Chapter 1454 1372 — Zemitsu ZEPS 4 “Sudden Review”

Sunday, 8 February 2002.

ZAGE Tower Japan.

Zaboru leaned back in his chair inside his office, finally allowing himself a little time to relax. It was already evening, and most of the work he needed to finish before tomorrow's flight had been completed. Early the next morning he would be heading to ZAGE USA for several work-related matters, which meant he should probably have been packing, reviewing his schedule, or at least preparing himself to sleep early.

Instead, something on his desk had completely stolen his attention.

Placed directly in front of him was a thick magazine with a large label printed across the cover:

EMERGENCY ISSUE: ZEMITSU ZEPS 4 REVIEW!

Zaboru stared at it for a few seconds before chuckling. "Emergency issue? Seriously? Heheheh."

Zemitsu normally released its major magazine issue only once each month, but apparently the ZEPS 4 launch had generated enough attention and enough reader requests that the editorial team had decided to publish an additional special issue dedicated almost entirely to reviewing the console and its launch games. That alone amused Zaboru. Zemitsu already had a proper website and an active YouTube channel where they could post reviews almost instantly, yet the printed magazine remained absurdly popular.

He picked it up and flipped it around in his hands. "Don't you guys already have a website and YouTube now? Well… apparently people in this world still really love magazines."

Honestly, he understood why.

There was something different about holding a physical gaming magazine, flipping through pages filled with screenshots and long-form reviews, and seeing all the art laid out properly across paper. It was slower than YouTube or ZAGE Forum, but it also had its own charm. Back in his previous life, he had watched physical game magazines gradually lose relevance as the internet became dominant. In this world, however, publications like Zemitsu had adapted early enough to digital media that the magazine itself had become more of a premium companion rather than an outdated replacement for online coverage.

Zaboru looked at the front cover again. ZEPS 4 occupied almost the entire design, surrounded by screenshots from the twelve launch games. Mario appeared near the top, Dante stood prominently on one side, Master Chief occupied another, and smaller images showed Monster Hunter, Pokémon Colosseum, GTA: San Andreas, Nocturne, TMNT, and several others.

"Whoa," Zaboru muttered with a smile. "They really nailed the cover."

He opened the magazine.

The first section was dedicated entirely to the console itself.

Zemitsu's editors had gone much deeper than a simple specification list. They discussed how ZEPS 4 felt to actually use after a week: the startup sequence, interface speed, wireless controller, system responsiveness, backward compatibility, hard-drive storage, Blue-Ray support, the Z-Remote, built-in services, and the way ZAGE ID tied everything together.

One large highlighted sentence immediately caught Zaboru's eye:

"THIS IS WHAT A 'FUTURE' CONSOLE FEELS LIKE."

Zaboru chuckled. "Well, they really aren't holding back, heheheh."

The review praised how many systems were integrated without making the interface feel overloaded. ZAGE Network was described as remarkably stable considering how many millions of people had connected during the first week. Friends lists, messaging, voice chat, and game invitations worked with far fewer launch problems than critics had expected. Zemitsu specifically praised how quickly players could move from a game into their profile, invite friends, check Trophys, browse Z-Store, or return to gameplay without feeling as though they had left the console's ecosystem.

The new Trophys system received an entire section of its own. Zemitsu described it as one of those features that initially sounded unnecessary but became strangely addictive once players actually experienced it. Even players who normally did not care about completion percentages found themselves attempting unusual challenges simply because unlocking a Trophy and displaying it on their ZAGE profile felt satisfying.

The magazine also praised ZEPS 4's recording system. Players could capture screenshots and short gameplay clips, save them directly to the internal HDD, transfer them to a PC, or upload them much more easily to YouTube and ZAGE Forum. Zemitsu argued that this feature might end up changing how players talked about games, because discoveries no longer needed to be described only through text. If someone found a hidden boss, strange glitch, ridiculous combo, secret area, or impressive multiplayer moment, they could simply show everyone.

Zaboru nodded slowly as he read. "That one, yeah. I really wanted sharing to be simple."

There were still criticisms. Zemitsu mentioned that the sheer number of features could overwhelm completely new players, especially those who had never used online services before. Some system menus also required a little learning, and the magazine noted that Z-Store would probably become increasingly crowded once the digital library grew. However, Astro Playroom was praised specifically for solving much of that learning problem by teaching features through gameplay rather than forcing users through long instruction pages.

Zaboru smiled faintly. "See, Dad? Free doesn't mean cheap."

He flipped further.

Then came the launch-game reviews.

The very first one made him laugh before he had even read a sentence.

SUPER MARIO SUNSHINE

"Of course Mario is first."

Zemitsu opened the review by stating that every new ZAGE console almost felt incomplete without a Mario title close to launch. Mario had become one of ZAGE's most recognizable characters worldwide, making Sunshine one of the easiest ZEPS 4 games to recommend to families, younger players, longtime fans, and people who simply wanted something immediately approachable.

But Zemitsu emphasized that Sunshine was far more than a safe mascot game.

The review praised the game's art direction heavily. Compared with more realistic launch titles such as Halo, GTA: San Andreas, or Metal Gear Solid 2, Sunshine looked completely different. Instead of chasing realism, it used ZEPS 4's hardware to exaggerate color, lighting, animation, and environmental richness. Isle Delfino looked almost impossibly vibrant, with intensely blue water, bright beaches, colorful buildings, dense vegetation, animated residents, detailed reflective surfaces, and expressive cartoon movement everywhere.

Mario himself had received significantly smoother animation. His movements transitioned more naturally between running, jumping, sliding, climbing, swimming, and using FLUDD, while smaller expressions and body movements gave him much more personality than older versions.

The water rendering received particular praise.

Zemitsu wrote that FLUDD's water effects were not simply pretty decoration; they were one of the clearest demonstrations of what stronger hardware could do for a stylized game. Streams of water curved naturally, broke into smaller droplets, reflected light, interacted visibly with surfaces, and left temporary wetness across environments. Puddles and ocean surfaces reacted dynamically, while sunshine and reflections made Isle Delfino feel almost aggressively cheerful.

Zaboru nodded approvingly. "Okay, they really nailed that part."

He leaned back in his chair and smiled. "Honestly, this is what I always imagined Mario could look like if Nintendo had superior hardware but still completely committed to the art style. You don't need realistic skin pores or dark cinematic lighting. Just give artists more power and let them make the colorful world richer."

That had been one of Zaboru's biggest visual goals for the ZEPS 4 version of Sunshine. Compared with the GameCube version he remembered from his previous life, ZAGE's version could push dramatically more geometry, richer textures, more complex lighting, larger numbers of animated elements, higher-resolution effects, and far smoother animation. Yet none of those upgrades were allowed to destroy the colorful Mario identity.

The result was exactly what he wanted.

It looked expensive.

But still unmistakably Mario.

Zemitsu also praised the controls, though it noted that FLUDD could initially feel strange to people expecting a more traditional Mario game. The magazine liked how movement opened up once players became comfortable using water-assisted jumps and hovering, while secret stages without FLUDD forced players to rely entirely on pure platforming skill.

The final score appeared at the bottom of the page.

9/10

Zaboru chuckled. "They're still generous with Mario games."

He paused and nodded.

"But fair."

He flipped the page.

The next major title was:

HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED

Zaboru's eyebrows rose slightly. "Oh? Halo next?"

He settled back into his chair.

This one interested him more because Halo occupied a very unusual position in this world. In Zaboru's previous life, Halo had been strongly associated with Xbox and had become one of the defining games of Microsoft's console identity. Here, however, Halo belonged to ZAGE and had been developed as one of the flagship ZEPS 4 launch titles as XBOX creating FPS game HORI instead.

Zemitsu began by admitting that some Japanese players had initially been uncertain about Halo. First-person shooters had never traditionally dominated the Japanese console market, and military science-fiction games were not automatically guaranteed to appeal to the same audience that bought Mario, Pokémon, or JRPGs.

Yet the review argued that Halo succeeded because it was extremely easy to understand while still having enough mechanical depth to keep experienced FPS players interested.

Movement felt smooth. Aiming with the analog sticks was unusually comfortable. Enemy AI reacted dynamically rather than simply standing in predetermined positions. The Covenant enemies communicated, repositioned, fled when leaders died, threw grenades, and behaved differently depending on their species. Zemitsu particularly praised the way combat encounters could unfold differently even when replaying the same section.

The weapon design also received strong praise because the arsenal avoided becoming a collection of nearly identical guns. Human weapons and Covenant weapons felt fundamentally different, and the limitation of carrying only two primary weapons forced players to constantly decide what to keep.

Zaboru nodded. "Yep. Two-weapon limit was definitely the right call."

The magazine also highlighted Halo's large environments and vehicle sections. Driving the Warthog with another player controlling the turret became one of the most popular co-op experiences of the launch week, while the wide outdoor maps gave combat an unusual amount of freedom compared with corridor-heavy shooters.

But the section Zemitsu praised most strongly was multiplayer.

One bold subtitle read:

"THE SURPRISE STAR: ONLINE HALO."

Zaboru grinned.

The review admitted that the editorial team had expected online multiplayer to be one of the areas where launch-week problems would appear. Thousands upon thousands of players connecting simultaneously to a new console network usually meant instability, lag, dropped matches, or matchmaking problems.

Instead, Halo's multiplayer had worked far better than expected.

Zemitsu's staff had tested matches across Japan, Korea, parts of China, and even several connections against players in the United States. Naturally, farther connections introduced some latency, but the magazine was surprised by how playable most matches remained. Domestic games were described as extremely smooth, and ZAGE Network handled party formation and invitations cleanly

The review praised how quickly players could enter matches, invite friends through ZAGE ID, create private games, or jump directly into public matchmaking. Voice chat also worked reliably, though Zemitsu humorously noted that this had already introduced players to "the terrifying discovery that strangers on the internet are extremely loud."

Zaboru burst out laughing.

"Hahaha! Welcome to console online gaming."

The multiplayer modes themselves were praised for being easy to understand but endlessly replayable. Slayer immediately became the default choice for people wanting straightforward combat, while Team Slayer turned the experience into something much more tactical. Capture the Flag received especially strong praise because vehicles, open maps, and coordinated teams could create completely unpredictable situations.

One Zemitsu editor apparently spent most of an entire night playing CTF and wrote a small side comment:

"We intended to test this mode for thirty minutes. We stopped four hours later."

Zaboru laughed again. "That's how you know it works."

Then came the graphics discussion.

Zaboru leaned forward slightly.

Zemitsu praised Halo as one of the clearest technical showcases for ZEPS 4. The environments were considerably more detailed than anything most console players had seen before, with long draw distances, complex terrain, dense vegetation, detailed architecture, dynamic lights, particle effects, reflections, and large battles involving numerous characters without major performance collapse.

Character animation received equal attention. Marines reacted more naturally to nearby explosions, Covenant enemies moved with distinct body language, and Master Chief's armor had significantly more detail and environmental reflection than expected.

For Zaboru, the comparison to his previous life was impossible to ignore.

The original Xbox version of Halo: Combat Evolved had been extremely impressive for 2001 hardware.

But this was not that Halo.

ZEPS 4 had far more power available, and ZAGE's version had been rebuilt to take advantage of it.

Higher-resolution textures covered environments and characters. Armor materials reflected surrounding light much more convincingly. Weapon animations were smoother. Facial animation on Marines and Captain Keyes had been significantly improved. Covenant energy effects were brighter and more dynamic, while plasma impacts produced much richer lighting across nearby surfaces.

Enemy animation had also been expanded considerably.

Elites moved with more weight and coordination.

Grunts had dramatically more expressive panic animations.

Jackals shifted their shields naturally depending on where incoming fire came from.

Hunters looked genuinely enormous and threatening rather than simply large.

Even basic reload animations had been polished.

Zaboru chuckled while reading. "Yeah… in my previous life, the Xbox version already looked great for its time. But if we're putting Halo on this monster, no way I'm leaving it looking exactly like 2001."

Zemitsu was especially impressed by the consistency. Halo looked beautiful, but the visual improvements had not been allowed to interfere with gameplay readability. Enemies remained easy to identify at a distance, Covenant colors remained visually distinct, and weapon effects did not drown the screen in unnecessary particles.

The review did mention several small weaknesses. Certain indoor environments still repeated visual structures more often than some players might like, and driving the Warthog required adjustment because steering behaved differently from most racing games.

But neither issue meaningfully damaged the overall experience.

Then came the score.

9/10

Zaboru stared at it for a moment.

Then chuckled.

"Damn. Another nine?"

He leaned back and looked toward the magazine suspiciously.

"Are these guys just going to give everything nine out of ten?"

He flipped back briefly to make sure he had read correctly.

Mario Sunshine: 9/10.

Halo Combat Evolved: 9/10.

Zaboru rubbed his chin and laughed quietly. "If Devil May Cry gets another nine, I'm going to start thinking I bribed these guys without knowing about it."

Naturally, ZAGE did not do well despite ZAGE helping create ZEMITSU a couple of years back still.

Zemitsu had built its reputation partly by being willing to criticize even enormously popular games, which was why Zaboru found the scores genuinely entertaining rather than simply flattering. A strong review from ZAGE Forum users was nice. Positive YouTube videos were nice. But seeing experienced reviewers carefully break down why a game worked, what it did differently, where it stumbled, and whether it deserved recommendation had a different feeling entirely.

He turned the page again.

A new two-page spread appeared.

Zaboru's eyes moved toward the title.

Then his grin widened.

"Heheheh… alright. Let's see what you say about this one."

To be continued.