Junpei.
Without needing further instructions, Junpei started the game, focused on the screen, and was clearly excited. A moment later...
"Cough... So... cute!"
Junpei was amazed by the appearance of the characters, especially Guy and Cody, who had cute, cartoonish expressions. The way they looked was a bit different from their appearances in Psych Battle.
Certainly, Junpei, being a fan of Psych Battle, realized that there was only one female character available, and he was disappointed by it.
"Of course, due to copyright issues, we can't create a direct sequel to Psych Battle. But since it's my first game, I sometimes think about it."
"So, is this a fighting game with only female characters?"
My words made Morita nod quietly.
The female character resembling Ryu Hwayoung was wearing a different outfit, and the atmosphere was changed slightly. He had been working on this illustration little by little for the past few days.
"You spent several days working on this, even when you stayed after work. Did you draw this?"
"Actually, I did more than just draw it."
"Hmm?"
Morita hesitated for a moment, then displayed the character with additional pixel art.
Beautiful characters in various poses, resembling cell-shaded illustrations, were performing various actions. However, these motions... could it be?
Junpei, who was standing next to me, expressed what I wanted to say.
"Wow... this is amazing. Is this a competitive fighting game?"
"I'm considering it, for now, it's a fighting game. I tried Street Fighter II recently, and I was disappointed that there's only one female character. So, I thought..."
"Wait, is this going to be a fighting game with only female characters?"
Morita nodded quietly, indicating that my assumption was correct.
The girl who resembled Ryu Hwayoung, in contrast to the original Psyche Battle, was wearing a leather jacket with a tight-fitting biker outfit, showing off her muscular thighs instead of the armor parts.
"Of course, it's not just the characters that overlap completely. I think there's a way to do it without any problems."
"Really? How are you going to handle it?"
"Don't worry; I have it all figured out. What's important is all of you. Can our current team work on Dragon Emblem while working on this new project in parallel?"
"I'd love to. Boss."
Morita responded promptly as my words ended. It seemed that the sentiment for Psych Battle, which he had left behind at Nintendo, still haunted him.
Hearing Morita's response, Hayashi scratched the back of his head and sighed with a worried look.
"That guy is so enthusiastic that I can't pretend to be ignorant. Dragon Emblem is almost at its final stages, so how about pushing it a bit more? What do you all think?"
Hayashi asked his team members for their opinions, and they nodded and expressed their thoughts.
"I'm in! I enjoyed Psych Battle back then, so is this like its spiritual successor?"
"I agree with Team Leader."
"Working on a new game is much more exciting than doing bug tests!"
Hayashi seemed satisfied with his team's responses and said to me.
"Is that so?"
"Good. As long as it's not related to SD Final Fight, you can go ahead and make it. I trust your judgment."
"Great! As long as I have you as a friend by my side, articles practically write themselves!"
Junpei's words made me chuckle, and I shook my head.
Time passed, and it was August 14, 1991.
The launch of Raon, the world's first 16-bit handheld game console, was only a day away.
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