[Part 2] Gather around for story time...
Scarab8006
you enjoy it. I haven't settled on a name for it yet, perhaps something like "A
Brief History of Video Games"...
::all is dark. The Narrator speaks.::
In the beginning...there was Atari.
::an Atari is seen on the floor of a room, all alone. It is lit by a
single unseen spotlight from above.::
And it was good.
The Atari was, to the generation who first saw it, amazing. Moving lines
AND a moving square? Amazing! ...But it didn't, it -couldn't- last forever.
::a stone pedestal falls from the sky and crushes the Atari. An NES is
seen alone on said pedestal, the single light shining over it::
The Nintendo Entertainment System. It was unlike anything the world had
ever seen. Warping pipes and magic mushrooms. It was master over all it
surveyed, but soon the peace was shattered by those jealous of its popularity.
From the depths, they attacked.
::more lights turn on, and a Sega Genesis is seen looming over the tiny
NES::
It was bigger. Faster. More powerful. And therefore, "better". For what
young early-90s child could resist a hyper-speed hedgehog.
::the Genesis grows until it envelops the NES and its pedastal::
There were a great many who clung to hope that the NES would survive.
Sadly, it would eventually fade away, but not after many years, and not before
its succcessor would take revenge on the enemy.
::a gray beam of light hits the floor beside the Genesis. It molds and
forms into a SNES.::
Nintendo fought back with the Super Nintendo Entertainment System, though
coming in late. In the time it wasted, the Genesis took a deep foothold among
the young players. Some time would pass before Nintendo would retake its
positon, but retake it it did.
::the SNES floats to the NES's pedastal.::
...For a time.
::a looming shadow appears in the background. It forms into a Sega
Saturn.::
Angered at the failure of its equal system, Sega had returned to exact it
terrible revenge. It sent forth the Sega Saturn, the best "video game" system
in the world. But what did it use? Disks. Compact Disks, but disks nonetheless.
Videos were on cartridges. Nintendo system games were on cartridges.
Therefore, Nintendo was a video game system. What was the Saturn, then?
Computer programs were on disks. Saturn system games were on disks. Therefore,
Saturn was a computer game system. Alas, too few people could discern the
difference. However, the Super Nintendo could, and would not bow before it.
::the SNES takes on a human form, very robotic in appearance with gray and
light purple "skin". The Saturn does, too; it appears as an armor-clad black
robot. Behind the Saturn, a smaller robot peeks; the Genesis. The Saturn throws
its hand out to the SNES and very anime-like black wind sends the gray robot
tumbling.::
The Super Nintendo tried, but could not easily match the strength of the
Saturn and the fans of the Genesis. It was then that it used a sneak attack.
::the SNES pulls a Super Game Boy from its belt.::
It coupled the power of its Game Boy, which had easily vanquished the
"superior" Game Gear, with its own, and created the Super Game Boy.
::the SNES hurls the Super Game Boy at the Genesis, and the smaller robot
explodes on contact. The Saturn is hit from the resulting shrapnel, and
staggers forward.::
The Saturn was losing power, and fast. The "inferior" Super Nintendo
seemed triumphant at last...but Sega was not so easily defeated.
::the Saturn throws out a 32X. The SNES catches it in the shoulder and
takes a step back from the blow. It retaliates with a Donkey Kong Country
cartridge. It hits, it explodes, and the Saturn bursts into flame and settles
into a pile of ash.::
Finally, the Super Nintendo was lord of all games, video and computer
alike. Or so it thought...
::a gigantic mechanical foot slams down behind the SNES. It turns to look,
and beholds the terrible figure of...::
The Sony Playstation. A name that many followers of Nintendo wish had
never been heard. Nintendo had betrayed Sony, who had created the first
Playstation to play Super Nintendo games as well. With Nintendo partnered with
Phillips instead of Sony, Sony swore revenge. They took it in the form of the
new Playstation, an immensely more powerful computer game system than the
Saturn. With the promise of even more power, the Playstation stole many
Nintendo loyals and had very little trouble besting the Super Nintendo.
::the relatively small SNES jumps at the massive Gundam-like Playstation.
The Playstation bats it away with one backhand. The SNES falls to the floor and
slides for a good distance.::
The Playstation seemed to be on the top rung of the ladder, and in
reality, it was. But, like all things, it was not to last. Nintendo would never
let this humiliation stand.
::the SNES gets to its feet and raises both its arms up. Massive beams of
light hit it from all sides, and it grows into an even more awesome sight than
the Playstation. It becomes a gigantic smooth-black robot with gray, clawed,
three-finger hands.::
The Nintendo 64. Compared to this, all seemed outclassed.
::the N64 pulls out a Game Boy Pocket with its left hand. It bursts into
flame and is thrown at the Playstation. The Playstation is hit, but other than
a scorch mark, it seems unaffected. The N64 then pulls out a Game Boy Color
with its right hand. The move is repeated, and the Playstation reels from the
second hit slightly. Then the gargantuan N64 lumbers up to the Playstation and
slams a solid fist directly in the stomach. The Playstation feels the hit, then
is knocked again with a high kick from the N64. The Playstation lands on its
back.::
But the Playstation proved to be more powerful than the N64 first thought.
::the Playstation gets up and throws a Final Fantasy 7 CD case at the N64.
The N64 pulls out a shield made of a large Goldeneye 007 cartridge. The CD case
explodes against the shield, but a single CD shard breaks through and hits the
N64. The shield is dropped and the N64 clutches its wound.::
But even the Nintendo 64 had its achilles' heel. Its power was so complex,
few could efficiently make popular games with it. However, this weakness was
countered by Nintendo's own force, and the power of its Game Boy...
::as the Playstation draws nearer, then the N64 throws out Pokémon Red and
Blue cartridges, backed up by a golden The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time
cartridge. The cartridges all find their marks and hit the Playstation; the
Pokémon versions hit right in the eyes, and Zelda hits in the face mask. The
Playstation staggers backwards for a few yards, then rubs its heavily wounded
face and glares at the N64.::
The two consoles fought and fought, but it seemed that the N64 had the
upper hand with its long history and legions upon legions of fans. This war
would have gone on forever, if not for the intervention of a greater force...
::in the background between the N64 and the Playstation, a terrifying
figure larger than them both begins to appear.::
From the ashes of what was assumed to be its final defeat, the ancient
enemy of Nintendo rose up, more powerful than ever before.
::a simply titanic robot, half again as immense as the N64 and covered in
spiky white armor, steps out from the shadows.::
It was the awesome force of Sega, this time taking the feared name of
Dreamcast.
::the Dreamcast throws its hands up into the air and lets out a roar of
pure power. An intense light flies from all points of its body and hits the N64
and the Playstation.::
The battle was over before it started. The Dreamcast's power was beyond
imagination. It was the greatest computer game system on the planet, hailed as
such by all who witnessed its power. I use the term "computer game system"
again because it did not use cartridges.
::the light finally dies down. The N64 is on its knees, badly scarred. The
Playstation is in a shambles, stretched lifeless on the floor. Shards of many
Tomb Raider and Final Fantasy 8 discs lie around it.::
The Playstation, being a rival computer game system, bore the terrible
brunt of the Dreamcast's power and was the first to fall. The N64, being a true
video game system, also felt its might, but not as severely.
::the N64 stands, trembling in the shadow of the Dreamcast. It throws out
Pokémon Yellow, Jet Force Gemini, Pokémon Stadium, and even Pokémon Snap at the
monster. Each one hits, and each one does damage, but overall the Dreamcast
seems to be uneffected.::
The N64 fell discouraged. All its best combined could not hope to battle
the Dreamcast, so it made a tactical retreat.
::the N64 teleports away and out of the room.::
It hid in the shadows away from the direct crossfire, silently observing
the two remaining powers.
::All that is left in the room is the Dreamcast and the fallen
Playstation. The Dreamcast advances on the Playstation, but the fallen robot
suddenly flies straight up and hovers in the air.::
The Playstation was gravely wounded, but it would not give up. Its
strength and persistance was admired even by the followers of Nintendo.
::The Playstation raises its fist up, the back of his hand facing the
Dreamcast. A Playstation logo appears on the back of its hand and begins to
glow. The Playstation then throws its arms and legs out and yells out in anger.
A strange blue light shoots out of all points of its body is as it grows in
size and power, and soon lands to face the Dreamcast.::
With the influence of Nintendo seemingly out of the way, the Playstation
and the Dreamcast could freely fight between themselves; such was natural, as
they were both computer game systems.
::the Playstation and the Dreamcast duke it out like nothing else, landing
punches and kicks here and there, with each one giving and taking damage. The
scene looks like a battle from Dragonball Z.::
While the super-powers fought, the N64 intervened every now and again to
cause trouble.
::Pokémon Gold and Silver are shot out from the darkness above. Gold hits
the Playstaion, Silver hits the Dreamcast. This is followed by a Perfect Dark
cartridge with a lit fuse, which peppers both the fighters with shrapnel. The
warring powers are slowed by this, but still continue to battle.::
The followers of Playstation and Dreamcast thought that Nintendo was doing
this simply because that was all it -could- do, since it was deemed to be
inferior. They were wrong...
::the two systems land a few more hits on each other, but suddenly from
above there comes a sound like an airplane engine. Within moments, a The Legend
of Zelda: Majora's Mask cartridge floats down between the two in a parachute
that reads "DINOSAUR PLANET" with a scrawled line underneath: "maybe later".
The instant it hits the ground it explodes violently, knocking both Playstation
and Dreamcast away in a mushroom cloud. A brief moment later, they pull
themselves up to one knee. They are worn out, scarred, dented, and exhausted,
but the Playstation appears different; after the smoke from the Majora's Mask
bomb completely clears, the Playstation is blacker in color, and has a "#2"
sticker on its shoulder. The two warriors regain their senses after a moment,
then rush at each other. Battered, they continue to trade blows, but soon just
give up and rest.::
...For this was the time Nintendo had waited for.
::as they kneel in their places, catching their breath, a pair of eyes as
deep as the sea suddenly appear in the background.::
While the computer game systems were wearing each other down, Nintendo was
amassing its power to one day battle its eternal enemies on their own level --
as a computer game system.
::the pair of eyes glow brightly, and the Playstation 2 and Dreamcast
can't help but look.::
The Nintendo 64 soon retired and was hailed by all as the single greatest
video game system of all time. To survive for any longer, Nintendo had to move
on from the fond cartridge days of old; the wave of the future was in computer
game systems, and Nintendo intended to be nothing less than unquestioned master
of that field, as well.
::a new being makes itself apparent. It is gigantic in every sense of the
word. A walking robotic castle of sheer power. It slightly resembles a purple
Fortress Maximus. Various words are scrawled on its armor: "Matsushita",
"IBM", "ArtX", "Rareware", "Silicon Knights", and others.::
Nintendo was waiting for that exact moment when the power of both the
Playstation 2 and the Dreamcast were at a low point.
::the colossus looks down upon the two lesser beings below it.::
It waited for that precise moment, then struck out with a vengeance unseen
before in Nintendo's entire history.
::the Playstation 2 and the Dreamcast look between themselves and up at
the new, ultimate power.::
Its very name sent a chill down the spine of all who were destined to
oppose it.
::the gigantic robot raises both fists into the air above the Playstation
2 and the Dreamcast. The two warriors simply stare up, stupified in sheer
terror at the sight of their very destruction. The fists hang high in the air,
and the camera angle flies straight up through the room. The Narrator
continues.::
And it was called, by its creators and its enemies...
::the Narrator sits in shadows up high in a skybox-like area.::
...The Game Cube.
::the skybox lights up, and the faces of many other people are seen,
surrounding a wheeled office chair. Link. Samus. Kirby. Pikachu. Toad. Yoshis
of different colors. Diddy Kong. Wario. Bowser and his children. Princess Peach
Toadstool, holding a large portrait of Mega Man with the words "In Memoriam"
signed in cursive at the bottom. To the immediate left and right of the office
chair stand Donkey Kong and Luigi, respectively. The Narrator turns the chair
around. None other than Mario is in that seat. He had spoken this entire story
with his "Super Mario World" cartoon voice.::
And it did stomp on all who stood in its way.
::Bowser roars, Princess Toadstool giggles, Wario snickers, and the others
laugh in their own way. The camera pans out quickly, the laughter still heard.
The huge room is revealed to have red outer walls. The camera pans out further.
The room is revealed to be a red cube. Further out, and it's the dot of a large
"i". Further back, and it is the "i" in the (Nintendo) logo. The entire word
smashes itself together and forms a three-dimensional square, its sides made of
four large "N"'s. A Lakitu Brother, the one who had been filming the entire
scene, zooms straight ahead, turns around, and giggles. Suddenly, a voice
speaks up.::
"Turn it off."
A gunshot is heard, and the view of the giggling cloud-rider shatters. The
TV the whole thing had been viewed on suddenly has a broken screen. We pan back
to see Crash Bandicoot sitting in a plush office chair like a James Bond
villain, petting Spyro the Dragon at the side of his chair. Lara Croft stands a
short distance away with a smoking gun in hand. A nearby window reveals that
they are in a very tall building.
"Thanks." Crash frowns at the broken TV. Of note, there is a Pizza Hut
sticker on the casing. "As if all those damn X-Box rumors weren't enough. When
did they sent this?" Lara reholsters her gun and speaks up.
"Earlier this morning. And this came with it." Crash looks up and Lara
hands him a tape player. Crash momentarily stops petting Spyro and pushes the
Play button. The tape plays a short, yet effective message:
"PiiiiiikaaaaaaCHUUUUU!!!"
All three of them stare wide-eyed as the tape player begins to spark. Lara
pulls out a gun, but she's too late. The box electrifies violently and shocks
them all. Outside the office window, a Pilotwings plane can be seen just
finishing the skywritten message: "2001".
~Scarab of the non-flashy sig