Chapter 1455 1373 — Zemitsu ZEPS 4 “Sudden Review 2”

Zaboru flipped to the next page and immediately found himself looking at a large two-page spread dedicated to Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas. He smiled the moment he saw the artwork. "Heheheh… I wonder how they rate this one." He leaned back slightly in his chair and tapped one finger against the page. "Japanese players in my previous world weren't exactly famous for being obsessed with this kind of game, but this world is already completely different anyway." He laughed quietly to himself. Because ZAGE had shaped so much of the gaming industry here from the beginning, genres that had been considered more niche in Japan in his previous life had developed much larger audiences. First-person shooters, Western-style RPGs, and crime games were no longer automatically treated as something "foreign" or secondary. Players had grown up with them alongside Mario, Pokémon, JRPGs, fighting games, and everything else ZAGE published. "Yeah… comparing player tastes between the two worlds is getting more pointless every year."

The Zemitsu review itself wasted very little time before praising San Andreas aggressively. The reviewer opened by calling it one of the most ambitious console games they had ever played, not because of any single feature but because of how many different systems existed inside the same world without completely falling apart. The article specifically praised the scale of San Andreas, noting that Los Santos alone already felt large enough to support an entire game before the player even discovered the countryside, desert, smaller towns, highways, forests, mountains, and additional major cities beyond it. What impressed the reviewers most was that the enormous map did not simply exist as empty space between missions. There were vehicles everywhere, hidden locations, businesses, properties, side activities, shops, gyms, races, basketball courts, gambling, gang territories, modification garages, strange NPC encounters, and countless places that seemed to exist purely because the developers wanted players to wander around and discover something unexpected.

One reviewer wrote that he had intended to spend an afternoon progressing the story but somehow lost almost three hours after stealing a motorcycle, driving into the countryside, finding a suspicious abandoned area, getting distracted by a race, purchasing clothes in another town, and eventually realizing he had not completed a single story mission. Rather than treating that as a criticism, Zemitsu called it one of the game's greatest strengths. San Andreas constantly gave the player permission to forget what they were supposed to be doing.

Zaboru laughed at that line. "Yep. That sounds about right." He remembered doing exactly the same thing in his previous life. The best open-world games were not always the ones with the biggest maps, but the ones capable of making a player genuinely curious about what was around the next corner. If someone opened the map intending to reach one mission marker and somehow arrived somewhere completely different an hour later, then the world had done its job.

The review then moved toward the vehicles. Zemitsu praised the enormous variety, from ordinary sedans and lowriders to motorcycles, bicycles, sports cars, trucks, boats, aircraft, and stranger vehicles players could discover later. More importantly, the magazine noted that vehicles did not all feel like identical objects with different appearances. Their handling, acceleration, weight, braking, and general character were distinct enough that players naturally developed favorites. Car modification was also praised heavily. San Andreas did not go as deeply into tuner culture as Need for Speed: Underground, but that was not its purpose. Instead, tuning existed as one system among dozens, allowing the player to personalize vehicles without turning the entire game into a dedicated racing simulator.

Zaboru nodded while reading. "Good. That's exactly the difference I wanted between those two games." He had deliberately refused to make Underground and San Andreas compete directly even though both involved car customization. Underground was supposed to obsess over street-racing culture. San Andreas simply needed enough depth that modifying CJ's favorite car felt worthwhile.

The magazine spent even more time discussing CJ himself. The reviewers were impressed that the protagonist could physically change based on how the player treated him. Training at gyms increased muscle, running and cycling improved stamina, overeating could make him heavier, neglecting food had consequences, and different martial-arts gyms could teach him different fighting styles. Clothing, hairstyles, tattoos, and accessories further changed his appearance. Zemitsu argued that none of these systems individually seemed revolutionary, but together they made CJ feel unusually personal for a fixed protagonist. Two players could be following the same story while controlling noticeably different versions of him.

The main story received equally strong praise. Zemitsu complimented the cast for feeling less like mission dispensers and more like a dysfunctional group of people who had history together. CJ, Sweet, Ryder, Big Smoke, Kendl, Cesar, and the others constantly insulted each other, argued, joked, betrayed expectations, and occasionally became far more serious than the game's absurd freedom might suggest. The reviewers particularly praised how the game could move between comedy and genuine drama without making either side feel completely disconnected. Some missions were absurd, others surprisingly tense, but the characters held everything together.

Zaboru smiled while reading the Big Smoke section. "Heheheh… yeah, I knew that bastard would become popular again." The magazine specifically mentioned that players were already quoting him constantly and that several lines had spread across ZAGE Forum within the first week. Zaboru could already imagine those jokes refusing to die for years.

Then came the side content, and Zemitsu almost sounded overwhelmed trying to summarize it. Taxi work, police missions, ambulance work, firefighter activities, street races, gambling, properties, gang recruitment, basketball, gyms, dating, vehicle modification, collectibles, hidden weapons, strange locations, and countless other distractions were all mentioned. The reviewer noted that many open-world games advertised freedom by offering lots of activities that ultimately felt shallow, while San Andreas succeeded because so many of its systems connected back into CJ, the world, or the player's progression somehow.

The review even singled out basketball. Zaboru laughed the moment he saw it. Zemitsu admitted that nobody expected a crime game to contain a surprisingly competent basketball mini-game with proper timing, positioning, practice, and gradual improvement. "Hahahah… I still love that we did this," Zaboru muttered. "Imagine buying one of the most expensive games we've ever made and then spending an hour improving CJ's jumper."

The magazine also praised the sheer amount of hidden nonsense. Cheats, easter eggs, strange rumors, unusual NPC behavior, secret locations, old ZAGE references, and deliberately unexplained events gave the world a kind of mythology almost immediately. Zemitsu warned readers that half the rumors appearing online were probably false, but that this actually made exploration more entertaining because players could never be completely sure which ridiculous stories were fabricated.

Finally, at the bottom of the review, the score appeared.

10/10

Zaboru stared at it for a second before chuckling. "They gave it a ten, huh?" He leaned back with a satisfied smile. "Nice. Though honestly… yeah, I expected this one to score extremely high." He tapped the page lightly. "San Andreas is just stupidly packed. You could remove half its systems and it would still be a full game."

He flipped to the next review.

DEVIL MAY CRY

Zaboru's grin immediately widened.

"Oh, this one."

The review began by praising Dante himself. Zemitsu described him as one of the most immediately memorable protagonists in the launch lineup, not simply because he looked cool, but because the entire game was built around his personality. Dante did not merely defeat demons. He mocked them, taunted bosses, spun weapons around unnecessarily, treated impossible situations like entertainment, and seemed determined to make every fight look far more complicated than it needed to be.

Zaboru laughed. "That's Dante alright."

The reviewer then moved into the combat system and became considerably more technical. Zemitsu praised how Devil May Cry managed to work for both inexperienced players and people willing to learn every detail of its systems. A beginner could still survive using straightforward sword attacks, guns, dodges, and basic combos, while experienced players could switch weapons, cancel animations, launch enemies, juggle them through gunfire, change Styles during combat, manipulate positioning, and chain increasingly complicated sequences together.

The four Styles received particular attention. Swordmaster dramatically expanded melee options, Gunslinger added new firearm techniques, Trickster emphasized movement and evasive positioning, while Royal Guard rewarded players willing to learn precise defensive timing. Because ZAGE's version allowed players to change Styles dynamically, combat could become incredibly flexible without forcing the player to restart a mission simply because they wanted a different approach.

Zemitsu called the game's skill ceiling "almost frightening."

Zaboru's eyes lit up at that.

"Heheheh… just wait."

He leaned slightly closer to the magazine. "The combo videos are still pretty docile right now because people have only had the game for a week. Give them time. Once someone starts abusing cancels, enemy step, Style switching, weapon switching, and everything else properly, YouTube is gonna become ridiculous." He chuckled. "And if they take too long, I'll make one myself. Somebody needs to show these guys how stupid Dante can actually become."

The review also praised the game's difficulty curve. Devil May Cry could punish careless players, especially during boss encounters, but its challenge rarely felt random. Bosses had readable patterns, enemies reacted differently depending on how players approached them, and stronger play was usually rewarded not only with easier victories but with better Style ratings. The game was effectively encouraging players to improve instead of merely survive.

Then came the score.

9.5/10

Zaboru blinked once.

"Holy moly."

He laughed.

"They really rated this insanely high."

He looked back at the review for a moment, clearly pleased. "Not quite the ten, though. Fair. DMC has some stuff that can still annoy people depending on how they play." He appreciated that Zemitsu had not simply thrown another perfect score at the game. A 9.5 still communicated that they considered it exceptional without pretending every part of it was flawless.

Zaboru flipped the page again.

NEED FOR SPEED: UNDERGROUND

The first full-page screenshot immediately showed a customized car speeding through a rain-soaked street beneath neon lights. Zaboru smiled. "Ah. Now we get into atmosphere."

Zemitsu's review called Underground the most visually impressive racing game the magazine had ever seen. That statement was particularly notable because Gran Turismo already existed under ZAGE and had built an enormous reputation for realistic cars. Yet Zemitsu carefully distinguished the two. Gran Turismo was the superior simulation, but Underground was not trying to challenge it there. Instead, it wanted to sell the fantasy of illegal street-racing culture, and everything about the game supported that goal.

The magazine praised its almost entirely nocturnal setting. Wet asphalt reflected neon signs, headlights stretched through rain and darkness, city lights moved naturally across polished vehicle bodies, nitrous distorted the image at high speed, and traffic made courses feel like actual urban spaces rather than sterile circuits. The reviewer described the atmosphere simply as "night street", an entire aesthetic built from dark roads, glowing signs, tuner cars, music, and speed.

Zaboru smiled at the phrase. "Night street. Yeah, that's actually a pretty damn good description."

The customization system received predictable praise. Wheels, paint, vinyls, body kits, spoilers, suspension, engine upgrades, transmission work, ECU tuning, tires, nitrous, and numerous other systems made cars feel increasingly personal as players progressed. Zemitsu particularly liked that performance upgrades produced noticeable differences rather than acting purely as numbers on a menu.

Then there was the soundtrack. The magazine specifically mentioned how strongly certain tracks became associated with different parts of the experience, particularly the slower electronic music used around the menus and garages. After Dark received special praise for making the main menu almost strangely relaxing compared with the aggressive racing itself.

At the end:

9/10

Zaboru burst out laughing. "Another nine! Seriously?" He shook his head with an amused smile. "But well, I get it. Graphically, ZEPS 4 is ridiculous compared to what everyone had before this, and Underground uses that perfectly." He looked at the screenshots again. "It doesn't need photorealism either. It just needs the car paint, reflections, lighting, and speed effects to sell the fantasy."

Next came:

TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

Zaboru chuckled immediately. "Let's see whether they complain about all the stupid unlockables."

They did not.

In fact, Zemitsu praised them.

The review described TMNT as one of the strongest cooperative titles available at launch. It worked extremely well locally, but ZAGE Network also made online four-player co-op remarkably smooth. Most importantly, the magazine praised how the four turtles were mechanically different from one another. Leonardo rewarded timing and precision, Raphael emphasized power and grappling, Michelangelo focused on mobility and acrobatics, while Donatello mixed staff combat with technology and battlefield control.

The Team Combo system received particular praise because it encouraged actual cooperation instead of simply placing four players inside the same room to fight independently. Players could throw enemies toward one another, combine gadgets with melee attacks, coordinate aerial strikes, or trigger more elaborate group techniques once they understood the system.

The campaign itself was praised for alternating between combat, traversal, platforming, stealth, and larger set pieces rather than becoming one endless hallway of Foot Clan enemies. The reviewers also appreciated that the story tried to feel authentically TMNT rather than simply existing as an excuse for combat.

Then came the unlockable roster.

Zemitsu specifically mentioned the absurdity of seeing characters such as Casey Jones, Cody, Po, Kim Possible, Kamen Rider Black, ZABO-man, Brock Lesnar from Rollerdance, and Korosi from Koro-Cool appear alongside the turtles.

9/10

Zaboru nodded approvingly. "Yeah, this one turned out really good. Honestly, I'm still annoyed thinking about some TMNT games in my previous life." He leaned back and shook his head. "They'd finally make something that looked decent and played pretty well, and then somehow not include proper co-op. You have four fucking turtles! The franchise is practically begging you to make people play together. It's idiotic not to."

He turned the page again and immediately found a much darker layout.

SHIN MEGAMI TENSEI III: NOCTURNE

Zaboru's smile changed.

"Heheheh. Alright. Let's see how badly this reviewer suffered."

The opening paragraph answered that immediately.

Zemitsu described Nocturne as "merciless, strange, oppressive, and extraordinarily rewarding." The review warned players that even ordinary encounters could become dangerous if they entered carelessly, especially on Hard Mode. Ambushes could destroy a party before the player properly reacted, enemies exploited weaknesses aggressively, and because the game ended immediately if Demi-Fiend died, even a seemingly healthy party could collapse from a single unfortunate sequence.

Rather than criticizing the difficulty outright, however, Zemitsu praised how strongly it reinforced the core systems of Shin Megami Tensei. Press Turn received enormous praise because it made elemental weaknesses, resistances, critical hits, misses, nullifications, and support skills matter constantly. A player who understood the system could completely dominate enemies, while someone who ignored it could be destroyed by demons several levels below them.

The magazine also praised buffs and debuffs for being genuinely important. In many RPGs, reviewers noted, players could ignore support magic almost entirely and simply attack harder. Nocturne refused to allow that. Abilities affecting defense, attack, accuracy, and evasion could completely change boss fights.

Naturally, the review mentioned Matador.

Zaboru burst out laughing before even finishing the paragraph.

Apparently one of Zemitsu's reviewers had reached Matador, attempted the battle repeatedly without properly changing his party, died several times, complained that the boss was unfair, then eventually rebuilt his setup around Force resistance, proper healing, and accuracy control.

After winning, his review notes reportedly contained only:

"I apologize to Matador. The problem was me."

Zaboru slapped the desk and laughed. "HAHAHAHA! That's perfect!"

The demon-fusion system was another major highlight. Zemitsu praised the depth of creating demons with inherited abilities while specifically appreciating the improvements ZAGE had made to presentation and usability. Fusion remained strategic without forcing players to waste time wrestling with bad menus or unclear skill inheritance. The reviewer argued that this was exactly what an enhanced sequel should do: preserve the identity that made SMT compelling while removing unnecessary friction.

The atmosphere also received major praise. The hollow Vortex World, sparse environments, philosophical factions, bizarre demons, oppressive sound design, and distorted music gave Nocturne an identity completely unlike the other launch games. Even the strange Forceful Encounter theme was mentioned, with one reviewer describing it as sounding "less like battle music and more like the game informing you that something has gone terribly wrong."

Zaboru laughed. "That's actually incredibly accurate."

The lack of autosave was naturally discussed as well. Zemitsu admitted that losing substantial progress could be frustrating, especially when a random encounter went badly, but the reviewer ultimately argued that manual saving contributed to the tension. Players quickly learned to respect terminals, manage resources carefully, and stop assuming the game would protect them from careless decisions.

Finally:

9/10

Zaboru stared at the score for a moment, then started laughing again. "Holy shit. They really love difficult games here." He shook his head, clearly amused. "Good. At least reviewers in this world still appreciate something challenging instead of acting like every game needs to apologize because the player died."

He paused, then grinned mischievously. "Some reviewers from my previous life would absolutely get destroyed by Matador and start writing an article about accessibility before learning Sukukaja."

Zaboru chuckled to himself and flipped toward the next section of the magazine. So far, Zemitsu had given San Andreas a perfect ten, Devil May Cry a 9.5, Underground another nine, TMNT a nine, and Nocturne a nine.

He stared at the remaining pages with increasing curiosity.

"Damn… these guys really liked our launch lineup."

Then another game title appeared.

Zaboru's eyebrows rose.

"Oh?"

He leaned forward again.

"Now this one should be interesting."

To be continued.