December 27 - Saturday ZAGE Events Building (ZEB) - Japan
Now the ZEB was filled with people from all across the world, all coming to witness the yearly ZAGE event. The hallways were packed from morning, and the entrance gates kept swallowing new waves of visitors like a festival that refused to slow down. A lot of them came for one reason first: ZAGE's exclusive end-of-the-year merchandise, the kind that was only available while the event was being held. Limited shirts, figures, posters, rare pins, special bundles, and little collector items that felt like trophies for fans who actually showed up.
And it wasn't only shopping. The ZEB was also flooded with ZAGE IP cosplays and loud, excited fans taking pictures, trading badges, and showing off handmade props. You could see every type of character, cute ones, cool ones, and the absurd ones that only hardcore fans would recognize. The atmosphere felt like the whole ZAGE universe had stepped off the screen and into one building.
The agenda followed the usual structure, but the scale made it feel bigger than normal. First came the shopping and cosplay events, with booths running nonstop and staff barely keeping up. After that, the focus shifted to awards for ZAGE game competitions, where champions from each e-sport title were given their trophies and recognition on stage. Then came the concert, the Z&Z performance, where Zaboru and Zankoku's band only appeared for ZAGE events, turning the building into something closer to a stadium for a while.
After all of that, the day ended with a final talk segment to close the program and tease what was coming next. The entire event stretched across two days, and even on the first day, everyone could already tell it would be exhausting in the best way.
So the first day passed in a blur, and it was a blast. Players and event attendees left the shopping halls with bags in their hands and wide smiles on their faces, pleased with the merchandise ZAGE sold, especially the limited items that only existed for this end-of-year event. Some people compared what they bought like trading cards, showing off rare pins, exclusive figures, and shirts with prints that would never be sold again.
They also had an absolute blast watching the cosplayers. Cute outfits, sexy outfits, cool outfits, and even the super detailed, heavy costumes that looked impossible to wear for more than an hour. The walkways became a moving parade of ZAGE characters, and everywhere you looked someone was taking photos, cheering, or asking for a pose.
As usual, the event was a major success, but the highlight that shook the building was still the Z&Z performance. Zaboru and Zankoku's band didn't just play songs, they turned the ZEB into a roaring crowd, with fans singing along and waving their hands like it was a real concert tour stop. By the time the last song ended, most people looked exhausted in the best way, already talking about how insane day two would be.
Then the next day came, December 28, 1999.
The crowd was even louder than yesterday. Word had spread overnight, and people who missed day one were squeezing into the ZEB like it was the only place that mattered in Japan. Camera crews were already set in position, lights sweeping across the stage as the host finished the last introduction.
Then Zaboru stepped out.
This time he didn't wear a suit. He wore a black shirt and jeans, black-and-red shoes, and a leather jacket that made him look less like a chairman and more like the kind of guy who would sit in the back row of an arcade and still somehow own the room. His hair wasn't dyed blue anymore. It was back to its natural black, and that small change made him look sharper, more serious, like today wasn't a show for fun. It was a show for history.
He walked to the center of the stage with calm confidence, pausing just long enough for the crowd to scream themselves tired.
The cameras locked onto him immediately. This segment wasn't only for the people inside ZEB. The event was being broadcast live on YaDo and Nickelodion, and several national TV stations were airing it too. Zaboru knew it, and he played to the lens with the ease of someone who had done it a hundred times, giving the audience at home the same attention as the fans in front of him.
"Hello everyone! Are you cool!?"
The audience shouted back like a wave crashing into the stage. "YEAH!!"
Zaboru grinned, letting the noise roll over him for a second before raising a hand to calm them down, not fully, just enough so he could speak.
"Okay, without further ado, let's start this." He took a step forward, scanning the crowd like he was memorizing their faces. "You all know our handheld ZGB has finished its duty. ZGB was released in 1992, and it has carried us for years."
A few people cheered anyway, and some even shouted the name of their favorite ZGB games. Zaboru's smile softened, like he understood exactly why.
"But," he continued, voice lifting again, "don't worry. ZAGE isn't giving up on handhelds. We will never give up on handheld gaming."
The crowd reacted instantly, louder than before.
"So," Zaboru said, stretching the word out, enjoying the tension, "today I'm going to introduce you to a new handheld."
The audience roared. Someone screamed so loud the microphone almost picked it up.
Zaboru laughed under his breath and tilted his head. "Heh… are you that curious?"
"YEAHH!" the crowd answered, almost chanting.
"Good," Zaboru said, grinning wider. "Because I'm curious too, about how you're going to react."
He turned slightly and pointed toward the massive screen behind him.
"Okay then, without further ado, let's watch this video."
Zaboru gestured, and the lights shifted. The big screen came alive as the video began to play.
First, the screen went dark, then the ZAGE logo appeared in the center like a stamp, bright and clean. The music was quiet at first, just a low hum, and then the video began to reveal a new handheld in slow motion. A purple-and-white color palette flashed under studio lighting as the camera rotated around it in a detailed, almost luxurious way, showing the curves , the two analog sticks , the buttons, the screen, and the cartridge slot like it was a sports car commercial.
The device turned again, closer this time, and the audience could see the four right-side buttons clearly. A quick shot showed the triggers and bumpers. Another shot showed the edge profile, thin enough to look modern, solid enough to look expensive. Then the handheld snapped into a full hero angle, and the words appeared on screen in bold letters:
"ZAGE GAME BOY ADVANCE"
Right on that beat, rock music exploded into the speakers, loud and confident, and the montage shifted into gameplay.
It didn't waste time. A new Pokémon game flashed first, bright colors, fast menus, battle scenes cutting like a trailer. Then a new Mario game, with clean animation and playful jumps. Then Zelda, with that adventure mood and the kind of screen transition that made the crowd gasp. Then Metroid, darker and sharper, with effects that looked too good for a handheld.
The clips kept coming. Quick cuts of games the audience recognized instantly, then quick cuts of games they didn't recognize at all. New characters. New worlds. New genres. A racing scene. A strategy map. A rhythm screen with perfect timing hits. Everything was fast, flashy, and impossible to absorb in one viewing, which only made people scream louder.
The funniest part was that the video didn't even stop to explain most of the titles. It just showed them, like the message was obvious: the handheld is real, and the library is ready. Players around the hall were already shouting guesses, trying to name what they saw before the next clip replaced it.
Then the montage shifted again.
The screen showed a kid holding the ZGBA with friends gathered around. The camera zoomed into the handheld screen, and a profile menu appeared. The kid customized the profile, changing the name and profile screen settings, switching icons and colors. It looked clean and modern, like something that belonged in the future.
Then the moment that made people lose it.
Online play. A connection icon. A quick matchmaking screen. The friends leaned closer, laughing, then the footage cut to them trading Pokémon, the trade animation flashing across the handheld screen like proof that the feature was real, not just talk. It felt like the old link cable spirit, but upgraded into something bigger.
Finally, the video returned to a clean hero shot of the device one last time. The handheld rotated slowly as the music hit its last chorus, and the final words appeared:
"ZGBA - The Next Era Handheld"
Then the screen faded to black.
The video stopped. Zaboru smiled, and the audience went completely nuts.
Zaboru walked across the stage and raised both hands, gently pushing the noise down. "Relax, relax. Let me explain the features of this new handheld first, all right?"
The crowd was still buzzing, but you could see people smiling as they settled. They wanted the details. They wanted proof.
Zaboru nodded at them like he understood the hunger. "This handheld has been planned for a long time," he said. "Even before ZEPS 3 was released in 1997. It took years of prototypes, arguments, and redesigns. But it finally became real because of our amazing ZAGE teams." His grin returned, sharper. "And because our partners at NVIDIA and AMD helped make this kind of handheld possible."
He paused, letting the names land. Even the non-tech fans recognized those brands now, because ZAGE had made sure everyone knew who powered their machines.
Then Zaboru smiled and reached into his leather jacket like he was about to pull out a magic trick.
He brought the ZGBA out of his pocket.
The audience roared again, louder than before, because seeing it in his hand made it feel real in a way the video never could.
"Okay," Zaboru said, holding it up so the cameras could catch it from every angle. "I'll explain the features, and of course I won't drown you in technical specs. I know most of you aren't here to hear numbers and boring words." He tapped the handheld lightly with his finger. "So here's the simple version.
"ZGBA has four buttons, just like a ZEPS controller. Circle, Square, X, Triangle." He rotated the handheld slightly to show the top edges. "And yes, it also has triggers and bumpers. L and R. So action games won't feel cramped anymore. It also has analog sticks for right and left analog sticks just like and yes You can play serious combat games on a handheld without sacrificing controls or playing 3d games on this that requires a rotated camera ."
A few people in the crowd raised their hands and mimed pressing buttons like they were already imagining combos.
"And battery life," Zaboru continued, "if you play nonstop, it lasts up to twelve hours."
That got a new reaction. Not screaming this time, but a wave of impressed murmurs. People nodded to each other like they were doing the math for long trips, long school days, and late-night marathons.
"Twelve hours," Zaboru repeated with a grin. "Yeah. Pretty good, right?"
The audience nodded again, and a few people shouted approval.
"You might be thinking, oh great, so one pair of Z-batteries can last up to twelve hours? HAHAHA—wrong!" Zaboru pointed at the handheld in his hand like he was scolding it. "Because in this ZGBA, we are using a rechargeable battery!"
The crowd reacted immediately, half confused, half excited.
Zaboru walked to a nearby electric socket on the stage like he'd planned the joke down to the step. He pulled out a cable, plugged it into the ZGBA, and the screen lit up with a charging icon—clean, simple, unmistakable. Like a phone.
"Cool, right?"
"INSANE!" people shouted back, laughing and clapping.
Zaboru chuckled and nodded as if he'd just confirmed a secret. "But don't worry. I can already hear some of you thinking," he said, shifting into a dramatic voice, "Oh no! My ZGBA is dead because I played too much. Now I have to charge it one or two hours before it's full. I wish it could use normal batteries instead!"
He grinned, eyes sparkling. "Well, you can."
That got another wave of noise.
"All you have to do is open your ZGBA," Zaboru continued, "take out the rechargeable pack, and you can use batteries too." He flipped open a panel with practiced confidence, showing the compartment clearly for the cameras. Then he stepped aside and lifted a charger unit like it was a trophy. "And if you still want rechargeable power, you don't have to stop playing. You just take the rechargeable pack out and charge it here while you use normal batteries. Simple." its shows the charger recharges the rechargeable batteries.
He picked up a fresh set of batteries and held them up between his fingers. "And these are new Z-Batteries. Like usual, we work with Miyagi Batteries." He paused for effect, then announced, "We call these ZA-Batteries—Z Advance batteries!"
The crowd cheered at the name.
"They're way stronger than the original Z-Batteries," Zaboru said, voice proud. "With these, you can play up to ten hours on ZGBA while your rechargeable pack is charging. So you don't have to panic, and you don't have to stop your game in the middle of a boss fight." He tapped the handheld once, like punctuation. "Rechargeable for convenience, ZA-Batteries for backup. You get both worlds."
The crowd murmured, clearly excited. The simple fact that they could swap batteries if they wanted made people feel safer, like the ZGBA wasn't going to trap them in one way of playing.
Zaboru smiled and continued, voice rising like he was climbing toward the biggest reveal. "And then! ZGBA has online features!"
The hall reacted instantly, a fresh wave of noise rolling forward.
"Yes, yes," Zaboru said, amused, holding up a hand. "It can use Wi-Fi." He tapped the top edge of the handheld, then pointed to the port. "Or, if you want the stable old-school method, you can plug a LAN cable in here."
He let the cameras zoom in, making sure the people at home could see it too.
"With online, you can create your profile, customize your name, change your profile picture, and earn trophies for your games," he said, counting the features with his fingers like he was handing out candy. "And of course, it supports online play. Match with people, share records, and yes… trade with friends without always needing to sit in the same room."
The crowd buzzed louder at that, some people already imagining Pokémon trades and score battles.
"But!" Zaboru added, grinning, "I didn't forget our classic style either." He lifted the handheld again. "ZGBA still supports the Link Cable, the same spirit that existed back in ZGB. So if you like the old way, you can still do it. Online when you want it, cable when you trust it. The choice is yours… hehehe."
The audience looked stunned by how advanced it seemed, and the noise in the hall didn't calm down, it only changed into a restless excitement. People were already shouting questions over each other, trying to guess the price, the release date, and how many games were actually ready.
Zaboru smiled like he was enjoying the chaos. He lifted the ZGBA in one hand, then pointed to the giant screen behind him with the other.
"And you probably wonder," he said, voice playful, "how many games will be released alongside this, right? And how powerful this handheld really is, right?"
The crowd roared "YEAHH!" again, hungry.
Zaboru nodded, pretending to think, then grinned wider. "Well…"
He turned toward the screen as the lights dimmed, and for a split second the entire ZEB went strangely quiet, like everyone could feel the next words were going to change something.
On the big screen, a single number appeared—large, bold, and impossible to miss.
Zaboru didn't say it yet. He just held the ZGBA up to the camera, letting the silence stretch until it hurt.
Then he opened his mouth to finally reveal the truth.
To be continue
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