Krom's Backed Kickstarter Games

Kickstarter video game development has been a hot topic recently due to some controversies and some large successes.  If you want to see my post regarding controversies on Kickstarter see my blog post HERE!  I have backed quite a few Kickstarters this last year and want to share my reasons for backing these projects.

One missed opportunity I had for Kickstarter was Shovel Knight.  I was aware of the Kickstarter and watched it everyday.  Unfortunately I was a recent college graduate looking for my first job and did not have the funds to spend on Kickstarter.  This was one of the very first Kickstarters that I really wanted to back but I did not have any cash burning a hole in my pocket.

My first backed Kickstarter project was the spiritual successor to Rare's Banjo-Kazooie, Yooka-Laylee.  Interestingly enough this was Kickstarted on my wife's behalf.  She is a huge Banjo-Kazooie and Banjo-Tooie fan.  In-fact she plays through Banjo-Kazooie on a yearly basis.  Once I showed her that some of the old creators were creating a spiritual successor it was a no brainer to back this project.

Yooka-Laylee

Yooka Laylee is a return of the 3D collect-a-thon games of yore.  It shares a lot in common with Banjo-Kazooie, including the main characters being a duo character of sorts.  Instead of a bear and bird combo it is a chameleon (Yooka) and bat (Laylee) combo, which are quite adorable and badass!  (profanity for keeping my street cred up)  This game is sure to have a ton of charm...come on...it has a snake wearing pants named Trowser that sells new moves to Yooka and Laylee.  Hope I don't have to explain that any further!

Couple weeks after Yooka-Laylee was announced, Koji Igarashi took to Kickstarter to try and get backers to support development of Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night.  If you do not know who Koji Igarashi is he is one of the founding fathers of a game playstyle known as metroidvania or igavania.  These type of games include a huge map of interconnected rooms or halls that house a slew of enemies that need to be taken out by the player.  A notable game in this genre is Castlevania: Symphony of the Night.  The reason I decided to back this Kickstarter was because I absolutely love metroidvania games.  One of my favorite games is Castlevania Aria of Sorrow (GBA) and its sequel Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow (DS).  There were several other metroidvania games released for the DS that were also great games but none that impacted me as much as these two games.  I am looking forward to the eventual release of this game, hopefully everything goes smoothly during development and we see the release in 2017.

My copies of Castlevania metroidvania games

Bloodstained: Ritual of the Night - Main Character Miriam

For the next game I will admit that I completely got caught up in the hype.  "ALL ABOARD THE HYPE TRAIN!!!"  I don't regret backing the game as I only backed $60 for the physical PS4 version.  The game is Shenmue 3.  What I knew of Shenmue was pretty small since I have not played it yet, however, I do own it.  I remember a friend of mine that lived across from me as a kid had a Dreamcast and a game called Shenmue.  I remember him never shutting up about how great the game was.  "Ya, ya.  Will you just put in Spawn already!"  People have been waiting for a Shenmue 3 for years and at this years E3 the creator took to the stage at the Playstation conference and announced a Shenmue 3 Kickstarter campaign.  Not sure what had a larger applause Shenmue 3 Kickstarter or Final Fantasy VII Remake.

The last game I backed on Kickstarter is Muv-Luv.  I have already posted regarding this Kickstarter which is currently still live.  If you want to browse what I had to say regarding this Kickstarter just click!

Quick Gameroom Pictures!!!

I plan on doing a much bigger game room post with better and more pictures once this year is over!

Video Games on Kickstarter

Want to make a post regarding Kickstarter.  More specifically video games on Kickstarter.  We are at a point now where many older video game Kickstarters are being released.  There have been quite a few controversies.  These controversies have many people storming to forums telling others "this is why I don't back anything, its just a sham".  I don't want these controversies to cause people to not support something they believe in.  Let's cover the controversies and discuss some of the games that we have got that were great successes thanks to Kickstarter.

One of the most recent controversies is Project Phoenix.  Project Phoenix was a huge success on Kickstarter and for very good reason, the talent.  The developers for Project Phoenix are well known creators from Final Fantasy including Nobuo Uematsu (composer) and Kiyoshi Arai (artist).  Originally looking for $100,000 to help fund the development they shattered the goal by raising over $1,000,000.  Well it seems that $1,000,000 was not enough.  While all the assets are created and ready the team still has no programmer.  What is a game without a programmer?  Nothing.  Missing the original release date of March 2015, things are looking very grim.  The company CIA is still actively looking for a programmer after the programmer they wanted, David Clark of Ori and the Blind Forest, was not able to work with them so the search continues.  Much of the funds raised are still available once development moves along.

Mighty No. 9.  You had to know this was coming.  Started by Keiji Inafune, famed video game producer and infamous illustrator for Mega Man, and his company Comcept.  What seemed like a home run turned into a disaster that continues to be delayed for release.  Earning $3,845,170 in the allotted Kickstarter time, overall earning $4 million after donations through Pay Pal back in 2013.  In 2014 another crowd funding campaign was launched for bonus content including English voice acting.  Why do we need to give more money for something that should have been included in the original campaign funding?  Internet was flooded with comments regarding Inafune's incompetency with budgeting.  Can you blame the internet though?  It gets better, months later Comcept took to Kickstarter to ask for additional funding for DLC.  We have not even seen the game released!  DLC?  This has not been a good example of what Kickstarter can do for the video gaming community.  Now with Comcept partnering with Deep Silver there will be retail versions of Mighty No. 9 available once it gets released.  Which is anyone's guess when that will be.  Currently set for Feb. 2016...

Keiji Inafune launches another crowd funding campaign on Kickstarter.  This time for a spiritual reboot of Mega Man Legends, named Red Ash.  Seems that support was weak.  Original goal was $800,000.  However, before much can be done to put a dent in the $800,000 Comcept announced that they found a company that wanted to produce the game and so the $800,000 would be used for bonus content to the game.  Many backers pulled their pledges and Red Ash fell short of its goal, only earning $518,000 and ultimately failing.  People continue to question Keiji Inafune and Comcept.  "Why would they not wait until Mighty No. 9 and use some the return from the game to create Red Ash?"  Good question!

There have been other games that have failed completely but none of them earning what these games have.  As unfortunate as it is for a Kickstarter to meet its funding to only then fail, it should be understood by those backing that they may not have a return on their pledge.

Turning to a more positive note there have been many successful Kickstarters.  Most notably in Shovel Knight which has thrived since its release and was the talk of the internet for months.  A NES 8-bit inspired game taking obvious notes from Duck Tales, Castlevania and Mega Man.  Originally released for Wii U and 3DS, Shovel Knight has now spread across most major platforms.  Hoping to see more from Yacht Club Games in the future.

Divinity Original Sin is another very successful Kickstarter.  Earning praise as a return to classic PC RPGs of yore.  Larian Studios is now working on an enchanced version of the game with release on current consoles and an update for current PC owners.  Releasing in a couple weeks.  I have not played Divinity Original Sin yet, but plan on picking up a copy for PS4.  Larian just had another successful Kickstarter for a second Divinity.

Kickstarter is exciting and it is difficult to not get sucked into the hype when a large project is launched.  Understanding that this is not a guarantee for a return on your money is the best way to keep expectations where they belong.  But there have been many games that would have never been created if it were not for Kickstarter.  Spend wisely!

See my post on Muv-Luv Kickstarter!!!

Game Pickups 10/17/2015

Decided to hit a few stores today and see what I can find.  Picked up a few Wii titles to add to the collection.  Pretty stoked about finding Radiant Historia complete in box.  Lastly, picked up Ragnarok Odyssey ACE for PS3.  Happy with what I found.

Muv Luv Kickstarter

After watching Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse (check out my post regarding Total Eclipse)I became a fan of Muv-Luv.  About a month after I finished the series they announced a Kickstarter campaign to bring the Muv-Luv visual novel games to the west.  As you can imagine I was pretty excited.  I started following closely after the Prefundia announcement.

The start of the campaign was for Muv-Luv Unlimited and Muv-Luv Alternative for the PC.  This was at the initial pledge amount of $250,000 which has since been shattered.  Surpassing $250,000 took less than 8 hours which is impressive for a visual novel game.  I do not believe the developers knew that this Kickstarter was going to be as successful as it has turned out to be.  The power of a niche audience should never be overlooked.

I backed the project before reaching its first goal of $250,000.  I decided to go with the $150 PC physcial copy (may switch to the physical PSVita $150).  The $150 tier lands you a physical collector's edition of Muv-Luv Unlimited and Muv-Luv Alternative.  The collectors edition is signed by the Muv-Luv Team.   $150 also gets you a digitial copy of the two games, digital OST, and physical and digital art book.

The pot was sweetened for the $150 tier when several stretch goals were achieved. This includes digital copies for either the PSVita or Android versions of Muv-Luv Unlimited and Muv-Luv Alternative.  Also adds a digital version of the Muv-Luv Codex.  The Muv-Luv Codex is a digital browser of Lunatic Dawn and Integral Works translated to English and an official guide put together by the Muv-Luv Team.  Lunatic Dawn and Integral Works are two books that were released that contain supplemental information about the world of Muv-Luv (Lunatic Dawn itself is 300 pages long!).

Muv-Luv Kickstarter $150 Tier Rewards

I have backed a few Kickstarters already and Muv-Luv campaign is by far the most rewarding.  If we reach the last goal of $720,000, $150 tier backers will also receive Photon Melodies and Photon Flowers for free.  These are two side stories to Muv-Luv released in Japan only.

Video games on Kickstarter have had various successes and failures.  Video game development, like most projects, is very expensive.  You take a risk when backing a Kickstarter.  You are handing them money in hopes that they come through so you can enjoy their creation.  Many games that would never have been made are here today thanks to Kickstarter.  Lets rejoice in the successes and enjoy playing games.

VISIT THE MUV-LUV KICKSTARTER!

Monolith Soft Hiring for New Project

I have grown fond of Monolith Soft and their games.  They developed the great Xenoblade Chronicles and Xenoblade Chronicles X (releasing in NA on Dec. 4th).  Their open world JRPGs offer tons of play time, deep story and awesome combat.  Xenoblade Chronicles X is doing something that I have wanted for a long time!  SEAMLESS MECHA COMBAT!!!  Needless to say I am very excited for this game and can't wait to share my Collector's Edition and impressions with everyone.

With that said, Monolith Soft is currently hiring for a new project.  They currently have a very aggressive recruitment campaign for this new project.  I am hoping we will see another fantastic JRPG from Monolith Soft.  This project could be for Wii U or code name NX.  My money is on a new JRPG for code name NX.

I will keep my eye open for any other updates.

Nintendo's Next Platform, Code Name NX, Software Kits Sent to Developers

After launching the unsuccessful Wii U Nintendo announced that they have already made plans for their next console, code named NX.  Today it has been reported that Nintendo has sent developers software development kits to begin work on new games for the NX.

What is even more interesting is the reports commenting on the NX software kit showing signs that NX will include a home console and some sort of mobile attachment that can be used in conjunction with the console.  I am hoping we see a true collaboration between Nintendo's console and handheld divisions.  Also hoping this means we are going to go back to cartridge based consoles.

Again the combinations for this are endless but (unlike the Wii U) need to be fostered and done correctly.  Nintendoland is about the only game on the Wii U that truly shows what the Wii U could have been.  Don't screw this up again Nintendo.

Pokemon on the go or on the big screen on your couch sounds very appealing!