After delivering the medicine to Kentarō, Kobayashi Tetsu returned home.
He had given Nakayama Yuji and the others time off—after all, they had just completed a project. There was no need to keep grinding them down. During this window, Kobayashi could properly plan Sonic the Hedgehog.
The FC already had plenty of high-speed games, and some titles had enormous cartridge sizes. Late-era FC games even reached one megabit.
They couldn't achieve that capacity yet, but the game could still be made—just with some cuts compared to the original vision.
"But speaking of Sonic…"
Sketching Sonic's outline on the whiteboard, Kobayashi suddenly thought of another game.
Crash Bandicoot—a Western-style title. Its structure and feel were similar to Sonic's: heavily animated, cartoony designs; a quirky mascot hero; and, ultimately, a mad doctor to defeat.
There was also Rayman, a game many believed paid tribute to Sonic, likewise focused on high-speed running and platforming.
As a Ubisoft production, Rayman was famous in its own right.
"I can borrow the strengths of each and combine them."
He made a few quick strokes on the whiteboard.
From its inception, Sonic had been designed to counter Mario. Mario looked like a kind, goofy uncle; Sonic needed to radiate "cool." Where Mario focused on stomping enemies, Sonic highlighted collecting rings.
The name "Sonic" meant "sound speed"—hence the Chinese title "Sound-Speed Sonic." And as for whether it had anything to do with Sony or Sonico—Kobayashi could only say: absolutely not.
He wrote rapidly, quickly filling the board with his concept.
For level design, he would draw from Crash, Rayman, and classic Sonic stages. The style would stay the same: high-speed running, platforming, ring collecting, minor enemies, and a boss fight at the end.
Kojima's AI framework was still incomplete. Kobayashi planned to create only a handful of especially clever bosses to showcase the new AI behavior.
He wiped the board clean several times, refining it until he finally settled on the structure.
"Nakayama and the others are on break—no need to call them back. In that case…"
He had time. He might as well tackle the other components now.
For example: arranging the accompanying animation, and seeing whether Bandai could be convinced to produce the toys.
---
Wednesday.
Kobayashi arrived at Bandai headquarters.
Unlike last time, the assistant at the door didn't stop him. After showing him into the office, the assistant politely went to prepare tea.
Yamashina Makoto greeted him far more warmly than before.
"Kobayashi-kun! Long time no see! Why don't you visit me more often?" He spread his arms with a laugh. "Our last collaboration went amazingly well. My father even praised me—he never does that."
Kobayashi nodded, accepting the green tea the assistant brought. After a sip, he said:
"Tea powder still can't compare to real leaves."
Yamashina blinked. "You understand tea ceremony?"
"No, I don't. I just saw your assistant making tea powder as I walked in."
Yamashina fell silent for a moment.
But he quickly recovered. "Anyway, let's not dwell on that. Kobayashi-kun, since our last partnership was so successful, I'm considering commissioning Daicon Film for another project. If possible, I'd like Atlus to develop the companion game!"
Kobayashi's eyes glinted.
So Yamashina was ready to helm a project of his own.
It was natural—Yamashina Makoto was ambitious by birth.
As soon as he heard the project description, Kobayashi understood.
Yamashina was talking about Royal Space Force: The Wings of Honnêamise—Bandai's commissioned film that eventually caused Daicon Film to rename itself.
But Honnêamise was a financial disaster. It cost 800 million yen and had no hope of recouping.
Kobayashi absolutely refused to let Yamashina invest in Honnêamise.
—If Yamashina invested in that, who would invest in Sonic?!
When Yamashina finished explaining, Kobayashi finally spoke.
"I don't think it's a good idea. If you commission Daicon Film, you're likely to lose money. Before Atlus hired them, they operated at a loss for years. It's not that I don't respect them—but Daicon's people share one trait: they don't treat money like money. The more you give them, the more extravagantly they'll spend it."
Yamashina frowned in thought.
"That is a problem. We need profit. But if ratings are good, toy sales would follow, right? I plan to invest 400 million yen. That's enough to make a high-quality anime film!"
Kobayashi nearly snorted.
He knew exactly how this went.
Yamashina originally invested 400 million—the money ran out and the film wasn't even half done.
He added 200 million—still not enough.
In the end, driven mad, he dumped a total of 800 million yen into it and half-threatened the studio, even implying he'd send the Yamaguchi-gumi after them if they didn't finish.
Only then did Daicon Film barely complete Honnêamise.
And as for profit… forget it.
As a viewer, Kobayashi thought it was a great movie. As an investor—
Don't. Absolutely don't.
It was a money pit.
"How about considering my project instead?"
Kobayashi casually slid Sonic's proposal across the table and offered a concise explanation.
Yamashina deliberated.
It did sound ideal for plush toys and figurines.
But there was one concern.
"This game… is reliable, right?"
Kobayashi smiled.
"Brother Yamashina, don't joke with me. Look me in the eyes—are you asking someone from Atlus whether the game will be good? Didn't Jörmungandr's sales and reception prove enough? Even if the animation has issues, the game won't. At the very least, between the game and the toys, we can guarantee mutual momentum."
Yamashina exhaled, clearly leaning toward a decision.
"You make a solid case. But I can't decide immediately. I'm responsible for hundreds of Bandai employees. Give me time to think."
Kobayashi almost clicked his tongue.
"Time to think" usually meant "no."
He could fund it himself if needed. But if someone else's money could be used—why spend his own?
He frowned slightly, preparing to choose his next persuasive line.
Then his pocket pager buzzed.
He pulled it out.
Almost no one contacted him except Atlus applicants, so he wasn't expecting anything unusual.
But when he glanced at the short message, surprise flashed across his face.
"…Why would it be him?"
Yamashina blinked. "Who?"
Kobayashi answered:
"Miyamoto Shigeru."
Yamashina: ???
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