Inafune annouces a spiritual successor to Megaman Legends

[Kyanbu The Legend]

Boy does he love doing this. I take it Battle Network is probably next XD.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...nd/description

RED ASH is an opportunity to not only fulfill Keiji Inafune's desire to create a game that pays homage to Japanese animation, but also his vision of "immersing players in a freely explorable anime world." The RED ASH team is spearheaded by Art Director Kazushi Ito and Director Masahiro Yasuma, key members of the original team that pioneered open world game design with Mega Man Legends. With the RED ASH project, they aim to build an action adventure experience with a new level of freedom, complete with the polish expected from such veteran creators.

Sharp-eyed readers may notice that this project has inherited some of the DNA from our Mighty No. 9 project--specifically, the shared character names Beck and Call. We feel that this is an important part of the project: we're taking this opportunity to create an altogether different type of game together with the support of fans and backers. We want to continue embracing this new style of game design and production, challenges and risks included. With RED ASH, we hope to channel your passion for gaming into our creative process, and fulfill both our own dreams and the dreams of our fans around the world!




Check out the Red Ash animation project by Studio 4℃ here:
Red Ash -Magicicada-

RED ASH is a very special project: an unprecedented collaboration between anime and gaming companies, working together to create their own unique content based on the same property and characters. These projects are based in separate, yet parallel worlds, giving creators on both sides full freedom to create whatever story or world they want.

The game project will be lead by veteran game creator Keiji Inafune and comcept, while the anime project will boast the distinct style of the critically-acclaimed Studio 4℃. Both teams will shape their own independent works with full creative freedom.



RED ASH is a very different project from a retro action game like Mighty No. 9, in terms of both scale and concept. The primary goal with RED ASH is to tell a story on a grand scale; all of the primary concepts are clearly visualized in the minds of the creative team, from the overall plot to historical background. Even the final ending scene is planned out! However, the reality is that we cannot fulfill a vision of such epic proportions with funds collected through Kickstarter.

That's why for this Kickstarter project, we've decided to start with a prologue chapter we call "The KalKanon Incident." This story has always been planned as a key jumping-on point for the universe, and we hope to use this small, but dense taste of the RED ASH universe as a foundation on which to build future content. Whether it's through additional funding, revenue from "The KalKanon Incident" sales, or teaming up with a publisher, this is a story we are determined to tell, and we want all of our backers to be on the ground floor for the creation of this new game universe. We have a vision of a story and universe that we feel deserves to be told, and we need your support to make it a reality!



On a planet not unlike Earth...


As a result of the Robot World War, humanity is driven to the brink of extinction. Humanity has managed to persevere and survive, battling now feral robotic weapons at every turn in a world of nothing but wasteland and ruins...

With the advent of Lost Technology, precious legacies of a forgotten era, they have managed to rebuild their society. A wealthy class has emerged, helping to expand these newly formed cities and settlements and living in opulence as a result.

However, their livelihoods are supported by the brave fools who hunt the dangerous ruins and wastelands for Lost Technology. These people are known simply as Delvers.



Danger looms over hundreds of thousands who make the city of Great Slope their home. The Mobile Citadel "KalKanon" is currently on a crash course with this city. At this rate, a major disaster is all but unavoidable.




Gecko Company, one of the organizations central to Great Slope, has prepared a massive electromagnetic cannon christened "the Peacemaker" to combat this catastrophe. They announced their plan to destroy the massive Mobile Citadel before it reaches the settlement. Great Slope quickly switches from a city enveloped in panic, to one ready to sit back and enjoy the fireworks of the special, once-in-a-lifetime Burning Cannon Festival.

However, not everyone welcomes this announcement; particularly the young owner of the Bones Agency, Call C. Bones. All Delvers have heard the famous folktale... that inside the belly of KalKanon rests the Legendary Legacy...

"I think we should grab the treasure for ourselves, before those rich blowhards blow the whole dang place sky-high!"

"We have about 14 hours left until KalKanon is within firing range of the Peacemaker."

"Hop on over there, grab anything you can get your grubby little hands on, and hurry on back! Simple, huh?"

"This is an official offer from the Bones Agency. You got 3 minutes before we head out!"

Of course, she sends the request for this crazy job to her favorite stooges: partners Beck and Tyger.




The above image is an artistic rendition by Kazushi Ito and is not representative of the final product.
The above image is an artistic rendition by Kazushi Ito and is not representative of the final product.

RED ASH is a 3D action adventure game with third person shooter elements. One of the main goals behind the project is to inject more modern design elements into the classic action adventure RPG formula.

The main character, Beck, is tasked with infiltrating the interior of the Mobile Citadel KalKanon, exploring it's village, castle, and hidden dungeons. His goal is to stop KalKanon before the Peacemakers make piecemeal of the whole thing!

How are Beck and crew going to stop KalKanon? Is it even possible?
What is the "Legendary Legacy" that is rumored to be hidden there? Can Beck get his hands on it, if it truly exists?
Who exactly is this so-called witch that lurks in KalKanon?
Solving these questions and more are the keys to uncovering the story of KalKanon.
That being said, we also want to include a myriad of elements to set this game apart from your typical RPG--specifically, bargaining between partners, interaction with NPCs, an almost mischievous sense of freedom, and dungeons built with elements of horror.

Of course, a key part of the game will be delving into dungeons to earn money in order to have Call develop parts and upgrade Beck's abilities (in true action RPG fashion).

We have more plans and concepts we would like to implement, and we've integrated those ideas into our stretch goals. This includes making Tyger a playable character, special challenge dungeons, a village reconstruction system and more! The more stretch goals we clear, the closer we can take this game towards its original concept!

Well now this I really can't wait for.

[POS Industries]

If it were me, I'd probably wait until the first game that I had two kickstarters for already was released before starting yet a third kickstarter.

Maybe if the games he's making were truly original IPs, I'd be more interested, but I'm just so sick of devs of famous games who no longer work for the companies that hold those IPs making blatant ripoffs of those IPs and then collecting millions of nostalgiabux. It's getting way too exploitative of the audience, imo.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

Yeah, though I'm not too bothered with this one. Given he been trying to make MML3 since 2001. I imagine we might see some of MML3's concepts pop up during this game's run.

[Flarecobra]

Mighty Number 9 Legends?

[Kyanbu The Legend]

Pretty much, yeah. He joked about it, fans loved the idea of it happening and he went with it from the looks of it.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

So remember how Red Ash failed it's kick starter and wasn't going to be funded for many reasons namely the fact that this is what Inafune's 3rd KS in a row and Might No 9 still isn't out yet?


Yeah it just got completely funded... by an outside company, Fuze.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects...project_update

Hello everyone!

We have some very important and happy news for you today!

It's official: “RED ASH: The KalKanon Incident” is a GO for full development, along with ports to PlayStation 4 AND Xbox One!

We know this is sudden news. Are you surprised? How have we decided to develop the game before the Kickstarter campaign finishes? Well, that’s thanks to the support of FUZE Entertainment, who we’ll introduce now.

FUZE Entertainment Introduction!


FUZE Entertainment Co., Ltd. is a Chinese digital entertainment company engaged in production of console hardware as well as sales of console games.

FUZE is based around Chinese game industry pioneer Wang Feng, and was co-founded with partners Huawei, NVIDIA, and Microsoft Xbox.

FUZE has established partnerships with major console game publishers to bring AAA titles to the Chinese market, and have made it their mission to bring the highest quality game experiences to gamers around the world.
Website: www.fuzegame.tv

We said it before: we have been working very hard behind-the-scenes for RED ASH! Alongside our Kickstarter campaign, we’ve been in negotiations with hardware makers and development partners, keeping your feedback and comments in mind. We hoped by introducing the world setting, art documents, creators involved, our latest prototype, and more, we could convey the charm of RED ASH. And it seems like that work has paid off with FUZE Entertainment deciding to join your ranks as backers, in a major way!

What happens to RED ASH now?

(1)
First off, the contribution of FUZE is a done deal. We can officially confirm that "The KalKanon Incident” will be developed to completion, with the initial goals for game content (8 hours), along with ports to BOTH PlayStation 4 and Xbox One!

(2)
The rights to RED ASH will be retained by comcept. We're excited to find such a great partner in FUZE who believes in our vision in its pure form. In addition, comcept will retain rights to creative discretion and decisions in game development.

What happens to Kickstarter?

The Kickstarter campaign is going 100% towards more content! Consider your pledge a contribution to stretch goals from here on out.

Exactly what are those stretch goals? We're sorry to say that will have to wait a little while longer! Like we said, we're very busy with many behind-the-scenes things over here, and we apologize if you feel left in the dark. As you can see, the things we have brewing that are keeping us occupied are BIG, and all for the purpose of getting you RED ASH in its biggest, bestest form. That's the reason we're less communicative than we'd like to be!

We know we’re in the final days of our campaign, but we’d like to ask fans to continue their support of RED ASH! Your money is going towards 100% content now, so please look forward to the revised "stretch goals"!

That wraps up the announcement!

Finally, we’d like to say, today’s announcement was made possible by everyone’s voices supporting RED ASH on Twitter, blogs, and other places. We’d like to thank our backers from the bottom of our hearts. We see all the work you're doing, pounding the pavement to get the word out, and we're overwhelmed by the support. We know the tide is against us, and it's you all that have kept us afloat. We're also beyond the ability to express our gratitude to HYDE for creating such amazing 3D models and a prototype in such a short time. We’re looking forward to working together more!

That’s all for today’s update.

Please continue to send your messages of support to the RED ASH Team! You can comment here on Kickstarter, or send them through Twitter!

English Twitter: @RedAshGame
Japanese Twitter: @RedAshGamejp

We’ll see you again in the next update! Real soon!
-The RED ASH Team

Personally I think the Fuze deal is only hurting Concept more then helping despite it funding the game entirely. I'd say just ending the Kick Starter and refunding everyone would be a wise choice. Along with staying away from kick starter from now on. They already got the kick start they needed. Now it's time to have faith in their sales since every sale of mighty No.9 will be direct profit. And PR damage control because this is going to be one heck of a backlash. Especially if Mighty No 9 ends up not being a good game.

Yeah I don't think I will ever use kick starter for anything if it can be helped. Dreams have come true because of it, but between all of scams and controversy and drama which this deal is totally going to cause. It just doesn't seem worth it.

[Arcanum]

Personally I think the Fuze deal is only hurting Concept more then helping despite it funding the game entirely.

The only way this will hurt them is if the game itself ends up being terrible. I mean, they weren't going to reach their Kickstarter goal, so at least they have a chance to prove themselves now. As long as this doesn't affect the development of Mighty Number 9 then this only serves to help Comcept.

I'd say just ending the Kick Starter and refunding everyone would be a wise choice.

Kickstarter hasn't taken money from anyone yet. It only does that if the full goal is met. And since I doubt they will get ~$325,000 in 3 days (especially since they lost ~$4000 since the publishing announcement), the kickstarter won't be taking money from anyone.

[Flarecobra]

Which is funny because from what I'm getting in the announcement... they think they get to keep the pledges.

[Kyanbu The Legend]

He's expecting a huge surge of backers. Unless they are going to start another one for the bonus content.

I was talking more from a PR stand point when I said it may not help them much. If he had waited till after Might No 9 released before unveiling Red Ash. They may not have need the kick starter at all and it might have been successful if they did need to start it then.