The developers of Aegis Defenders describe it as a “16-bit tactical platformer”. It’s also a game that owes a lot of its gorgeous art style to the films of Studio Ghibli, Nausicaa in particular.
Aegis Defenders is a class-based game, one that will feature singleplayer co-op, sort of like Trine, only here once you abandon one character it stays on the level and assumes a passive ability, meaning there’s strategy involved in not just when to switch, but where. So, kinda like Lost Vikings!
Being a Kickstarter project, Aegis Defenders is looking to add stuff like more classes and local co-op as stretch goals. For now, though, they’re asking for a very reasonable $US65,000, and you can pitch in here.
Know that there have been official Nausicaa games in the past. They have been awful. HG101 has a good round-up. That is, if your eyeballs can take it.
Comments
2 responses to “Oh Boy, A New Nausicaa Game (Well, It’s Close Enough)”
Give them a bajillion dollars!! I want this!
I’m pretty much done with games like this, the indie markets made me have my fill of these 16 and 8 bit games. Shame it looks fun but I can’t muster up any hype.
Nausicaa’s message was to care for the natural world and not to harm the insects of the toxic jungle. I feel a point and click adventure game could represent the central themes of conservation, pacifism and animism in the Nausicaa universe better than a shooter which has you killing insects instead of coexisting with them.
I got a chance to play this at Anime Expo in LA. It’s well made, but the Nausicaa thing really grinds on me.
There’s a happy middle ground between homage and rip off. Personally, I feel like the art/character design is on the wrong side of that line. In addition, I was reading some more on the game’s story, and I think Disney/Ghibli might actually have grounds for a lawsuit on their hands. That would suck, obviously… The game’s fun, and clearly a lot of hard work has gone into it, but surely there’s a less direct (and more original) way to capture the spirit of Nausicaa in video game form.