Zaborn_1997

Chapter 306: Handheld Price and Launch Plan

Monday, September 8, 1992.

The meeting room at ZAGE headquarters was filled with the company’s key leaders. Zaboru stood at the front, flanked by Yumi, his reliable assistant, as he prepared to explain the financial structure and launch strategy for the ZGB handheld.

"Alright, everyone," Zaboru began, his tone focused but upbeat. "Today, I want to walk you through the production costs and pricing strategy for our ZGB handheld and its games. Sayuri-san has already reviewed...

Chapter 305 Zaboru Relaxing at Holiday

Saturday, September 6, 1992. After the big reveal of the ZGB on Monday, Zaboru and the ZAGE team had been laser-focused all week—finalizing September's ZEPS game releases, training the dev team on how to build games for the new handheld, and overseeing the production of ZGB's advertisement campaign. The ads had been shot between Wednesday and Friday, and everything was on track to premiere on national TV by Sunday, September 14.

But today was different. Zaboru was finally takin...

Chapter 304 ZGB Questions and Answer 

After the introduction of the ZGB, a wave of curiosity swept through ZAGE’s headquarters. While not every department was immediately interested—customer service, legal, and finance continued with their daily work—the R&D room quickly filled with eager tech staff and developers buzzing with questions. Their curiosity was electric.

Zanichi, Zaboru’s father and now CTO of ZAGE, examined the compact device with thoughtful admiration. "Impressive, really. To think that a v...

Chapter 303: Zaboru Reveals His Handheld to ZAGE Employees

Monday, September 1, 1992

Zaboru continued working as relentlessly as ever. With the launch of ZAGE’s first handheld device just around the corner, he was already finalizing promotional materials, ad campaigns, and flyers. This was no ordinary project—this was the very first handheld gaming device in the world, a technological leap he had kept tightly under wraps. The batteries powering the device, dubbed "Z-Batteries," were produced by Miyagi Batteries under Zaboru’s direct g...

Chapter 302 Time Skips Part 3 - Final

August brought another wave of events, each strengthening ZAGE’s momentum and cultural reach. First and foremost, SpongeBob officially premiered on TV Tokyo—the station known for consistently favoring ZAGE content. Airing weekly on Sunday mornings with reruns two days later in prime evening slots, the series was met with widespread praise. Both kids and adults found themselves captivated by its humor, charm, and distinct style. The ratings quickly reflected its success, securing a ...

One day Break because of Overtime at Work!

Hello guys, I’ve decided to take a break tomorrow because I’m really busy today and need to work until midnight. I don’t think I’ll be able to post a chapter tomorrow. Sorry, everyone! I’ll be back on Friday!

Chapter 301 Time Skips Part 2

In July, many things unfolded across both Japan and the United States. One of the most notable developments was the rise in ZAGE’s overall efficiency and production quality, largely credited to the influence of Zanichi. His arrival had an immediate impact. With years of experience managing large teams at Sonaya, Zanichi streamlined workflows, improved communication across departments, and reinforced ZAGE’s development pipeline. The result? A significant boost in both productivity a...

Chapter 300 Time Skips Part 1

In the month of June, many things happened. First, the handheld batteries were completed and ready to use. Zaboru ordered Miyagi Batteries, ZAGE's partner in battery manufacturing, to mass produce them, and because the ZAGE handhelds are still in progress and they would be ready by September, at least if a major incident didn't happens that can delayed the productions of ZAGE handheld. Also, Kamen Rider Black officially aired on TV, generating positive feedback especially after Zaboru ...

Chapter 299 SpongeBob VA audition and Expected Employee at ZAGE

Zaboru arrived early at the YaDo Studio, walking past the soundproofed walls and production rooms that would soon be home to one of his most unpredictable creative projects: the anime adaptation of SpongeBob SquarePants. Today was the voice actor audition day. Inside the studio, dozens of hopeful rookie VAs had gathered, each one aiming to land a spot in what was shaping up to be a surprisingly high-profile project.

Zaboru sat quietly in the back of the sound booth, headphones on...

Chapter 298 Zaboru meet Nando Michio

Friday, May 30, 1992. Night.

Zaboru sat alone in a quiet Tokyo café tucked away in a side alley, the kind of place where the ambient chatter mixed with the low hum of jazz from an old speaker behind the counter. The windows were fogged slightly from the warmth inside. He nursed a warm cup of black coffee as he waited for someone very specific—Nando Michio, the passionate and energetic owner of Nanco, one of ZAGE’s trusted third-party game developers. But tonight wasn’t abo...

Chapter 297 Bakudan Boys playing TMNT Part 2

The Bakudan Boys were ready. Their hands hovered over the buttons. Their eyes locked on the screen. And then—Shredder appeared.

A powerful 8-bit cinematic played out, its pixel art more dramatic than anything they’d seen yet. Shredder leapt down from a high-tech platform in the heart of his lair, his futuristic samurai armor glowing with crimson LEDs, shoulder plates flaring with digital flames. He landed with a thunderous stomp, sparks flying across the floor, and pointed hi...

Chapter 296 Bakudan Boys playing TMNT

Friday, May 30, 1992. Night.

At the neon-lit sanctuary of the Bakudan Arcade, four familiar silhouettes pushed through the door, their laughter echoing off the machines and glass. Sakaki, Kumogi, Rikki, and Sawada had already made a plan to come here after they back from work to spend their Friday night where they always felt most alivebeneath the hum of CRT monitors and the rhythmic pulse of retro soundtracks. Their target tonight? The May crown jewel of the ZEPS lineup: Teenage...

Chapter 295 ZAGE Conditions and 3rd Party Developer? 

Friday, May 30, 1992.

Zaboru was back at it again, deep in the heart of ZAGE HQ, surrounded by whiteboards, artworks , cables, monitors, stacks of prototypes, and the never-ending buzz of ideas in motion. His thoughts, for once, weren’t on internal development but on the increasingly vital ecosystem of third-party developers contributing to the ZEPS library. Third-party games had already proven themselves essential to the console’s diversity and growth. While ZAGE owns games ...

Chapter 294 Another Unexpected Employee!?

Thursday, May 29, 1992.

After a casual yet loaded conversation with Sonaya's Hikaru Kurata and Junpei Hoshida yesterday, Zaboru made his way back to ZAGE HQ, brushing the tension off his shoulders. There was no time to dwell on rival schemes. June was coming fast, and his team had six new titles in development, all demanding attention. May's releases were still performing strongly in sales, holding steady in sales and staying in the public spotlight. Even the controversy around B...

Chapter 293 Junpei Hoshida

Wednesday, May 28, 1992

Junpei Hoshida, head of Sonaya's gaming division, sat in his office surrounded by sketches, design notes, and game prototypes. A man driven by pure love for games, Junpei’s journey into the industry began with the simple joy of playing Atari . That joy grew into passion, and eventually landed him a job at Atari Japan. He’d worked hard, developed with heart, and watched his dreams crumble when the company collapsed under the weight of rushed, soulless r...

Little talk!

Sup guys!

Guess what? I'm getting healthier—still have some light headaches, but overall, I'm doing fine.

So, in these past 3 days, I only made 3 chapters. Why? Because I focused on making time skip chapters, and they ended up being a staggering 2800–3900 words each! Damn!

But honestly, I didn’t enjoy creating chapters like this. Skipping over everything without reaction scenes just doesn’t feel right to me. I think this will be the last time I do time skips in this ...

Chapter 292 Rikki Playing Paperboy

Tuesday, May 27, 1992

Rikki Kiwashi collapsed onto his bed, utterly exhausted after yet another grueling day at work. It felt like a minor miracle that his boss had let everyone leave early today. As he stared blankly at the ceiling, Rikki sighed deeply. "Man, I really envy Sawada. Working at ZAGE must be incredible—such a cool and relaxed environment," he muttered to himself wistfully. Shaking off the envy, he got up, took a refreshing shower, and prepared a quick dinner to re...

Chapter 291 Wataru Play Megami tensei Part 2

Wataru continued to immerse himself deeply in Megami Tensei, completely losing track of time as the hours melted away unnoticed. His bedroom gradually grew dim, the warm hues of afternoon sunlight softly giving way to the gentle purple tones of twilight, yet he remained oblivious, completely absorbed by the game's darkly captivating universe.

After methodically recruiting an impressive array of intriguing demons and painstakingly navigating the labyrinth's winding and maze-like c...

Chapter 290 Wataru Play megami tensei

On Monday, May 26, 1992, Wataru sat cross-legged on his bedroom floor, his ZEPS controller gripped tightly in his hands, a bowl of instant noodles sitting forgotten, slowly cooling beside him. School had dragged by unbearably slowly that day, each tick of the clock amplifying his anticipation to finally dive into Megami Tensei. His best friend Endo had excitedly rambled about Ninja Gaiden 2, but Wataru only listened half-heartedly—he appreciated Ninja Gaiden, having enjoyed the first...

Chapter 289 America Audiences want more ZEPS content!

On Sunday, May 25, 1992, the excitement surrounding Doom's PC game in the United States wasn't the only phenomenon captivating gamers across the nation. With the ZEPS console having launched just over two months earlier, American fans were already clamoring for fresh content, expressing insatiable enthusiasm for new gaming experiences. Even though ZAGE had impressively provided 27 diverse titles at the console’s debut, dedicated players had rapidly devoured these initial offerings, masterin...

Chapter 288 Doom USA Reactions 

Meanwhile, across the United States, excitement for Doom had reached fever pitch, particularly within the now rapidly expanding PC gaming community. Released on May 13, 1992, Doom immediately captured widespread attention through an unforgettable advertisement featuring Zaboru himself, completely engrossed in playing Doom on his PC. The advertisement vividly showcased graphics that appeared strikingly three-dimensional, something unprecedented at the time, captivating anyone who owned ...

Chapter 287 Kumogi Playing Metal Gear 2 : Solid Snake

Sunday May 25 1992

After fully playing Duck Hunt yesterday, Kumogi sat cross-legged in front of his ZEPS, controller in hand, his expression serious. It was a new day, and his mission was clear — to infiltrate Zanzibar Land and complete Metal Gear 2: Solid Snake. Ever since he picked up the May release, he’d been itching to dive into it.

He cracked open the cartridge box and, as expected, found the familiar four items: the game, manual, ZEPS Wow! booklet, and the iconic...

Chapter 286 Endo Playing Ninja Gaiden 2 Part 2

Endo’s eyes were bloodshot but wide with energy. The clock read nearly 12:00 a.m., but he wasn’t backing down. His fingers, though sore, kept moving with precision. Ryu Hayabusa was deeper into enemy territory, and Endo was on a roll.

He had beaten Dando the Rage with pure timing and smart use of Fireball Jutsu. But that was just the beginning. Now each new boss pushed his build to its limit — and Endo loved it. He began experimenting with different weapons. Swapping out hi...

Chapter 285 Endo Playing Ninja Gaiden 2

While Kumogi chose Duck Hunt as his first game, Endo was on a whole different level of excitement. He was a full-on Ninja Gaiden fanatic — obsessed with Ryu Hayabusa and his intense, action-packed world. So naturally, when he got the chance to pick up the brand-new Ninja Gaiden II for ZEPS, he didn’t even hesitate. This was it. This was his game.

The moment Endo got home from the electronics store, he dropped his bag without a second thought, cracked open a cold soda, and bol...

Chapter 284 May Release and Light Gun Craze , Kumogi Play Duck Hunt

Chapter 284 May Release and Light Gun Craze , Kumogi Play Duck Hunt

Saturday, May 24, 1992.

Kumogi grinned from ear to ear. Why? Because he finally got his hands on the latest ZEPS release featuring six newest MAY release games. Even better, he managed to snag the coveted Light Gun. As a gun enthusiast, there was no way he was passing this up. He'd seen the ads, read the buzz in ZAGE Power magazine, but nothing beat the thrill of holding it in his hands. Anticipat...

Small Announcement

Sup guys, just a little announcement here!


You’ll notice in some latest chapter I posted that I accidentally made it way longer than I intended. Turns out it had over 1,200 words, sometimes even hitting 1,300! So yeah, I ended up compressing the reaction chapter quite a bit, I've also make something like this in future chapters.


Oh, and about the time skips I’ve been having a hard time writing them, not gonna lie. I’m kinda salty about it, haha.

For the time...

Chapter 283 Card game plan and Future Handheld games

Friday, May 23, 1992

Zaboru sat at his desk surrounded by scattered documents, development sheets, and a whiteboard filled with timelines and project names. The May release lineup of six games was finalized and ready to drop the next day, and the June slate was already in motion. But even with that excitement building, his mind was focused elsewhere.

He was thinking about handheld progress.

Development on his new color handheld device was progressing steadily. Miyagi ...

Chapter 282 May Release Details and Plan June Release

Thursday, May 22, 1992.

With stacks of player reviews from ZAGE Power still fresh in his mind, Zaboru turned his attention to the upcoming May releases. Tomorrow marked the big day when six highly anticipated games would finally hit the shelves. As he meticulously reviewed the final details, he felt a mixture of excitement and determination. This was more than a release — it was a statement.

The six games slated for May release included:

• Duck Hunt

2025-04-03 01:35:08 +0000 UTC View Post

Chapter 281 ZAGE Player Feedback

Thursday, May 22, 1992.

With the May game releases just around the corner, Zaboru sat in his office surrounded by towering stacks of ZAGE Player Forms. Letters and feedback had poured in from all across Japan — a response far greater than anyone at ZAGE had expected. Over 210,000 players had submitted their forms, filling out reviews for their favorite ZAGE and third-party games. It wasn’t just about the ratings; it was a glimpse into the hearts of players who loved these gam...

Chapter 280 ZAGE Power Vol 2 Release! 

Saturday, May 10, 1992.

Sakaki, Sawada, Kumogi, and Rikki were now close friends. Aside from Sakaki, who was a part-time employee at Bakudan Arcade, the others were salarymen who shared a deep passion for ZAGE. They often gathered at Bakudan Arcade, where ZEPS rentals were available, to play games and discuss all things ZAGE. But today was different. Today, they were standing in a long queue outside a magazine store, eagerly waiting to buy the latest edition of ZAGE Power! Volume...