Video Game Tycoon in Tokyo-Chapter 982: I Really Want to Play!

Super Mario's Grand Adventure — this was the largest attraction in the entire Mario-themed park.

It was packed with iconic Super Mario elements.

Jumping, the core of the mainline Mario series, was front and center here. Visitors were required to physically engage in jumping through various obstacles—pipes to leap over, hills to climb, and interactive enemies like Goombas, Koopas, and other classic Mario monsters that appeared on the ground screen, which players could "stomp" on.

This was a team-based attraction. If a group earned enough points during their run, their team name would be featured on the leaderboard for the day. And at the end of the night, the top-scoring team would receive a free first-party game redemption voucher from Gamestar Electronic Entertainment's official network—allowing them to pick any one of Gamestar's published titles.

With the joy of hopping around like Mario and the chance to win rewards, it was no wonder this was one of the park's most visited and popular areas.

Then there was the Super Mario Castle Exploration.

This attraction resembled traditional theme park ride-throughs: visitors boarded slow-moving ride vehicles and were taken through a scenic retelling of Mario and Princess Peach's story.

It began with the two happily living together—until one day, Bowser appeared and kidnapped Peach, prompting Mario to embark on his classic rescue journey.

For adults, this was pure nostalgia.

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They had played Mario as kids. Now, seeing a fully realized version of that childhood adventure didn't feel childish at all—it was heartwarming and deeply nostalgic.

For kids, it was like watching a high-end animated movie come to life. As they sat in their ride vehicles, they stared wide-eyed at the ever-changing scenes.

Mario battled enemies, crossed volcanoes, entered castles, and finally confronted the colossal final boss: Bowser.

And of course, Mario ultimately triumphed through his wit and skill, rescuing the princess.

Despite being a simple, familiar story, this attraction was the single most expensive investment in the park.

It cost over one billion USD to build—an amount that could have funded five or six AAA video games.

And all for a ride-through experience.

What justified the cost was the cutting-edge technology behind it.

The attraction integrated advanced AI systems, whose computing requirements far exceeded those of any typical game engine. Thanks to this AI, every scene and character behavior in the story could be rendered in dynamic, semi-randomized ways—ensuring that each visitor experienced something unique.

One standout feature of this ride was that guests could influence the story through their actions.

At the start, each visitor was given an infrared laser gun. During the ride, they could aim at enemies Mario was fighting and help him take them down.

If they hit successfully, Mario would turn back, flash a thumbs-up, and cheerfully thank them for their help.

Of course, you could also aim the gun at Mario himself—he'd respond to hits on different body parts. Shoot him in the butt, and he'd yelp and hold his behind, telling you to "aim better!" Shoot elsewhere, and he might dodge and say, "Focus!"

This made every guest feel involved, like they were part of Mario's heroic journey.

Another crowd favorite was Luigi's Haunted House.

Unlike traditional horror attractions, this one had a joyful, silly vibe.

After all, the Luigi's Mansion games were never about real horror—they were a playful way to give Mario's brother a stage of his own.

Here, guests teamed up with an actor dressed as Luigi to help catch a variety of cute-looking ghosts.

Then there was Wario's Mad Lab, where players could team up with the rotund inventor himself to experiment with bizarre contraptions. If your creation was interesting enough, you'd earn a special reward from Wario.

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From these attractions, one clear theme stood out: interactivity.

Whereas traditional parks often had guests sit still and passively enjoy roller coasters or shows, this video game park had gone in the opposite direction.

It invited players to get involved—to move, to aim, to make decisions.

This perfectly matched the very spirit of video games.

Games are built on interactivity. Players take action, change outcomes, defeat dragons, save princesses.

From the start, the Mario-themed park embraced this concept, crafting a new kind of amusement experience.

For the general public, it's hard to say whether interactive rides will catch on long term. But for today's crowd of 50,000 pure gaming fans, it was a dream come true.

They had always dreamed of stepping inside a real game world.

And Super Mario Park delivered exactly that.

At this moment, it had become the most joyful, lively place in all of Tokyo.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is Luigi's Haunted House! Just now, I helped Luigi defeat some ghosts and earned his special badge! I swear, it's so much fun! Okay, that's it for today's stream—I need to get back to playing! Please don't scold me, boss!"

With that, the host cut the livestream and disappeared back into the crowd.

Meanwhile, the viewers watching the stream were scratching their heads in envy.

"I want to go too!"

But according to the official app, the earliest available reservation was over a week away.