Chapter 158: Nagi Playing Z-Man! 1

Sunday, January 26, 1992

Nagi, a middle schooler with an undying love for Sentai shows, rushed home, his heart pounding with excitement. He had finally gotten his hands on Z-Man!, the game he had been dreaming of playing ever since it was announced. Just the day before, after relentless begging and bargaining, his parents had finally relented and bought him a ZEPS console along with three game cartridges: Z-Man, Super Mario Bros, and Hang-On.

But his excitement had been cruelly delayed. Just as he was about to play, his father forced him to join a family visit to his uncle’s house for a small celebration. Nagi protested, but when his father threatened to return the ZEPS and the games if he didn’t comply, he had no choice but to go. They had returned home at midnight, and Nagi went to bed frustrated, knowing his long-awaited gaming session would have to wait until morning.

Now, it was Sunday, and nothing would stand between him and Z-Man.

Setting Up the ZEPS

With eager hands, Nagi unboxed his ZEPS, carefully reading the guidebook as he set it up. Once everything was connected, he turned his attention to the Z-Man game box.

“Even the box is already cool!” he murmured, admiring the sleek cover art. Inside the box were the usual items:

• The Game Cartridge

• The Z-Man Manual Book

• ZEPS Volume 5, a booklet listing all the games released for the console so far

• A black and gray Z-Card

Nagi picked up the mysterious Z-Card, flipping it over curiously. The back of the card had a cryptic message:

“Beat everything with everyone, and I will lend you my power.”

“Huh? What does this mean?” Nagi wondered, but his curiosity was soon overtaken by his burning desire to play. He popped the Z-Man cartridge into his ZEPS, and the console sprang to life.

The Opening Cutscene

A triumphant 8-bit soundtrack blared from the TV as the title screen appeared. Then, an animated 8-bit cutscene played, showing five individuals—four men and one woman—standing heroically. The leader Z-red stepped forward, and text appeared:

“Get ready, everyone! Choujin Changer!”

The five warriors pressed buttons on the transformation devices strapped to their wrists. In a burst of pixelated brilliance, they transformed into their Sentai forms, striking dynamic poses as their colorful suits gleamed on the screen, then Z-man Logo appeared behind them!.

“WHOA! COOL!” Nagi exclaimed.

The main menu appeared, offering Start and Continue options. Without hesitation, Nagi selected Start.

The next screen displayed the five available Sentai warriors, each with their own weapons, powers, and elemental affiliations. Without a second thought, Nagi selected the Red Ranger—because, like almost every boy in the universe, he believed Red was the ultimate leader.

A detailed profile appeared:

Z-RED - Red Hawk

• Weapons: Red Hawk Bringer (Long Sword)

• Element: Fire

• Name: Ryu Tendo

• Profile: Former war jet pilot, one of the Jetman Special squad that protects earth from threats. As part of the JETMAN elite squadron, he was enhanced by Birdonic Wave energy, granting him superhuman abilities such as heightened sight, air flow detection, and increased strength. He was also chosen by the flaming bird entity Rocco,because Rocco liked his fearless attitude, exceptional leadership abilities and kind heart so he granted him his power which allowed him to harness fire-based attacks. Due to his exceptional skills, he was appointed Captain of the Special Squadron Z-Man, under the Earth Defense Organization, ZA WARUDO.

• Mecha: Rocco Jet Hawk (Jet fighter blessed by Rocco)

“WOW! Even the backstory is cool!” Nagi’s eyes sparkled. “I bet the other members have different stories too! This is nuts!”

As the game began, Nagi was immediately impressed. The graphics were far more detailed than even SpongeBob: Adventure of Bikini Bottom, another new ZAGE that was released together with Z-man, that have Amazing Graphics like Super Mario Bros 3 in Zaboru previous world.

Z-Red wielded his long sword, which unleashed fiery slashes with every swing. The game featured multiple attack variations:

• Normal Slash Attack: A quick, standard flaming sword strike

• Jump Attack: A mid-air slash

• Jump Down Attack: A fast vertical flaming strike while descending

• Crouch Attack: A low stance strike

• Charge Attack: A powerful flaming long slash after holding the attack button

The enemies were Grinam Grunts, but unlike the ones in the Jetman game from Zaboru’s previous life, these had unique attributes:

• Melee Grinam Grunts: Armed with swords, they charged at the player.

• Ranger Grinam Grunts: Attacked from a distance with energy shots.

• Grinam Bombers: Tossed explosives that bounced before detonating.

“This game is HARD!” Nagi groaned. The bomb-throwing enemies especially frustrated him, forcing him to retry several times.

Halfway through the first stage, Nagi encountered a mini-boss: Grinam Muscle, a towering brute with rippling muscles.

Just as Nagi was about to be overwhelmed, a flaming orb appeared. He picked it up, and suddenly, one of the orbs on top of his health bar started glowing. A prompt appeared:

“Left, Down, Right, Strike in quick succession: Hissatsu Waza”

“Eh? That’s complicated!” Nagi struggled but kept trying. Just as Grinam Muscle was about to land a devastating blow, Nagi successfully executed the input.

The screen flashed, triggering a cutscene Z-red pressed a button to his Changer Devices then shouted in text.

“Rocco Endan!”

Z-Red slashed his flaming sword, unleashing a firebird projectile that engulfed Grinam Muscle in flames, defeating him instantly.

“WHOA! That was awesome!”

Reaching the first boss, Nagi faced Kagami Jigen, a monstrous enemy with mirrors embedded in his body.

When Nagi struck him head-on, his attacks were reflected back, depleting his health.

“Aha! I have to hit him from behind!” Nagi quickly adapted, jumping over the boss’s attacks and striking from behind. Eventually, Kagami Jigen collapsed.

Just as Nagi thought it was over, Kagami Jigen grew into a giant! A cutscene played: 

Z-RED summoned the other Z-Man members and their mechas. The screen lit up with the text: “Z-Man! GATTAI!”

One by one, the mechas combined:

• Rocco Jet Hawk (Z-RED) became the head.

• Chou Kidenju Daimugen (Z-GREEN), a majestic lion, formed the body.

• Same-Ou (Z-BLUE), a shark-like mecha, became the right arm.

• Masky Gyro (Z-PINK), a futuristic helicopter, formed the left arm.

• Godo Kumado (Z-YELLOW), a towering yellow bear, became the legs.

The combined robot struck a heroic pose as the text flashed: “Choujin Himitsu Heki: Z-Gattai -Gurren Tsuyoijin!”

Nagi’s jaw dropped. “DANG! That’s so cool!”

The Final Blow

The battle against the giant Kagami Jigen was epic. Nagi mastered the controls, using X button to conjure water bullets from the shark arm, O button to chopper blades from the helicopter arm to defend , and charged attacks to whittle down the boss’s health , Charge attack with Shark arm will shoot bigger water bullet , and holding O will strike with spininng chopper blades of helicopter arm . 

Then after Kagami Jigen health depleted , the prompt for the final move appeared, Nagi input the commands flawlessly.

The screen lit up as Gurren Tsuyoijin gathered energy, its body glowing with an intense aura. With a triumphant roar, it unleashed a massive beam attack: ““Z-Kouha!”

A devastating energy beam obliterated Kagami Jigen, and Stage 1 Clear appeared on screen.

“YES! I did it!”

“DANG, that was amazing!” Nagi cheered as he eagerly pressed forward to the next level.

To be continue