Oh, here it is.

“Gunslinger Jungle”...?

Is the song playing right now the one by that artist you like?

Yeah. They mostly do EDM stuff, but they also produce some chiptune music on the side and were asked to do that for this game.

That explains why I'm hearing all these game-like sounds.

Also, the characters in this game are very cute. It's as if they were all designed to look like animals...

From what I remember, the story for this game's about them joining together to protect the jungle they all live in from aliens.

Considering an artist you like worked on the music for this game, Akito, I was under the impression that it'd be more realistic, you know...?

I wouldn't have invited you out if it were. I know you don't like that kind of stuff.

But I had a feeling that you'd be okay with this game since it had more of an anime feel to it. I mean, the villains are aliens.

Thank you, Akito.

I should have no problem enjoying this game.

Glad to hear that.

So, let's give it a go.

Okay, we start by choosing our characters. What do we have? A monkey, an owl, a tiger, a koala, a panda, an alligator...?

A lion, a zebra, a wolf, a hyena...

Don't these animals live in the savannah, not the jungle?

To be fair, it's a video game.

I think we can cut it some slack there.

I'm looking for something that's agile, so I think I'll go with the wolf...

Then, I'll go with the panda.

The panda? What can it do?

Based on its character description, it seems to be very hardy and resilient. Furthermore, you can use its skills to protect your allies.

You know we're just here to have fun, right? You could've just gone with whatever you wanted.

No worries there.

I chose the panda because we seemed to see eye to eye.

Eye to eye...? You know... Hm?

Oh, someone wants to play with us.

You can do that?

Yeah, if we play together, we'll get to play against a special boss.

Shall we give it a try?

Yeah, let's do it.

I'll hit accept.

They sent a stamp saying, “Looking forward to playing with you.”

Toya, it's starting. Get ready... Huh?!

Geez, we're surrounded right off the bat?! What happened to being beginner-friendly?!

Wait, Akito, look.

Our friends are that owl and alligator. They're jumping up and down while waving their hands.

How do you do that?

What's the command for...?

No time for that!

Shoot the baddies!

Alright, that just leaves the final stage.

I wasn't sure if we'd make it at first, but luckily, none of the enemies were very smart or mobile.

After all, this is a stage for beginners that includes a tutorial.

Also, I was wondering why all these items were dropping.

I mean, that owl and alligator are really good.

Yes, they are. The alligator's a strong attacker that can charge in and break enemy formations while the owl provides support fire from the rear. They're each playing a clear role.

The owl in particular isn't doing anything flashy, but it really seems to know what it's doing.

It hits anything that tries to flank us and even guides enemies towards us in a way that makes it easy for us to take them out.

Oh, the boss stage is about to start.

Ah, this must be the special stage you were talking about.

Yeah, but I have no idea what we'll be fighting... Huh...?

Hang on...

This green wall that's wriggling around... Is that...?

Yes, that's the enemy.

It looks like we can only see its torso...

Why'd they make it so big?!

Guh...! Let's finish this!

Huff... Huff...

There...!

We did it, Akito!

Yeah, even though it was for beginners, this stage turned out to be pretty fun.

(But I became so focused that I forgot to listen to the background music...)

Woohoo! We did it!

Nene, we won!

Hm...?

That voice...

It's coming from behind our machines.

I guess they have the same ones on the other side. Oh...

I was worried that we wouldn't make it at first, but I'm glad that wolf and panda were so good...

Yeah! They even came to the rescue when that alien stepped on my alligator's tail and kept me from bouncing up and down!

I guess that's who we were playing with just now...

Yes, our sisters-in-arms were right under our noses this whole time.

I knew there was a reason why they were so good. That owl had to be Kusanagi.

Huh? Akito! Toya!

Hi!

Why don't we chat with them for a bit? I mean, we worked pretty hard to bring down that gigantic boss.

Sure.