Before Zaboru even returned to America to attend Sanika's school, he had already assigned his Tokyo team another set of projects to plan and develop. At that moment, the Tokyo team was juggling two major titles: Mario Kart, which promised to bring fast-paced multiplayer racing, and Breath of Fire, an RPG with a unique fantasy world. Zaboru, however, was always thinking several steps ahead, preparing the pipeline for future releases. In June, the Tokyo studio was scheduled to launch Paperboy 2, a direct sequel to the popular Paperboy 1 on ZEPS 1. Following closely in July would come another sequel from the ZEPS 1 lineup: Phantasy Star 2. Unlike the lighthearted chaos of Paperboy 2, Phantasy Star 2 carried one of the darkest, most emotionally heavy narratives ever seen in a JRPG. It was infamous in Zaboru's previous life for its shocking cliffhanger ending, which left players stunned and eager for more. These contrasting releases showed the Tokyo team's versatility—one title offering fun and humor, the other delivering deep storytelling and unforgettable drama.
Next, when Zaboru went to America, ZAGE finally secured the long-coveted video game rights from the NBA. After months of negotiations, the league agreed to license its name and players to ZAGE in exchange for a hefty annual fee of $800,000. For the NBA owner at the time, this already felt like a massive windfall, considering video games were still seen as a novelty market at least for him. To make things even more favorable, Zaboru boldly offered to lock in a 10-year deal upfront, paying a total of $8 million directly to the NBA. This arrangement thrilled the league's owner, who pocketed the money without giving much thought to the long-term potential of video game licensing. At the time, he regarded it as easy cash, little more than a convenient side deal. What he failed to realize was that this decision would later become one of the most shortsighted moves in the NBA's business history, as the value of video games and their cultural reach would grow exponentially beyond what he had ever imagined.
As for the USA team, Zaboru decided to hand them yet another task, despite their already crowded schedule. At the time, the team was balancing several massive projects: Quake, which was almost ready for its June launch alongside Unreal Engine, still undergoing steady technical refinement; Warcraft 2, freshly in development with a target release in July; and the ambitious network service Battle.net, which would redefine online gaming. While that list seemed overwhelming, Zaboru had already prepared detailed drafts and roadmaps for each project, which meant the core design work had been handled in advance. This gave him confidence that the team could realistically shoulder one more assignment without being crushed under deadlines.
The new project was scheduled to drop sometime between July and August: ZAGE's very first licensed basketball game. Thanks to the deal he had just secured, the title would be NBA Live 1995. But Zaboru was not content to merely port or repackage—it would be carefully reworked and refined under his guidance, tuned to deliver smooth gameplay, authentic presentation, and features that captured the thrill of professional basketball in 16 bit consoles. He envisioned this game as ZAGE's breakout into the real sports genre, a cornerstone release that would stand alongside their action and RPG hits. And in the future, once the foundation of serious sports titles was established, Zaboru also planned to have fun with lighter, offbeat sports spin-offs—those quirky, iconic games from his previous life that players had once adored.
Games like NBA Jam or even Super Shoot Soccer from his previous life would definitely be part of his long-term game plan, but for now he wanted to begin with more realistic sports titles.
Zaboru planned to expand NBA Live with a wide variety of game modes. He understood that it was the different modes that made sports games so addictive—giving players the chance to create their own team, design their own player, run through entire seasons, or even set up custom tournaments with friends. His vision was not just to provide a basic basketball simulation, but to deliver a full-featured experience that would keep players coming back again and again. By adding depth, creativity, and replayability,
At the same time, Zaboru had begun sketching out a plan to build an online gaming forum entirely on his own computer. Technically, he was capable of putting the pieces together by himself, but one obstacle loomed larger than all the rest—language. His dream was to open the doors to players across the globe, a space where anyone could share their thoughts about games without barriers. The trouble was that the issue of language remained unsolved. Machine translation technology simply did not exist yet, and even if Zaboru wanted to invent it, the task would demand immense resources and expertise far beyond ZAGE's scope. In truth, he barely understood how such translation systems worked. All he had heard were vague rumors that researchers in this world were experimenting with it, though no one could say how far they had really progressed.
At this stage, Zaboru had gone ahead and created a prototype forum where players from all over the world could gather and exchange ideas. He hoped that, over time, this environment would encourage those who didn't know another player's language to pick it up naturally, learning through necessity and constant exposure. For instance, if a Japanese player wanted to follow or reply to a thread written by an American in English, that player would need to adapt by studying English—the de facto global language at the time. Zaboru saw this as both a limitation and an opportunity: while language remained a wall, it also provided a reason for people to broaden their horizons. He imagined friendships forming despite the struggle, with dictionaries and phrasebooks kept close at hand. Though it was still early, his plan was to have the forum operational by July or August, transforming what was once a simple idea into a hub where different cultures, perspectives, and communities could begin to weave themselves together around the shared passion of games.
Outside of video games, Zaboru and the Zankoku band are releasing a single titled "Just The Way You Are," which Zaboru originally sang for Ayumi's birthday. The song quickly became popular, with many fans believing it was dedicated to Zaboru's girlfriend. This fueled the perception that Zaboru was incredibly romantic, winning him admiration from countless girls. However, not everyone was pleased—some of the other male fans of Z&Z were disappointed that the band wasn't releasing a heavy metal or rock track just like the Guitar Hero album. Yet Z&Z had never been strictly limited to rock and metal. Zaboru simply sang whatever he felt like, regardless of genre.
and now its already 23 May which is the release date of Mario Kart and Breath Of Fire for ZEPS 2.
To be continued
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