On a spring day in 1987...
"Ka-ahng!"
The sound of aluminum bats striking a ball reverberated through the curtains fluttering in the spring breeze.
"I'll handle this!"
"Yeah, Ichiro! Fight on!"
The giggles of girls outside the window were particularly irksome today.
"Don't they ever get tired? School's over; they should head home. Extracurricular activities can freeze to death..."
I silently slung my bag over my shoulder, about to leave the classroom, when my friend from the same class, Abe, called out to me.
"Hey, Uchimura. Do you have plans?"
"No, why?"
"In a bit. I'm going to the bookstore with Maeda; wanna join? Today's the day the Famitsu comes out."
Hmm... These guys don't know anything but baseball and soccer in this darn high school.
Right now, my left arm, where the Black Flame Dragon lies dormant, might not be a concern. But if it awakens someday, your lives might be at risk. So, keeping a distance might be wise...
"I got some pocket money today. I'll treat you to takoyaki on the way!"
I pondered Abe's words, idly rubbing my left arm. Yeah, the Black Flame Dragon is still asleep. Maybe it's fine, but I hope the creature doesn't suddenly go berserk.
"Sure, let's go."
It wasn't the takoyaki that swayed my decision.
Abe and Maeda might know a bit more about games than the clueless folks in this sports-centric high school.
---
We left the school and boarded the train headed to Namba Station. This place, the heart of Osaka, formed a significant bustling district up to Nihonbashi, where we often hung out.
The advantage of large bookstores is the ability to leisurely browse through new magazines without feeling rushed, unlike at convenience stores or small bookshops.
Of course, relying on the allowance my parents gave me, I usually bought one magazine a month. But with my funds depleted recently, today would be just about browsing.
The magazine section seemed quieter than I'd anticipated after school.
There was only one young man near us, flipping through magazines.
At that moment, Abe exclaimed, pulling out the latest issue of Famitsu.
"Ah! It's out!"
Maeda, too, began skimming through the magazine, browsing articles.
"Wow, there are so many new releases again. My allowance is almost gone. What should I buy?"
"Well, get something that lasts. Like an RPG."
"Since I just finished Dragon Warrior 2, I'll sell it at a used shop and get a new one. It's fun, but the story's a bit childish. Wonder if there's a decent new RPG out there..."
Then, Abe, who was looking through magazines with me, responded.
"Final Frontier. Seems promising. Gunpei, the RPG expert, gave it a score of 36 out of 40."
"Really? Dragon Warrior 2 had a score of 38, right?"
Abe read out the review article in response to Maeda's question.
The Final Frontier, developed by a new game company called Pentagon Soft, seemed quite similar to Dragon Warrior series in terms of story, barring the battle scenes.
"Odd, isn't it? Is it ultimately just a derivative of Dragon Warrior?"
"Still, they say the combat is fun, and the review score is decent, so it might be worth a try?"
"Hmm, I'm torn. I'll ask the shopkeeper at the game shop if it's fun."
Dragon Warrior and Final Frontier...
Do these guys not know about Dragon Emblem, a game that's been buzzing among those interested in family games lately?
Listening to their conversation, I cautiously asked Abe.
"Do you guys happen to know about a game called Dragon Emblem?"
At that moment, the hand of the man browsing nearby stopped flipping the pages of the bookshelf.
"Dragon Emblem? What's that? I've never heard of it."
"Yeah, where is it made? Is it an RPG?"
My cousin, who recently bought a family console, became more interested in games. Abe and Maeda asked me simultaneously.
Sensing that my secret, which I had been keeping to myself until now, might be revealed by their reactions, I hesitated and nodded.
"Ah, never mind. It's nothing."
"What? Why keep it a secret so deliberately? What kind of game is it that you're acting this way?"
"Yeah, if it's fun, let us know, and we'll play together!"
People can't help but be curious. I was about to spill the beans, but I stopped myself. Abe and Maeda persistently bombarded me with questions about Dragon Emblem.
"Actually, I heard it from my cousin. He called the other day, boasting that he got hold of an incredible game. Besides that, I don't know much."
"If a game's released, it should be in a magazine, right? When did it come out?"
"I don't know. It's just a rumor floating around like an urban legend, and that game has never been officially released."
My words seemed to astonish Abe and Maeda. Even the man beside us seemed to chuckle, as if my words sounded like a joke, flipping through the pages of a book.
Abe, seemingly incredulous at my words, checked the release date corner in the Famitsu, which listed past family games.
"That game doesn't exist?"
"I told you it's never been released..."
"What's up with that? But how did your cousin manage to get a game that wasn't released?"
"Well, he got it from a used game shop?"
Then Maeda, with a baffled expression, asked me,
"He bought an unreleased game from a used game shop!? What on earth is that? What genre is it?"
"My cousin says it's a genre he's never tried. It's a fantasy setting, characters standing on a chessboard-like map, moving them to fight enemies. The problem is..."
"The problem is...?"
Translated and edited in a light novel style:
"When a character dies in battle, their data disappears from the game..."
"What? What does that mean? So if a character dies, they're completely gone?"
"Yeah..."
At that moment, Abe, who had been listening to our conversation, snickered, wrinkling his nose.
"Then just turn the machine off and on. Or load from a saved point to start again."
"My cousin said that even if you reload, the character is still gone."
"What!? So, starting from scratch?"
"That won't work either. If all the characters die, it's game over. And you can't play it again."
"Insane... Where's the creator of this? They make this kind of game, rake in money by selling it, and just vanish?"
"The creator's not listed, so there's no customer service to complain to. As I mentioned earlier, the game was bought as a used pack without a case from a secondhand shop, and the price, despite sounding absurd, was 1000 yen."
"A thousand yen!? That cheap? Are you sure your cousin isn't lying?"
"Well~ he's not the type to lie, but anyway, he ended up losing all the characters and getting a game over. So, he's been scouring secondhand shops lately, looking for a game called Dragon Emblem..."
"Whoa, seriously? If that's true, should we look for it too?"
Instantly, our eyes met, and without a word, we bolted towards the nearest secondhand shop.
"Hey, you guys! Keep it down in the bookstore!"
Ignoring the bookstore owner's reprimand from behind, we didn't stop our stride.
After a while, we arrived at Den Den Town near Namba Station and rushed towards a visible secondhand game store.
"Hey, do you happen to have a game called Dragon Emblem?"
"Huh? What's that? Is it a newly released game?"
Seems like due to the game's limited circulation, even the game shop owner was unaware. After leaving the store, we decided to split up and search.
"I'll check out the road shops towards the mall; you guys focus on the alleyway secondhand shops."
Nodding to Abe's suggestion, Maeda and I agreed to reconvene at this spot in 30 minutes.
I mainly visited the secondhand shops I knew, inquiring about the game, but most didn't even know about Dragon Emblem.
Could it be my cousin lied to me? Doubts arose as I wandered around Den Den Town, searching through its famous secondhand game shops. Yet, it all ended up fruitless.
But, a glimmer of hope remained.
In the last shop I visited, just like me, I encountered someone else looking for Dragon Emblem.
"Where did you hear about that game? There are only five people searching for it today, and it's not even listed in the family game release schedule..."
The words of the last shopkeeper echoed in my ears.
"Dragon Emblem definitely exists."
Convinced, I decided to venture deeper into Den Den Town.
To make it back in time for our meet-up, I'd have to head towards the main road. However, the certainty that both Abe and Maeda might have struck out lingered.
As I glanced around, I started to move towards the residential area behind Den Den Town.
Although the distance from the electronic stores increased, sporadic shops were visible, albeit mostly selling broken washing machines or refrigerators displayed outside.
"No way there'd be a game store around here. Maybe I should just head back..."
Muttering to myself, wiping away sweat, I felt exhausted and wanted to turn back.
Suddenly, the main theme of Super Mariji played in my ears.
"Super Mariji's BGM...?"
Bip bip bip~ bapabambapab~ bapababambapabambapababa~
As if mesmerized by the faint background music of Super Mariji, I entered a narrow alleyway, and there, before my eyes, stood a dilapidated game store.
'Wow... this place seems like it'll collapse if I even touch a pillar. There's no way Dragon Emblem would be here...'
Disappointed by the store's size, a voice behind me called out, interrupting my thoughts.
"Come on in. Looking for a particular game?"
"Huh...? Oh, I'm, um, looking for Dragon Emblem..."
Thinking that anything was better than nothing, I cautiously approached, and the old man, cleaning a dusty pitcher, replied.
"We've got it."
"Wha- really!?"
"Yeah. Just one left. Want it?"
"Yes!? I'll take it! How much?"
"1000 yen."
Thank goodness!! I only had 1600 yen left for the month, so I'd have to survive on 600 yen for the next ten days. But as long as I could get Dragon Emblem~!!
Shortly after, the old man retrieved a black ROM cartridge from the store and handed it to me.
With no illustration, just the text "Dragon Emblem" on the ROM cartridge, as my cousin mentioned, it didn't come with a package or a manual.
"Here's the last Dragon Emblem. Take it."
"Thank you so much, sir!! I really appreciate it."
"Heh heh. You're quite the gamer."
"Absolutely!! It's the joy of my life."
"Heh heh. Seems like you have a bright future ahead..."
"Here's the 1000 yen."
"Sure. Thanks. But hey, if there was a chance to try out games that will be released in the future, would you be interested?"
"Future games?"
"Games that will be released someday. Would you want to try them in advance?"
"Of course!!"
"Is that so? Well then..."
"But for now, I really want to rush home and play Dragon Emblem~!! Thank you so much, sir!"
"Wait a moment!! Oh..."
Ignoring the old man's muttering from behind, it didn't matter to me.
Having Dragon Emblem in my hands was enough for now. But why did that old man know about games yet to be released? Was he associated with a game company?
With Dragon Emblem in my possession, and with the exciting release of Dragon Emblem 2 tomorrow, I returned to where my friends were waiting. It was the first encounter with the game Dragon Emblem.
And tomorrow, the long-awaited release day of Dragon Emblem 2 finally arrived.
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