Another world Game Developers in Japan`s 1991

Wednesday, 23 April 1994

Zaboru is currently in Japan, stationed at the Tokyo branch, and tomorrow he will head to Osaka to personally oversee the development progress of two ZGB titles: Mario Tennis and Harvest Moon ZGB. Meanwhile, back in Tokyo, one of the branch's buildings is undergoing a major renovation—and it's nearing completion. The structure has been expanded into a modern 4-story facility, with construction having started just last month. Impressively, the construction company has exceeded expectations, completing about 90% of the work in record time. Zaboru is confident that by next Monday, the building will be fully operational and ready to house the growing needs of the Tokyo team.

Zaboru is spearheading these efforts because the ZAGE Tokyo branch is growing rapidly and urgently needs to scale. He recognizes the demand for fresh talent and is preparing the infrastructure to support the wave of skilled individuals expected to join the company in the coming months.

At the moment, Zaboru is actively present at the Tokyo branch, personally involved in guiding his team. He's begun introducing DirectX to the ZAGE developers, making it mandatory for all staff to familiarize themselves with cutting-edge technologies. As he's in the middle of a discussion with the development team, his secretary, Yumi Ichijo, approaches him with an unexpected message.

"Boss, while you were away in the US, a man named Mitsu Tadano came by several times requesting a meeting with you. He claims to be affiliated with the video game industry and says he wants to ask your permission about something."

Zaboru raised an eyebrow. "Is he with a game development studio?"

Yumi shook her head. "No, I asked. He said he isn't involved in game development directly."

Zaboru considered it for a moment, then thought, Hmm... alright, let's see what this is about. He looked at Yumi and said, "Okay, let him know I'm available for 20 minutes."

Yumi nodded professionally and turned to leave, heading to the waiting room to escort Mitsu Tadano to Zaboru's office.

Meanwhile, Mitsu Tadano sat nervously in the ZAGE building lounge, fidgeting with his fingers as he watched the clock. He had reached out to Zaboru the previous week, but the secretary had informed him that Zaboru was out of the country on business in the United States. Now that the legendary figure had returned, Mitsu clung to the hope that he'd finally get a chance to speak with him.

Let's hope I'm able to meet him… or I might just have to start my plan right away, Mitsu sighed, anxiety tightening in his chest.

Moments later, Yumi reappeared, walking briskly toward him. "Tadano-san, the boss is expecting you. Please follow me," she said with a polite nod.

Mitsu's eyes widened in surprise. A grin spread across his face as relief washed over him. He nodded eagerly and rose to his feet, falling into step behind Yumi as they made their way toward Zaboru's office.

Inside Zaboru's office, he sat across from Mitsu Tadano, his expression calm but curious.

"So, Tadano-san, I hear you wanted to meet me about something related to video games?"

Tadano's nerves spiked as he took in the reality of the moment. Whoa! Zaboru Renkonan himself!

"Y… yes, Zab—No, I mean, Renkonan-san!" he stammered, bowing slightly in flustered respect.

Zaboru let out a warm chuckle, waving a hand dismissively. "Relax. It's fine to call me Zaboru."

Mitsu took a deep breath and leaned forward slightly, his voice steadying. "Okay, Zaboru-san. Here's what I've been thinking. I want to start a company focused entirely on creating video game magazines and providing honest, independent reviews of games. I know ZAGE already has its own magazine, ZAGE POWER—which, by the way, is fantastic. I've been a subscriber since the very first issue. But at the same time, I feel it's a little biased. I mean, it's hard for a company to objectively review its own titles." Mitsu suddenly realized his words might have sounded like he was mocking ZAGE. "U-Um, with all due respect, I didn't mean to insult ZAGE at all!"

Zaboru smiled, clearly unfazed. So finally, a game reviewer company shows up. "Relax, Tadano-san. I understand. So, you want to review games fairly and give your honest opinion—not just on ZAGE titles, but on video games in general?"

Mitsu nodded. "I… I just wanted to ask for your permission, Zaboru-san. I'm afraid that ZAGE might become hostile toward us if I didn't talk to you first..." What Mitsu feared most was that his company might end up antagonized by ZAGE. If that were the case, establishing his business would become incredibly difficult.

Zaboru smiled and let out a light chuckle. "You don't actually need my permission—but since you came all this way and asked, I'll say this: I'm fine with it. In fact, I think it would be healthy for ZAGE POWER to have some competition. But I expect you to approach this with integrity. Reviewing games fairly means understanding that no single person's opinion can define quality—people have different tastes and perspectives. So build a team that reflects that, and do your best, Tadano-san. I'm counting on you to raise the standard."

Tadano was incredibly excited—he was getting advice from Zaboru Renkonan himself!

"Y… yes, Zaboru-san. I already have a dedicated team for this, and I'll make sure to provide fair reviews for the players."

Zaboru smiled, then leaned forward slightly. "If, in the future, ZAGE ends up creating bad games, would you review them honestly? Or would you let your bias slip in and still give them good ratings just because it's ZAGE? Be honest with me."

Mitsu Tadano froze. This could go badly... but I have to be honest. He looked Zaboru in the eye and said, "I'll still give it a bad review—if that's what it deserves. But I'll make sure to explain in detail why it's lacking. A game company doesn't get to define the quality of their games—the players do."

Zaboru smiled and asked, "Very good. I like that—that's what matters most in reviewing video games, anyway. So, what's the name of your company?"

Tadano straightened up with a proud smile. "Zemitsu."

Zaboru's brow rose. "Ze-Mitsu? Mitsu is your name, but what does 'ZE' stand for?"

Tadano blushed slightly. "Well… I'm a huge fan of ZEPS. Originally, I thought of naming it ZEPS, but I didn't want to make it too obvious or seem like I was borrowing the name directly y..you allowed it right?"

Zaboru chuckled, nodding thoughtfully. "I see and yes i allowed it because That's clever—and humble. Anyway, I approve. Do what you want. At ZAGE, we're not afraid of competition. In fact, I welcome it. Tadano-san, I sincerely hope your company thrives."

Mitsu nodded, and the meeting concluded.

Zaboru lingered for a moment, the name rolling over in his mind. "Zemitsu… ZEPS… Mitsu. It reminds me a bit of Famitsu from my previous life—Famicom Mitsu. But this feels like a story of its own. There's something unique about it." He paused, glancing toward the window. "If more companies like this show up—driven by passion and purpose—then maybe the video game industry will become even more vibrant and alive. That's the kind of future I'd like to see."

"But I still need to be careful. Video game reviewers can sometimes backfire on certain games… God Hand, in my previous life, received that kind of treatment." In Zaboru's past life, God Hand was one of the best beat-'em-up action games in history—loaded with personality and uniqueness, far ahead of its time. Yet, it received a shockingly low score of 3 from IGN simply because the reviewer wasn't skilled at playing it and didn't enjoy the experience. Meanwhile, players like Zaboru had an absolute blast with the game. That unfair review contributed to its poor sales, which ultimately led to the disbanding of Clover Studio, the developer. With that, the God Hand franchise was effectively killed. "I have to be cautious. If I see reviews like that again… I might need to step in."

Overall the video game industry is evolving again.

To be continued

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