Monthly Archives: September 2015

I am Zachary, and at the time I write this, it has been three weeks since the fateful night when I played the NES Godzilla game.

Going back to that night, to immediately after I turned off the NES. Once I was able to start walking around again, the first thing I did was unplug the NES, take out the cartridge, and put them in separate sock drawers.

I looked over at the computer. All the screenshots you’ve seen in the story were saved. I backed up all the images on a flash drive before I turned the computer off, just in case. After that, I hit the bed and instantly passed out. It was not a restful sleep, but one of complete exhaustion. It felt like no time has passed before I awoke again.

And what a day that was. The first thought I recall coming to mind was “…What the hell happened last night?” I thought about it for a short while, until it occurred to me to contact the person I got the game from to begin with – Billy. So I called him up, and told him to just come over to my apartment, which he did.

And I showed him the screenshots, and gave him a very basic summary of what had happened. At first he thought I was pulling a joke on him, but he soon realized that was not the case. Once it hit him that this was real, he was speechless.
He made it clear that he had absolutely not tampered with the game, and had no idea about any of this.

So then the obvious question was asked to Billy; “Where did YOU get it from?” I got the simple answer of “Another friend of mine that I trade games with.” He assured me that this was a trustworthy person, and he had never had any issues with games he got from him before. So then Billy called him. But when we told this guy the story, he was as shocked and surprised as anyone, except he abruptly hung up on us. This clearly was going nowhere.

Before Billy left that day, he asked me if I wanted him to take the cartridge and dispose of it. I sharply declined. He asked how I could possibly still want to keep the thing. I told him that I needed time to think it over, and that was that.
Billy and I haven’t talked much since. Even though I’ve told him this isn’t the case, I get the impression that Billy thinks what happened with the game is his fault.

After he left that day, I did a lot of thinking.

It was very hard for me to do anything else, really. I couldn’t stop thinking about the game, there were so many questions left unanswered. What WAS Red? Was Melissa really in the game? How did she get there? Why did all this happen with THIS game?

But the one question that kept me for many nights was:

“Red said he had ‘known me for a long time’. How?”

Ever since then, I can’t shake this feeling of being watched.

The game made me ask myself questions about death and reality in ways that I never wanted to think about. I’m not too sure of anything anymore. Constantly thinking about it soon began to have a negative impact on my life. I just didn’t care about anything else at this point. By comparison, all the other day-to-day activities seemed utterly pointless.

I eventually decided that I had to choose between one of two things: Try to play the game again, or destroy it. I tried several times to convince myself to try the former, but I never got farther than plugging the NES back up. Just touching the cartridge made me remember all the pain I felt during the fight with Red.

I wondered if perhaps playing the game again myself might cause something terrible to happen. I didn’t know anything about how this “game” worked, and it was too risky. I wasn’t sure I could stand another round of the game anyway.

So then it was time for the other option. Wanting to get some fresh air, I took the game with me and drove to the lake, planning to throw it in. I got up to the lake with the cartridge in my hands, and I look down on it and…I thought of Melissa. If what I had experienced in the game was indeed genuine, doing what I did may have been the only way to save her from endless torture. In a way, this warped game might have saved her soul.

Damn it. Once that thought came into my head, I knew then I wouldn’t be able to destroy it. So I just sat down at a bench, gazing at the lake for about an hour. Ultimately, I decided on a third option: selling the game on EBay.

It may be selfish, but I promise you that it has nothing to do with money. I don’t care how much or little I get paid for this game, believe me. It’s selfish because I don’t want the responsibility of owning this cartridge anymore. I cannot dwell on this forever, and the only way I can deal with this, is by putting the game out of my life.

So this brings me to the main reasons I created a summary of these events; first is to record the details while I can remember them, and second is that whoever bids on this game knows what they’re getting into. I can’t guarantee the safety of anyone else who plays the game, or that anything will happen at all. But to the new owner of the gamer, remember this; Be careful, and if you feel as if the game is literally messing with your mind, SHUT THE DAMN THING OFF.

After his seeming defeat by Solomon, Red had reconstructed his body into his gigantic Final Form, transporting us to a blazing inferno in the process. It was reminiscent of our first encounter. Except now the scenery,much like the true power of Red, had become very real. The music had erupted into a loud blaring sound, a furious drum of death.

Faced against Red’s insane amount of health, my own demise was imminent.

Final Red 1

Solomon was my strongest monster. But not even he stood a chance. It was like trying to fight a mountain.

Final Red 2

Within seconds Solomon was overpowered and dropped to the floor, when Red crushed him to death underneath his foot. The sadistic demon took his time as he snapped Solomon’s vertebrae and ribs like dry, brittle twigs. I could tell he was enjoying our pain.

Final Red 3

weak

“This is hopeless. I’m a dead man.”

I had to no choice but to send another monster to his death. We were all going to die. I only hoped they would forgive me.

Final Red 4

After decreasing Red’s health by a miniscule amount, Anguirus was also obliterated. Red unleashed a hail of blazing hot needles into his face, until he collapsed.

Final Red 5

Another moment of unspeakable agony, then nothingness as my ally faded away.

you cant win

I asked Red how he knew my name.

And then, he said it.

secret

red confess

For years she was being tortured by something nobody understood. Now I knew what it was.

Now I understood why I was mocked about Melissa’s death, and how the game knew about it. Because HE knew about it, because HE was the one responsible. And this time, he was going to kill me.

futile

I was taken back to the board to send Godzilla to his final stand. Barely anything was left of the board, just Godzilla and Red’s icons, and…

boardremains

…the fifth monster.

In the midst of everything that was happening, I had completely forgotten about it. I tried yet again to select it. I cursed, I begged,I screamed at it to do something, ANYTHING to help me. To no avail.

There was only one thing to do.

Final Red 6

Final Red 7

Final Red 8

Final Red 9

I knew Godzilla didn’t stand any more of a chance than the rest did. But maybe, maybe now that all the other monsters were gone, the fifth monster might finally awaken.

I managed to get the creaure’s icon selected, and I pressed the A button as fast as I could. The icon started to shake, as if it were trying desperately to move!

It was then that Red decided he was done playing fair, and before I could activate the monster, he went for the killing blow: paralyzing my heart.

My hands started to become numb and unfeeling, but even as my vision was fading away, I still tried to pressed the A button.

gameover

Red surely was breaking one of his rules, but he must have thought that if he could kill me quickly, then it would be too late for any consequences to matter, he would have won.

He was wrong.

gameover

 

notyet

stuggle

struggle 2

Red’s power was being challenged by another force. It prevented him from killing me, and when I regained my vision I saw a familiar sight:

blueangel1

“…Who are you?”

blueangel2

“What? How is that possible! I…Red told me that he killed you…”

blueangel3

blue angel 4

“But how will I be able to stop him now?”

blueangel5

blueangel6

Her words stirred something inside of me. I wasn’t going to die like this. And I had more to fight her for than just my own life, I had to fight to save Melissa, and the world she inhabits.

With her help, the 5th monster was finally unleashed:

thegoldenlight

It was time to end this, once and for all. Together, we would take this damned hellspawn out of existence.

AcaciusvsRed1

cantsaveyou

Acacius was by far the strongest playable monster in the game. He had to be, if we were to have any chance of surviving. His “punch” involved turning his hands into blades, which caused tremendous damage. But Red had more than enough life to spare. In the end, this would come down to pure skill:

AcaciusvsRed2

AcaciusvsRed3

AcaciusvsRed4

AcaciusvsRed5

AcaciusvsRed6

AcaciusvsRed7

AcaciusvsRed8

With one final strike, Red was destroyed. His body disintegrated and sank below, accompanied by a soar of triumphant music. Slowly, the paralysis wore off, and I was able to stand up again!

Reddeath1

Reddeath2

Reddeath3

Reddeath4

Reddeath5

We had done it. Melissa’s death had been avenged, and I felt overwhelming happiness…until I remembered all the death and pain that led up to this point. All the other monsters who had fought and died. I was about to mourn them, but the game had yet to conclude.

rise

ending1

ending2

ending3

ending4

Tears of joy streamed down my face, and I broke out crying. I cried harder than I have in several years, maybe in whole life. All I had been through, all I had discovered, and now the game was coming to an end. But before she and the others left, Melissa had something to tell me:

ending5

 

ending6

ending7

ending8

“Oh dear god.”

That was my first thought on realizing I would have to fight “Red”, the creature that tormented me through nearly the whole game.How would I be able to fight something that can kill with one touch? It seemed totally impossible.

Thankfully, Red was no longer able to deliver one hit kills. But despite that, this was still the most difficult battle I’ve ever faced, in this game or otherwise. If I had any real comprehension of what I was getting into before I started the fight, I would never have done it.

I very soon learned what a horrible mistake I had made. Red reached out and clawed at Godzilla. And when those claws cut through him, I felt it.

First Blood

I know that it’s common for people to cringe up when their video game character gets hit or loses a life. But this was not that. This was genuine, physical pain.

When the pain struck me I paused the game. I hadn’t suffered any actual injuries, but it felt just like my shoulder had been clawed through. I had seen and experienced many unpleasant things at this point, but the game causing me real pain was where I drew the line. Yes, I would be disappointed that I wouldn’t get to see the ending, but the risk was no longer worth it. I was about to get up to take one last screenshot and turn off the NES, when I realized something else-

-I couldn’t get up.

I was paralyzed to my seat. The only muscles I could move were my fingers and thumbs. As the terror set in, a new message appeared on the screen.

youarenotleaving

I started to scream, but only a weak choking sound was coming out. I desperately tried to get my body to move, but it did nothing. I was looking every direction, and then I looked over at the computer.

Somehow, the computer was taking screenshots of the game on its own when I began the fight. I still don’t know how or why. Something in the game must have been causing it.

Since Red could hear what I was saying, I tried begging for him to let me go. From here things start to get hazy as I was under extreme stress at the time, but from what I can remember I said:

“I’m sorry. I’m sorry I insulted you. I didn’t mean it. I didn’t know things would get this serious. Please just let me go. If you let me go I promise I will never tell anyone or turn the game on ever again. PLEASE!”

And Red replied:

toolatenow

onlyone

“Only one will survive.”

The statement could not be any more clear. If I couldn’t kill Red, then he would kill ME. Like an idiot I had played around with something I didn’t understand, and now it might cost me my life.

I stopped struggling to move and accepted the reality of the situation.
There was only one way to get out of this alive.
I had to kill Red.

Spider Red 1

It all went by so fast. If it weren’t for the screenshots, I might not have remembered any of this. Just like in the chase levels, Red moved at a horrifyingly fast speed. There was barely enough time to process a thought

Spider Red 2

And thus, there was no time to form a strategy. I had to rely solely on my wits and reflexes. To make things worse, there was no way to predict what kind of attacks Red might use, so I constantly had to be on the offensive AND defensive.

Spider Red 3

I felt every hit that Godzilla took. They all hurt. I tried so hard to avoid the damage, but every attack that I dodged left me vulnerable to another. And the pain would only get worse.

Spider Red 4

After he jumped over me, Red’s eyes started to glow. I moved as far back as I could and ducked, but there was no dodging this one:

Spider Red 5

When THIS hit me, I really did scream. I screamed so loud that someone else in the apartment should have heard me, but they didn’t. Just looking at the image hurts me, making me remember the incinerating burn.

I paused the game because it hurt so bad, but Red unpaused the game to attack me again, which made me furious.

I immediately counterattacked with the heat beam, again and again until the power meter was totally diminished. I wanted Red to hurt like I did.

Spider Red 6

Swimming Red 1

Just before the timer ran out, Red transitioned into his swimming form. I didn’t think the timer would still be affecting a battle like this. I’m thankful for it, because it gave me a few minutes to collect my thoughts and decide what to do next.

I chose to fight Red’s next 2 forms with the monsters I had encountered them with, so Anguirus was next. It probably wasn’t all that smart of an idea, but it’s what I did.

Swimming red 2

I jumped up and heat beamed Red in the face, and he moved offscreen where I couldn’t reach him. Then a wave of large mines started to fall from above.

Swimming Red 3

I felt this was unfair so I shouted:

“If you’re going to cheat, then why do you even let me use the controller?!”

therules

And then he came at me, rushing from the top left of the screen downwards:

Swimming Red 4

“DAMN IT!” Now I wouldn’t even be able to see where his next attack was coming from. Red continued to strike from random angles, I constantly moved to swerve around him.

swimming Red 5

Swimming Red 6

Another forty seconds went by and Anguirus was nearly gone, but together we had forced Red into his flying form, so it was Mothra’s turn next.

Flying Red 1

Deciding to fight Red with Mothra was a terrible idea. Mothra was instantly overwhelmed by Red, and the life meter was devastated in a mere fifteen seconds.

Flying Red 2

And once Mothra’s life was down to two bars, Red did something I didn’t see coming:

Flying Red 3

He reached out, grabbed Mothra, and ate her.

After Mothra was devoured I felt an agonizing pain, like being crushed to death. Mothra had been killed for my stupidity and I would share the pain.
It was a short transition from the battle to the board, but it felt like an hour.

The pain, combined with being unable to move was driving me insane. I wanted so badly for this to end. I never wanted anything so much.

But I still had hope. There was only one monster left that could be brought to full health by engaging Red in battle. Solomon. If any of them had a chance to save my life now, it would be him.

Flying Red 4

Solomon apparently had some history with Red, as when the fight started this dialogue happened:

traitor

solomon talks

Red took me by surprise again by immediately burning me with his demonic fire a second time:

Flying Red 5

As much as it hurt, it actually worked to my advantage: since Solomon started at full life he still had some to spare, but now Red had used up all his energy and could not use his ultimate weapon any longer. Now he would die.

As he drew close to the end of his life bar, Red turned his whole body to face the screen and flew upwards, then slamming back down in an attempt to crush Solomon:

Flying Red 6

Flying Red 7

When that failed to work, he tried to devour Solomon like he had Mothra. But he wouldn’t be eating my monster this time:

Flying Red Defeated

Red dead

I thought I had won. But something was wrong. Red wasn’t sinking to the bottom, and I still couldn’t move. Red was still alive…

not dead yet

ohno

final Red

notdone