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Westone co-founder working on Monster World successor
Westone Bit Entertainment co-founder Ryuichi Nishizawa has partnered with indie developer Game Atelier to produce a spiritual successor to Sega's Monster World series, publisher FDG Games confirmed this week. Monster Boy and the Wizard of Booze will feature side-scrolling action-adventure gameplay in the vein of the Monster World series, and boasts a playable character who can change form in order to traverse the game's varied 2D environments. Developer Game Atelier initially pitched the project as The Flying Hamster 2 before securing a publishing deal and canceling its Kickstarter campaign prior to completion. "Monster Boy will be an all-new adventure and as we closely work together with Ryuichi Nishizawa (creator of the original Monster World) it can be considered as an official part of the series," Game Atelier notes in a Kickstarter update published today. "Since the trademark is owned by SEGA we had to pick a different name." Developer Westone filed for bankruptcy last year, leaving behind a catalog of dozens of games produced over its 30-year history. Monster Boy will debut later this year for the PlayStation 4 and PC platforms. [Image: Game Atelier]
Flying Hamster 2 ditches crowdfunding, partners with new publisher
Bad news: The Game Atelier's cutesy side-scrolling action-RPG Flying Hamster 2 fell short of its crowdfunding goal, and the team's Kickstarter campaign has been canceled. Better news: Indie-focused publishing company FDG Entertainment has picked up the project, announcing that it will publish Flying Hamster 2 for PC platforms. "We've been following Game Atelier's impressive quality productions since the release of Flying Hamster and loved their talent and passion which made their games clearly stand out from the crowd," FDG co-founder Thomas Kern said. "Being gamers from heart since the early days, we couldn't do anything but fall in love with [Flying Hamster 2]. We are convinced that this kind of game is what people are still looking for these days, so we jumped in to make sure this game is going to happen and fill us all with joy." Built as a successor to Sega's Monster World series, Flying Hamster 2 is an open-world platforming game in which players search for new powers and abilities that grant access to new areas to explore. Currently, Flying Hamster 2 is slated for release exclusively on PC platforms via Steam, though The Game Atelier notes that "other ports will follow later." [Image: The Game Atelier]
Game Atelier apps go free to promote Flying Hamster 2
French developer The Game Atelier has discounted its digital games catalog to spur backer support for Flying Hamster 2, releasing many of its previous games for free via iTunes. Through the end of the month, the iOS versions of The Game Atelier's cute-'em-up Flying Hamster, arcade-style gardening sim SunFlowers, and grocery-scanning action game Crazy Market are free to download from the App Store. The PlayStation Vita versions of all three games also get a round of steep discounts, dropping SunFlowers, Flying Hamster HD, and Crazy Market's DLC packs to 49 cents each in North America. Flying Hamster 2's Kickstarter has earned nearly $30,000 toward a funding goal of $150,000, with 16 days remaining in the campaign. [Image: The Game Atelier]
The Game Atelier unveils Monster World successor Flying Hamster 2
French indie studio The Game Atelier has pulled back the curtain on Flying Hamster 2, a side-scrolling action-RPG that bills itself as a spiritual successor to Sega's Monster World series. Modeled specifically after the 8-bit Monster World series entry Wonder Boy 3: The Dragon's Trap, Flying Hamster 2 allows players to transform into animals that each boast their own unique powers and abilities. The Dragon's Trap was a progenitor of the exploration-based gameplay style that would later define Super Metroid and Castlevania: Symphony of the Night, challenging players to discover new traversal abilities before they could progress through its storyline. Flying Hamster 2 will follow a similar structure. The Game Atelier seeks $150,000 to fund a PC version of Flying Hamster 2. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One versions will be developed if the team's Kickstarter project meets its stretch goal of $350,000. [Video: The Game Atelier]
