"Alright... let's begin."
After delivering a brief, albeit somewhat confident(?) greeting, I descended from the podium, and the lights on the stage dimmed as Tamago Monster's promotional video started playing.
"Wow! This is amazing!"
"So cute~"
After the animated promotional video that we had watched with the staff yesterday ended, the legendary battles of the champions who had successfully defended their title for the 100th day of Tamago Monster's birth were displayed.
Among them, the most remarkable battle was the showdown between Bahamut and Polaris.
I was pleasantly surprised to learn that the two players who showed this intense psychological battle were Uchimura and Takashi.
When exceptionally skilled players face off, great moments are born on their own.
Instead of taking a seat, I decided to observe the audience's reactions from a corner of the venue. Mr. Kawaguchi seemed to share my thoughts, as he stood beside me, surveying the room.
"It seems like the love for games is the same, even among competitors."
"Well, they are all in the business of making games. They love it so much. They hope that many people will enjoy the games they create."
"In that case, Junhyuk must be the happiest person among those gathered here."
I didn't respond to Mr. Kawaguchi's comment. I acknowledged to myself that I was in a very happy phase of my life, even though I didn't need to voice it.
A little while later, the Tamago Monster's promotional video ended, and the text "Coming Spring Next Year" appeared on the screen, commemorating the 100 days of Tamago Monster's birth and the 10 successful defenses at the Tamago Shop.
"The previous game was made into an OVA without me, but it looks like Tamago Monster is going to be made into a TV anime."
"How about our company considering a brand collaboration with Tamago Monster? The profit distribution seems guaranteed."
"Team leader, do we have any characters that could fit in that spot at our company?"
"Oh, that's a good point..."
I couldn't help but suppress a laugh at the conversation I overheard.
As for the collaboration with Tamago Monster, only Final Frontier's Tamago and the secretly released Dragon Emblem's Tamago were involved. However, after showing the video explaining the profit distribution for Tamago Monster to the officials, their thoughts seemed to change little by little.
Tamago Monster makes about 500 yen in net profit after subtracting the cost of raw materials and other production costs from the selling price. Currently, all the profit of 500 yen goes to Pentagon, but if another company suggests collaboration, they could get 200 yen per unit of Tamago for production.
Just by allowing the use of their characters in Tamago Monster, they could gain additional income and promotional benefits. It was not a bad deal.
During this, the door on the opposite side of the room opened slightly, and I saw Mr. Miyazaki and Mr. Uchimura enter. They were a little late as expected, but the timing wasn't bad.
They quickly rushed to the empty table, carefully avoiding the gaze of the chairman. Now, shall we begin?
I pretended to look around for a moment and then nodded slightly to the lighting staff, signaling them to turn off all the lights. As the lights were switched off, a deep darkness enveloped the venue, and Tamago Monster's promotional video began.
- "I just wanted to confess my feelings to her..." - Red letters, like blood, appeared on the screen. The audience was captivated, focusing on the screen as they sipped their drinks. Some of the women in the event hall quickly put on eye masks and earplugs as the light on the screen became intense.
- "I wanted to see her smiling face. But..." - Creak... Creak... Creak... The sound of scraping that felt like it was scratching my nerves continued. The screen switched, showing a lifeless body hanging from the ceiling of a dark corridor, swaying left and right.
"Oh... I can't watch this..."
A man sitting in his seat clenched his tongue and extended his hand to offer eye masks to those around him. As the screen showed the body falling to the ground with a thud, an eerie silence filled the hall.
3... 2... 1... Start.
"Kyaaaaah!!!!!!"
A woman with grotesque makeup filled the screen, and various screams of terror erupted all at once.
"Eeeeeeek!!"
"Aaaargh!!"
"Ugh!!"
"Whoa!!"
Among them, people wearing eye masks screamed even louder as they heard the screams from their surroundings, causing a commotion.
In a matter of seconds, the cramped event hall was filled with people's screams. Among them, Pentagon staff, including me, were quietly holding our stomachs, laughing.
We've seen it once, so there's nothing left to do but find it funny in this situation.
Everyone had their heads down, and the sound of suppressed laughter was clearly audible. They could be seen... Hehe...
After a variety of chilling videos quickly passed by, another long silence descended.
People turned their heads toward the screen, wondering if it was over. In that direction, they saw a dark shadow slowly approaching with a peculiar gait.
Thunk, thunk, thunk, thunk...
Creak... Creak...
Thud, thud, thud, thud...
The eerie sounds and heartbeats filled the meeting room through the massive speakers...
At that moment, as the ghostly figure that had been slowly approaching from a distance suddenly reached the screen, the shoulders of the people sitting at the tables involuntarily tensed up.
"Here you were, hiding, huh? Hehehe."
"Released on February 14, 1991, Valentine's Day."
"After the release date information, the lighting team raised the power switch, and the meeting room was bright again.
Only now did the tension finally subside, and people let out sighs of relief.
"Wow... That really got me. I thought my heart had stopped."
"The direction was no joke. I almost wet myself."
"Ah... My heart's still pounding."
And then, it happened.
"Wowww!!"
"What's going on?! Why all of a sudden... Arghh!"
"Kyaaa!!"
"Gyaaa!!"
Under the bright lights, the expressions of the people screaming were a sight to behold.
But why were people suddenly screaming?
"Would you like some chocolate?"
Despite the creepy appearance, the person in ghost makeup was handing out chocolates to people.
Even while receiving chocolates, people had an uneasy expression.
There were still some who couldn't shake off the shock and fear they had experienced on Valentine's Day.
"Valentine's Day chocolates~ Please take some chocolates~"
With a kind voice contrasting the eerie makeup, the people received chocolates while still looking unsettled.
I couldn't help but chuckle, imagining how much Kaori must be enjoying this.
"People are getting panicked even with this."
"Even the President is laughing."
"Oh, is that so? I guess I need to work on my facial expressions."
Just as people were beginning to relax, the main theme of Final Frontier began to play through the speakers.
The soothing melody comforted the agitated hearts of the people.
"It's Final Frontier."
"Is it finally coming out for the Super Famicom?"
"Is it going to be released before Phoenix Soft's Dragon Warrior 5?"
Even the CEO, Yuji, had a slightly tense expression.
When Final Frontier 1 was released, it was considered a "clone" of Dragon Warrior and didn't make much of an impact. But as the series continued, Final Frontier had become a masterpiece with its distinct style.
With a substantial fan base and graphics that outshone Dragon Warrior in some respects, it had earned the title of Japan's national RPG.
The production of Final Frontier 4, which Kawaguchi had aimed to release next summer, was telling a grand tale of brave knights.
Of course, it featured a massive storyline revolving around the crystal, which was the main element of the series.
As the beautiful story of the Imperial Knights' struggle, friendship, and love unfolded in Final Frontier 4, the audience was captivated.
"Is the graphics really that amazing?"
"It's beyond comparison with the Super Famicom era."
"The graphics are impressive, but the BGM is incredible."
People expressed their admiration while watching the stunning graphics of Final Frontier 4. With the horrors of Valentine's Day seemingly forgotten, their faces were filled with awe.
"If it's released, it'll be a hit, no doubt."
"As expected, Mintendo holds all the cards this generation. I wonder if even Dragon Warrior will come out on the Super Famicom? If it does, it's game over, right?"
The atmosphere in the hall turned tense when the screen displayed the release date.
"Summer? That's later than I thought."
"We're in the fall of '91 now, so when are they planning to release it?"
Nevertheless, just as people were feeling a bit disappointed about the later release date, the mood in the meeting room suddenly took a different turn.
"Release Platform: Undecided."
"What did you say?!"
"Undecided? Don't tell me it's not for the Super Famicom?"
"Come on, it can't be... The graphics are impossible without the NEGA drive."
As the expected release on Super Famicom was questioned, the meeting room was once again filled with panic.
With nothing but question marks in their heads, people were overwhelmed. But Kawaguchi and I didn't go up on stage until all the prepared videos had been shown.
In an attempt to calm the increasingly overheated crowd, I hurriedly started the next video.
Then, with the sound of wind tearing through the air, a jet-black broken sword fell from the sky on the screen.
Crash! Ka-boom!
"What's that? Could it be another upcoming release? How many games are they planning to release next year?"
At that moment, as the broken black sword fell from the sky and was recognized, a man who had been lost for words finally stood up and shouted. It was my friend, Junpei.
"That! That's!!"
Caught up in amazement, Junpei could barely say anything except for "That's!"
"Dragon Emblem Kuroel's sword."
Crack!
After he managed to finish his sentence, the screen displayed the title.
"DRAGON EMBLEM II."
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