Chapter 88: The Birth of the Super Family
One month later.
Once the decision was made to create three cartridges featuring different heroines, the development of My Hometown without Me began smoothly, as if catching the wind.
Hayashi, initially reluctant, picked up the pace as we began working on the first character, Hasegawa Miyuki.
The first reason was that having one character per cartridge allowed us to streamline the complex event scripts for the three heroines that were tangled in Part 1.
The second reason was that with fewer characters than before, there was more space in the cartridge. This allowed Morita's art quality and the BGM sound team's quality to improve significantly.
However, as I've mentioned before, where there are smiles, there are tears. I fell into the latter category.
"Darn it. We can't reuse the same scenario, and we have to prepare new scenarios for each character!"
So, except for the very early development, we had to completely overhaul the Part 1 story.
While focusing on one heroine, there were several aspects to consider in order to stimulate interest in other versions of the game. We had to provide some insight into the connections between the other heroines as background characters.
But, as fate would have it, a savior appeared for me one day.
She was my girlfriend and a part-time writer at the broadcasting station, Ishikawa Yuki.
"Junhyuk, if it's okay with you, can I write Nanae's story as the younger heroine for this project?"
We enthusiastically agreed to her proposal since she had already received approval for her writing during the last scenario work. Yuki then added with a mischievous smile, "But it won't be free. I expect fair compensation since I'm participating in this project."
"Of course," I replied.
Morita, delighted to work with Yuki, chimed in, "We'll even include your name in the production staff roll."
"Wow, that's great!" Yuki's face lit up as her name was promised to be in the production staff roll. At that moment, Hayashi, who had been drinking coffee, looked concerned and said to me, "Mr. Kang, my concern is whether this sales approach will work."
Hayashi was understandably skeptical about the unprecedented marketing strategy of My Hometown without Me.
"Don't worry. If it's not there, they won't buy it. Once someone starts buying one, they'll keep coming back."
"Indeed, Dragon Emblem and Psychic Battle also demonstrated successful marketing, so we'll give it a try this time."
And so, My Hometown without Me, produced by me, Yuki, Morita, and Hayashi, entered a concentrated production period with the goal of launching as Nintendo's Super Family title.
&
October 29, 1988.
In Japan, a new console called the NEGA Drive was released.
Developed by Motorola, the NEGA Drive was a 16-bit console with two 8-bit CPUs, and it would later be released in Korea under the peculiar name "Aladdin Boy" through a major Korean corporation.
The NEGA Drive, designed in an elegant black color, was released with a high price tag of 21,000 yen, including one controller. The most notable title developed by NEGA was "The Odyssey," with gameplay inspired by Greek mythology. It was an action game depicting the adventures of a muscular humanoid man rescuing Athena from the clutches of demons.
Thanks to its popularity in arcades, it enjoyed success as a home console port on the NEGA Drive, contributing to the initial success of the console.
The fact that the NEGA Drive's controller had three buttons was largely due to the influence of "The Odyssey." To accommodate the three actions—punching, kicking, and jumping—of the game's protagonist, a three-button system was adopted. (This three-button system later became a headache for game developers working on NEGA Drive games.)
"At that time, three buttons were sufficient for many games..."
Furthermore, the concept of "The Odyssey" was also famous for its resemblance to the end-of-the-century legend, a manga called "Bokdu's Fist."
When continuously consuming Spirit Balls, the protagonist's muscles gradually inflated, and eventually, he transformed into a giant and energetically smashed the enemies to pieces (really shattered them into fragments), which gained great popularity.
"Looking at it now, the scenes are quite gory, huh? I can't believe I found it so fun back then. Incredible..."
As I played the NEGA Drive installed in the Nintendo meeting room, I put down the game controller after a while.
"What do you think? Kang, how does the NEGA Drive console look to you?"
"It certainly has a fast processing speed, fitting for a 16-bit console. However, it's a shame there are no titles that can drive the console."
Then, Kamauichi, the president of the rival company, who had been looking at the competition's device from his seat at the meeting, spoke up.
"Well, in the end, having a launch title that can drive the device's sales is crucial."
"Furthermore, currently, there's no third party that can support the NEGA Drive."
"Haha, that's because our Family is doing so well. What software company would invest in making NEGA Drive games at a high cost? If Super Mariji 3 is released next month, nobody will even glance at the NEGA Drive."
He was oozing confidence.
Meanwhile, the world was eagerly awaiting the release of Kumamoto Shigeru's Super Mariji 3. So, launching the NEGA Drive at this time was the worst possible timing.
"In this situation, if it were me, I'd delay the console's release to secure more launch titles. But NEGA is excellent at making their own games, while their marketing skills are lacking..."
At least until the blue hedgehog that runs at the speed of sound is released.
Then, President Kamauichi turned to Gunpei with a somewhat meaningful look. Usually, when the president makes that expression, it means he's about to say something foolish.
"In my opinion, you see, launching a next-gen console isn't a bad idea, but it seems a shame to leave all the great titles released on the Family console behind. Moreover, if we launch a new device, we're bound to struggle with a shortage of titles in the early stages..."
Upon hearing President Kamauichi's words, both Gunpei and I were shocked.
We've already completed the design, including the CPU and memory. What's this absurd talk about now?
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