(Note: this is the old version of Codename K, i’m working on a new version that feels more like a creepypasta.)
The year was 2001.
A young kid named Micheal had just finished his summer coding class and he was excited to try out some of his new skills. So as soon as he got home from soccer practice on July 15th, 2001, he started coding some new games. He posted the files for them online, but it didn’t attract many positive reviews. He decided to look around on the internet for ideas of how he could make his game better. Maybe he could even create some new games.
As he looked around on the internet, he found a link to a site called IGN. He quickly found out it was a gaming news site, and he looked around to see what was on their top picks. He knew this would help him improve on making games, and he searched around on the site for reviews.
However, he found something that was much different than what he was looking for.
The headline read:
NINTENDO SUES 20 YEAR OLD GAME DEVELOPER FOR CREATING ROM HACKS OF “SUPER MARIO BROS. 3”
Micheal was curious, and he did a little researching and found out that ROM Hacks are edits to the ROM file of a video game.
And so, he downloaded the files for his favourite game: Kirby’s Adventure. He poked around in the files for a while. He found some unused content for the game, but still no luck on the ROM file. However, he still managed to find the ROM file after a while. He developed a game built off of Kirby’s Adventure called “Kirby Minigames”. As the name suggests, it was a collection of minigames themed after Kirby.
As he was preparing to post the file online, he had an idea.
And so, he went onto eBay and bought 40 blank NES cartridges which arrived the next day. When he got back from soccer practice that day, he found the package on his front doorstep, and he brought it inside. He unboxed it, and found the 40 NES cartridges he had ordered. He went upstairs and ported the file to 30 of them before dinner. He then ported the file to 8 of the remaining cartridges before bed. The next day, Micheal didn’t have soccer practice, so he tested out the game on his NES and found out everything worked correctly. He then went over to his friend Tim’s house, and showed him the game. He went back home after that, and put the 38 cartridges of Kirby Minigames on sale on eBay.
That night, a Nintendo employee was finishing up with the work he was doing with Nintendo’s next big game, Luigi’s Mansion, and he decided to look on eBay once he was finished. And so, he found the 38 cartridges for Kirby Minigames.
And so he filed a letter to Micheal’s household.
The next day, Micheal still didn’t have soccer practice, so he decided to check the mail once he woke up. He looked around, and said the following as he flipped through the mail:
”Electricity Bill, Condo Fee… wait, a letter from Nintendo?”
He brought the mail inside and gave the Condo Fee and Electricity Bill to his parents, and he went upstairs to look at the letter.
It said the following:
To the parent/guardian of Micheal Conro,
Unfortunately your child has violated our copyright for the Kirby franchise, and if you cannot send us 2 copies of “Kirby Minigames” by August 31st, we will file a lawsuit for copyright infringement.
We hope you understand what this letter is about.
Sincerely, Nintendo Of America.
Part 2[]
As you could expect, Micheal was furious about this. He has just created an amazing game that Nintendo could take inspiration from, and they were going to sue him for “copyright infringement”.
As Micheal hopped onto his bed to scream into his pillow, he got an idea.
He went onto his computer and onto Amazon, and ordered a Junior Science Kit, which arrived the next day. And so he spent the next hour making a creation.
Something that would make Nintendo Of America regret ever asking for the 2 copies of Kirby Minigames.
He called it Codename K.
Codename K was a black ooze, that Micheal did not know was very rebellious. And so when Micheal instructed Codename K to enter one of the cartridges and jump out as soon as the cartridge was unboxed. Codename K slyly agreed. And so, the package was delivered the next day.
When the employees of Nintendo Of America opened the box, Codename K did not jump out of the cartridge. Instead, Codename K stayed inside the cartridge and waited until the employees played the game and slowly altered it until the game was altered to the point it could be altered no more.
The employees were shocked once the game reached this point, and they quickly turned the game off.
15 years later, Micheal was 25, and on vacation in Redmond, Washington, and he decided to visit the headquarters of Nintendo Of America. When he got there, he had no idea what had happened. It was covered with a black goop, and when Micheal decided just to go home instead, a blob emerged from the goop and jumped onto Micheal. Micheal was then covered in the goop and headed into the building without any hesitation. One of the survivors from the incident that happened years ago tossed a knife at Micheal, killing him along with Codename K, which was the goop controlling Micheal. The goop disappeared, and the survivors were saved.
Police soon arrived at the area, and the employee that murdered Micheal explained everything. The cop was ready to pull out his handcuffs, when suddenly he realized that if Codename K kept on spreading, the world would be destroyed by the control of Codename K. The employee was forgiven for the murder of Micheal Q. Conro.
3 days later, Micheal’s funeral was held in his hometown of Cheyenne, Wyoming. Micheal’s friends and some of his family attended the funeral along with the employee of Nintendo Of America that murdered Micheal. When Tim asked the employee what caused him to murder Micheal, the employee explained that a day after they played the Kirby Minigames cartridge, the NES they played it on had ben covered with the goop. When one of the employees touched the NES, they were consumed by the goop and the goop grew bigger. By January 5th, 2015, the entire building had been covered, and all employees fought for survival within small communities located inside the building. The employee murdered Micheal out of self defense, and Tim understood.
Epilogue[]
8 years later, in 2024, there was a statue built to honor the legacy of Micheal Q. Conro. The employee that murdered Micheal became close friends with Tim, and a page was added to the Nintendo website documenting the entire story.
This chapter in Nintendo’s history lasted almost 25 years, and Nintendo is now more careful about who they sue.
The 38 copies of Kirby Minigames still remain on eBay to this day.