May 1985.
At this important moment, the first anniversary of GAMENOVA's founding, a brand-new game appeared on store shelves. It came in NovaBox's distinctive floppy disk format, with a Robin Hood-esque green casing.
Printed across the cover in bold red letters was its title.
The Legend of Zelda.
Behind the title stretched a magnificent fantasy landscape, distant mountain ranges, forests, grasslands, lakes, and winding streams.
A young boy stood at the forefront, sword and shield in hand, staring boldly ahead. His outfit looked like something straight out of a Robin Hood tale, or perhaps Peter Pan himself.
On a city street.
"Mommy, all my friends say NovaBox is way more fun. Please buy me one!"
Eleven year old Vincent tugged pitifully at his mother's arm, shaking it back and forth as though he could squeeze out a few tears for extra sympathy.
"That's only because they've never played an NES."
His mother, Emma, completely ignored his pleading and continued leading him toward the game store.
"I already reserved one with the store manager."
"Be good. Otherwise, there won't even be any NES consoles left."
Buying a game console wasn't some impulsive decision.
Vincent had been behaving exceptionally well lately and Emma's finances had been reasonably comfortable these past few months, so she'd finally decided to reward her son with a console.
Originally, she'd planned to buy him an Atari 2600. After all, it only cost around $140, and she'd heard it had an enormous library of games, but the arrival of the NES changed her mind.
It was more expensive, certainly, but the bundled Super Mario Bros instantly convinced her.
Just looking at it, she could tell it was good. It was practically designed for family entertainment.
Honestly, even she felt tempted to play it herself.
What she never expected was Vincent's reaction. Instead of excitement, he'd seemed annoyed.
Even now, he kept muttering things like.
"NovaBox is cooler."
"NES is for little kids."
Good heavens. Emma recalled the scene she'd witnessed when she visited the game store to gather information.
Some little troublemaker had been waving around a plastic pistol, firing nonstop at a screen while occasionally shouting profanity.
That was NovaBox. The console Vincent had become obsessed with.
The games on NovaBox were either people beating each other senselessly in street fights or running around with guns slaughtering everything in sight.
It was horrifying. She absolutely refused to let her son play things like that.
Lost in thought, the two entered the game store. Calling it a game store was almost underselling it, the place was nearly the size of a supermarket. Video rentals, electronic entertainment products, game cartridges, tapes, every shelf was packed to the brim.
A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.
Emma didn't even need to look carefully to figure out where the NovaBox section was, as a massive crowd had gathered there.
Children without parents, teenagers, young adults. The area was packed shoulder to shoulder. Two demo units sat on display stands, and everyone was lining up to play them.
The NES section, by comparison, felt far more peaceful. Mothers browsed the shelves with their children, helping them choose games. Every so often, someone would be discussing prices with a store employee.
"Go ahead, Vincent."
Emma gestured toward the shelves.
"Besides the NES, you're allowed to choose two games today."
She trusted that once Vincent actually experienced the wonderful games available on the NES, he'd quickly forget all about NovaBox.
Vincent hesitated, glancing longingly towards the NovaBox section before reluctantly heading into the NES area. Emma nodded in satisfaction, then her eyes drifted back toward the NovaBox crowd.
They lingered on a group of noisy children arguing amongst themselves, her brow furrowed. Those kids looked about Vincent's age.
Where were their parents? How could they let their children hang around a place like this?
As a mother, she simply couldn't stand by and watch children march down the path of self-destruction.
Emma decided to personally teach them a lesson. Walking over, she cleared her throat and prepared a stern lecture.
But before she could speak, she overheard the children's intense discussion.
"Don't rely on brute force! You have to use your brain! This puzzle obviously wants us to solve it!"
"Exactly! The Triforce represents Power, Wisdom, and Courage! It's basically telling us to use our own wisdom!"
"Come on, hurry up and solve it! Princess Zelda is waiting for us!"
Emma froze.
Wait… What was this?
Was Wolfenstein 3D actually some noble and inspiring story like that?
Filled with confusion, she squeezed through the crowd until she could see the screen. What appeared before her was nothing like the realistic 3D violence she'd seen before.
The visuals were bright, colorful, and charming. It didn't resemble GAMENOVA's previous style at all.
The protagonist seemed to be exploring an underground dungeon, navigating a maze-like structure in search of a solution. Several cartoonish monsters wandered around the map, creating obvious challenges for the children.
Aside from the sword obtained in the opening cave, the only item they'd managed to collect was a single bomb.
"I think we should leave first and earn some Rupees. Then we can buy that powerful sword before coming back. This dungeon's way too hard."
"Hey, Hunter... there's a weird lady watching us."
The children looked up simultaneously, staring at Emma's strange expression.
"Uh..."
Emma forced an awkward smile, her gaze returned to the screen.
"What game are you playing? Is this Atari's new console?"
She was absolutely certain of one thing. This couldn't possibly be made by the same GAMENOVA that specialized in violent games.
Surely, she'd mistaken someone else's console for a NovaBox. Yes… that had to be it.
The children exchanged glances, a moment later, they burst out laughing.
Hunter, the obvious leader of the group, laughed hardest of all. Straightening proudly, he spoke with the superiority only children could possess.
"Of course not. Who plays that outdated stuff? Are you from the last century or something?"
"...Then what is it?"
"NovaBox. Don't tell me you've never heard of it."
"NovaBox? They make games like this?"
Emma felt genuinely confused.
"Yep. Came out last week."
The Legend of Zelda.
"It's awesome."
"Too bad I can't afford it, so I can only come here and play the demo."
"It's okay, Hunter," another child encouraged him.
"Didn't your dad promise to buy it if your grades improved?"
"Just be like Link!"
"Use the power of wisdom!"
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If you want some extra chapters, be sure to check out my 𝒫a-trοn page, it's 30 chapters ahead and the chapters are also long so you can check it out.
𝒫 α t r e on => NovaScribe
Just replace 𝒫 and α with p and a. Also remove all spaces and search the name NovaScribe on that platform