October 1st means two things: The anniversary of this monthly column—six years and counting as of today—and we're just 30 days away from Halloween. That last bit doesn't really factor into any of these projects which contain hardly any scares, unless you count capitalism since everyone here's begging for money to make their dreams come true and that's terrifying.
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.
RPM Issue 4 (ends Oct 3 estimated reward date Oct 2024!)
Sandeep Rai is back with another issue of Retro PlayStation Magazine, this one with a cover story on the Killzone series. It's all unofficial and crowdfunded so no ads!
GENERATIONS (ends Oct 8 estimated reward date Nov 2024)
As long as we're hyping indie magazines, here comes GENERATIONS from Gamebound. You can read the project page for a complete list of features but I'm going to highlight an interview with Hifumi Kono by Alicia Haddick, a writer I just sat beside days ago in Tokyo.
Depths of Europa (ends Oct 10 estimated reward date Aug 2025)
True story: the Game Boy Color never got any Metroid or Castlevania games. Developer Jonathan Kerls seeks to correct this with an original exploration-heavy action game set on one of Jupiter's most famous—and frigid—natural satellites. You can try a demo on itch.io.
The Last Ninja Collection (ends Oct 10 estimated reward date Mar 2025)
This ill-titled series of video games—how can anything called The Last Ninja have a sequel—includes seven Commodore 64 releases plus Amiga and Spectrum versions "where available." Again, that's a lot of ninjas for someone claiming to be the "last."
NES Endings Compilation: Volume 2 (ends Oct 11 estimated reward date Dec 2024)
Last year Limited Run Games published NES Endings Compilation: Volume 1, a guide to the finales of the first four years of NES games. Author Rey Esteban and Nintendo Force magazine are now collaborating on Volume 2 which covers the year of 1990.
THIS IS FINE: MAXIMUM COPE (ends Oct 31 estimated reward date Mar 2026)
Whomst among us has not taken a modicum of pleasure from observing that famous cartoon dog sitting in a flaming house and declaring "This is fine." Created by artist K.C. Green, that dog will star in his own video game where he "faces off against the manifestations of his fears and anxieties."