Zaboru leaned back in his chair, deep in thought. "Now, two weeks have passed since the deal with Saiko Machine. Tetsuo-san said the manufacturers would be ready in about a month at the fastest, so I've got another two weeks or so. I guess I can make Akechi-san a couple of gas in the anti. But which ones?"
As he pondered, a grin spread across his face. Over the past few months after he reincarnated to this world, he had already created seven gas, and in each of them, he had hidden a little secret—his personal signature character, Zabo-man.
Donkey Kong: Occasionally, Zabo-man would pop up and bonk Donkey Kong on the head, causing the massive ape to stumble montarily.
Mario Bros.: If a player achieved a high enough score, Zabo-man would appear as a hidden enemy.
Pac-Man: During Super Mode, there was a rare chance that Zabo-man would swoop in and knock out one of the ghosts.
Super Mario Bros.: If the ga was completed without losing a single life, Zabo-man would be unlocked as a secret playable character. Unlike Mario, he could shoot projectiles infinitely, making him an overpowered reward for skilled players.
Excitebike: Zabo-man was one of the racers that randomly appeared in different stages.
ga Man: Zabo-man acted as a hidden ally, helping ga Man in certain boss fights.
Final Fight: If a player scored high enough, Zabo-man would be unlocked as a hidden boss after the final battle.
Zaboru chuckled to himself. "Hehehe... Zabo-man is going to be legendary!"
He shifted his thoughts back to new ga ideas. "I need to slow down a bit this week. I can't make another ga on the level of Final Fight again—it was way too tedious. So, sothing simpler... but still fun."
After brainstorming, he decided on two gas for Akechi: the high-speed arcade motorcycle racer Hang-On and the boxing ga Punch-Out!.
"Both of these should be relatively easy since I can reuse assets. I still need to implent new features, though—like left and right dodging, super uppercuts, and attack combinations for Punch-Out! anwhile, for Hang-On, I'll make it an endless road race where opponents occasionally appear as obstacles. There are already so arcade racing gas out there, but none as polished as Hang-On will be."
Determined, Zaboru got to work. Ti passed in a blur, and before he knew it, a full week had gone by.
Over the next few days, Zaboru focused entirely on Punch-Out! The ga was simple but addictive, centered around dodging and landing punches at just the right monts.
The protagonist, Little Mac, had six basic moves: left and right jabs, left and right body blows, left and right dodges, plus blocking, ducking, and a powerful uppercut.
Uppercuts required stars to use, which players could earn by timing their attacks perfectly.
The ga featured a Health ter—once depleted, Mac would be knocked down. Players had to rapidly tap the A and B buttons to get back up within ten seconds.
The Heart ter tracked stamina, decreasing when punches were missed, attacks were blocked, or Mac got hit. When it hit zero, Mac would turn pink and be unable to attack until he dodged enough enemy punches to regain stamina.
The ga had 23 matches divided into four circuits, each featuring unique opponents. If players lost a match in the World Circuit, they had to restart that match. In other circuits, losing three tis in a row resulted in a ga over.
Winning conditions included TKO (knocking the opponent down three tis in one round), KO (opponent fails to get up after ten seconds), or a technical decision based on points if ti ran out.
Zaboru grinned as he added his signature touch: Zabo-man as a hidden playable character.
"Heh... The only way to unlock him will be through a secret cheat code. One of the characters, Doc, will subtly hint at it in his dialogue during a match. If the player pays close attention, they'll notice. Entering the cheat in the nu will cause Little Mac to fall sick and be unable to compete, leading to Zabo-man stepping in as a replacent fighter. And Zabo-man? He's way deadlier than Mac. Let's see who figures this out first."
Developing Hang-On
After finishing Punch-Out!, Zaboru quickly moved on to Hang-On. Unlike Punch-Out!, this one was a pure racing ga.
The goal was simple: ride a superbike across five stages without running out of ti.
Unlike typical racing gas, the other bikes weren't competitors—the challenge was simply staying on the road and navigating tight turns at high speeds.
Players had to avoid crashes while weaving through traffic, managing acceleration, and leaning into turns to maintain speed.
The graphics were more detailed than most existing arcade racers, with smooth animations and fast-paced gaplay.
Zaboru added a fun cao: a black and gray motorcycle would occasionally pass the player, stop at the side, and give them an "okay" gesture and word Zabo-man Approve before disappearing , its Zabo-man motorcycvle
The week flew by in a haze of coding, testing, and sleepless nights. Zaboru worked tirelessly, pushing himself to the limit. His mother scolded him multiple tis for staying up too late, but he powered through.
By Saturday morning, he had finished and tested both gas.
Exhausted, Zaboru collapsed into his chair, barely able to keep his eyes open. He stared at the ceiling, feeling the satisfaction of having completed two more gas in record ti. Now, all he had to do was wait for Akechi to arrive.
Right on cue, the doorbell rang.
Dragging himself to his feet, Zaboru went to open the door. As expected, Akechi was there—but this ti, he wasn't alone. Ayumi had co along, and there was another person standing with them.
Zaboru blinked, his exhaustion montarily forgotten. "Huh!?"
To be continued...
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