Tuesday, 30 December 1992
The day after the ZAGE GOTY event, players across Japan were still buzzing. While fans outside Tokyo had to settle for watching it on TV, one thing left them envious: the exclusive merchandise. They wanted the figures, toys, and plush dolls too — especially the limited-edition merchandise that only appears on GOTY events.
Aside from the GOTY Hype there was something else stirring curiosity among players — the mystery of Zabo-man in Super Mario Land. The cartridge box included a Z pin, which usually meant Zabo-man appeared somewhere in the game, just like he did in other Zaboru titles. And yet, no one could find him. Some speculated that beating the game without losing a life might unlock Zabo-man as a playable character just like other Super Mario games. But those efforts only led to unlocking Giga Chad Mario — a muscular, grayscale version of Mario that players found hilarious and awesome. Still, the question remained: where was Zabo-man?
At Bakudan Arcade, Sakaki and his friends Kumogi, Rikki, and Sawada were spending their winter break hanging out together. Sakaki, watching Sawada play Super Mario Land on his ZGB, leaned forward with a thoughtful look.
Sakaki: "Guys, where do you think Zabo-man is in Super Mario Land? A lot of people still can't find him. But the Z pin in the cartridge box means he's in there somewhere, right?"
Sawada, still focused on his game, replied:
Sawada: "Hmm, I don't know…"
Rikki and Kumogi shrugged. None of them had figured it out.
Rikki then said, "Maybe this game's an exception maybe he doesn't appear at all?"
Kumogi replied, "That's possible... but the fact that the Z pin exists means he should show up somewhere. They wouldn't include that for nothing."
Then the arcade door swung open, and a familiar face walked in.
Sakaki: "Oh wow, Endo? Haven't seen you here in ages."
Endo, a high schooler and local gaming legend, used to frequent Bakudan Arcade, but these days he played more often at the sleeker Dream Catcher Arcade.
Endo: "Yo, guys. Long time no see."
Rikki: (grinning and giving him a light headlock) "Dude! Good to see you. Wait — you didn't already find Zabo-man in Super Mario Land, did you?"
Endo: (smirking) "Of course I did."
The four boys stared in disbelief.
Sawada: "No way. Seriously? Can you show us how?"
Endo: "Sure. The trick's in the first stage. Look closely at one of the walls — it's got weird scratches on it. Flip your ZGB upside down and read them again."
He demonstrated, holding his handheld upside down to reveal the message hidden in the scratched wall texture: "Don't move underwater."
The group leaned in, amazed.
Sawada's eyes popped open. "What!? I never noticed that!'"
Sakaki: "So Zabo-man shows up if you don't move underwater? I tried that though."
Endo: "There's one more detail. In that underwater stage, there's a small clue — a '20 minutes' mark hidden in the between coral tiles. It means you have to stay completely still underwater for 20 minutes. Then something happens."
Intrigued, Endo loaded the underwater stage and placed his ZGB flat on the table, untouched. The Bakudan boys watched with skepticism and mounting curiosity.
Exactly 20 minutes later, Mario began to lose oxygen and started to drown, struggling helplessly underwater. But just before it was too late, a black-clad figure in a gray Z helmet and diving suit appeared, refilled Mario's tank, and saved him allowing him to breathe again.
It was Zabo-man. He looked directly at the screen, gave a thumbs-up, and said, "You are very cool," before disappearing into the depths of the ocean stage.
The boys were stunned.
Sawada said, "That's actually insane. I mean, how the hell would anyone figure that out without a guide?"
Sakaki: "I don't know what's crazier — that you figured this out, or that you have to go through all that just to see him."
Sawada: "Yup That's insane."
Kumogi: "No wonder no one found him." Kumogi shook his head.
Rikki: "Dude, this is so extra. I love it."
Endo just smiled.
Endo: "Hey, sometimes it's nice when a game asks for something unexpected. Keeps things interesting." Endo actually really liked this kind of design. In ZEPS games, there were Z-cards collectible items that gave cryptic hints about Zabo-man's whereabouts. Similarly, the Z-pin in the ZGB cartridge signified that Zabo-man existed somewhere in the game, but figuring out where was part of the challenge. The clues were scattered across the game world like a puzzle waiting to be solved and Endo loved that.
All across Japan, players continued searching for Zabo-man, unaware of the absurd patience it required. Only the most observant — or the luckiest — would stumble upon this secret.
Meanwhile, Zaboru could only chuckle about the situation. He had intentionally made Zabo-man's appearance incredibly hidden — not to frustrate players, but to encourage exploration and curiosity. Of course, he'd also left subtle hints in the game, just enough for sharp-eyed players to catch if they were truly paying attention.
To be continued...
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