Saturday, October 26, 1991
After finishing Final Fight and defeating its hidden boss, Rikki decided to play another game—Hang-On.
"Let's play this one. I always love motorcycle-related stuff," he said, switching out the cartridges. As he checked the contents inside the Hang-On case, he found three additional items besides the cartridge: the Hang-On manual, which he skimmed through; ZEPS Volume 2, listing the latest ZEPS games, including Hang-On, Mega Man, and Final Fight; and finally, a mysterious black and gray card. The card had a message printed on it:
"Continue to ride smoothly, and you will meet me. I'll cheer you on."
Rikki stared at the card, wondering, What does this mean? Is this another hidden feature? Well, no point in overthinking. Let's just play.
As soon as he started Hang-On, he was greeted by the colorful, fast-paced visuals. The roaring sound of the motorcycle engine, accompanied by catchy music that changed with each stage, fueled his excitement. The game felt smooth—until suddenly, another rider crashed into him from behind, causing his character to fall before getting back up.
"Damn!" he muttered, gripping his controller tighter. Determined, he sped up and tried to overtake the riders ahead of him. He barely avoided another crash while passing an opponent, and suddenly, a prompt appeared on the screen:
"Near Crash Combo! Score Multiplier: 1.5x!"
Rikki grinned. "So, if I pass riders at the last second, I get a score boost? Interesting!" this a new mechanic Zaboru added to make Hang-On more engaging.
He continued racing, but he kept crashing and failed to reach the checkpoint in time. "Damn! Let's try again!" Determined to improve, he restarted the game, playing more carefully this time. The experience was exhilarating—the smooth ride, the endless road, the sudden challenges from rival riders, and the thrill of near-crash overtakes kept him on edge.
As he progressed, his score climbed to 200,000. Suddenly, a black and gray motorcycle zoomed past him at incredible speed.
"Huh? What was that?" he wondered, eyes widening.
The mysterious rider pulled over on the right, dismounted his bike, and gave a thumbs-up. A close-up of his gray helmet and his thumbs-up, with shining blue eyes visible through the visor, appeared on the screen. Text followed:
"I know you can do it! You are cool!"
Rikki's jaw dropped before breaking into a grin. "Heh, so that's what the Z card meant! Not bad! Hahaha! I just kicked that guy's ass in Final Fight, and now he's here in Hang-On? Guess he's making his rounds!"
With renewed energy, Rikki continued his race—until another rider suddenly crashed into him. "Damn it!" he yelled, frustrated. But he refused to give up, playing for another hour and a half. Finally, after five intense stages, the Congratulations! Game Over screen appeared, displaying his high score and two options: Continue the Ride or Return to Menu.
But then, something new popped up: Customization Unlocked!
"Huh? Customization?" Rikki muttered, intrigued. Selecting the menu option, he discovered he could customize his rider's outfit and even change his motorcycle type. This also additional stuff Zaboru add to ZAGE version Hang-on.
"Wow, this is cool!" he exclaimed, immediately tweaking his rider's colors before jumping back into the game for another 40 minutes. Eventually, exhaustion caught up with him. "Phew... that was fun, but I need to give my ZEPS a rest—and I need to eat, too."
Satisfied, Rikki turned off his ZEPS console and stretched, ready to take a well-deserved break.
To be continued...
*Short chapter , because there's really not much can be said for Hang-on its just chill games really , anyway gimme power stones!*