The developers of cult PlayStation RPGs Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts are joining forces for what’s being dubbed the “world’s first Double Kickstarter”.
Wild Arms creator Akifumi Kaneko has joined forces along with fellow Wild Arms veterans to create Armed Fantasia, a new RPG that pays homage to Wild Arms’ western punk aesthetic.
In the meantime, Shadow Hearts creator Matsuzo Machida is leading the game’s design Penny Blood, a new RPG that draws inspiration from the same gothic-themed horror setting as Shadow Hearts did.
As the first time for Kickstarter, it’s claimed to be the first time that anyone has used Kickstarter, a double Kickstarter campaign that launches on the 29th of August The campaign will allow you to either support both or one of the games as well as stretch goals that benefit both.
Armed Fantasia and Penny Blood will share a shared goal of $750,000 which will be used to fund both games.
“We will be splitting the funding based on the amount backed so it won’t be a 50/50 for the initial goal,” Kaneko and Machida revealed to VGC during an interview.
“Still, however, when we get to that first goal, our expectation will be that enough are aware of the campaign and are interested in the content that both titles will perform well enough to sustain the minimum amount of content needed to create a great game.
They also added: “The core connective tissue is that both are games JRPG players enjoy. It’s difficult to estimate the number of people who played both, but by merging both games into one single campaign, the goal is to create awareness for both games.
“Neither has been as popular as a Final Fantasy so this is two creators helping each other in an effort for both to achieve success.”
According to the descriptions, Armed Fantasia “tells a dramatizing story that unfolds within an unending world that is rushing towards destruction.
“Players take the role of a group of Pathfinders and, with trusted ARMs in hand, embark on a perilous journey across a sprawling Westernpunk wilderness.”
The game promises to convey “the spirit of a large-scale party-based JRPG adventure”, featuring a vast globe “rendered with a unique look not seen in other titles.”
Alongside Wild Arms creator, Akifumi Kaneko as the game’s designer and scenario writer the game’s team of developers will also include a range of other Wild Arms alumni, including the character design of Tomomi Sasaki and music composed by Michiko Naruke Noriyasu Uematsu and Elements Garden.
The second game of the Double Kickstarter, Penny Blood is a gothic horror game that takes place in the 1920s.
Players are Matthew Farrell, “an investigator who embarks on a dark international probe through the iconic Roaring Twenties, amassing allies and confronting trauma in a world twisted by cosmic horror, malice and mayhem”.
The game will feature players all over the world employing “fusion transformation abilities” to track down monsters.
“One day, Matthew is tasked with investigating a strange incident that occurred at a mental asylum in New York,” the description of the game reads. “After going to the facility, he discovers the place awash with bizarre wild creatures. By using his hidden power, Matthew manages to achieve an elusive victory.
“In an attempt to discover the truth behind this mysterious incident, Matthew’s research will be a journey across America to the continent of Asia which includes Japan and China, and further afield in Europe.
“Along the route, he’ll meet people who are seeking revenge as well as those who wish to use the horrific terrors to gain as well as those who desire to eliminate. Penny Blood tells the tale of a man who has to transform into the person he wants to conquer.”
The campaign will launch on August 29th on the 29th of August, the Double Kickstarter Campaign lets backers pick to pledge for just one game or both.
If they choose to pledge for only one game, they’ll be added to a “Combo Meter’ that will affect the stretch targets for both titles. Some of them include content and talents being divided between the two.
“Both creators will be focused on their own game but for selective combo stretch goal content they will work together”, Kaneko and Machida revealed to us. “Of course, it doesn’t hurt that both creators really like each other.”