Wild Arms / Shadow Hearts Revival Project Launches Kickstarter
Matsuzo Machida and Akifumi Kaneko, the men behind the classic JRPS series Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts, have teamed up for a joint project that will revive both games at the same time — spiritually, at least. Like Iga did with Bloodstained and Playtonic did with Yooka-Laylee, Machide and Kaneko are creating a pair of copyright safe lookalikes that allow them to do what they loved again. This interview with Gematsu tells more.
The games — Armed Fantasia: To the End of the Wilderness and Penny Blood — will play like Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts respectively. A Kickstarter campaign to partially fund both titles launched just this morning, with a modest (for game development) goal of $750,000. The end goal is to demonstrate interest in the revivals so that a publisher can foot the rest of the bill. As of this writing, the campaign has been live for two hours and it’s already generated half that amount, so we predict another millions-maker in the works.
Wild Arms and Shadow Hearts were both JRPGs yet had entirely different approaches to the genre. Wild Arms was more traditional, but used a unique Wild West setting instead of the fantasy worlds most other JRPGs used at the time. Shadow Hearts was something different, a dark, gothic world with splashes of unconventional humor, using a unique menu system called the Judgment Ring. Both series had their last installment on the PS2 ages ago.
We predicted there might be some kind of early bird discount deal, but we predicted wrong — either that or the early bird tier was bought up in minutes. Pledge prices are pretty much in line with what a new game typically costs. Either Armed Fantasia or Penny Blood in digital form costs a $42 pledge. The physical discs cost $60 each. Getting them both digitally is a $100 pledge and both physically is $110. Extras like the soundtrack OST are also available.
Machide and Kaneko estimate that it’ll be at least 2025 before Armed Fantasia: To the End of the Wilderness and Penny Blood will be finished. Pledge to the campaign by hitting this link — it’s open until September 30.
Cherrielarose
August 29, 2022 @ 3:41 pm
It is still far from reaching its goal but it has a whole month to reach it which is attainable. They better campaign hard if they want this to succeed.
Whale Mutant Kun
August 30, 2022 @ 7:23 am
In a normal situation, I would be opposed to some kind of combination Kickstarter campaign because it’s likely that I’d only be interested in one of the two projects. But this is a really unusual circumstance in which both projects tremendously pique my interest; I will most certainly be rooting for success with this endeavor.
Atma
August 30, 2022 @ 7:31 am
The news just keeps getting better and better! My friends are going to freak out as well because the theme tune from Wild Arms 1 was literally playing in the background as they walked down the aisle during their wedding. Many thanks for letting us know the fantastic news! The Shadow Hearts games are some of my favorites because they have such a distinctive aesthetic, and as a result, I am excited for any game that maintains that aesthetic.
50hellsofPain
August 30, 2022 @ 7:32 am
I will back the project on Kickstarter in the hopes that it is as enjoyable to play as it promises to be, and I will also contribute some money to the development of the game. Because it appears to have such potential, I have high hopes that it will be successful.
hotsugarbabes
August 30, 2022 @ 7:34 am
What a pleasant and welcome shock this was! Many thanks for letting us know the wonderful news, Peter. I gave Wild Arms a shot, but I just couldn’t get into the game’s style. On the other hand, Shadow Hearts Covenant is one of my top picks for video games of all time. It sounds like Pennyblood will be an investigation-based story, which is something I really enjoy reading about.