Wish Granter

The Video Game That Makes Wishes Come True

Photo by Jayachandran VS on Unsplash

Toby didn’t know what to make of the antique video game he had just inherited from his rich Uncle Tim. It was an old NES cartridge with the picture of a smiling genie with a goatee on it. The genie had his hands in the air as if he was about ready to grant a wish. This was appropriate since the game was called Wish Granter. Toby loved to collect retro games, but he never heard of this game before. He looked it up online but nobody seemed to have ever heard of a game called Wish Granter. Regardless where it came from, it was the only thing Toby received from his now deceased uncle.

It was torturous for him to hear the lawyer list off the money and expensive items his cousins were receiving. Yet all Toby got was a lousy old video game nobody ever heard of. According to the will, Uncle Tim considered this game to be his most prized possession. Since he considered Toby his favorite nephew, it was only natural that Toby got it.

“This isn’t fair!” yelled Toby. “I took care of Uncle Tim as he was dying. No one else did. Why don’t I get any money?!”

“Don’t complain son.” said the lawyer. “Your uncle knew what he was doing when he made the will. You may find that game more valuable than anything your cousins received.”

These words were of little comfort. It wasn’t that Toby only helped his dying uncle just to receive money. In fact, he never once asked Uncle Tim for a penny even when he needed it. The thing that bothered Toby was that his lousy cousins who never came to see their uncle except when they needed money received everything of value. Toby was just hoping to receive enough money to pay off some of his debts like his student loans.

This is my punishment for being a good nephew. He thought bitterly.

Now he sits in his studio apartment sitting on an old couch he got from his parents. In front is an old CRT TV and his regular Nintendo. Toby decided that the only thing he could do was play the game. So he inserted Wish Granter into the Nintendo and turned the power on. The title screen showed the smiling genie from the cover except his arms were folded across his chest. The title Wish Granter appeared next to him with the option to start underneath.

Guess there’s no passwords for this game. Thought Toby as he pressed start.

There wasn’t much to be said about the game play. It was a typical side-scroller that was very common for the era the game came out. The bad guys were red cobras and fire breathing camels which fit with the desert setting. Having played many retro video games over the years, Toby found the game rather easy to play. The one thing he found peculiar about the game was the main character. He thought the character would wear an outfit that you’d find in the Arabian Nights. Instead, the character was wearing a modern day gray t-shirt, a pair of blue jeans, and some brown shoes. Similar to the outfit Toby was wearing. The character also had shaggy brown hair like him. In fact, if Toby didn’t know any better, he could’ve sworn that he was the main character.

No, that’s just crazy. He thought.

Eventually, Toby reached the end of the level. All he had to do was touch a giant lamp. Out popped the genie from the cover in all his eight bit glory. In a text box, the genie asked “What is your wish, Master?”

Under the genie’s question was a box with the alphabet. Toby understood that he was meant to type in a wish. It was a strange addition to the game. Why would the game developers include it? It’s not like the genie could actually grant a wish. Feeling hungry, Toby decided to type in the word pizza and hit ok.

“Your wish is my command!” said the genie in a text box.

The genie then raised his hands and the game flashed. Followed by a knock on the door.

No. It can’t be. Thought Toby as he went to answer the door.

“Pizza delivery.” said the delivery man.

Toby was dumbfounded. It was the same delivery man from Sara’s Pizza, Toby’s favorite pizza place. Surely this was some kind of mistake. Turns out, it wasn’t. The pizza guy explained that there was a drawing for a free pizza and Toby was the winner.

The pizza had pepperoni, ham, banana peppers, mushrooms, and onions. Just the way Toby liked it.

Coincidence. That what it is. Just a crazy coincidence.

Deep down, Toby knew that it couldn’t be a coincidence. Yet the alternative sounded way too insane. Did his uncle gave him a magic video game that grants wishes? No. It couldn’t be. Still, he would be a fool to waste the game on a mere pizza. So he played the next stage as he ate his pizza.

The second stage took place at night and featured purple demons with curved swords. They were a little tougher to avoid the cobras and camels from the previous stage, but Toby managed. Reaching the end, he knew exactly what he wanted to type in once the genie popped up.

All debts paid.

His cellphone vibrated. It was Uncle Tim’s lawyer.

“I found that your uncle named you the beneficiary in his life insurance policy. The policy was for three million dollars. It’s strange that I could’ve overlooked it. I’ve always been thorough when it comes to your uncle’s affairs. Then again, you must’ve discovered the value of your inheritance.”

“I sure did.” said Toby. “Uncle Tim really took care of me. You were so right about the game. Say, could you use the money to pay off my debts?”

“Just send me the information and I’ll handle everything. By the way, your uncle valued you above your cousins. That’s why he gave you the game. Prove that you’re worthy of his gift.”

“Yeah, sure. Are there any limits to how many wishes I get? Like maybe three.”

“There are no limit to amount of wishes you can make. Just don’t be too dependent on it.”

After hanging up, Toby was eager to get back to the game. He thought of all the wonderful things he would wish for. He always wanted to be a successful YouTuber. So he played through the third stage where he had to jump over quicksand. For his third wish, he wished to be a successful YouTuber.

Toby wanted to continue to the next stage, but he remembered that the lawyer said there were no limits to wishes. So he decided to turn it off and play later.

The next day, Toby went out and bought a camera and some video editing software for his YouTube channel. He also bought a fedora because he decided to call himself Toby Fedora. The channel was gonna be dedicated to talking about video games both old and new. It would’ve been a long shot with the market being so over saturated with gaming channels. The wish made it possible.

The first video received a million views in the first half hour. The channel received five million subscribers in that same time. Every video Toby uploaded received no less than one million views. As the channel grew in popularity, his began to grow. Ads, sponsorship, paid members, and merchandise sales made Toby into a multi-millionaire. His lifestyle improved. He was able to buy a house and a Corvette. He had more money than he ever dreamed, and was more famous than most people ever hoped to be.

Yet, Toby didn’t feel happy.

If anything, he felt like a complete fraud. Most people spent years of blood, sweat, and tears to earn at least a small amount of success. Toby became successful because of a magic video game. There was nothing special about him and he knew it.

One day, he visited his uncle’s lawyer to talk about his problem.

“Don’t be ridiculous.” said the lawyer. “You’re not a fraud. You made a wish and the game made it come true.”

“But that’s just it.” said Toby. “The game is the reason why I’m so successful. I didn’t earn any of it.”

“Lots of people enjoy unearned success without the aid of a wish granting game. Your cousins didn’t earn the fortune Tim left them. They were just fortunate enough to be related to him. I haven’t seen any of them since the reading of the will. Yet I can’t imagine any of them feeling guilty about getting Tim’s money and possessions. Most likely they squandered most of it already.

Tim didn’t give you any money. He gave you a tool to earn it yourself. I’ve known Tim for thirty years and I can tell you he would’ve been proud of the wishes you made. If you still feel a little guilty about it, you can do what your uncle did. Use the money you’ve already earned by trying different ventures. Give some of it to charity. Also, use the game sparingly.”

Toby saw the wisdom in what the lawyer had to say. So he followed his advice. Much of the money was giving to charity. Which made him feel pretty good knowing he was helping people. He tried his hand at many different ventures. Toby directed his own movie, created his own comic book, and invested in stocks. The movie was a modest success, the comic got mixed reviews, and his stocks went belly up. Yet none of it bothered him too much. Sure, the failures didn’t feel good and he wasn’t as successful as he would’ve been had he used a wish. Still, Toby could see he can be successful with the aid of the game.

Over the years Toby would direct a few other movies with varying degrees of success. He also wrote a novel which sold a lot better than he had expected. So he focused more attention on writing novels in between making YouTube videos. Eventually he quit YouTube to focus all his attention on writing.

Wish Granter was hardly ever played. There just didn’t seem to be any need to with the growing success of his novels. Whenever he did play it, Toby would just make simple wishes like have his room cleaned.

Once, he felt pretty lonely. As successful as he is, it meant nothing without somebody to share it with. He considered making a wish to find a wife. That proved unnecessary when he met his wife through a friend.

Toby lived a great life with his wife and kids. He never did played Wish Granter again. In fact, he had it placed in a safety deposit box. It was his intention that his kids would inherit the game after his passing. He just hoped they proved worthy.