After some discussion, the three finally decided that Kitagawa Takeshi would handle the task—he would represent Atlas and accept the interview from Kadokawa Game Express.
Kobayashi Tetsu quietly slipped out for the day.
This kind of interview wasn't worth his time. If anyone was going to interview him, it ought to be a channel on the level of NHK.
He could vaguely recall the original rise of FAMI-tsu magazine.
Back then, FAMI-tsu's circulation wasn't particularly impressive.
But in 1987, they poured a massive budget into arranging an in-depth interview with ENIX, the developer of Dragon Quest—a game with enormous cultural influence. The feature revealed huge amounts of behind-the-scenes material, causing a sensation among players and doubling the magazine's sales.
With Jörmungandr currently riding a multi-front marketing wave—anime, game, and toys—even if its influence couldn't quite compare to Dragon Quest, it certainly wasn't far behind. It was enough to lift the sales of an entire magazine issue.
Which was precisely why Kobayashi Tetsu said that although he was letting Kadokawa Game Express "ride on his coattails," they were the ones who ought to pay him.
After all, they'd get a massive sales boost thanks to this.
"I really am a benevolent saint, aren't I," he muttered proudly.
At the Old Dixie Family Restaurant, Kobayashi sat scribbling in his notebook.
For the moment, he planned to take a break—no rush to start a new game. There hadn't been any major technical breakthroughs lately anyway. He intended to find a simple project and toss it to Nakayuuji and the others, while he slacked off for a few days.
The SG-3000 wasn't much of an improvement over the 2000; the real leap would come with the next-generation MS. So he wanted the team to practice on a game now, and once the MS launched, they could begin releasing new titles.
"With money in hand, I could consider expanding again," he mused. "Hire more people, remake some games, build capital… But before the MS comes out, there's no need to expand too fast. The SG just can't handle the kind of games I want to make."
Truthfully, Jörmungandr's graphics had already been trimmed considerably. Compared with the original-timeline Salamander, aside from the stellar soundtrack, the visual expression was undeniably weaker.
Just then, the roar of a motorcycle engine outside interrupted his thoughts.
Kobayashi frowned.
A biker? Really?
It was just a motorcycle—if he wanted one, he could buy the best, hit 120 km/h in the city, take a girl out, look stylish…
Then crash and die together.
"But speaking of motorcycles—"
He suddenly slapped the table.
There was a game he could use. The graphics weren't great, but the gameplay was strong, and it even had a built-in course editor.
The Famicom release Excitebike.
The staff behind it alone told you everything you needed to know—Miyamoto Shigeru overseeing development, Yamauchi Hiroshi supervising, and the result became one of the Famicom's domestic million-sellers, with global sales reaching five million.
Players raced around dirt tracks, performed jumps, and could even design custom courses.
It embodied Nintendo's trademark: simple, intuitive, fun.
It also sold extremely well in North America.
"The only difficult part is the course editor. Other than that, it's just a matter of implementing the core idea. Perfect to hand over to Nakayuuji's team."
And another thing—
The movement system would give them experience they'd need later.
Kobayashi had a plan.
When the Sega MS launched, he wanted to develop another famous game—
Sonic the Hedgehog.
Starting with Excitebike would give them the technical foundation for Sonic-level speed.
Having made up his mind, he jotted notes into his planner.
A brown-haired girl approached, prompting him to close the notebook as if nothing had happened.
"Nene-nee," he greeted Kezaki Nene casually. "Didn't see Kobayakawa today."
"Kobayakawa-san is writing a new article to submit to Kadokawa Game Express," she said, sitting down across from him.
"Speaking of which…" She hesitated. "Tetsu-kun, what exactly are you and the others doing? It always feels… mysterious."
"Making games," Kobayashi replied. "We're a development studio. That's why I know so much about games."
"Like Atlas?" Nene asked.
Tetsu nodded.
"Anyway, nothing special about us. Why don't we talk about you instead?" he said. "Nene-nee, you come here to work every day after school."
"It's too early to go home, and there's nothing to do there. And honestly, this place can't function without me." She sighed. "Everyone here is like a bunch of oversized children—always forgetting even the simplest things."
"True," Kobayashi said. "You work hard. Maybe you should let them handle things themselves once in a while."
The topic ended there. Tetsu straightened up.
"I'm hungry. Got anything special today?"
Nene picked up the menu.
"Let go a little, hmm…" she murmured, then pointed to one of the dishes. "How about marugai don? Fresh ark clams, lightly marinated and—Tetsu-kun? What's wrong?"
Before she could finish reading, Kobayashi's face twisted in disgust.
Did Americans not eat raw seafood?
He didn't speak—just hung his head, pale, frantically waving his hand.
Don't mention ark clams.
People from Old Haishi cannot eat that stuff.
Kadokawa Game Express was broke.
Since they had no money, they promised to pay the consulting fee using the next issue's sales revenue.
They spent 300,000 yen to let Kobayashi "lend them his popularity"—
and in doing so, boosted their own issue enormously.
Kitagawa Takeshi, using the script Kobayashi wrote, confidently delivered the interview—sharing only what was permitted, nothing more.
He spoke about the development of Jörmungandr, behind-the-scenes stories, even some details about the anime adaptation.
Kobayashi had only written the outline, but Kitagawa skillfully filled in the rest.
As one of the few game magazines at the time, and with this issue dedicated largely to Jörmungandr—the hottest title of the season—the interview caused a stir.
At Shimayori Game Shop, the issue satisfied Shimayori Yosuke's burning curiosity.
When he put the magazine down, he realized a crowd of teenagers had gathered behind him—kids too broke to buy their own copy.
"What's with all of you crowding around me?" he grumbled.
Holding up the magazine, he said, "Fine, I'll read it to you! This issue is packed with so much stuff—if Kadokawa Game Express hadn't interviewed the Atlas studio, who would've guessed there were so many stories behind the game?"
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