Chapter Summaries

Wade discovered that Beat Hazard balanced its bullet-filled gameplay around the music and enjoyed Painkiller as a powerful, casual arcade experience. He then watched a band perform live through the machine and found that it could analyze any connected audio stream in real time.

• Wade survived Painkiller’s relentless enemy waves by focusing on firing and letting the energetic music drive the game.
• Wade realized Beat Hazard was designed as a music player and lawn-mowing shooter, then decided to try every track and buy music he liked.
• A group of musicians arrived at Henry’s shop, connected their instruments and microphones to the arcade machine, and began performing live.
• Wade saw the machine turn the band’s live performance into gameplay and discovered a microphone-detection setting.
• Wade connected a handheld’s audio output to Beat Hazard and confirmed that the machine could recognize and react to any standard audio stream.

At MicroNova, Lin Lixin examined lithium battery safety problems and redirected research toward more stable graphite anodes, then sought industrial partners and DARPA backing. He proposed testing the batteries in wireless controllers with optional vibration, inspired by Tokimeki Memorial, after Vivian mistook his test of her heartbeat for flirting.

• The project lead showed Lin Lixin and Vivian footage of lithium batteries swelling and catching fire, and Lin Lixin asked about the graphite-anode tests.
• The project lead reported that graphite anodes were safer but the electrolyte damaged their structure and prevented reuse, and Lin Lixin promised to solve the problem.
• Lin Lixin sent Sam to approach DuPont and other companies, then secured a collaborative contract from DARPA.
• Lin Lixin decided to test the batteries in peripherals before using them in handheld consoles and demonstrated a controller concept to Vivian by feeling her racing heartbeat.
• Lin Lixin proposed a wireless controller with an optional vibration pack and said his idea was inspired by Tokimeki Memorial.

Lin Lixin explained his plan for a romance-focused raising sim, outlining stats, schedules, and a Bomb System to keep relationships from having a single optimal solution. After organizing the hardware documentation, he left to find experts in Japan.

• Lin Lixin explained that the team could use an eccentric motor to simulate an NPC's heartbeat now that the battery problem was solved.
• Lin Lixin described a dating sim in which players managed the protagonist's school schedule and stats to appeal to heroines with different preferences.
• Vivian pointed out that players could follow a fixed optimal strategy once they learned each heroine's preferences.
• Lin Lixin proposed the Bomb System, which caused neglected characters to spread rumors that lowered affection across the protagonist's social circle.
• Lin Lixin said he had organized the hardware documentation and planned to travel to Japan to find experts.

Lin Lixin visited the Roppongi Agency and told Yui Asaka that GameNova needed her to become a national idol in Japan. He then went to Gainax, where he met with Takami Akai and Yoshiyuki Sadamoto and focused on Sadamoto, the character designer of Rei Ayanami and Asuka.

• Yui Asaka served Lin Lixin Uji gyokuro and discussed her acting offers and Roppongi’s lack of entertainment-industry resources.
• Lin Lixin promised to resolve Roppongi’s problems, arranged Hollywood cameos for the agency, and told Satoshi Tajiri to turn down Yui Asaka’s performances for the second half of the year.
• Lin Lixin told Yui Asaka that GameNova needed her to become a national idol who could hold down the fort in Japan.
• Lin Lixin arrived at Gainax, criticized its shabby office, and instructed Satoshi Tajiri to find the company a suitable building with proper fire safety.
• Lin Lixin asked Takami Akai about the pretty-girl raising game and encouraged him to prioritize quality, then turned his attention to Yoshiyuki Sadamoto, the designer of Rei Ayanami and Asuka.

Lin Lixin explained his approach to character design and sketched an idealized, memorable girl modeled on Hatsune Miku for Gainax’s new project. He asked Yoshiyuki Sadamoto to create original designs for about a dozen female characters, beginning with Yui Asaka as an Ultimate Idol who attended the protagonist’s school.

• Lin Lixin told Yoshiyuki Sadamoto he wanted a beautiful, instantly memorable girl who felt like a two-dimensional idol rather than a realistic person.
• Lin Lixin sketched a stylized figure with exaggerated proportions, and Sadamoto recognized its elegant, delicate simplicity.
• Lin Lixin added distinctive clothing and twin tails to the sketch, creating a design reminiscent of Hatsune Miku and explaining his preference for reducing characters to memorable visual symbols.
• Sadamoto reflected on how anime could exaggerate and distill features instead of copying photographs, while Lin Lixin cautioned against pushing the style into infantilized moe.
• Lin Lixin asked Sadamoto to design around a dozen female characters and named Yui Asaka the model for the first, an Ultimate Idol at the protagonist’s school.

Lin Lixin planned to build a 2.5D idol project around Tokimeki Memorial, keeping Shiori Fujisaki distinct from the real-life Yui Asaka. He recruited young idols and brought together prominent composers, leaving Yui stunned by the scale of his plans.

• Lin Lixin reviewed idol résumés and decided to sign Yuki Uchida and Rie Miyazawa for Tokimeki Memorial.
• Yui Asaka asked why Lin Lixin wanted Gainax to draw animated characters instead of using live-action footage, and he explained that she must remain distinct from Shiori Fujisaki.
• Lin Lixin called Yuzo Koshiro and asked him to come to Roppongi with an invitation for his teacher, Joe Hisaishi.
• Lin Lixin called Hans Zimmer, invited him and Supernova to Roppongi, and said Maikou should stay behind because Game was busy.
• Yui Asaka realized the project was an enormous undertaking, and Lin Lixin promised to make her a national idol.

Sony CEO Norio Ohga responded to GameNova’s expansion in Japan by ordering a campaign to poach Roppongi Agency’s idols and exclude the agency from television. Lin Lixin dismissed the threat, confident Sony had mistaken his real plans, while GameNova’s lithium-battery production continued as a hidden objective.

• At Sony’s board meeting, Norio Ohga concluded that GameNova was entering music and games and ordered Sony to build its own idol group and poach Roppongi Agency members.
• Norio Ohga directed Sony to seek exclusive deals with Japanese television networks to shut Roppongi Agency out of television exposure.
• Yui Asaka told Lin Lixin that Sony was aggressively making offers to Roppongi Agency’s core members.
• Lin Lixin told Yui Asaka not to worry about the poaching and said he would write her a hit single.
• Lin Lixin remained confident that Sony had mistaken his goal, while GameNova quietly began commercial production of graphite-anode lithium batteries.

Lin Lixin positioned “Tokimeki Memorial” as an all-ages romance game and approved Yoshiyuki Sadamoto’s design for Shiori Fujisaki while seeking a suitable scriptwriter. He then joined GAMENOVA’s assembled music team, which included Joe Hisaishi and Hans Zimmer.

• Takami Akai examined the first proposal draft and was astonished that “Tokimeki Memorial” carried an ESRB all-ages rating.
• Lin Lixin explained that the game would focus on mass appeal and romantic feelings rather than adult content, and he rejected Hideaki Anno as its scriptwriter.
• Yoshiyuki Sadamoto showed Lin Lixin his first design for Shiori Fujisaki, which Lin approved before planning to seek a writer, possibly from Elf.
• Lin Lixin entered a meeting with GAMENOVA’s assembled music team and greeted Joe Hisaishi.
• Lin Lixin noted the presence of Yuzo Koshiro and Hollywood composer Hans Zimmer as the music team prepared to work together.

Sony launched Project Aurora with a star-studded concert led by Shizuka Kudo, while Lin Lixin remained confident in GameNova’s plans. As Sony’s executives waited for a response, GameNova held an enigmatic press conference unveiling Tokimeki Memorial through character standees, leaving reporters confused about its purpose.

• Sony advertised Project Aurora nationwide, assembling multiple idol teams with Shizuka Kudo as the central star and promoting singles, dramas, and films.
• Shizuka Kudo opened Project Aurora’s first public performance at Nippon Budokan, and the audience hailed Sony’s idol project as a new entertainment era.
• Norio Ohga worried that Lin Lixin’s silence concealed a retaliatory move, while Lin prepared to leave Japan and urged Yui Asaka to lead the project toward making Shiori Fujisaki a national idol.
• GameNova held a press conference without Lin Lixin or its project team, displaying Tokimeki Memorial posters and character standees that left reporters wondering where the idols were.

GameNova held a press conference where Shiori Fujisaki and the other Tokimeki Memorial characters appeared as speaking standees, presenting themselves as real students rather than fictional characters. After reporters identified Yui Asaka as Shiori’s voice actress, Asaka denied being the character, leaving the press even more determined to uncover the truth.

• Shiori Fujisaki and the other characters introduced themselves through the venue’s surround-sound system, then invited reporters to ask questions.
• Shiori denied knowing about GameNova and rejected questions about her voice actress and personal address by insisting she was simply herself.
• When a reporter questioned whether she existed or was only preset data, Shiori said her dreams, feelings, and memories made her existence meaningful and asked people not to forget her.
• Media outlets published reports and candid photos of the voice cast, identifying Yui Asaka as the likely voice behind Shiori Fujisaki.
• Yui Asaka denied being Shiori while claiming they were good friends, prompting reporters to pursue the mystery more intensely.

Furukawa struggled with loneliness at his new school and fled when Nami Yaguchi found him outside a game store. He later bought GAMENOVA’s expensive wireless Elite Controller bundle and started Tokimeki Memorial, where a striking red-haired girl appeared on screen.

• Furukawa saw Tokimeki Memorial in a game-store window, fell over, and ran away when Nami Yaguchi asked what he was doing there.
• Furukawa returned to the store that evening and discovered GAMENOVA’s wireless Elite Controller, bundled with a rumble pack.
• The narrator described GAMENOVA’s controller and lithium-ion battery technology as a commercial breakthrough that put it ahead of Sony.
• Furukawa bought the controller bundle and loaded Tokimeki Memorial on his GAMENOVA NX.
• The game displayed its title and a beautiful girl with ruby-colored hair and eyes.

Furukawa began playing GameNova’s highly immersive romance game, whose opening and heroine Shiori Fujisaki captivated him. As he entered the story, its lonely protagonist’s circumstances echoed Furukawa’s own feelings about his neighbor Nami and his school life.

• Furukawa watched the lavish animated opening, which introduced Shiori Fujisaki and the legend of the Legendary Tree.
• The game asked Furukawa to enter Shiori’s birthday and blood type, which she had kept secret, and he entered information associated with Yaguchi.
• Furukawa started the game as Kentaro, a new student and childhood friend of Shiori who had only ever remained her friend.
• The game’s story and rumble-pack effects heightened Furukawa’s immersion as he met his cheerful school friend Yoshio.

Furukawa discovered that Tokimeki Memorial was a dating simulation in which he managed his character’s weekly activities and stats, then investigated which club Shiori Fujisaki would join. He learned that the club choice could vary and that Shiori would replace another girl in whichever club she entered.

• After the first school day ended, Furukawa saw his character’s stats and an action menu instead of dialogue choices, and realized the game was a dating simulation.
• Furukawa spent a week studying humanities, raising that stat while losing stamina, athletics, looks, and perseverance and gaining stress.
• When club activities unlocked, Furukawa considered joining the club Shiori Fujisaki would choose and called Yoshio for advice.
• Yoshio’s information showed that Shiori belonged to the swimming club, though her interests and athletic ability could make other clubs seem plausible.
• Furukawa learned that Shiori’s birthday determined her club and that she could replace the girl who would otherwise appear in it.

Furukawa pursued Shiori Fujisaki through swimming club activities and encountered baseball manager Saki Nijino, whom he politely turned down. After triggering another Shiori event outside the school, he became captivated by the game’s advanced Live2D animation and real-time 2D lighting technology.

• Furukawa kept attending swimming club activities to spend time with Shiori Fujisaki, but several weeks passed without another conversation.
• Saki Nijino introduced herself as the baseball club’s manager and encouraged Furukawa to help the team reach Koshien; he said he was not interested in baseball.
• Furukawa decided to stay focused on Shiori and continued attending club activities.
• After practice, Furukawa triggered an event with Shiori outside the school gates and called out to her.
• The chapter explained how Lin Lixin and GameNova used layered character rendering, code-driven animation, and real-time 2D lighting to bring Shiori’s image to life.

Furukawa became absorbed in Tokimeki Memorial and struggled to win Shiori Fujisaki, while discovering that his classmates played the game too. After Matsumoto encouraged him to give Nami Yaguchi a birthday present, Furukawa and Yaguchi agreed to work toward getting into the University of Tokyo together.

• Furukawa overheard classmates discussing Tokimeki Memorial and joined their conversation about pursuing Shiori Fujisaki.
• Furukawa played through the game and won over Saki Nijino, but Matsumoto later told him he had succeeded in winning Shiori Fujisaki.
• Matsumoto asked Furukawa what Yaguchi liked, then revealed he planned to recreate the game's Legendary Tree scene with her.
• Furukawa rushed to Yaguchi's house and gave her a wrapped record for her birthday; she urged him to study hard so they could both aim for the University of Tokyo.
• The next day, Furukawa asked Matsumoto how he had known which gift to give, and Matsumoto hinted that he had learned something about Shiori's club.

GameNova’s Tokimeki Memorial characters became a major cultural phenomenon, frustrating Sony’s attempts to compete and prompting Norio Ohga to seek partnerships with animation studios. Lin Lixin then examined Windows 3.0 running on a 33 MHz Intel 80486 and recognized the combination as a powerful force in the PC market.

• GameNova built on Tokimeki Memorial’s popularity with character records, songs, tours, anime, and paid phone services centered on its virtual heroines.
• Sony’s Aurora Project failed to challenge GameNova, while GameNova’s lithium-ion battery technology also advanced ahead of Sony’s efforts.
• Norio Ohga accepted that Sony could not stop GameNova and ordered contact with Toei Animation, Studio Ghibli, Kyoto Animation, and Sunrise.
• Lin Lixin left the remaining work to the Roppongi Agency and planned to test new rumble pack and lithium battery technologies before approving a next-generation handheld.
• Sam installed Windows 3.0 on a Dell PC with an Intel 80486 processor, and Lin Lixin recognized their compatibility and affordability as a formidable combination.

Lin Lixin used the Power of WAAAGH! to analyze Intel’s i486 and concluded that GAMENOVA should avoid competing directly in CPUs and focus on its graphics expertise. He planned a major Hermes upgrade using its reserved VLB interface and a powerful graphics card, with Need for Speed as the launch title.

• Lin Lixin examined Windows 3.0 and considered how Microsoft and Intel’s growing influence would affect GAMENOVA.
• Lin Lixin went to Micro-Nova to reverse-engineer the i486, then used the Power of WAAAGH! to classify and inspect its transistors.
• Lin Lixin identified the i486’s five-stage pipeline, 8 KB L1 cache, and floating-point unit, and decided against entering the CISC processor market.
• Lin Lixin called for Old Huang and Old He to work on a major Hermes upgrade focused on hardware 3D graphics.
• Lin Lixin drafted graphics-card specifications using the Hermes VLB interface, including a 128-bit video-memory bus, and chose Need for Speed as the launch title.

Lin Lixin laid out plans for a powerful graphics card and chose games that could showcase it across different markets. He then arranged to involve Sega, Namco, and Yu Suzuki, and decided to buy Creative Technology for its Sound Blaster expertise.

• Lin Lixin explained that the graphics card needed a 128-bit memory bus, which could be built by connecting sixteen 8-bit memory chips in parallel, and set 4 MB of video memory for the reference card.
• Lin Lixin argued that Need for Speed could drive graphics-card sales with hardware-specific presets and a new Hermes model, while Ridge Racer and Virtua Racing could serve other markets and validate the graphics chip.
• Lin Lixin realized Sega and Namco were already on his side, then called President Nakayama to involve Yu Suzuki and Namco in using MicroNova's new graphics hardware.
• Lin Lixin called Sam and arranged to buy Creative Technology in Singapore, whose Sound Blaster had become a leading standard for PC audio.

Lin Lixin visited General Motors' California Design Center and saw how its designers relied on clay models and wind tunnels because digital tools remained limited. He proposed that Micro-Nova's upcoming graphics cards could accelerate fluid simulations, leaving Russell eager to secure early test cards for General Motors.

• Russell welcomed Lin Lixin to General Motors' California Design Center and showed him its SGI-based CAD workstations and clay car models.
• Lin Lixin offered to have Micro-Nova contact General Motors if it made progress improving digital design tools.
• Russell showed Lin Lixin the wind tunnel and explained that General Motors rarely used CFD simulations because they were costly and required IBM supercomputers.
• Lin Lixin argued that graphics cards were better suited than supercomputers to fluid calculations and pitched Micro-Nova's upcoming cards for rapid design testing.
• Russell asked Lin Lixin about an exclusive supply agreement, but Lin Lixin refused and offered to deliver the first engineering-grade test cards early.

Lin Lixin toured General Motors’ design center with Russell and proposed licensing real cars, including their complete engineering data, for GameNova’s 3D racing game. Russell left needing board approval, while Lin argued that virtual driving could plant a lifelong desire for cars in young players.

• Russell signed an initial order for more than ten thousand GameNova engineering graphics cards, resolving the buyer problem for the first production batch.
• Lin Lixin and Russell toured General Motors’ design center, where Lin admired the Corvette ZR-1 and other American performance and luxury cars.
• Russell guessed Lin had come to discuss a new game, and Lin confirmed he was developing a 3D racing game using real cars as selectable vehicles.
• Lin asked General Motors to provide complete engineering data so GameNova could create an authentic virtual version of the Corvette ZR-1, and Russell said he would need to consult the board.
• Lin explained that virtual driving could introduce young players to cars and nurture a lasting desire to own them, describing the project as an attempt at a digital twin.