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Retro RPG Pier Solar HD hits Xbox One later this month
Following its November 6 Wii U launch, classically styled role-playing game Pier Solar HD will reach the Xbox One on November 21. Originally developed for the Sega Genesis well after Sega had left the console business, Pier Solar proved such a success that developer Watermelon launched a crowdfunding campaign to bring the game to more modern hardware. Not just a simple port, Pier Solar HD includes high resolution graphics and new, hand-drawn background art. Despite its technical enhancements, as you can see from the trailer beyond the break, Pier Solar HD is slavishly modeled after classics of the role-playing game genre, down to the pixelated character sprites. Watermelon's announcement doesn't specify a price point for the Xbox One iteration of Pier Solar HD, but if it mirrors the recent Wii U release expect a $15 price tag. [Image: Watermelon]
New Nintendo eShop releases: It's raining nintendogs + cats
Among all the big games Nintendo chucks at the Q4 window is the weekly eShop cluster grenade, ready to spread just about everything across your Wii U and 3DS. This week there's plenty of stuff to pick and mix, from platform-puzzler The Swapper where you can create clones of yourself and swap (ah!) between them, to the GBA Super Mario Advance remake of Super Mario Bros. 2 which also features a Mario Bros. remake. Or you could garden-gander at Shigeru Miyamoto's Pikmin Short Movies animations on 3DS and Wii U, and then try out the new Pikmin 3 demo. If you'd prefer something spikier and scarf-ier, there are Sonic Boom demos for both 3DS and Wii U ahead of next week's retail releases. Keeping the animal theme but travelling back in time, out of nowhere there are eShop versions of the three-year-old nintendogs + cats 3DS games, complete with a free theme when you buy one of them. A bit out of the blue, yes. On the other hand... d'awwww. It's one of those weeks where it might be easier to digest a full list of new releases, so it's handy you'll find one of those below the break. Bargain hunters, we refer you to Nintendo's press release for a list of this week's sales and permanent price reductions.
Retro RPG Pier Solar HD out for Wii U on November 6
The Wii U version of WaterMelon's classic-styled JRPG Pier Solar HD will hit the eShop on November 6, suffering a brief delay after its recent cross-platform launch. Tracing its origins back to a Sega Genesis homebrew release in 2010, Pier Solar later transitioned to modern platforms thanks to a successful Kickstarter campaign. Pier Solar premiered for the PlayStation 4 and PS3 in September, arriving alongside releases for Windows, Mac, Linux, and Ouya. Pier Solar HD boasts stylish art and turn-based combat that recalls the 16-bit RPG era. A release for the Xbox One is also in the works. [Image: WaterMelon]
Pier Solar HD to launch by March 2014, coming to PS3, PS4
Pier Solar HD, the Kickstarted remake of the Sega Genesis RPG Pier Solar, will be coming to the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, Watermelon Games President Tulio Goncalves announced in a Kickstarter update. This is in addition to the previously planned PC, Xbox 360, Wii U, Mac, Android, Linux, Ouya and Dreamcast versions. The initial release of Pier Solar HD has also been delayed and is now planned to launch by March 2014. In the initial update, Goncalves explained that repeated applications for the consideration of Pier Solar HD on the Xbox 360's Marketplace were not met with a response. After hearing about Microsoft's self-publishing program for the Xbox One, ID@Xbox, Goncalves applied for the program several times. Although the video update states Microsoft had not responded beyond a request for more information about the project, Watermelon Games has since commented on the post to confirm that Microsoft has contacted them. While it's not an outright confirmation that Pier Solar HD will reach either the Xbox 360 or Xbox One, the comment states that it "looks like good news will be coming along!"
Pier Solar HD Kickstarter ends with over $230K in pledges
Pier Solar HD has more than hit its Kickstarter funding goal, bringing in $231,370 at the end of the campaign this morning. People were sufficiently piqued by the idea of an HD remake of a present-day Genesis RPG to not only get developer WaterMelon Co. to its $139,000 goal, but to exceed every stretch goal set by the developer.That means the released game will be a "Directors Cut" with additional material. It also means Pier Solar HD will be released on Android, Ouya, and Wii U. Everyone who backed the project will get a digital copy of "One Year at WaterMelon," a video documentary about the development of Pier Solar HD and two other SNES and Genesis projects.
Pier Solar HD hits Kickstarter goal, stretches for Wii U port
Pier Solar HD has achieved its Kickstarter funding goal of $139,000, with pledges over $141,000 and six days remaining on the drive. Now that the PC, Mac, Xbox, Linux and Dreamcast remake of the Genesis RPG has secured funding, developer WaterMelon Co. has revealed a set of stretch goals.At $145,000, every version of Pier Solar HD will be translated in to Japanese. At $150K, the Dreamcast version will be updated with 16x9 support, VGA compatibility and even VMU screen integration. At $160K, the game will be released as a "Directors Cut" with new sidequests, minigames and "battle features" originally planned for the Genesis release.The final two stretch goals bring Pier Solar HD to additional platforms: Android and Ouya at $175,000, and Wii U at $200,000. When determining the likelihood of these goals being reached, keep in mind that the starting point for this whole enterprise was a Genesis RPG released in 2010. This developer has a unique definition of "impossible."
Genesis RPG 'Pier Solar' goes HD via Kickstarter
Pier Solar was developed for the Sega Genesis and released on cartridge in 2010. With the benefit of fifteen years or so of technological advancements, developer WaterMelon Co. was able to put it on a 64MB cart, making it the biggest Genesis RPG ever. It's a traditional role-playing game about a botanist named Hoston on a quest to find a rare herb and cure his sick father. Now, the developer wants to update its turn-based throwback RPG for platforms people still use ... and Dreamcast too.Pier Solar HD is planned for Xbox 360, PC, Mac, Linux, and Dreamcast – that last one won't actually be in HD. The style is reminiscent of the original, but places more detailed 16-bit style sprites on hand-drawn HD backgrounds. To fund the redrawing of assets and licensing for new platforms, WaterMelon is seeking $139,000 on Kickstarter.Backers get a copy of the game for PC, Mac, Linux, or Xbox 360 by pledging at least $15; $49 is required for the Dreamcast CD or a physical copy on the other platforms. Naturally, there are more expensive collector's editions, as well as luxury items like a Pier Solar branded Dreamcast or arcade stick.
