Atlas's garage had three full development setups—one each for Kobayashi Tetsu, Yuji Naka, and Takeshi Kitagawa. Now that Kobayashi Tetsu was conveniently slacking off for a few days, his workstation was lent to the newcomer, Satoru Iwata.
Before Iwata arrived, Kobayashi had already signed a particularly strict development agreement with HAL—a contract everyone involved had to sign. It included heavy non-disclosure terms and sky-high penalties for leaking information.
Iwata didn't mind. Such agreements during a development cycle were common sense.
What surprised him more was the studio itself—tiny compared to HAL, yet producing results far beyond HAL's current reach.
The equipment was new and high-end. The chairs were comfortable, the desks wide enough to scatter numerous tools and notes over them—a strangely pleasant workspace.
On one desk sat a trophy, with a rolled-up certificate tied with a blue ribbon and casually stuffed into the cup.
"First Island Game Tournament Champion—"
Iwata scratched his head.
He had attended the first tournament too… and hadn't placed well.
Now that he knew Kobayashi Puzzle had been created by Kobayashi Tetsu himself, the idea that Kobayashi had gone to participate in his own tournament left him with an indescribably odd feeling.
Then again… successful people having quirky hobbies wasn't unusual. Freely expressing oneself—that was the true spirit of genius.
Since Kobayashi wasn't here today—he'd gone to SEGA to apply for a development kit—this workstation now temporarily belonged to Iwata.
He wasn't the type to snoop through others' things, but some files were simply sitting there, impossible not to notice.
"…Is this the source code for Kobayashi Puzzle?"
Iwata muttered a quiet apology to no one in particular, tapped a few keys, and opened the file.
It wasn't long—barely two hundred lines. But every line was refined.
He skimmed through it, and the deeper he read, the more stunned he felt.
Perfect. Painfully elegant. Not a single unnecessary instruction. Clean, concise structure—and above all, blazing efficiency.
"Kobayashi-san wrote this himself…?!"
He recalled Kobayashi's face—the kind of face that looked more suited for appearing on television or movie screens. Hard to imagine him silently hammering out flawless code in a garage.
Iwata had started programming young himself, but even he had to admit:
This was artistry.
Just then, the garage door slid open—Kobayashi Tetsu returned.
Yuji Naka and the others immediately rose to greet him. Iwata stood and bowed as well.
"Keep working," Kobayashi said, motioning for them to relax before walking straight toward Iwata.
"The dev kit request went through. HAL should have received it already. For now, Iwata-kun, work with Naka-kun and get familiar with SEGA's development environment. Any issues?"
Iwata bowed again. "No, none."
Actually—yes. He desperately wanted to ask if that code was his.
But courtesy kept his mouth shut.
"Good. Keep it up."
Kobayashi gave a lazy wave and, with a clear conscience, resumed slacking off.
He didn't treat Iwata with any special warmth—just normal work communication, occasional suggestions, minor code tweaks in front of everyone. Nothing more, nothing less.
And just like that, development rolled into July.
Iwata became the bridge between HAL and Atlas, and HAL officially joined the project, speeding everything up.
School was out for summer. Groups of teenagers filled the streets. Kobayashi's young neighbor, Kozakawa, became a regular visitor—coming over to play games whenever she pleased.
And at long last, Excite Motocross reached its final testing stage.
"Try it."
In the garage, Kobayashi shoved a test cartridge into the console and handed Kozakawa the controller.
He added, deliberately exaggerated, "This version hasn't leaked anywhere. You could even submit an early review to Kadokawa Game News later."
Kozakawa stared up at him.
"But the game isn't out yet."
"That's why it's called an early review."
Kobayashi spread his hands.
Early press copies before release would become standard industry practice later, greatly affecting early sales. But at this moment, magazines like FAMIMAGA and Kadokawa Game News weren't influential enough for companies to bother sending advance review builds.
Kozakawa didn't fully understand, but she lifted the controller anyway.
An unreleased game! She was probably the first player outside the developers to ever touch it!
The race began—four motorbikes in diagonal starting positions, engines roaring as they launched forward.
The basics were similar to Nintendo's Excitebike: four bikes looping through tracks, with sand pits and obstacles that allowed for speed-boosting jumps if handled well.
The game also retained the original's "engine heat" mechanic—low heat allowed for bursts of acceleration, while overheating caused the bike to stall.
Kobayashi had preserved the system entirely. Managing engine temperature remained a key strategic element.
Kozakawa gripped the controller tightly, guiding her bike past the first sand pit—
At that moment, a red bike cut in from the side, overtaking her. When she attempted to accelerate and chase, the red bike suddenly swerved.
CLANG!
It clipped her front wheel perfectly. Kozakawa's rider flipped through the air, the bike flying off the track.
"Ah!" She puffed her cheeks angrily.
That felt… malicious!
As she scrambled to pick up her bike, Kobayashi crossed his arms behind her, wearing an unmistakably smug grin.
Take your time. The surprises have only begun.
At first she thought the crash was just bad luck. Maybe she'd accelerated at the wrong moment.
But soon she realized a grave problem.
The enemies were… wrong.
The three rival bikes each had distinct strategies:
— The blue bike prioritized clean racing and acceleration.
— The red bike aggressively attacked, intentionally sideswiping her whenever she got too close.
— The black bike stayed behind her, waiting to overtake the moment she fell.
And worse—they weren't even fixed behaviors. Sometimes the blue bike attacked. Sometimes the red bike targeted someone else entirely.
Barely clearing the first stage, Kozakawa put down the controller and rubbed her face.
"Tetsu-kun… why… why are they—"
She couldn't even find the right word.
Kobayashi, acting as her mouthpiece, supplied it:
"Why are they so smart?"
Kozakawa nodded vigorously.
She didn't know how to describe it, only that the enemies felt alive. Smarter than anything she'd played.
Jörmungandr was already fun, but after Kobayashi taught her speedrun routes, she realized every enemy was actually fixed—just numerous and intimidating.
But here, in Excite Motocross, there were only three opponents…
And those three felt more vicious, more cunning, and more relentless than a hundred ordinary enemies combined.
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