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Yars Rising revives a 40-year-old Atari game as a modern metroidvania
Yars Rising is a forthcoming Metroidvania with an interesting pedigree. It’s a sequel to an Atari 2600 game from 1982.
Shantae and the Pirate's Curse waylaid at sea for a few more months
UPDATE: Shantae Half-Genie Hero is targeted for an October 2014 release date, not August 2014 as previously stated. Kickstarter backers in the beta tier will receive early access in August 2014. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse for Nintendo 3DS has been slightly delayed from its planned Q1 2014 release window, and no wonder! Genies are fickle. Pirates are no better, following fortune and trade winds wherever they may lead. It figures WayForward, the renowned 2D game developer behind Shantae, would have to delay the game with these wildcards in starring roles. That and it takes a lot of time to make a hand drawn, exploration-based platformer. "Shantae and the Pirate's Curse will be in development for a couple more months while we add a few finishing touches," tweeted WayForward on Monday. "Almost there!" Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is the third game in WayForward's cult series that stretches back to the Capcom-published Shantae on Game Boy Color. Announced back in November 2012, Pirate's Curse is set to expand on the Metroidvania mix of exploration and action from the DSiWare game Shantae: Risky's Revenge. It's also one of two Shantae games currently in production. Shortly after announcing Pirate's Curse, WayForward opened a Kickstarter fund for Shantae: Half-Genie Hero for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PS Vita, Xbox One, Xbox 360, Wii U, and PC. After meeting its goal, that game was pegged for an August 2014 release. With the delay of Pirate's Curse it's not impossible that Hero will get pushed back as well. WayForward is also working on a PC remake of the old Namco arcade game Wonder Momo and the Activision-backed Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark. [Images: WayForward]
Crowdfund Bookie: Inafune's mighty $3.8 million haul
The Crowdfund Bookie crunches data from select successful Kickstarter and Indiegogo campaigns that ended during the week and produces pretty charts for you to look at. The power of Keiji Inafune's name couldn't be more evident than in this highly-profitable week in crowdfunding, which covers the Kickstarter projects for Mighty No. 9, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, Sunless Sea, DCS WWII: Europe 1944, Neverending Nightmares, Penguemic, Mysterious Cities of Gold, Hot Tin Roof: The Cat That Wore A Fedora, Data Hacker: Corruption and Neo-Victorian Skirmish Squad. Mighty No. 9, the action platformer project from the Mega Man creator earned the most money this week ($3,845,170) and had the highest number of backers (67,226). LearnDistrict Inc's educational game Penguemic: Word Domination had the highest average pledge per person of the group ($160.81). Head past the break to see the week's results and our set of fancy charts.
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero raises $776k in funding campaign [Update]
WayForward's Kickstarter project for platformer Shantae: Half-Genie Hero ended today, raising a total of $776,084. The project's final amount was enough to push it past the developer's $700,000 "Costume Swap" stretch goal, which will offer players three more fully-animated outfits for use in the game. Shantae: Half-Genie Hero has players leaping through side-scrolling levels as series protagonist and belly-dancing genie Shantae, using her has a whip-like weapon and dancing to transform into other creatures. WayForward likens the series to that of Metroid and The Legend of Zelda, as it encourages exploration and puzzle-solving in order to see the adventure through to completion. Half-Genie Hero's journey is separated in chapters, each including new "subplots, friends and foes, a new Transformation to discover, puzzles to solve, hazards to overcome and a Boss to conquer." The game will launch on a number of platforms in August 2014: PS3, Xbox 360, Steam, PS Vita, Vita TV, Wii U and next-gen consoles PS4 and Xbox One. Update: WayForward added an update to its Kickstarter page, noting that it earned $35,878 from PayPal donors, bringing the total amount of funding to $811,962. It plans to keep its PayPal funding open, and pledges through that system remain eligible for the project's reward tiers.
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero leaps past Kickstarter goal
Shantae: Half-Genie Hero has been funded. With 10 days left in the game's Kickstarter effort, WayForward Technologies has pulled in $416,360, topping its $400,000 goal. Thanks to fan generosity, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero will appear on nearly everything, having been confirmed for Xbox 360, Xbox One, PlayStation 3, PlayStation 4, Vita, Vita TV, Wii U and PC. There's currently no release date or window for when we can expect to play Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. Now that the $400,000 goal has been breached, the next rung on this Kickstarter ladder would be the $500,000 stretch goal. If the game can attract $83,640 in the next ten days, WayForward has promised to add a new campaign to Shantae: Half-Genie Hero starring Risky Boots, a pirate captain who is as evil as she is adorable.
Shantae and the Pirate's Curse trailer whips its hair back and forth
Shantae is passing up on the power of interpretive dance in favor of pirate gear in this trailer for the 3DS eShop exclusive, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse. Swords, giant hats and pistols will expand Shantae's arsenal beyond her surprisingly lethal ponytail. Pirate's Curse will follow Shantae's efforts to retrieve the genie powers that were stolen from her. According to the game's reveal in the last issue of Nintendo Power, 30 Tinkerbats are behind the theft, and Shantae must team up with the pirate Risky Boots to retrieve the stolen goods. Pirate gear will help Shantae access new areas, such as the Bone Daggers that can be used on walls to create small platforms. It's worth noting that Pirate's Curse is not the same game as Shantae: Half-Genie Hero, which WayForward recently launched a Kickstarter campaign for. While Pirate's Curse will be a 3DS eShop exclusive, Half-Genie Hero will reach the Wii U, PS3, PS4, 360, Xbox One and Steam if it reaches its funding goal of $400,000. Update: This article initially stated that Shantae: Half-Genie Hero's Kickstarter campaign was targeting $40,000. The financial goal has been corrected.
Wayforward Kickstarting Shantae: Half-Genie Hero
Wayforward, the studio behind DuckTales Remastered and Adventure Time: Hey Ice King, has launched a $400,000 Kickstarter campaign for one of its original IPs, Shantae: Half-Genie Hero. The new Shantae is an HD adventure confirmed for Wii U, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One and Steam. Shantae, the first game in the series, launched on GameBoy Color in 2002, followed by Shantae: Risky's Revenge on DSiWare in 2010 and iOS in 2011. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse is currently on its way to the 3DS eShop. Half-Genie Hero features Shantae's "core gameplay," including whipping, belly dancing, platforming and customization. It throws Shantae into a dream world where she finds a new evil power, and back in reality she must locate and vanquish the new threat. The game is told in chapters, and funding will cover an opening stage with a boss, three chapters and a conclusion. Stretch goals, of course, can expand these parameters. "Shantae: Half-Genie Hero continues the tradition of action-adventure in the spirit of Metroid, Castlevania, and the Legend of Zelda," Wayforward writes. "Our goal is to introduce Shantae to a whole new audience with a fresh art style and a brand-spanking-new storyline. As always, we're putting pitch perfect controls in the front seat." Less than one hour in and Wayforward has snagged 500 backers and more than $14,000 for Half-Genie Hero.
Original Shantae to appear on 3DS Virtual Console by June
The original Shantae is on its way to the 3DS Virtual Console at the end of June, developer Wayforward announced. This is the Game Boy Color version of Shantae first launched in 2002 and published by Capcom. Shantae will be available on 3DS eShops in North America, Europe, Australia and New Zealand.A sequel to Shantae, Risky's Revenge, hit DSiWare in 2010 and iOS in 2011, and Wayforward is currently working on a third installment for the 3DS eShop, Shantae and the Pirate's Curse. Meanwhile, Wayforward already has its hands full with the remastery of DuckTales, again working with Capcom.
'Shantae and the Pirate's Curse' coming to 3DS eShop
WayForward's half-genie mascot Shantae returns in a new downloadable 3DS game, revealed in the penultimate issue of Nintendo Power. Shantae and the Pirate's Curse has the now fully human Shantae teaming up with the pirate Risky Boots, who has just the best name, to find the 30 Tinkerbats who have stolen Shantae's genie powers.As a result of her de-geniefication, Shantae relies on "Pirate Gear" she finds in labyrinths, instead of dance powers, to gain new abilities and access new locales. The Bone Daggers, for example, can be thrown into walls to make footholds.You can see a few screens on Nintendo Power's preview page, but to see more you should consider buying the actual magazine.
Shantae: Risky's Revenge coming to iOS soon
Wayforward's beloved half-genie is escaping the bounds of her DSi Shop-shaped bottle and exploring another platform: iOS. Touch Arcade reports that the team is porting its 2010 DSiWare game Shantae: Risky's Revenge to iPhone and iPad "in a couple of weeks." It'll feature Retina-display graphics, though you should expect a sharper version of the DS game rather than some kind of HD remake. The company is aware of the concerns forming in all of our minds right now about the controls. "Virtual D-Pads are my personal arch nemesis," a WF rep told TouchArcade, "so I'm happy to report that ours does the job incredibly well." Additionally, the game is being tweaked to be a little friendlier to virtual controls: "Platforms are slightly wider, chains dangle a little bit closer to the player's grasp; enemy behaviors are just a bit different." Furthermore, it's "optimized" for those weird Fling and Fling Mini joystick attachments.
Shantae: Risky's Revenge unbottled Oct. 4
Shantae fans have waited eight years for a followup to the WayForward-developed Game Boy Color platformer. According to an email sent out to Shantae Fan Club subscribers, the wait will end in less than two weeks. The note announces the October 4 release date for the DSiWare sequel, Shantae: Risky's Revenge. The original could be considered an early experiment in Capcom publishing Western-developed games -- sort of a proto-Dark Void. Except Shantae is remembered fondly.
WayForward grants wishes for a Shantae: Risky's Revenge trailer
The sequel to a relatively obscure Game Boy Color game is about to become one of the most convincing arguments for owning a DSi. WayForward has finally released the first trailer for Shantae: Risky's Revenge, the first in its episodic DSiWare platformer series. You can see it after the break, courtesy of IGN. The new game appears to retain what people loved about the original -- like hair-whipping, dance-based transformations and the evil pirate Risky Boots -- and adds lovely new graphics and a multi-plane effect. If you'd like to see what's on the other DS screen in gameplay (spoiler: it's just the inventory) you can see a few screenshots here.
WayForward working on Shantae: Risky's Revenge for DSiWare, Q4 release
Nintendo Power: November 2009 Rumors of a followup to GBC title Shantae have been bandied about for a couple of years now, but it would seem as though we finally have official word courtesy of the new Nintendo release list. Sadly the listing on the platformer's sequel is light on details. We know it's coming to DSiWare, that it's called Shantae: Risky's Revenge and that it's being developed by WayForward for a Q4 release. And that's it. What's that? You've never heard of Shantae? well, we can rectify that right now. [Update: And, just like that, we've got our first look at Shantae's DSiWare release, thanks to the upcoming November issue of Nintendo Power. Go Nintendo has a sneak preview of the mag, which promises "six pages of EXCLUSIVE pics!"]
A Boy and His Blob detailed in latest Nintendo Power
Remember earlier today when we revealed the first image of A Boy and His Blob from Nintendo Power's exclusive story? Well, we lied a little bit when we said that the pixelated image you saw then wasn't going to be revealed until March 5. No folks, we got the full details (well, the first full page of details at least) early from our good buddies at Nintendo Power, and are happy to report that A Boy and His Blob looks to recreate all the enjoyment you had with the original. Jellybean-related gameplay and the game's story are back for a second run in the Majesco-published, WayForward-developed Wii game and it's set to hit retailers this Fall, according to the NP piece. WayForward, known for recent WiiWare horror/puzzler LIT and technologically impressive Shantae for Game Boy Color, will be hand-drawing all the (yes, 2D) visuals. It's also adding to the original's defensive and puzzle-solving jellybeanery with beans that turn your blob into various offensive items (some examples given are anvil dropping and ground removing). If you want more details (and an interview with the game's director) you'll just have to wait until you get your grubby little mitts on the April issue of Nintendo Power.
Top 5: Anticipated WiiWare Games
Every Monday, Wii Fanboy brings you the Top 5. Inspired by sages such as David Letterman and John Cusack, the Top 5 will give us a chance to share our opinions on the numerous facets of a vast video game culture. And after all, who doesn't like reading these kinds of lists (and then bitching about them afterwards)? So jump right in, agree or disagree, and maybe leave a comment with your own personal Top 5. The first batch of WiiWare was released awhile ago, and there have been high-profile releases, as well as a few future cult-classics. Despite the plentiful start, there are still many more titles on the horizon. Here's a look at what we are anticipating the most. 5. Bomberman - Since 1983, not much has changed in the Bomberman universe. This has its pros and cons. It's good because the basic Bomberman formula is not one that needs tinkering with. It's bad because, well, it's a little ridiculous to shell out full retail price for the same game generation after generation. Then along comes Bomberman for WiiWare. Nintendo's downloadable service is the perfect platform for a game such as this. With online multiplayer for 2 - 8 players, this release should be everything we need out of Bomberman: simple, classic gameplay for a reasonable price. The reduced cost should be wonderful news for wallets that were unfortunate enough to weather Bomberman, Super Bomberman, Bomberman 64, and Bomberman Generation.
Rumor: Shantae on Wii Ware?
Back in December, Contra 4 developer WayForward asked the entire internet for its thoughts on a new Shantae game. Smelling an opportunity to help play a part in reviving a fantastic franchise, we shamelessly begged readers of DS Fanboy to vote for a sequel on the DS. Being the magnificent people they are, they lent us their clicking fingers!Alas, it now looks as though our efforts were in vain, but there's no need to be glum, folks. WayForward founder Voldi Way told Siliconera that the next Shantae game was being considered for Wii Ware.Sure, that makes it a lot less likely to be the 2D Shantae that we really, really want but hey, it's Shantae, and it's on a Nintendo system. We'll gladly take it!
GDC08: Shantae summoned for WiiWare
After developing Contra 4 (the first 'real' series sequel since, um, Contra III), you'd think WayForward would be fine leaving behind the memory of its sassy, half-genie Shantae. Alas, it's just too damn hard to let go of the ones who got away (that Shantae sequel never did make it to GBA, did it?). WayForward founder Voldi Way told Siliconera that a long-awaited Shantae follow-up is being considered for Wii. When asked if WiiWare was a possible means for distribution, Way replied, "That's the plan."
A DS sequel to Shantae rests in our hands
Remember Shantae? WayForward certainly does -- the Contra 4 developer spent two years producing the delightful Game Boy Color platformer, only to see it die a death at retail, its chances cruelly crushed by the increasing obsolescence of its host platform, as well as the rise of the newly released Game Boy Advance. Boasting an engrossing mix of Metroid-style puzzles and neat visual tricks, the game was an unsung gem that emphatically failed to register on the gaming public's radar.A sequel was planned for the Advance, only for the project to be inexplicably shelved with the game 50% complete, but WayForward hasn't forgotten about the series entirely. With the all-conquering Contra 4 now out on store shelves and begging to be bought, the developer has posted a poll on its site, asking whether or not we'd be interested in purchasing a Shantae follow-up, and what platform we'd like it to appear on.Hence, we implore all of you to hit the link below and get your vote on. If you're still wavering about giving thirty seconds of your time to one of the best DS-related causes we've heard of in ages, go past the break for footage of the canned GBA title.Then go and get your vote on.
WayForward licensed to develop for Wii
Another Western developer has signed on to make Wii games-- hopefully they can get the funding to make some original ones. WayForward mostly makes licensed stuff these days, of undetermined quality (we haven't had a chance to test GBA Unfabulous), but they are also responsible for the excellent Game Boy Color platformer Shantae and the clever GBA shooter Sigma Star Saga. Also Ping Pals, but let's not talk about that. WayForward has actually had a Wii development kit since last year (they got access to some early pre-release duct tape) and they've been doing research and development since then. We know the licenses are coming, but we're really hoping that WayForward will have the time and resources to do some original stuff too.[Via DCEmu]
