Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo

What should an open-world game be like?

It should be free. You should be able to run anywhere, do quests everywhere, experience different cultures and settings... that should be enough, right?

That was Davidson's impression after playing Assassin's Creed.

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That game opened up a whole new world of gaming for him.

At the time, he thought that was what a good game looked like—no, a great game.

Could it be done even better?

He hadn't really thought about it.

But then came The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and it changed everything.

...

...

There was just so much more you could do.

You could climb mountains. Chop down trees. Fish. Cook. When it got cold, you had to wear warmer clothes. When it rained, climbing became slippery. If you carried metal gear during a thunderstorm, you'd get struck by lightning.

You could do so many things—many of them mundane in real life, things you wouldn't even question in your day-to-day. But in a game? It was unheard of.

This was beyond imagination.

Breath of the Wild had reached a new height—one that had never been touched before.

"Uncle Davidson, what game are you playing?"

Davidson's young nephew sat beside him at home, eyes wide, staring at the screen.

The lively little character on the TV captivated him completely.

"This is called The Legend of Zelda. It's a video game," Davidson replied, eyes glued to the screen. He was too hooked to step away now.

He'd even taken a half-month vacation just for this—burned through three years' worth of saved-up days off all at once.

Now, he had already defeated two Divine Beasts and was just aimlessly exploring the vast world.

Zelda... Zelda... his nephew silently repeated the name in his head, eyes sparkling with that unique childhood wonder.

"Uncle, what's this game about? I've played lots of games, but I've never seen one like this."

That's because you haven't played enough yet, Davidson thought, smiling.

"It's about, you know... fighting monsters, fishing, cooking, solving shrine puzzles... or, well—finding Koroks."

"Koroks? What's that?"

"Uh... how do I explain this...? It's like finding little hidden things. Here, I'll show you."

Davidson grabbed a strategy guide—he had bought it along with the console and game cartridge.

In the gaming world, it's not just the game itself that sells—related merchandise like guides are also incredibly popular. Even in the internet age, printed guides still have their loyal fans.

Flipping through the book, he found the section with the locations of all 999 Koroks and how to solve their puzzles.

Without the guide, he figured it'd take him at least a year or two to find them all.

Then, he brought Link to a pile of rocks in a mountain valley.

"Okay, watch this."

He picked up a stone—and poof! a strange little creature popped out.

"Yahaha!"

Davidson's nephew's eyes grew even wider at the sight of the little guy bouncing out.

"So... this is what you do in the game?"

"Yep! That's pretty much what the game's about. Cool, right? So much freedom."

"Huh... I thought it'd be about, like, fighting a big boss or saving the world or something."

"Wait... now that you say it..."

Davidson froze for a second, realization dawning.

Oh right!

I'm supposed to rescue the princess!

He suddenly remembered the game's actual main quest.

He was playing as a hero named Link, and his mission was to save Princess Zelda.

He'd even met the spirit of the King back on the Great Plateau—the King had asked him to go save the princess and the kingdom of Hyrule.

But somewhere along the way, he'd gotten so lost in the beauty of this sprawling world that he completely forgot what he was actually supposed to do.

"Uh... I kinda forgot... I was supposed to save the princess."

His nephew blinked. "???"

How do you forget something like that? Aren't game stories usually really obvious?

This game is weird... but now I kinda want to try it.

Davidson felt a little embarrassed. He couldn't believe he'd forgotten the main story.

But then again... did it really matter?

He bought the game. He was the one playing it. Wasn't the point to enjoy himself?

Forget it—he'd play however he wanted. Fishing, cooking, hunting Koroks... he was having fun.

"Hey, do you want to try it?" he asked, finally noticing how much his nephew clearly wanted to play.

He felt a bit reluctant—it was his save file, after all—but he also didn't want to be stingy.

His nephew nodded enthusiastically.

"Alright, give it a go."

The boy grabbed the controller and gleefully started wandering through Hyrule, while Davidson flipped through the guide again, occasionally glancing up to see what his nephew was up to.

His nephew wandered all over the land, giggling every few minutes.

He had played games before, but Breath of the Wild felt completely different.

Just like his uncle had said—there was so much to do.

At first, he remembered that it was supposed to be about saving a princess and the world.

But pretty soon... he forgot too.

Zelda?

Princess?

The world?

Sorry, I don't remember any of that. Right now I'm too busy stealing chickens and setting forests on fire.

In this game, you could do that without getting punished. It gave him a weird little thrill.

He even noticed that monsters snored and blew snot bubbles when they slept. He wished the game let him pop one of those bubbles.

Davidson watched his nephew run around like a lunatic and furrowed his brow. A few times, he almost told him how the game was meant to be played.

Eventually, when he saw his nephew run around in just boxers and get scolded by in-game women for being indecent, he finally walked back over.

"Okay, okay, let me teach you how to really play this. You're supposed to collect Koroks, solve shrine puzzles, and—"

Before he could finish, he noticed the stubborn look on his nephew's face.

"But Uncle... didn't you say I can do whatever I want in this game? So why do I have to do certain things?"

Davidson was stumped. He didn't know how to respond.