Really, there are so many people.
Tsukino Aya arrived at the Ota Entertainment Hall and found it already packed to the brim.
There were adults, but mostly children.
The guests who originally wanted to go in and play Super Mario Bros couldn't get in for a while.
The bald boss, Masashi Ota, was enthusiastically introducing the family entertainment computer to everyone at the door.
Seeing the scene where it seemed impossible to get in no matter what, Tsukino Aya came to the area where the family entertainment computer was being introduced and listened to Masashi Ota's presentation.
"Dear guests, this product is suitable for all age groups, not just for children to play. It has high playability. I think you must have been bored with television entertainment for a while, right? Even though there are so many TV shows, there are still tiresome days. And this is something that can solve your boredom."
While Masashi Ota was introducing, he opened the television, and the Super Mario screen appeared in front of everyone.
Then he explained how to play while playing, pointing out hidden elements and how to clear the game faster.
Tsukino Aya watched attentively.
But... it didn't seem as interesting as she thought.
She clearly remembered the advertisement saying you could play any character.
But now there was only this short, chubby pixelated figure on the TV screen, which didn't look cool at all.
Tsukino Aya was somewhat disappointed all of a sudden.
It seems this thing is just like that.
Tsukino Aya thought to herself.
"I think everyone is already very familiar with Super Mario, so let me introduce you to a brand new game. Of course, this new game is only in the trial stage. If you really want to play, you can only experience the gameplay in the village for an hour."
At this point, Masashi Ota pressed a switch next to the game console, and a cover was lifted. Then, with great solemnity, he took out a palm-sized cartridge from a box beside it.
The packaging of the cartridge was orange, with a blank area in the middle where 'Dragon Quest' was written somewhat messily in black pen.
Since they hadn't found a suitable artist yet, and because it was just a trial, Tsukino Aya decided to simply write a few words to mark it.
Tsukino Aya glanced at the name on the cartridge.
The term 'Dragon Quest' once again piqued her interest.
So, does playing different roles mean this?
Each game has a different way of playing.
Some allow you to play as a hero, while others allow you to play as a chubby character.
She didn't really like that chubby character.
But this Dragon Quest seems interesting.
Masashi Ota had just brought this trial cartridge.
After taking the game console away that day, Masashi Ota decided to cooperate with Takayuki shortly thereafter, becoming Takayuki's partner.
In the future, he would mainly be responsible for issues related to the sale of game consoles in the market.
And his entertainment hall became the first channel for selling game consoles to the public.
In order to better promote it, just one game wouldn't be enough to attract everyone.
So Takayuki took out the semi-finished Dragon Quest to demonstrate and promote it to Masashi Ota.
At the same time, Takayuki was working on several other games, striving to finish them within a month.
Then, over the course of a month, they would slowly demonstrate each game to increase the audience.
With Masashi Ota on board, Takayuki could devote more time to making games.
Dragon Quest, a brand new game unheard of before, was presented to everyone.
Many people who had just been queuing in the entertainment hall noticed the unusual activity here and curiously came over. When they found out that there was a new game besides Super Mario, they all became equally interested.
Accompanied by a brand new animation and a completely different electronic sound from Mario, the image of a hero appeared in front of everyone from behind.
And facing the customers was a ferocious, evil dragon laughing.
Under the pixelated image, this dragon looked very crude.
But perhaps because the people in this world were seeing such game graphics for the first time, they also felt the pressure from the pixelated dragon.
"This dragon is the enemy our hero will ultimately face, the biggest BOSS. Defeat it, and you can save the princess and become a true hero."
The story of the hero saving the princess had long been a cliché in later generations.
But in this world, it was still so fresh.
Many children felt a surge of excitement just hearing this introduction.
To be able to defeat a dragon and save a princess.
In their previous childish games, even if someone played the role of the evil guy, they could never truly become an evil dragon. At most, it was just an imitation.
But in this image, the dragon was real.
Their eyes lit up, much more excited than the adults.
"First, we arrive at a village where you will encounter the first crisis. We need to solve it and help the villagers solve their problems."
Masashi Ota manipulated the controller, and the hero character began to move on the screen.
The customers watched attentively, seeming to be more focused than they had been in a long time.
"After we complete the village's tasks, the villagers will cheer, give us rewards, and we will also gain experience, that is, level up."
Ding ding ding ding!
When the level increased, a lively rhythm sounded to remind players that they had leveled up and gained experience.
The character would also spin and raise the sword during the leveling process, although it was a pixelated image, it was still very dynamic.
"After your level increases, the enemies you faced before will become weaklings and can be easily defeated."
"Defeating them will also have a chance to obtain weapon equipment, arm yourself all over, and you will gain new growth again."
"Interesting," Tsukino Aya murmured to herself.
Collect, grow, collect, grow.
Then Masashi Ota continued his introduction, "Eventually, you will become a truly independent hero, facing the ultimate BOSS, the evil dragon that no one dares to confront, and defeat it."
With Masashi Ota's quick operation, the hero completed the first village task. Then, when he came to the world map, the screen changed.
First, there were clips of game screens.
These included mid-game hero vs. strong enemy battles, as well as touching stories, but most importantly, the screen finally froze on the hero with his back to everyone, his armor covered in scars, holding a shield in one hand and a long sword in the other, assuming a stance to face the enemy. In front of him was the evil dragon, which was many times taller than him.
The immense sense of oppression momentarily quieted the voices of the watching customers.
Although the screen wasn't very good, consisting of pixelated images, the sense of oppression still hit them. What's going on?
"Uncle, uncle! What about the rest? What about the rest of the plot?" a child shouted anxiously.
How come there's no detailed plot after leaving the village?
"Hehe, to find out what happens next, please stay tuned for the next episode," Masashi Ota chuckled twice.
This line was told to Masashi Ota by Takayuki. It was concise, straightforward, and easy to understand, so Masashi Ota simply used it directly.