Hey everyone, it's been at least one month since I brought you a list of video game Kickstarters which means it is time to bring you a new list of video game Kickstarters! As is the case with every such list I offer to you, I promise that 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.

Phantom Gear
Platform: Sega Genesis/Mega Drive
Campaign ends: August 15
Estimated delivery time: August 2020
Minimum pledge to receive the game: $15

Remember Mega Cat Studios? They were featured in our very first Kickstarter Kompilation last year for their Log Jammers project, a then-new game for the NES. Well they've decided to leap into the 16-bit era with Phantom Gear, a new game for the Sega Genesis or Mega Drive. No, really; the cartridges are multi-region and should work with any model of the hardware.

What kind of game is Phantom Gear? Mega Cat Studios list its influences as "Shantae, Kirby, Megaman X, Castlevania, Ghouls ‘n Ghosts, Ristar, Gunstar Heroes and Monster World IV." There's certainly a lot of platforming and shooting in the promotional video - also air dashing and wall jumping (always good signs). The initial goal has already been met but there are plenty of stretch goals remaining to add levels or bosses to the finished game.

Street Uni X
Platform: "the platform of your choice"
Campaign ends: August 15
Estimated delivery time: May 2021
Minimum pledge to receive the game: 15 CAD (about $11 US)

One of my favorite demos on the very first PlayStation demo disc was ESPN Extreme Games, a game where atheltes on bicycles and "street luges" raced down a road, punching or kicking the competition in an unsportsmanlike but demonstrably EXTREME bid to win 1st place. So when I spotted Street Uni X on Kickstarter I had an immediate flashback to the late 90s, early polygons, and my burgeoning collection of KoRn CDs.

Street Uni X is not about racing, it's more of a Tony Hawk-style explore-a-concrete-space-and-do-tricks game which was also popular in the PlayStation era, but this project looks unique thanks to the choice of ride: unicycles. The developer is a fan of the one-wheeled conveyance and their game "will include some of the top street unicyclists from around the world." The names and likenesses of these pro unicyclists are real - much to my surprise - and the developer pledges more are on the way, along with "secret racers" that are as yet unknown.

Randy's Camera
Platform: Windows, Android (Mac, Linux, iOS, and Nintendo Switch are all stretch goals)
Campaign ends: August 29
Estimated delivery time: May 2020
Minimum pledge to receive the game: €10 (about $11 US)

I'm always going to be drawn to puzzle platformers and games with photography mechanics, so a game that offers both was definitely going to make my monthly list of cool Kickstarter projects. In Randy's Camera, players control the eponymous blue protagonist who is "enthusiastic photographer who wants to show everyone that he is ready to become a professional." Most of the action is 2D where Randy can walk and climb but also use his camera to photograph objects and creatures in the game to various effects. The campaign trailer also shows over-the-shoulder fast action - think "shooting gallery" but not with guns.

Randy's Camera is being made by a single developer in Spain along with his girlfriend who is illustrating "some small cutscenes."

Blazing Strike
Platform: PC, Mac, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch
Campaign ends: August 31
Estimated delivery time: January 2020
Minimum pledge to receive the game: $25

Fighting games are beautiful; let us all do what we can to make more fighting games exist. In the case of Blazing Strike, this 2D project is the creation of (mostly) one person who has been working on it "for the last 4 years or so." The campaign shows profiles and close-ups of ten different characters, six of whom are promised at launch with the remaining fighters becoming free DLC for all backers.

In this early stage, Blazing Strike looks good even if the seams are visible; watching the action in the trailer reveals that the artwork for all the characters is a work in progress as certain frames are still rough drawings or even just pencil sketches! I say this not to knock the process but to marvel at how far the project has already come.

ActRaiser Complete Score
Platform: sheet music
Campaign ends: September 2 
Estimated delivery time: September 2020
Minimum pledge to receive the goods: ￥3500 (about $33 US)

I don't believe Mr. Yuzo Koshiro needs an introduction to Retronauts readers, but his score for the SNES video game ActRaiser is a celebrated one. So much so that composer Yusuku Ichihara, whose Twitter bio describes him as the founder of "Japan's first pro video game orchestra," wants to properly archive the ActRasier soundtrack as a written score. As written in the Kickstarter description: "we shall archive VGM as sheet music and treat it like any other 'real music' or classical music." YES.

For those wary of supporting a third party for "archiving" the work of another living, working composer, Mr. Ichihara insists that Mr. Koshiro is a "personal acquaintance" and has "supervised this activity to the full extent." Also be aware: 3500 yen only qualifies for a PDF copy of the ActRaiser score, as a bound copy of the music costs 5000 yen (nearly $50 US). To get it signed by Yuzo Koshiro, though? That's double the cost.

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