To Vincent, the NovaBox was an absolutely incredible game console. Especially after his mom had bought him a copy of The Legend of Zelda, making him one of the few kids at school who got to play Zelda early. For a while, he was the envy of everyone around him.
Combined with top tier hits like Tetris, Vincent had never felt his after-school life could be this fulfilling. The only problem was, even the best games could get stale if you played them every day without trying something new.
Kids, after all, were naturally drawn to fresh experiences.
To be honest, if he ever got the chance, Vincent really wanted to try that game his friends kept praising so much, Wolfenstein 3D.
When it came to sheer game library size, NovaBox wasn't even in the same league as Atari or Nintendo.
"So? What's this new game called?"
Emma carefully hid the excitement from nearly breaking her personal record moments ago. She casually brushed a strand of hair behind her ear and put on the image of a gentle, loving mother.
"A new game?" she asked.
"I dunno." Vincent shook his head. "My classmates were talking about it. It's called Harvest Moon."
Fidgeting with the hem of his striped shirt, Vincent hesitated before speaking. "Mom... could you take me to the game store this weekend?"
"No."
The refusal came so fast Vincent didn't even have time to react.
"Your dad's taking you on a picnic this weekend. Go get some fresh air for once. You can't stay cooped up inside all the time."
"But…"
"Alright, alright. I'm going to start dinner. Why don't you go ask your father what he'd like to eat tonight?"
Seeing there was absolutely no room for negotiation, Vincent could only give up, disappointed. Worst case, he'd just go watch his friends play.
Emma pretended to busy herself in the kitchen. Only after she watched Vincent leave did she finally let out a sigh of relief. There was absolutely no way she could take him to the game store. That would cause a huge problem.
The next morning.
Still half-asleep, Vincent was loaded into the car by his father and driven to the park before he even had a chance to fully wake up.
Emma peeked through the blinds like a cat caught doing something naughty. The moment the car disappeared down the street, she changed into casual clothes at lightning speed, jumped into the second car, and sped toward the game store.
The store was packed. Adults and kids filled every corner, talking over one another and crowding the aisles. But the noisy atmosphere suddenly froze the instant a woman wearing sunglasses stepped through the entrance.
There was complete silence for several seconds.
Hunter, the self-proclaimed king of the neighborhood kids, was stretching on tiptoe to grab a floppy disk from a shelf when he noticed the shift in mood. He turned his head, then his eyes widened.
"Th-The Devil Mom is here!!!"
The moment Hunter shouted, John, who was paying for a copy of The Legend of Zelda, jumped and instinctively looked toward the wall-mounted leaderboard.
At the very top of the Wolfenstein 3D rankings sat a familiar name.
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Devil Mom.
Even on the Light Gun leaderboard, she ranked third.
So, this was her. The legendary woman. Every time she appeared at the game store, she somehow managed to post an even more ridiculous high score.
"Devil Mom! Please teach me how to play Wolfenstein!" Hunter rushed over with a crowd of kids behind him. "I've been stuck on Hard Mode Stage Three forever!"
"Beat it."
Emma pouted and waved him away.
"Go play your little Zelda games. You kids wouldn't understand the beauty of Wolfenstein."
With the bearing of a grandmaster, she flicked her coat dramatically and strode towards the counter. Under the admiring gazes of countless onlookers, she pulled out her Wolfenstein floppy disk and slapped it onto the counter.
"Upload my score."
"Impressive as always, Devil Mom. Broke another record?"
The shop owner clicked his tongue in amazement while inserting the disk into the fax machine to transmit the data back to GAMENOVA headquarters.
"Call me Emma."
Removing her sunglasses, she scanned the shelves before her gaze landed on a particular title.
"Is that their new game?"
"You mean Harvest Moon?" The owner shrugged. "Yeah, that's the one. Reviews haven't exactly been kind to it, though."
"Bad reviews?"
Emma blinked. As the undisputed local queen of Wolfenstein 3D, she knew exactly how talented the developers at GAMENOVA were. Every hit game she'd played came from them. She simply didn't believe they were capable of making a bad game.
"Yep. Here, look."
The owner grabbed a magazine from the rack and flipped it open. Emma skimmed the article.
"I see. So basically, it's a digital pretend farm game for little kids?"
She nodded thoughtfully.
"Perfect. Give me a copy."
That was exactly what she needed. Her son was such a sweet, soft-hearted little boy. A game like this should suit him perfectly.
"Hunter, look. Devil Mom just bought Harvest Moon."
"So what?" Hunter shrugged. "Obviously it's for her kid."
"Didn't your dad say you could buy one game today? Why don't you get Harvest Moon?"
"No thanks."
Hunter curled his lip.
"That's a baby game."
"It's not cool at all."
There was no way he'd waste money on some childish make-believe farming simulator. If his friends found out, his reputation would be ruined forever.
Emma returned home carrying the beautifully packaged copy of Harvest Moon. Vincent was still out on his picnic and probably wouldn't be back for quite a while.
"Ahhh..."
Warm sunlight poured through the windows. Emma stretched lazily. Normally, this was the time she'd secretly grind Wolfenstein scores. But after setting a new record earlier, she felt like taking a break and doing something different.
"Come to think of it..."
She suddenly remembered. Ever since the family bought a NovaBox, she'd barely watched any tv series or movies. Reaching towards the television to switch back to broadcast channels, her eyes drifted towards the Harvest Moon box sitting in the bag.
Well, since she was just killing time anyway. Maybe she could test the game out for Vincent first?
No game in history had ever experienced a reputation reversal quite like Harvest Moon.
Inside the offices of the famous gaming magazine Electronic Games, the editor in chief sat behind his desk, sweat dripping down his forehead.
The article titled: "Has GAMENOVA Run Out of Ideas? The Delusions of an Idealistic Madman" had been written under his supervision.
After all, GAMENOVA hadn't paid for advertising. When that happened, magazines tended to write whatever attracted the most attention. But now the backlash had arrived. Ever since publication, complaint letters had been pouring in almost every single day.
Readers accused them of being unfair, of being biased, and the number of complaints kept growing. The editor in chief nearly exploded.
How is this unfair? That game really isn't fun.
The opening drags forever. The pacing is slower than an old grandmother unwrapping foot bindings.
Long, tedious, and boring. So, where the hell did a game like that get so many die-hard fans from?