Friday, May 30, 1992. Night.
Zaboru sat alone in a quiet Tokyo café tucked away in a side alley, the kind of place where the ambient chatter mixed with the low hum of jazz from an old speaker behind the counter. The windows were fogged slightly from the warmth inside. He nursed a warm cup of black coffee as he waited for soone very specific—Nando Michio, the passionate and energetic owner of Nanco, one of ZAGE's trusted third-party ga developers. But tonight wasn't about consoles or simple publishing deals. Tonight was bigger.
This eting had the potential to Increase ZAGE's influece.
Zaboru had been thinking about Arcades lately , one of the first machines that he created was ZAS, still that far away from the actual arcade , and it sold well because the people from this world are just lacking good gas in general.
While ZAGE was dominating with the ZEPS, and the Sonaya MGB still showed pretty good sales, the arcade scene had remained relatively untouched by ZAGE or Sonaya. It was untapped gold. A sleeping giant. But there was a problem—two problems, really. His trusted manufacturing partners, Mirai Manufacture and Saiko Machine, were running at full capacity. Every single production line was currently dedicated to the ZEPS consoles and their endless stream of ga cartridges. Even with recent expansions and hiring waves, neither company could afford to split resources toward a whole new venture like arcade cabinets.
That's where Nanco ca in.
Nanco wasn't just a ga studio, it's Namco from this world, the Arcade tycoon. They had their own arcade division. Machines, cabinets, boards, tech. And Zaboru had done his howork. He'd visited several arcades quietly, anonymously, observing the kind of gas Nanco had produced. The verdict? Solid. Technically proficient. But missing the magic. The spark. The kind of charm and polish that defined legendary arcade gas from Zaboru's past life.
He saw potential—raw and unrefined. If he could tap into that, and lead with his vision, they could make sothing incredible together. Not just fun gas. Not just cabinets. But the return of arcade greatness in this world.
But Zaboru's ambitions didn't end there. Not even close.
After the arcade ga concept, he planned to bring HanDai into the picture—the sa company currently producing ZAGE's hit rchandise. Plush dolls, toys, action figures. But what if rchandise and arcades rged?
He envisioned a machine that didn't yet exist in this world. A claw machine. A dream catcher. In his past life, they were everywhere. UFO catchers Scam machine that tempt kids and adults alike with adorable prizes dangling just out of reach and make the user love being scamd. They didn't exist yet here. But Zaboru wanted to be the one to change that. And he wanted to debut them under the ZAGE brand.
More than that—he had a mascot in mind.
Hello Kitty.
The thought had co to him out of nowhere. A flash of pink and white in his head. At first, he thought he was just misrembering. Maybe Hello Kitty wasn't supposed to exist yet. But when he looked for Hello kitty with his Deep mory Dive changed that. In his old world, Hello Kitty had been a cultural icon for decades. By 1992, she should've been on lunchboxes, pencils, and backpacks all over Japan, even though in his previous world Hello Kitty was already popular in 1982.
But here? Nothing.
That's when he knew: he had a chance to claim her. To bring Hello Kitty to life this ti—and tie her to ZAGE. She could be the heart of the dream catcher machines. A new face for a new arcade empire also ZAGE mascot alongside with others ZAGE characters Zaboru even will make specially for Hello Kitty if he had ti.
With HanDai's manufacturing capabilities and Nanco's tech, ZAGE could step far beyond gaming.
A bell above the café door rang. Nando Michio entered, wearing a gray windbreaker and a wide grin.
"Zaboru!" he called out, loud enough for heads to turn. He crossed the café quickly and shook Zaboru's hand warmly.
"Nando-san," Zaboru greeted with a nod. Their partnership had grown into friendship. Nando respected Zaboru deeply—not just as a businessman, but as a visionary. And Zaboru appreciated Nando's unwavering love for gas.
They sat, and Nando wasted no ti.
"So, what's up? You don't call etings unless you're cooking sothing wild."
Zaboru smirked. "I have a proposal. Not just a small collaboration—a full-on partnership."
Nando leaned in. "What kind?"
"I want to bring ZAGE into arcades. Cabinets, exclusive gas, a full return to the golden era like it used to and supposed to but with my Touch. And I want Nanco to manufacture them."
Nando froze, then grinned. He didn't even hesitate.
"Stop right there. I'm in."
Zaboru raised an eyebrow. "That fast?"
"Are you kidding? I've wanted to go back to making arcade gas that matter. But nobody had the guts or the vision to lead it. I always fight losing battles still Manufacture new arcades you know?. But you? You're Zaboru freakin' Renkonan. I don't even need to hear more. I'm already in. I bet my ass you are able to make an Insane Arcade!"
Zaboru chuckled. "Well, you're gonna want to hear more. But first..." He pulled out a leather folder. "Standard secrecy agreent. Just until the full announcent."
Nando skimd it and signed imdiately. "Now hit with the pitch."
Zaboru reached into his satchel and placed three thick concept books on the table. Their covers were simple—just bold titles.
Street Fighter.
Streets of Rage.
Rampage.
Nando's eyes widened. He opened the first one.
Within seconds, he was flipping through at high speed. Each book was filled with pixel art sketches, control diagrams, enemy designs, attack flowcharts, and detailed chanics. Fra data. Combo systems. Stage transitions. Voice line mockups.
His hands trembled.
"This is insane," Nando whispered. "This is... a whole new level."
Zaboru smiled, sipping his coffee, saying nothing.
Nando looked up, visibly overwheld. "You're not building gas. You're building eras. These could be iconic. Global." He said while Shaking!.
"I know," Zaboru said. "That's why I need the right partner."
"Then let's go. Finalize the deal. I want to start on these tomorrow." Nando Shout!
Other custors in the café turned to stare. Nando had risen from his chair, practically shouting now. But he didn't care.
Zaboru laughed. "Calm down, Nando-san. We'll take the next steps tomorrow. For now—look at this page..."
The two n leaned in again. For the rest of the evening, they discussed control layouts, screen resolution standards, ventilation for the cabinets, coin chanisms, and the 3 gas in general
ZAS—ZAGE Arcade System. Will co back with a new look and new functions , ready to change the gaming world forever. But The world had no idea what was coming.
But soon, it would.And it will be spectacular
To be continued
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