February may be the shortest month (not that short in 2020, mind you) but we've got plenty of retro video game crowdfunding projects to highlight for you, the discerning Retronauts reader. As always, we have no insider information or financial interest in any of these projects, and no one at Retronauts has been compensated for including anything on this page. Furthermore, we support the efforts of Kickstarter employees to unionize.
Rubi: The Wayward Mira
Platform: PC, Nintendo Switch
Campaign ends: February 6
Estimated delivery time: December 2020
Minimum pledge to receive the game: $20 US
Rubi: The Wayward Mira has been in development since 2015, and it was first posted on Kickstarter back in 2017 when it failed to meet its funding goal. Project lead Erik Halverson didn't give up though, kept working on it, and has now opened a new campaign which has already been fully funded and then some. Viewing the first and second trailers back to back shows how much the project benefitted from three extra years of attention.
Jim Power
Platform: NES, Genesis/Mega Drive, SNES, TurboGrafx CD, CD32 (plus stretch goals!)
Campaign ends: February 14
Estimated delivery time: August 2020
Minimum pledge to receive the game: $50 US
This is a lot to take in: back in 1992 Jim Power in Mutant Planet was released from home computers and later ported to the PC Engine CD. However, in 1993 a slightly different game called Jim Power: The Lost Dimension in 3-D was made for the Super Nintendo and MS-DOS. And now, almost 30 years later, Piko Interactive wants to re-release all these games again on physical media plus new versions for the NES and Genesis/Mega Drive! Backers who pledge at least $50 US can pick from one of five different versions of Jim Power with bigger bundles available for a higher price.
Psycho Nightmare
Platform: PC
Campaign ends: February 17
Estimated delivery time: January 2021
Minimum pledge to receive the game: MX$ 235 (about $13 US)
Alright, enough 2D pixels: Psycho Nightmare is a retro horror game that embraces the look of the PlayStation 1. There are guns, monsters, puzzles, creepy recordings left on cassette tapes, and "music influenced by the incredible game of Silent Hill." There's also a playable demo available for those who want a taste of the nightmare before they pledge.
Itty Bitty Games
Platform: it's a keychain
Campaign ends: February 23
Estimated delivery time: February 2020!
Minimum pledge to receive the li'l thing: CA$ 8 (about $7 US)
Keys are becoming retro, aren't they? I used to carry an entire ring for all the locks in my life but these days I'm down to only two keys and my next car might not even need one. But if you are a person who has keys and you have affection for the look of NES cartridges, this campaign is for you: miniature Nintendo cartridge keychains starting at $7 US. Buying more reduces the cost per unit, and there are 200 game designs to choose from (sorry, Anticipation fans).
LAZR
Platform: PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4, Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Campaign ends: February 24
Estimated delivery time: November 2020
Minimum pledge to receive the game: $15 US
"LAZR is a skill-based, physics-enhanced cyberpunk platformer whose gameplay is emphasized sharply by its dynamic cloth simulations," - this is the first sentence of the crowdfunding campaign and it says it all. LAZR is colorful, LAZR looks fast-paced, and LAZR has so many nets and ladders that need to be climbed that one might call it a "clothformer" (I didn't make that up, it's in the Kickstarter). Apparently this all started as an experiment, then as a tech demo, and now it's on its way to becoming a full game with "choices that deeply affect the protagonist's journey" and "6-9 hours of gameplay" (nice).
Battle Axe
Platform: PC, Mac, Linux, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
Campaign ends: February 27
Estimated delivery time: January 2021
Minimum pledge to receive the game: £15 (about $20 US)
Battle Axe looks nice at first glance (pixel art, vague Gauntlet vibes, kickin' tunes) but things get even better when you discover who's behind it all. The project is being led by artist Henk Nieborg who has an impressive resume of working on "retro" 2D games like Contra 4 and Shakedown: Hawaii, and those aforementioned tunes are being written by Manami Matsumae who made music for many a Capcom classic (Magic Sword! Mega Man!!). Sold and SOLD.