Listen closely. Can you hear it? It's the sound of retail employees around the globe shoving Christmas merchandise onto the shelves as fast as possible. Yes, Halloween lives on in our hearts but not in our malls, as November has arrived and with it comes another round of video game Kickstarters.
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. Also, in light of the ongoing pandemic, we recommend only backing crowdfunding campaigns if you feel comfortable with your own security and stability.
Megami Tensei 1&2 BGM rearrange CD (ends Nov 6 estimated reward date Mar 2024)
Tsukasa Masuko, the original composer for the first two Digital Devil Story: Megami Tensei games on Famicom, wants to release a remix album featuring songs from his past work. As he puts it, "I wanted to create a version of the song as I had conceived it, and I also wanted to finish the songs that had been arranged in the past as I had conceived them." Apparently the rights holders are on board with this plan!
Lords of Nysera (ends Nov 13 estimated reward date Feb 2025)
Tactics-based games seem to be out of vogue, at least compared to more action-focused video games, but Lords of Nysera takes influence from "Fire Emblem 4, Shining Force, Final Fantasy Tactics, and D&D." A demo is available on Google Drive.
Angry Robots! (ends Nov 14 estimated reward date May 2024)
"A new puzzle game for your 68k Macintosh!" What do you mean, you don't have a 68k Macintosh? Fear not, as an emulator will also suffice. A demo is available on the developer's website.
The Tale of Nanuk (ends Nov 25 estimated reward date May 2024)
While this charming indie may be modeled after the classic Zelda Game Boy titles, developer Pablo Montes says "the inspiration for the art and music comes in part from The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker." Those are very good games to crib from! A demo is available should you doubt his words and deeds.
The Meating (ends Nov 26 estimated reward date Feb 2024)
Mega Cat Studios are no strangers to Kickstarter or these pages, as the team has successfully crowdfunded seven retro games to date. The Meating looks to be number eight, since the campaign has exceeded its base goal with three weeks to go. There's a demo of this puzzle platformer on the Mega Cat website.
Dance Dance Revolution Mini (ends Nov 27 estimated reward date Aug 2024)
As discussed on our recent community podcast (available to all Patreon supporters at the $5 level!) this project will bring the excitement of DDR to living rooms of all sizes. While a tiny arcade cabinet meant for dancing might sound counterintuitive, the device will have an HDMI output and controller inputs for big screen play. Please take note that this campaign is entirely aimed at the Japanese market so there is no international shipping; if you really want one, you're going to have to find a way around that restriction. Something tells me that never stopped any hardcore DDR fans before though.