Not long after their discussion at ZAGE Tower, Zaboru found himself sitting in the passenger seat of Hikaru Kurata's car as they headed toward Sonaya's headquarters. He leaned back against the seat, looked out at the passing city for a moment, then sighed dramatically. "I still can't believe I actually agreed to this. Tomorrow I have the proper ZEPS 4 showcase in ZEB, you know that, Hikaru-san?" Hikaru kept his eyes on the road and answered without much concern, "You already agreed, so stop complaining." He knew perfectly well Zaboru was only groaning to annoy him, and that was confirmed almost immediately when Zaboru chuckled. "Heheheh. I'm more surprised you actually drive by yourself." Hikaru shrugged slightly. "Recently I've started liking it. It's not a big deal." Zaboru looked toward him with mild amusement. "Huh. CEO lifestyle evolution."
The real reason Hikaru had called in the favor was simple enough: Sonaya wanted Zaboru to review a game concept. That alone immediately interested him. Hikaru and Junpei were not asking for help because they lacked developers or funding. Sonaya had both. The problem was that the concept they were considering did not fit neatly into any genre they were used to handling, and they themselves were uncertain whether the direction would actually work commercially or creatively. Zaboru found that interesting. If Sonaya was confident enough to invest heavily but uncertain enough to ask one of its biggest rivals for an outside opinion, then whatever they were planning was probably unusual.
Not long afterward, the car arrived at Sonaya's headquarters. The moment Zaboru stepped inside, several employees immediately noticed him. It was difficult not to. Zaboru Renkonan appearing inside Sonaya HQ in person was unusual enough that people began whispering almost instantly. Some simply stared. Others smiled. Zaboru, naturally, did not help the situation at all. He grinned and waved casually at passing employees as if he were walking through one of his own buildings. Hikaru glanced toward him and sighed. "You really don't have to do that." Zaboru shrugged. "Hey, they're looking at me anyway."
Then one employee actually gathered enough courage to walk forward while holding an old issue of ZAGE Power Magazine. The young man looked visibly nervous, especially because Hikaru Kurata himself was standing right beside Zaboru. "Za…Zaboru-san… could I get your signature?" Zaboru's eyebrows immediately rose before his grin widened. "Whoa. You've got guts asking me for an autograph in front of your own CEO. I approve!" The employee's face went red while several people nearby tried not to laugh. Hikaru simply rubbed his forehead as Zaboru happily signed the magazine. The employee then timidly asked if he could take a picture using his Black Berry, and Zaboru immediately agreed. He stood beside him, flashed a relaxed smile toward the camera, and even pointed toward Hikaru afterward. "Make sure your boss doesn't fire you, okay?" Hikaru replied flatly, "I wasn't planning to." Zaboru laughed. "Good boss."
Once that little interruption was finished, Hikaru led him deeper into the building toward the game-development section. "That really wasn't necessary," Hikaru muttered. Zaboru shrugged. "He's my fan, so chill, Hikaru-san." Before Hikaru could respond, they were met by Junpei Hoshida, Sonaya's lead for the game division. Junpei smiled the moment he saw them. "Boss, Zaboru-san, welcome." Zaboru immediately shook his hand and chuckled. "Junpei, long time no see. So, how's that offer to work at ZAGE sounding? Had time to think about it?" Hikaru sighed almost instantly. Of course Zaboru would try recruiting Junpei again the moment he entered Sonaya's office. Junpei laughed. "Hahaha, I would love working at ZAGE, but I like it here at Sonaya, Zaboru-san. Besides, being your rival is surprisingly exciting." Zaboru pointed at him. "Good answer. Unfortunately, the offer remains open." Hikaru muttered, "Please stop trying to steal my employees while I'm standing here." Zaboru replied innocently, "I'm not stealing. I'm advertising."
Junpei decided it was better to move on before the conversation became even more ridiculous. He quickly led both men into one of Sonaya's development rooms, where several concept boards, artwork sheets, prototype notes, and early design documents had already been prepared. Zaboru looked around with genuine curiosity. "Alright, then. What kind of game are you guys trying to make?" Junpei smiled and picked up one of the older reference folders. "Do you remember our game Yokai Kiri?" Zaboru immediately chuckled. "Of course. Sonaya Mugen Game Box, 8-bit era. Basically your Castlevania answer where you copied the whole monster-hunting structure but replaced European vampires and gothic castles with Japanese folklore." Hikaru immediately gave him a tired look while Junpei laughed. "That is a very rude way of describing it." Zaboru shrugged. "Accurate though." Junpei smiled. "Unfortunately… yes."
Junpei then placed several new design sheets across the table. "We want to completely overhaul the concept. Not simply remake the old game with better graphics. We want to turn it into something with a much stronger identity." Zaboru leaned closer as Junpei continued, "The core gameplay would still be side-scrolling action, somewhat closer to Sherif Juan in terms of responsive movement and combat pacing. But the bigger change is the character presentation." He pushed two character sheets toward Zaboru. "What we want your opinion on is this. Do you think designs like these are acceptable?"
Zaboru picked up the first page.
It was a Yuki-Onna.
But not the traditional frightening interpretation he expected. The character was elegant and striking, with long black hair that faded into deep icy blue near the ends, pale skin, sharp but beautiful features, and layered clothing that mixed traditional Japanese influence with a stylized stage-like design. Her presence still looked supernatural, especially with thin frost patterns curling around her sleeves and icy particles near her feet, but she was undeniably designed to look beautiful rather than horrifying.
Zaboru slowly raised an eyebrow.
Then he looked at the second design.
Rokurokubi.
Again, instead of simply creating a grotesque monster with an elongated neck, Sonaya had designed a beautiful woman whose appearance remained stylish even while incorporating the bizarre yokai trait. Her normal form looked elegant and composed, while another concept image showed her neck extending unnaturally through the darkness, creating a combination of beauty and unease rather than pure horror.
Zaboru stared at the pages for several seconds.
Then he looked toward Junpei.
"What the hell?"
Junpei laughed nervously. "That reaction is exactly why we wanted your opinion."
Zaboru flipped between the two designs again. "These are yokai?"
"Yes."
"They look like models."
"That is intentional."
Zaboru looked toward Hikaru. "You guys are trying to make a thirst game."
Hikaru's expression tightened. "That is not how we described it."
Junpei failed to hold back a laugh.
Zaboru grinned. "But that's basically what this is."
Junpei finally explained the full idea. "We were looking at several ZAGE games for reference, especially Dance Dance Revolution 2. That game already proved players enjoy games that use virtual idols and attractive personalities as a major part of the presentation. Blackpink, Twice, and others gave the game a very strong identity beyond the rhythm mechanics." He gestured toward the yokai artwork. "But we don't want to make another idol rhythm game. We want to take that same appeal—recognizable, attractive, stylish characters—and combine it with the action gameplay and supernatural world of Yokai Kiri."
Zaboru leaned back slightly, now understanding the concept more clearly.
Junpei continued, "The idea is that many of the major yokai characters would be designed with the kind of appeal normally associated like idols or celebrities, but they would still function as actual characters inside the story. Some would be allies, some enemies, some rivals. The player would meet them repeatedly, learn their histories, relationships, motives, and personalities. We want players to become attached to them."
Hikaru crossed his arms. "The problem is that we are considering investing heavily into this. New art direction, larger production, music, voice acting, expanded story, more advanced animation, better combat. If the basic concept feels ridiculous or too niche, I would rather know before we commit too deeply."
Junpei nodded. "That is why we wanted your advice. You seem strangely good at predicting whether unusual genres can actually find an audience."
Zaboru began laughing.
Hikaru frowned. "What is funny?"
Zaboru looked back down at the Yuki-Onna concept. "Nothing. I just realized you guys basically want to make a high-budget 'beautiful yokai' game and you're asking me whether people will like it."
Junpei coughed lightly. "When you say it like that…"
"It sounds exactly like what it is."
Hikaru sighed. "Can you just answer seriously?"
Zaboru chuckled one last time before his expression became more thoughtful. He looked carefully through the pages again, paying attention to costume design, silhouettes, color themes, expressions, and the notes attached to each character. "Honestly? This is good. Very good, actually. I think it can absolutely become popular." Hikaru raised an eyebrow. "You're not against the idea?" Zaboru shook his head. "Not at all. Attractive characters sell. That's not exactly some hidden secret. Look at idol games. Look at our Dead or Alive titles. Look at fighting games, RPGs, anime adaptations. Players naturally become attached to characters they enjoy looking at."
He raised one finger.
"But."
Junpei immediately became more attentive.
Zaboru placed the artwork back onto the table. "You cannot rely only on that. This isn't Dance Dance Revolution where the idols, music and dance themselves are naturally part of the main appeal, and it isn't Dead or Alive where combat and character personality can carry a lot of the experience. Yokai Kiri has an actual narrative world. If you make the characters beautiful but shallow, people might buy the game because the designs catch their attention, but they won't stay attached to it."
He pointed toward Yuki-Onna. "If she's beautiful, great. But why is she here? What does she want? What is her relationship with humans? Does she hate them? Protect them? Is she lonely? Does she understand what she is? Is she dangerous even when she doesn't want to be?" Then he pointed toward Rokurokubi. "Same with her. Don't just make 'pretty woman with long neck.' Give the weirdness meaning. Maybe she hates what she becomes at night. Maybe she enjoys frightening people. Maybe she hides her nature. Maybe her species has its own culture. I don't care which direction you choose, but there should be something underneath the design."
Junpei immediately started writing notes.
Zaboru continued, warming to the subject. "Also, don't sanitize the yokai too much. Beauty is fine, but they still need to feel supernatural. Yuki-Onna should still feel cold and dangerous. Rokurokubi should still become unsettling when her neck moves. If every monster is just a beautiful person wearing themed clothing, you lose the folklore identity."
Hikaru nodded slowly. "So you think the attractive designs work as long as the original creature concept remains visible."
"Exactly. Stylish, not generic."
Junpei wrote that down.
Zaboru then flipped through more of the concepts. There were early ideas for Kitsune, Nekomata, Jorogumo, Tengu, Oni, and several lesser-known yokai. Not every design was female either. Some male yokai had similarly dramatic, attractive designs aimed at different audiences, while others remained deliberately monstrous.
That immediately pleased Zaboru more.
Hikaru then asked, "But commercially, you genuinely believe this can work?"
Zaboru nodded. "Definitely. Actually, I've thought about something similar before." Hikaru's eyes narrowed slightly. "Of course you have." Zaboru laughed. "You know my manga Nurarihyon no Mago, right? That already plays around with yokai being stylish, memorable characters rather than just scary folklore monsters. Some of them are cool, some beautiful, some frightening, some funny. I've always thought there's a lot more you can do with that concept in games."
Junpei glanced toward Hikaru and chuckled. "Somehow, we already expected you to say you had considered something similar. That is also why we were not particularly worried about you stealing the idea."
Zaboru looked offended. "Hey!"
Zaboru leaned back and continued looking through the documentation. "Still, your direction is different enough. If you make this work, Yokai Kiri could become something really recognizable for Sonaya. You already have the old name, so older players have nostalgia. Then you completely reinvent the tone for a newer audience."
Junpei nodded. "That is exactly what we want."
"Then don't be afraid to commit."
Hikaru looked toward him. "Meaning?"
"If you want stylish yokai, make them genuinely stylish. Don't get halfway through production and suddenly become scared that someone will call the characters too attractive. If you want darker folklore elements, actually make some parts dark. If you want action gameplay, make the combat strong enough that people would still play even if the characters were ugly." Zaboru smiled. "The worst thing you can do is try to appeal to everyone so much that the game ends up with no personality."
Hikaru remained quiet for a moment before nodding.
That was exactly the kind of answer Sonaya had wanted from him.
After that, the conversation expanded naturally into the rest of the project. Junpei brought out combat documents, and Zaboru immediately began pointing out areas he thought needed improvement. The side-scrolling structure itself was fine, but he recommended making each playable character noticeably different rather than relying on simple statistical variations. A sword user should not feel identical to a talisman user. Yokai abilities should influence traversal as well as combat. Certain characters could access hidden routes, interact with supernatural objects, or bypass environmental hazards in unique ways.
Zaboru gave them some advice, and Sonaya took note of it for future reference. Zaboru never really told them exactly how the game should work, especially since Junpei already had plans that suited the game they wanted to make. In the end, Zaboru's suggestions were simply that—useful advice they could consider while developing the game.
Zaboru spent quite a while at Sonaya HQ before finally preparing to leave, accompanied by Hikaru Kurata.
But as he walked toward the exit beside Hikaru, he glanced back once toward the development room and smiled..
Yokai Kiri.
A stylish supernatural side-scrolling action game filled with beautifully designed yokai, strong personalities, Japanese folklore, and hopefully enough real gameplay and story to ensure the characters became memorable for more than their appearance.
Zaboru chuckled quietly.
Sonaya might actually have something good.
And strangely enough, that made him happy.
They were rivals after all.
What was the point of having rivals if they never created anything worth competing against?
To be continued.
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