In December, Kobayashi Tetsu received two pieces of news.
First, the CPS1 system had been finalized and was scheduled for official release in February. Development kits and related SDKs had already been delivered to Atlas, allowing arcade games based on the CPS1 to finally be developed.
Second, Final Fantasy, previously known as Project FF, was set to be released on December 21.
Before dawn, Tanimura Masahito rushed to the nearest game store—not Shimayose Game Store, nor any of Atlas's physical outlets.
As the saying goes, fans may abandon you, but haters never will. Ever since being kicked out of HAL by Kobayashi Tetsu years ago, Tanimura Masahito had become a lifelong anti-Atlas activist.
Now he was an angry young man with several million yen burning a hole in his pocket, with nowhere to spend it.
Today, Tanimura Masahito swore he would be the first person to buy a cartridge!
When the store opened, the owner, who had just finished cleaning up early in the morning, was startled to see Tanimura Masahito waiting outside.
"You... you really love Atlas that much?"
"Yep, we're old friends."
Tanimura Masahito stormed into the game store and splurged—8,400 yen—on a single cartridge.
The price was somewhat unexpected. Tanimura Masahito had initially thought it would be around 10,000 yen, so he was surprised to find it reduced by a fifth. This discount would likely significantly boost player interest.
After all, even though Japanese people are generally well-off, for those with average salaries of 300,000 to 400,000 yen per year, 10,000 yen is still a substantial expense.
At 8,000 yen, it's still pricey, but with some budgeting, it's manageable.
"Hmph, not a single person in line to buy the game at 5 AM? Looks like Atlas is doomed to fail!" Tanimura Masahito muttered as he headed home with the cartridge.
The cartridge's packaging was unusually thick, at least twice as substantial as standard cases. This was because role-playing game cartridges typically contained more content, requiring extensive manuals to explain monsters, world settings, and character backgrounds.
"The packaging looks thoughtful, but it's all just false virtue!" Tanimura Masahito said, setting down his voice recorder as he began to unpack and review the contents.
"The cartridge is still made by Bandai, as usual. It includes one cartridge and a battery that needs to be installed manually, with no spare battery included. Atlas is being stingy—doomed to fail!"
"The manual is thick, covering controls, basic tips, town exploration, and dungeon exploration. Looks similar to Dragon Quest—doomed to fail."
"This is supposed to be a setting guide, explaining the characters and world in detail, but why is it so thick? I'm here to play the game, not read a novel. This is doomed to fail!"
After making his purchase, Tanimura Masahito inserted the cartridge and began playing.
Just a few minutes later, he shook his head.
Boring! I ended up falling asleep in front of the console for three hours!
What's the point of having so many teammates? They're completely useless. Exploring alone is way more fun.
He persisted until noon, experiencing the storylines of the first two maps before finally picking up his pen.
[ Is Final Fantasy Really the Final Hour for Atlas? This Game is Doomed to Fail! ]
Iwasaki Isao had finally bought the cartridge.
Ever since he'd stumbled upon a copy of Jormungandr and obtained Kobayashi Tetsu's autograph, he'd become a devoted fan of Atlas!
Though the Final Fantasy cartridge was pricey, Iwasaki Isao gritted his teeth and bought it.
He'd just graduated from high school and was now working part-time at his family's auto repair shop. With a monthly salary and free room and board at home, he could afford the 8,000 yen if he really pinched pennies.
The game was available for both MS and FC systems, supposedly identical, but Iwasaki Isao naturally chose the MS version.
"Wow! What a thick manual!"
He quickly flipped through the booklet, checking out the protagonists, the supporting characters who hadn't appeared yet, and the monster designs.
The illustrations were incredibly lifelike, and the set also included a large poster of the male protagonist, perfect for hanging above his bed.
The poster, hand-drawn by Rumiko Takahashi, depicted a protagonist that fit the standard mold of the time—a clean-cut, handsome hero.
The "Final Fantasy" look, with its slicked-back hair and polished style, actually originated with the seventh installment. When Final Fantasy VII was first released, its protagonist, Cloud, was universally panned for his unimpressive appearance.
The protagonist, Locke, was a character manipulated by the Empire, possessing the ability to transform during battle.
The female lead, Tina, was a wandering treasure hunter who could steal items from enemies.
Other characters included a castle lord, a freelance warrior, and a ninja.
After examining everything thoroughly, Iwasaki Isao finally inserted the cartridge with satisfaction.
The ability to transform is insane! This is going to be amazing!
He quickly entered the game and began his adventure.
As the game progressed and battles unfolded, under the medium difficulty setting, formidable enemies emerged in the labyrinth. At critical moments, the protagonist's transformation ability activated, turning him into a powerhouse—his damage doubled while his vulnerability halved.
"This is insane! I'm practically invincible now!"
Iwasaki Isao was brimming with confidence as he bulldozed through the game, finding it utterly devoid of challenge.
Apart from starting alone, he quickly gained various teammates. Unlike the contemporary Dragon Quest, Final Fantasy featured party members.
Dragon Quest boasted a pseudo-3D first-person combat system, while Final Fantasy employed a third-person perspective, with characters positioned on the right side of the screen and monsters on the left.
Thus, Dragon Quest lacked party members, while Final Fantasy thrived with them.
For Iwasaki Isao, this was a novel experience. He couldn't say which system was superior, but having teammates by his side provided an unexpected sense of security during exploration.
Iwasaki Isao played for hours on end, experiencing a wealth of the game's features. Some options had branching paths, with different choices leading to varied outcomes. The dungeon exploration, in particular, proved remarkably intricate and unpredictable.
Iwasaki Isao discovered that despite his slight tendency to get lost, he could navigate the game's labyrinth with surprising ease.
This didn't mean the labyrinth was small; in fact, it was quite extensive and meticulously designed. Yet, he found it strangely difficult to get lost.
By simply following the path, he would somehow stumble upon the exit, bypassing much of the usual frustration.
As Iwasaki Isao reluctantly set down the controller to eat, a puzzled thought lingered in his mind:
How on earth did they manage to pull this off?!
As an ordinary player, Iwasaki Isao couldn't write a formal game review. But based on his morning of gameplay, he was certain this game was absolutely on par with Dragon Quest!
It was nothing like the scathing pre-release comments made by Tanimura Masahito.
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