After finishing his meal and letting his ZEPS rest for an hour, Sakaki was finally ready for another gaming session.He glanced at the clock—
01:00 AM.
"Hehehe… Let's see what Excitebike is all about!"He grabbed the Excitebike box and examined the cover. The artwork depicted a motocross rider mid-jump, soaring through the air.
"Damn, this box art is sick!"
He carefully opened the case, revealing four familiar items—just like in Punch Out!!:
- The game cartridge
- The game manual
- ZEPS Volume 1
- A black-and-gray Z Card
Sakaki grinned with excitement.
As usual, he sniffed the guidebook before flipping through ZEPS Volume 1 for any hints. Then, he turned his attention to the Z Card.
"Alright, let's see what Excitebike's mystery is this time."
He flipped the card over and read the cryptic message:
"I might visit you occasionally. I am like you, but I cannot fall."
Sakaki raised an eyebrow.
"Huh…?"
A chill ran down his spine.
"Honestly, this would be creepy if I didn't have any context... But knowing how these secrets work, this is hype as hell!"
He grinned.
"I wonder what kind of hidden content is waiting for me this time!"
Sakaki swapped out Punch Out!! for Excitebike, and after a brief loading screen, the menu appeared—accompanied by a catchy theme.
"Yo! This music is nice!"
The menu presented three options:
Selection A
Selection B
Design
Sakaki started with Selection A and immediately fell in love with the gameplay.
"Whoa! This is so fun! The controls feel so smooth!"
The first few races were simple—just him racing solo on a side-scrolling motocross track.
For the next 30 minutes, he got used to the controls, experimenting with jumps, speed boosts, and landing mechanics. Eventually, he cleared all the races in Selection A.
His times weren't amazing, but he didn't care.
"I'll try to improve later… For now, let's see what Selection B is all about!"
Sakaki selected Selection B, and immediately noticed a difference—
There were now other racers on the track!
Instead of a solo time trial, he was now competing against a group of bikers.
The race began, and he instinctively sped forward, only to ram straight into the racer ahead of him—
CRASH!
His character flipped over, landing hard on the ground!
"What the hell!? You can't just ram into people from behind!?"
The fallen biker quickly respawned, but by then, he had already lost precious time.
Sakaki gritted his teeth.
"Alright, if I can't go through them, I'll go around them!"
He steered left, squeezing into a gap between two racers, narrowly avoiding another crash.
As he picked up speed, he timed his jumps, soaring over dirt patches and landing smoothly.
But then—
A rival biker suddenly veered into his path!
"Tch! You think you can block me!?"
Sakaki shifted gears, accelerating just enough to cut in front of the racer.
Then, he slowed down on purpose.
BAM!
The racer behind him crashed hard!
Sakaki burst out laughing.
"HAHA! Take that!"
For the next several races, he mastered the art of blocking, deliberately making opponents crash while he sped ahead.
Every time he overtook a racer, he would position himself strategically, forcing them into bad jumps or uneven terrain.
This battle of positioning made Selection B far more intense than the previous mode.
But then—
He reached Selection B - Stage 5…
As the race loaded, something felt off.
Sakaki noticed a new racer among the usual competitors.
The other bikers wore green, blue, or pink gear, but this one was different—
A rider in black-and-gray gear, with a sleek helmet and a unique motocross bike.
Sakaki's heart skipped a beat.
"WAIT… That's ZABO-MAN!"
His suspicions were confirmed when he saw the stadium banners.
Usually, they just displayed words like "ZAGE 1991" or "Excitebike", but now—
"Zabo-Man is here!"
"Go, go, go, Zabo-Man!"
Sakaki's eyes twitched.
"WHAT!? Is Zabo-Man the main character now!? NOT ME!?"
He gritted his teeth.
"Let me show you who the real MC is, you bastard!"
The race began, and Zabo-Man was fast!
His speed matched Sakaki's, making him a true rival.
Sakaki grinned.
"Alright, if you're that fast, let's see how you handle this!"
He maneuvered his way in front of Zabo-Man, planning to make him crash like the others.
"Take this!"
But instead of crashing, Zabo-Man's bike suddenly lifted off the ground!
He let go of his motocross, then He flipped mid-air, then held his motocross again, landed perfectly, and kept racing—now ahead of Sakaki!
Sakaki's jaw dropped.
"WHAT THE HELL!? IS HE A KAMEN RIDER!?"
Then it clicked.
"Ahh! The card's hint! 'I cannot fall'—that's why Zabo-Man doesn't crash!"
With renewed determination, Sakaki kept racing against Zabo-Man, retrying the stage over and over.
Each attempt, he learned something new about Zabo-man in excite bike.
- Zabo-Man not perfect occasionally he made a mistakes
- He always performed Kamen rider flips whenever knocked off balance.
- He never let anyone pass him easily.
Sakaki kept pushing, perfecting his jumps, boosts, and strategies.
Finally, after countless attempts, he crossed the finish line first!
"HELL YEAH!!"
He threw his arms up in victory, feeling completely overjoyed.
"I finally beat that show-off bastard!"
He glanced at the clock.
03:00 AM.
"Wait, two hours already? Damn…"
Even though he could play more tomorrow, curiosity got the better of him.
"Let's check out 'Design' before I stop."
He selected the Design Mode, and his eyes widened.
"Ohhh! You can make your own tracks!?"
Excited, Sakaki started messing with the track editor, creating insane ramps, tight corners, and tricky obstacles.
By the time he checked the clock again—
04:30 AM.
Sakaki sighed.
"Damn it… I did it again!"
But despite feeling exhausted, he grinned.
"Man, that was so much fun!"
He turned off the console, laid back on his bed, and slowly drifted into sleep—
Dreaming of playing games all day with a big grin on his face.
To Be Continued…