Yokohama is one of Japan's most critical port cities, serving as a major logistics and transportation hub.
Koei Corporation's headquarters are located right here in Yokohama.
And so is Kobayashi Tetsu.
Koyakawa followed closely beside him, never straying more than a step away.
She had only wanted to interview Koei, but Tetsu-kun had actually put aside his work to accompany her. She was truly touched by his devotion!
Watching this scene, Keiko Koei couldn't help but shake her head.
Poor girl, completely manipulated by the wicked capitalist!
Kobayashi Tetsu had granted her a vacation, which was why she had come to Yokohama in the first place. Yet he had framed it as if he had specially come to accompany her.
At this point, Keiko Koei found herself puzzled.
"If you're on vacation, why did you choose to come to Yokohama?"
"Why can't I come to Yokohama on vacation? Is there a rule banning Tokyo residents from entering?" Kobayashi Tetsu spread his hands in a gesture of helplessness. Seeing this, Keiko Koei decided not to press the matter further.
Of course, Kobayashi Tetsu hadn't come to Yokohama solely to accompany the young woman. He had two other objectives. First, he wanted to find a suitable location in Yokohama to build Atlas's own cartridge manufacturing plant, leveraging the city's natural water network and transportation infrastructure for logistics.
And second, he was simply bored and wanted to pay a visit to Koei.
Koei Corporation had moved from its humble beginnings to Yokohama, and with its business now on the right track, it no longer required Yoichi Koei to spend every day hunched over, developing games single-handedly. Now, Yoichi's primary role was one of general planning and coordination.
Upon arriving at Koei, Keiko Koei acted as a guide for the two visitors. Koyakawa, meanwhile, looked at everything with fresh-eyed wonder.
"So, Koei has a producer named Kou Shibusawa who created the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series," Koyakawa said, her eyes lighting up. "Could I interview Mr. Shibusawa? Or perhaps Ms. Shibusawa?"
Kobayashi Tetsu glanced over, fighting back a smile.
Kou Shibusawa is a real person—that's a huge misunderstanding, he thought.
"You probably won't find Kou Shibusawa, because Koei doesn't actually have anyone by that name," Kobayashi Tetsu explained casually, without needing Keiko to introduce him. "Kou Shibusawa is a pseudonym, just like Toei Company's Saburo Yatsude. It's a name used for public releases. Works credited to Saburo Yatsude are actually produced by a team of Toei screenwriters. Similarly, Kou Shibusawa is the pseudonym for the team dedicated to the Romance of the Three Kingdoms series. If you want to interview Kou Shibusawa, you're actually interviewing the president, Yoichi Koei. He is Kou Shibusawa."
Keiko Koei, who was accompanying them, was genuinely astonished. She never expected Kobayashi Tetsu to be so well-versed in Koei Corporation's secrets!
Kobayashi Tetsu, of course, was correct. There was no such person as Kou Shibusawa at Koei; Kou Shibusawa was merely a team codename that happened to sound like a person's name. Several titles, including Romance of the Three Kingdoms, were unified under the producer name Kou Shibusawa.
Kobayashi Tetsu looked at Keiko Koei and said, "Do you mind if we interview President Yoichi Koei?"
"That shouldn't be a problem," Keiko Koei replied, making a gesture for them to proceed.
Fortunately, Yoichi Koei no longer had to spend all his time writing code himself; otherwise, he truly wouldn't have had time for an interview!
The interview primarily took place between Koyakawa and Yoichi Koei, while Kobayashi Tetsu remained a mere bystander. He glanced at the computer behind Yoichi Koei, his eyes sweeping over the screen. He already had a rough idea of the material being displayed.
It had to be Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
Judging by the timing, it was undoubtedly Romance of the Three Kingdoms II.
Unlike the first Romance of the Three Kingdoms, the second installment was not a major success. Therefore, when people later mentioned Romance of the Three Kingdoms, they were actually referring to Namco's Sangokushi II: Haou no Tairiku or Capcom's Warriors of Fate.
Kobayashi Tetsu listened to the interview, but his mind was already completely elsewhere.
Only after Koyakawa's interview ended did Kobayashi Tetsu approach and offer a greeting.
"Big Brother Koei, is this the sequel to Romance of the Three Kingdoms?"
Yoichi Koei looked up slightly at Kobayashi Tetsu, who was now standing right beside him.
"That's correct. But there are still a few issues, and the development team is currently making revisions." Yoichi Koei explained briefly, "I feel it's not much different from the first Romance of the Three Kingdoms. It might need some more work and probably won't be released until next year."
"Why wait until next year?"
Kobayashi Tetsu said with a smile, "You wouldn't mind if I offered a few suggestions, would you? I'll help make it a huge success with rave reviews."
Beside them, Koyakawa instantly looked up.
Kobayashi Tetsu is about to start playing the expert again!
Yoichi Koei's expression froze for a moment.
No one likes having their work critiqued, but Kobayashi Tetsu's status and position were indeed quite unique.
"The works from Atlas are certainly exquisite, but this is a different kind of strategy game—a historical simulation. The style is different."
Yoichi Koei used the most tactful words possible to remind Kobayashi Tetsu. "But if you want to take a look, of course, that's fine."
Kobayashi Tetsu then took the unfinished version for a test play.
After all, it was a computer game, making it much more convenient to playtest than a home console.
Kobayashi Tetsu had never played such an early title as Romance of the Three Kingdoms II, but after a few minutes of gameplay, he knew exactly where it fell short.
The game showed little improvement over its predecessor. In fact, failing to distinguish itself from the first title, it had even taken a step backward in some ways. In his pursuit of a more realistic historical simulation, Yoichi Koei had made the controls more cumbersome than they were in the first game.
The character designs were also a bit lacking.
Kobayashi Tetsu nodded repeatedly, looking thoughtful as if he were truly immersed in the game.
Yoichi Koei, meanwhile, frowned.
He wasn't one to talk much, but he had already decided that if Kobayashi Tetsu said anything wrong, he would rebut him immediately. You're no good at making action games, but I'm the expert on historical games! I have a lot on my plate, and I need to focus my energy on creating Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Uncharted Waters!
After playing for a while, Kobayashi Tetsu finally pushed the keyboard away.
"I think I see where the problem lies," he said. "First, the character designs need to be more detailed. You should add some female characters—well-known figures from the Three Kingdoms period, like Diaochan, for example."
Yoichi Koei frowned. "I want to make a serious, hardcore historical simulation game. What we need is to conquer cities and expand our territory, not women!"
Kobayashi Tetsu couldn't help but laugh. "Why didn't you say that back when Koei was making eroge?"
With a single sentence, Yoichi Koei was instantly silenced. Koei had made plenty of eroge back in the day—it was absolute dark history! Kobayashi Tetsu was bringing up Koei's eroge past, and Koei simply had no defense against it.
Seeing Yoichi Koei speechless, Kobayashi Tetsu continued, "Actually, female characters are necessary. The success of the first Romance of the Three Kingdoms came partly from a lack of competition, but also because it fulfilled players' fantasies of playing as a famous general conquering cities and expanding territory. On the other hand, connoisseurship and eroticism are inseparable. People who enjoy connoisseurship also enjoy eroticism. The pleasure of wooing Diaochan is no less than the thrill of capturing the Central Plains' first great pass."
Yoichi Koei instinctively wanted to refute this. He felt this was wrong; this wasn't the Romance of the Three Kingdoms game he wanted to make.
"Just conquering cities and territories is urgent enough. How would there be time to go looking for Diaochan?"
Yoichi Koei was convinced. "Focusing on the strategic elements is still the most important thing."
"Strategy is obviously the most important, but if we only focus on fighting, no matter how much we simulate, we can't fully recreate that scene."
Kobayashi Tetsu said, "For example, Big Brother Koei, you should be very familiar with the Battle of Guandu. Cao Cao's Army burned the grain supplies to gain the strategic initiative. So, how is grain represented in the game? If you can create a series of interconnected systems revolving around grain, that would be the biggest breakthrough for Romance of the Three Kingdoms."
Yoichi Koei suddenly looked up.
For a moment, he felt a sudden epiphany. He knew what he had been searching for all along.
At the same time, this was the change he believed Romance of the Three Kingdoms II needed.
Beyond fighting, there had to be content that extended beyond the battlefield, making the overall game more strategic!
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