Malasombra Works New Magic On The NES

4 Comments | crowdfunding, homebrew, Kickstarter, Malasombra, NES, retro games | By Peter Paltridge | April 10, 2025 | 2 minutes of reading

This Kickstarter has just a week to go, so we’re glad we caught it when we did. Malasombra is a new platformer in development for the NES, and it looks great. The visuals are slick enough to almost convince you it’s an SNES game (only the lack of parallax gives it away).

You are Pirou, one lucky apprentice magician. It’s not everyone that gets to marry the princess of (insert unrevealed fantasy kingdom name here). But just as Pirou and Astrid are about to tie the proverbial knot, the evil sorcerer Malasombra picks THAT moment to get his revenge on the King for banishing him. He crashes and trashes the wedding, turning almost everyone into frogs except two: Astrid, who he kidnaps, and Pirou, who was able to deflect the spell with his own magical abilities.

The irony is that Pirou could have turned himself into a frog anyway, if he wanted to. To save the nameless kingdom and rescue Astrid, he needs to collect the lost pages of a powerful grimoire, Each page will power him up with a new ability, letting him become a squirrel to leap tall heights, a goose to glide over long pits, or the aforementioned frog to swim effortlessly. Malasombra is long for an NES homebrew, or most NES games in general: developer 2Mhz estimates it could take around five to seven hours to finish.

The Malasombra Kickstarter is still kicking for the next week, and you can lock down a digital copy with a $12 pledge, or a physical cart with a $65 pledge. Note that 4Mhz is also offering a physical design book all about the making of the game and its lore; it must be ordered separately and there is NO digital version of it (bummer).

Hurry and get your copy of Malasombra before April 17, when the campaign ends. The game is expected to be completed this August.

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Soy Milk Latte

Member

794 messages 18 likes

#1 Apr 10, 2025

This game sounds really fun! I mean, platformers like this one are always a good time, especially when they bring some fresh ideas. I like how it’s for the NES, that's pretty cool. It’s so rare to see new games for that console these days. The fact that you can turn into different animals sounds pretty neat too. I’d be interested to see how the squirrel powers work in the game, since that’s not something I’ve seen much in platformers before. The story seems pretty classic with the hero rescuing the princess, but it’s still appealing. Five to seven hours to finish seems like a reasonable length, especially for an NES game. I’d probably pledge for the digital copy since I don’t have an NES cart anymore. Definitely something to consider.

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BlueBlurFanatic

The Speedster Sage

508 messages 39 likes

#2 Apr 10, 2025

I think Malasombra is a great concept. NES games always have this charm to them, and it’s nice to see people still making games for that platform. The fact that Pirou has different abilities based on animal transformations is very interesting, and I’m curious to see how that works in the levels. It sounds like it will add a lot of variety to the gameplay. I’m a little disappointed about the physical design book not having a digital version, though. I was hoping for that, because I like reading about game development. I’m definitely going to support the Kickstarter for the $65 tier. If I’m going to pledge, I might as well get the full experience. Looking forward to the game’s release!

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Urbanidad

Member

795 messages 16 likes

#3 Apr 10, 2025

I’m not completely sold on Malasombra yet. The idea of a platformer on the NES is cool, but to me, it feels like there’s nothing that really sets this game apart from the tons of other platformers out there. The animal transformation mechanic is okay, I guess, but it’s been done before. And honestly, the story doesn’t grab me. It’s just the same old “evil sorcerer kidnaps princess” plot we’ve seen a million times. If it were just a little bit more original in the narrative department, I might be more excited. I’ll probably pass on backing this one unless I see something more exciting in the gameplay footage. But I hope it turns out great for the people who are excited about it.

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Tear Here

Well-Known Member

811 messages 35 likes

#4 Apr 10, 2025

I have to admit, I’m all in on this. The idea of a new NES game—especially one that looks this good—is something I can’t resist. I love how the visuals almost make it look like a SNES game. That’s some serious attention to detail. Plus, the fact that the gameplay mechanics seem fresh and the idea of transforming into animals is so unique for an NES game. I’ve been collecting for the NES for years, and this could be a really great addition to my collection. I’m definitely going for the physical copy. I’m not usually a huge fan of platformers, but the old-school charm of this one is just too hard to ignore.

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