Finally, the Sonic team presented their new game proposal.
Side-scrolling platformers were a staple on handhelds.
To increase replay value, they had not only redesigned the stages, but also added new characters such as Tails and Knuckles.
Different characters possessed different special abilities.
Tails could fly for a short time, while Knuckles could climb walls.
By making use of these abilities, players could explore hidden areas of the stages that had previously been unreachable and search for collectibles.
The ninth machine had been handed out.
At the head of the conference table, only one black development unit remained, sitting there all alone.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on the foreheads of the remaining development team leads.
The lead of Team Five braced himself and handed over a proposal.
Hisao Oguchi flipped through two pages.
"A traditional maze-exploration RPG?" Hisao Oguchi looked up at him.
"We added a lot to the dungeon design—" the Team Five lead hurriedly explained.
"Take it back." Hisao Oguchi tossed the proposal onto the table. "This sort of thing could be greenlit under normal circumstances. But it won't do for the new handheld's launch lineup. Each session takes too long, it can't be saved anytime, and it doesn't make use of the handheld's advantage in fragmented playtime. As for infrared communication, you only added item trading. That's far too perfunctory."
The Team Five lead flushed red and took back his proposal.
The lead of Team Ten had already reached for his own racing game proposal, but after seeing this, he silently pulled his hand back.
The conference room fell completely silent.
Several minutes passed, yet no one submitted another proposal.
The remaining teams either had yet to squeeze out a proposal, or what they brought out simply failed to meet Hisao Oguchi's launch standards.
Without gameplay