[Game] Chapter 457-458

Chapter 457: Back to the Company, Collaboration Data

Since Haruno had moved into a new home, of course a housewarming party was in order.

A few phone calls later, Hazuki, Hajime, and Aoba all agreed to come, along with Yagami Kou and Rin from downstairs.

As the host, Haruno had to entertain the guests, so grocery shopping fell to her little brother Ichin.

Luckily, Yukino was sensible enough to tag along, and with Utaha as well, the three went shopping together.

After more than an hour in the supermarket, they returned lugging several large bags filled with ingredients, drinks, and plenty of snacks.

Since Haruno’s new place came with an oven, Ichin even planned to bake some cakes for the evening.

When he returned, the girls were already gathered together, chatting animatedly.

“Remember the class reunion Godmother hosted the other day? At first we were just waiting to pick her up later, but I got bored and went over early. Turns out, reunions for parents are just like ours—only instead of comparing careers, they compare their children. So I called Ichin, Utaha, and Yukino over. It was lively! Godmother’s classmates looked at us with envy. Quite a few even said they wanted to introduce their sons to me or Yukino—but I turned them down flat.”

“Oh!”

Aoba’s eyes went wide.

“But Haruno-senpai, are you really not planning to date at all?”

“Date? How can I date if I can’t find someone suitable?”

Haruno smiled, pulled Aoba into her arms, and teased:

“But if I didn’t limit myself to men, I wouldn’t mind trying. What do you say, Aoba, interested?”

Aoba shivered, immediately wriggled free, and hid behind Hazuki.

“No way!”

Dumping the snacks on the table, Ichin said irritably:

“Haruno, stop scaring Aoba. And Aoba, don’t take her seriously. If Haruno really wanted a girlfriend, she’d have ended up with Hiratsuka-sensei already.”

“Oh, right!”

“What do you mean, ‘right’?!”

Haruno shot Aoba a glare, then walked over to swat Ichin’s arm.

“You know what Shizuka’s like, don’t you? I don’t want to be around her cigarette stench all day.”

That was true.

Haruno liked cleanliness—she wasn’t a neat freak, but being around someone who reeked of smoke was unpleasant.

Looking at her, Ichin said thoughtfully:

“Haruno, it doesn’t matter if you want a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Just don’t set your sights on anyone from the company, especially the likes of Aoba. They’re all pure-hearted and too easy to trick—you really might bend one of them.”

“Relax, I won’t, I won’t!” Haruno waved it off breezily.

“I was only joking. Besides, no girl is cuter than our Yukino anyway.”

Hearing that, Yukino, who had been about to step closer, instantly retreated to Ichin’s other side, clinging to his arm and glaring at her sister warily.

“Big sis, you’re getting more dangerous by the day. From now on you’re banned from my apartment. I’ll change the locks the moment I get back.”

“Eh? I was just kidding, Yukino! Don’t take it seriously!”

In the kitchen, Ichin, Utaha, and Yukino were busy prepping dinner.

Seeing Yukino still on edge, Ichin chuckled.

“Relax. Even if she did swing that way, she wouldn’t go after you. You don’t like girls anyway, right?”

Yukino nodded, a little relieved.

“Still, I’ll tell Mother when we get back. She should keep arranging blind dates for Sister. I’ll help her screen the candidates. Let’s marry her off sooner.”

“Not marry off—bring in a son-in-law.”

“Ah, right, that’s what I meant.”

Meanwhile, Utaha sliced meat with practiced ease, smiling.

“Even if you keep finding candidates, matching Haruno is tough. Harder than getting Hiratsuka-sensei married, I’d say.”

“I’d call it even. Both are near impossible.”

Somehow, teasing Hiratsuka had become part of their daily routine—not a good habit, but one hard to break.

After a lively housewarming dinner, Haruno was officially settled into her new home. With Ichin, Utaha, and Yagami downstairs, the place was bound to get even livelier.

---

The next day was Monday. Though it was summer break, Ichin headed to the company.

Utaha, meanwhile, accompanied Yukino to fetch her cat from the Sawamura family, then the two of them went to Fushikawa Publishing.

Having taken half a month off with Ichin, Utaha figured it was time to show her face at the publishing house and talk with editor Machida Sonoko about her novels and anime adaptations.

The Love Metronome anime had been a huge success. Ratings, BD sales, and overseas licensing had brought great profits to Kyoto Animation, Fushikawa, and Utaha alike. As a result, her next work’s adaptation had already been signed with Kyoto Animation.

But since KyoAni still had one TV series and a movie in production, Utaha’s anime had been pushed back slightly.

Now that those projects were finished, it was finally her turn.

While Ichin worked at the company, Utaha brought Yukino along to keep her company. Yukino was also curious about anime production and was glad to sit in.

---

At the company, Ichin was greeted with a warm welcome.

After saying hello to everyone, he headed straight to the Fall Guys dev team.

It was already August, and the early-August update had rolled out—a major patch adding several new maps and, besides skins, a crossover with GARO.

Though GARO wasn’t as popular as the “big three” of tokusatsu (Kamen Rider, Ultraman, and Super Sentai), it still had a loyal fanbase.

The Fall Guys GARO skins were especially well-received—chibi versions with the distinct armor of Garo and Shinga. Players went all-out grinding to unlock them.

Just the other day, when Ichin logged in from Shanghai, he saw plenty of players running around in those golden skins. They looked flashy and cool.

Hazuki handed him a report with a smile.

“Thanks to the GARO crossover and our promotions, this update brought in a lot of new players. Plus, in the patch notes we advertised Toei’s new GARO project, so their series got extra attention too. A win-win.”

Looking over the collaboration data report, Ichin nodded again and again.

With results like this, negotiating future collaborations would be much easier.

---

Chapter 458: The Game’s Action System

When he entered his office and sat down, Ichin stretched lazily in comfort.

Aside from home, this was his favorite place—quiet, where he could think freely about projects, then step outside to check on the team’s progress.

Booting up his computer, he began working on his next proposal.

The GARO game proposal was already finished, and Tohokushinsha was very satisfied with it. Once Ichin wrapped up his current projects, development could begin.

Now, it was time to write the plan for Tales of Berseria.

The Tales series had many entries. Ichin hadn’t played them all, but he had played plenty—especially the most acclaimed ones, both old and new.

To remake all the ones he liked would be a huge effort, especially since everything needed to be reimagined in modern 3D. So, instead of starting from the oldest, he chose one he knew best to set the tone.

Berseria, despite having a female protagonist, had excellent combat. Ichin planned to push it further, refining the system to make battles even more exhilarating than in the original.

Arise had a decent system, but it simplified too much compared to its predecessors. That might work for GARO, but not for Berseria.

So Ichin wanted to keep part of the classic input-command system—letting characters unleash a wide variety of moves and create dazzling combos.

Still, he’d need a simpler option for less skilled players. The ceiling, however, would remain different.

“Combo systems, huh…”

Rubbing his chin, Ichin decided that once the proposal draft was done, he’d build the combat system first. He’d model the heroine Velvet and create her moveset, so the dev team had a clear direction.

Flashy battles were fine, but there was another crucial element—impact.

The “feel” of combat came from many details: hit stop, sound and visual effects, screen shake, even controller vibration.

Of the studio’s released games, only Hollow Knight had any real sense of impact, but even that wasn’t perfect.

“Looks like I’ll need outside help. I can muddle through, but it’d be better to learn from the best and avoid pitfalls.”

And who better than Capcom, the king of action?

Street Fighter, Devil May Cry, Onimusha, Monster Hunter, Sengoku Basara, plus countless arcade hits—Capcom was legendary.

Outside of Nintendo titles, Capcom games had shaped most of Ichin’s childhood. Even Resident Evil 4, 5, and 6 carried solid action mechanics.

For Berseria, his goals went beyond story and open-world exploration. Combat had to shine: exhilarating combos, team synergy, stylish animations, and visceral impact—none of which could be compromised.

For delivering fluid moves, satisfying impact, and visual spectacle, Capcom was his ideal model.

Snapping his fingers, Ichin made up his mind.

“Once Velvet’s combat demo is ready, I’ll ask Nintendo to connect me with Capcom. We’ll collaborate on the system and learn from them properly.”

Nintendo and Capcom had been close ever since Monster Hunter moved to the 3DS, even developing Monster Hunter Rise and its Sunbreak DLC for the Switch’s limited hardware.

Thanks to Capcom’s optimization magic, those games still ran smoothly at 30 FPS on seamless maps. Visuals took a hit, but fluidity was flawless.

Optimization wasn’t what Ichin needed, though. He wanted Capcom’s expertise in action design—the way Devil May Cry blended flow, impact, and spectacle into one perfect whole.

Dark Souls had slower pacing, with bosses built around big, sweeping attacks—not high-speed action.

Could he really get Capcom onboard? Ichin wasn’t worried. His ties with Nintendo were strong, his games sold well on Switch, and Nintendo had profited greatly. Acting as an intermediary would be trivial for them.

As long as he paid enough, Capcom would come.

“Alright. With a clear goal, time to work.”

Flexing his hands, Ichin dove into the proposal.

That afternoon, Hazuki brought him milk tea and cake for tea time, only to find him still working tirelessly, just as in the morning.

Peeking at his screen, she saw Tales of Berseria’s proposal.

She’d heard him mention it before—an ARPG with a female lead. It sounded right up her alley.

“This is the next project?”

“Exactly. Once Dark Souls is done, some of that team and the Fall Guys team will handle updates, while the rest move to GARO and Berseria. GARO’s combat is simpler, but Berseria… my standards are higher.”

Ichin explained his ideas, including seeking Capcom’s guidance.

“Working with Capcom to polish the combat system? That’s a great idea. We definitely need to strengthen our skills—especially since you plan to make so many action-heavy games.”

Hazuki nodded in agreement, already excited for what was coming.

“But first, eat something.”

She set the milk tea and cake on his desk.

---