The characters were exaggerated and comical, the presentation style was unique, and of course, there was the equipment.
A tank that looked more like a loaf of bread than a tank.
When it took a hit, it would spit out its cannon barrel like an animal. When it moved, it could crawl down and shrink into a lump.
Anyone would have to admit, this game looked very interesting.
Moreover, the first level's Boss soon appeared on the screen—a tank that looked fierce and was covered in all sorts of firing ports. The dense hail of bullets was comparable to a bullet-hell shooter, instantly leaving the audience in shock and speechless.
How the hell are you supposed to fight that?! This looks way too hard!
But...
The harder, the better! Real men play hardcore games; only sissies choose the easiest difficulty!
During the Q&A session, someone in the audience suddenly raised their hand.
Kobayashi Tetsu pointed casually: "You, what's your question?"
Lin Dengwan said, "I want to know, where did Sonic go?"
Kobayashi Tetsu lowered his head slightly, looking down at the audience.
"That's a great question. To find out where Sonic went, we first need to play a game. Anyone want to come up and give it a try?"
Lin Dengwan immediately volunteered.
Including him, several people were called onto the stage by Kobayashi Tetsu, who then handed them controllers and cartridges.
Kobayashi Tetsu explained concisely, "Don't be nervous. This isn't a full game, just a simple test. You can clear it easily. The controls couldn't be simpler—there's only one button: Jump. If anyone can score fifty points or more, I'll show you the Sonic game right here."
Lin Dengwan pondered.
Only one button, Jump? That's too easy!
The next moment, the television screen flickered to life, and the game officially began.
Appearing before Lin Dengwan was a figure suspended in mid-air—a Sonic sprite that was clearly more "chibi" than the original. Ahead of him were rows upon rows of upright spikes.
Behind him, an unfamiliar Boss was in relentless pursuit.
After the countdown—3, 2, 1—the game officially started. Sonic swung his chibi legs, sprinting through the air.
Lin Dengwan tried pressing the jump button.
Boing!
Sonic leaped once in mid-air, only to slam headfirst into the spikes above. Game Over.
"Hiss—"
Lin Dengwan couldn't help but scratch his head.
He died just like that?
"It's okay," Kobayashi Tetsu smiled, offering endless encouragement. "You can try again."
Lin Dengwan started the game once more.
The mechanics were gradually becoming clear: the character ran forward continuously while slowly descending. Pressing the button would make him jump slightly.
The goal was to control the character's height between jumping and falling to evade the pursuer from behind, as well as the spikes above and below.
It seemed simple, but the difficulty was sky-high!
Though the spikes were in fixed positions, they demanded precise control from the player. Worse still, the enemy behind would occasionally fire missiles. They appeared to be fired randomly, but if one happened to land right in the character's path, it was incredibly difficult to dodge.
A counter on the screen tracked how many meters he had traveled.
Lin Dengwan considered himself a fairly skilled gamer, but even after his best efforts, he only managed to reach a little over thirty meters.
After Lin Dengwan stepped down, several other players took their turns, but without exception, none of them managed to run very far.
This seemingly simple mini-game was far more difficult than they had imagined!
Every time a player died, a slightly crude rendition of "Ode to Joy" would play. Though it was clearly missing a lot of its original content, it was still recognizable. The lighthearted and cheerful tune, however, felt like a crushing blow to Lin Dengwan and the others at this moment.
Kobayashi Tetsu scanned the crowd. "Anyone else want to try?"
More people eagerly volunteered to come on stage.
It's just a mini-game! I can breeze through this!
One by one, Kobayashi Tetsu selected players to try the game, but the seemingly unremarkable challenge proved to be terrifyingly difficult. Worse, it was the kind of game that left you dying with the thought, I should have just tried a little harder.
After more than ten minutes, Kobayashi Tetsu finally collected the controllers and glanced at his watch.
"Unfortunately, it seems no one could pass this test. We will now move on to the next segment: drawing lucky winners for posters, models, and free game cartridges!"
Lin Dengwan suddenly raised his hand again. "Is it even possible for someone to beat this mini-game?!"
"Of course."
Kobayashi Tetsu connected directly to the large screen and sat down, turning his back to the entire audience.
He picked up the controller and began to play.
The chibi Sonic zipped up and down through the spikes. When missiles were fired from behind, Kobayashi Tetsu dodged them by the narrowest of margins.
The entire audience fell silent, watching as the obstacles were effortlessly overcome.
Just as he reached the 49-meter mark, Kobayashi Tetsu deliberately crashed into the spikes—a move so obvious that everyone could see it.
"It seems no one can pass this challenge. In that case, we're sorry, but you'll have to wait until next time to play our game."
"I promise you all, Sonic the Hedgehog 2 will feature more enemies, smoother action, faster challenges, and of course, a deeper story with more playable characters."
Kobayashi Tetsu casually tossed the controller aside, his expression relaxed and cheerful, as he bowed to the crowd.
"If you want to see Sonic, we'll see you at the next event—the Los Angeles press conference!"
The cameras on site faithfully recorded every moment.
On television, edited footage of the press conference and post-event interviews were being broadcast.
On screen, Lin Dengwan looked into the camera: "Is this going to be on TV?"
"Yes, most likely."
"Wait a minute—Pfft!"
Lin Dengwan ran a hand through his hair. "Alright, ask me anything."
"As an audience member at the press conference, do you think this console met your expectations? And what about the bundled games?"
"As for the console, I haven't gotten my hands on it yet, but I can tell it's already amazing. A 16-bit system, better graphics, updated music, and more polished performance. I can't think of a better way to describe it—this is the console of my dreams. As for the games, Metal Slug looks great, but I'm more curious about where Sonic went."
The boss of Atlas had presented a playable demo, but surprisingly, no one could pass the test!
The next press conference will be in Los Angeles. I have to go! Not just to see the games first-hand, but most importantly, I want to be the one to beat that challenge!
"Actually, I think they did drop a few hints. For example, Sonic's appearance in the demo is different from the first game. Maybe he'll have a new look in Sonic the Hedgehog 2. And that enemy chasing him hasn't appeared in the first game either—it's highly likely a brand-new boss battle for the sequel."
Lin Dengwan nodded solemnly. "That's why I absolutely have to go to Los Angeles for the next press conference!"
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