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Chapter 53 - The First RPG
🕑 Added 2025-09-16 11:30:48 +0000 UTCMay 27, 1986. Dawn’s faint light pierced Tokyo’s morning mist.
An ordinary workday, the city’s pulse still stirring awake.
Yet, in Akihabara, Shinjuku, and outside countless electronics and toy stores, an unusual scene had formed.
Long, winding lines coiled silently, buzzing with barely contained excitement.
Newspaper snippets and TV morning news flashes carried the same message: Enix’s Famicom game, Dragon Quest I, launched today.
“RPG,” a term still novel to most, echoed through the crowds.
Following Nintendo’s The Legend of Zelda, this was another highly anticipated Famicom “blockbuster.”
It promised a fantasy world of playing a hero, exploring, fighting, and growing.
Marketing had whipped players’ anticipation to a fever pitch.
The air thrummed with palpable expectation.
Kenichi Tanaka sat at his desk, feeling like pins pricked his seat.
The wall clock’s ticking jabbed at his nerves.
He pretended to organize already-tidy papers, but his eyes kept drifting outside.
Beyond the window, Dragon Quest was stirring a restless world.
He couldn’t stay put.
The urge grew wild within him.
Taking a deep breath, he stood, forcing a professional smile, and approached his section chief’s desk.
“Chief, here’s the data you requested yesterday.”
“Mm, leave it there,” the chief replied, engrossed in documents.
“Also, I need to visit a client in Chiyoda and conduct some market research.”
Tanaka kept his voice steady, casual.
The chief, still buried in papers, waved dismissively, granting approval.
Tanaka’s heart leapt. He rushed out, barely keeping his balance at the door to avoid tripping.
Suppressing the urge to sprint, he hurried to the nearest electronics store.
Seeing a queue longer than expected, his heart raced faster, not with dismay but with exhilaration.
Waiting was agonizing yet thrilling.
He eavesdropped on the crowd’s guesses and chatter, feeling part of a grand, secret gathering.
“Heard the music’s by Koichi Sugiyama—bound to be amazing.”
“Graphics look simple, but the content’s supposed to be unreal.”
“How long will it take to beat the Dragonlord…?”
Finally, his turn came.
When the disk, adorned with a hero and dragon, reached his hands, Tanaka felt he held not a game but a heavy key to another world.
He practically flew back to his cramped apartment.
The door slammed shut, sealing out the world’s noise.
He eagerly dusted off his Famicom, untouched since clearing Zelda, and inserted Dragon Quest.
Power on. The TV lit up with a pixelated title screen.
Then, the iconic, epic opening music played.
Tanaka’s excitement surged, as if stepping into adventure with the music’s rhythm. He chose “Begin Adventure.”
A simple pixel hero appeared in Radatome Castle’s town.
The king’s majestic voice came through text: “Hero of Loto’s bloodline…”
Tanaka moved the character, exiting the castle, talking to NPCs.
“You must find the three legendary items to defeat the Dragonlord…”
“I heard the princess was kidnapped by the dragon—poor thing…”
“The wilds outside are dangerous; better buy some gear first.”
Each simple line sketched a vague yet captivating world.
He left the town, stepping onto a vast field map.
Soon, the screen flashed, switching to a new interface.
A blue, jelly-like monster blocked the way—a Slime.
Options appeared: “Attack,” “Magic,” “Item,” “Escape.”
Unlike the reflex-driven action or shooting games he knew, this demanded thought, choice.
Tanaka selected “Attack.”
The pixel hero swung, a “2” popping up.
The Slime wriggled, striking back; “-1” appeared over the hero.
Turn-based combat felt fresh, strategic.
He sank into it, losing track of time, forgetting his supposed “client visit” or “market research.”
After slaying a few Slimes, experience points stacked up, and his level rose.
Focused on calculating if his next hit would fell a tougher red Slime, a doorbell interrupted.
“Ding-dong—”
Tanaka’s hand jerked, picking the wrong command, wasting a turn.
Fumbling the controller, irritation flared as he got up.
“Who’s that? Not the chief checking on me, right?” He remembered he was supposed to be out on business.
Heart pounding harder than in line, he opened the door.
There stood Mrs. Sato, his landlord, a kind-faced woman in a traditional kimono, holding community notices.
“Tanaka-san, sorry to bother you. Here’s this month’s circular.”
Her eyes drifted to the TV’s frozen, odd pixel scene—not racing or planes, but a figure facing a red jelly-like creature.
Noticing Tanaka’s flushed cheeks and flustered look, she saw a young tenant caught not working but doing something furtive.
“Tanaka-san, what’s… that new thing you’re playing?”
Her voice carried clear curiosity.
Tanaka’s face heated, stammering but unable to suppress his urge to share.
“Oh, Mrs. Sato, it’s… Dragon Quest, a new game.”
He scratched his head, trying to explain.
“You play a hero, adventuring in a world, fighting monsters, growing stronger, aiming to save a princess and defeat a dragon.”
Mrs. Sato nodded vaguely, her expression suggesting, “Probably a kid’s thing.”
Handing him the circular, she lingered, peering inside with interest.
Tanaka took it, itching to shut the door and resume his adventure.
But seeing Mrs. Sato still standing there, eyes on the screen, he reluctantly sat back, praying she’d leave. Yet, no sound of the door closing came.
Glancing back, she was still there, watching the TV.
