Good news: New Monster World. Bad news: The name?
Jan 30, 2015 23:22:28 GMT -5
Post by wyrdwad on Jan 30, 2015 23:22:28 GMT -5
You guys remember Flying Hamster II: Knight of the Golden Seed? Here's the original Kickstarter trailer for it:
This was a sequel to the cute-em-up "Flying Hamster," which was originally released as a PSP Mini before being updated with an HD version -- but kind of like how Knightmare became Maze of Galious, then Shalom, Flying Hamster II was going to change the series from shmup to something wholly different, with Game Atelier planning to turn it into a Monster World-a-like. And it looked damned good, I thought!
Unfortunately, the Kickstarter wasn't going very well, and looked like it wasn't going to hit its mark... but then in came FDG Entertainment, who saved the game by privately funding it, resulting in the Kickstarter's cancellation (but ensuring us that the game would see the light of day).
Now, new news has surfaced about the game... and it's no longer Flying Hamster II. Here's what the email said that was sent to backers of the original canceled Kickstarter:
Sourced from:
click
...So, as much as I really liked the Flying Hamster aesthetic of the originally-planned game, I'd be OK with this change simply because it IS cool to be getting a new semi-official Monster World game after all this time.
The one sticking point for me? The name.
The full name of this newly-branded game is "Monster Boy and the Wizard of Booze."
I'm OK with the Monster Boy part... but "Wizard of Booze"? Seriously?! That totally cheapens the game IMHO, and makes it sound like indie shovelware. But Game Atelier is really good! They're better than that. And so is the Wonder Boy/Monster World series. We've had a string of perfectly-named games, and now Monster World IV is going to be followed up with Monster Boy and the Wizard of Booze? It just seems so wrong!
...Anyway, considering the fanbase here, I figured there'd be a lot of you who'd find this news very interesting, and I'd be curious to hear what you all think of the... unfortunate naming choice. Maybe I'm the only one bothered by it?
And regardless of the name, the game itself still looks great, so I'll play it even if they call it "Crap Pile." I'll just wince a little every time I see the title screen, that's all.
-Tom
This was a sequel to the cute-em-up "Flying Hamster," which was originally released as a PSP Mini before being updated with an HD version -- but kind of like how Knightmare became Maze of Galious, then Shalom, Flying Hamster II was going to change the series from shmup to something wholly different, with Game Atelier planning to turn it into a Monster World-a-like. And it looked damned good, I thought!
Unfortunately, the Kickstarter wasn't going very well, and looked like it wasn't going to hit its mark... but then in came FDG Entertainment, who saved the game by privately funding it, resulting in the Kickstarter's cancellation (but ensuring us that the game would see the light of day).
Now, new news has surfaced about the game... and it's no longer Flying Hamster II. Here's what the email said that was sent to backers of the original canceled Kickstarter:
Many things have changed or evolved since we canceled our Kickstarter campaign and decided to make it happen through our collaboration with FDG Entertainment. So let's recap it with some shiny bullet point lists:
**THINGS THAT COMPLETELY CHANGED:**
* The game has a new name: Monster Boy
* Monster Boy will be an all-new adventure and as we closely work together with Ryuichi Nishizawa (creator of the original Monster World) it can be considered as an official part of the series. Since the trademark is owned by SEGA we had to pick a different name
* No more hamsters but a new hero with a story matching with the Monster World universe
**THINGS THAT GOT BETTER:**
* Tons of new hand-drawn graphics and an improved art style
* Two new transformations replacing the bear and the hamster
* While the game still has a huge open-world, some of the environments have changed for fitting more with the Monster World universe
**THINGS THAT DIDN'T CHANGE:**
* As a Flying Hamster II backer you'll still get your free copy of Monster World when it will be released (please refer to KS Update #12 for more information)
* Michiru Yamane is still supporting this project and currently works on several amazing tracks
* The gameplay remains exactly like what we initially planned
* Our hard-working team, more dedicated to this project than ever!
So we're thrilled to announce that this beautiful project is no more just a Monster World clone but a real new official part of the series. Once again thanks to both our publisher FDG Entertainment and Mr. Nishizawa who pushed this project in the most incredible good direction.
**THINGS THAT COMPLETELY CHANGED:**
* The game has a new name: Monster Boy
* Monster Boy will be an all-new adventure and as we closely work together with Ryuichi Nishizawa (creator of the original Monster World) it can be considered as an official part of the series. Since the trademark is owned by SEGA we had to pick a different name
* No more hamsters but a new hero with a story matching with the Monster World universe
**THINGS THAT GOT BETTER:**
* Tons of new hand-drawn graphics and an improved art style
* Two new transformations replacing the bear and the hamster
* While the game still has a huge open-world, some of the environments have changed for fitting more with the Monster World universe
**THINGS THAT DIDN'T CHANGE:**
* As a Flying Hamster II backer you'll still get your free copy of Monster World when it will be released (please refer to KS Update #12 for more information)
* Michiru Yamane is still supporting this project and currently works on several amazing tracks
* The gameplay remains exactly like what we initially planned
* Our hard-working team, more dedicated to this project than ever!
So we're thrilled to announce that this beautiful project is no more just a Monster World clone but a real new official part of the series. Once again thanks to both our publisher FDG Entertainment and Mr. Nishizawa who pushed this project in the most incredible good direction.
Sourced from:
click
...So, as much as I really liked the Flying Hamster aesthetic of the originally-planned game, I'd be OK with this change simply because it IS cool to be getting a new semi-official Monster World game after all this time.
The one sticking point for me? The name.
The full name of this newly-branded game is "Monster Boy and the Wizard of Booze."
I'm OK with the Monster Boy part... but "Wizard of Booze"? Seriously?! That totally cheapens the game IMHO, and makes it sound like indie shovelware. But Game Atelier is really good! They're better than that. And so is the Wonder Boy/Monster World series. We've had a string of perfectly-named games, and now Monster World IV is going to be followed up with Monster Boy and the Wizard of Booze? It just seems so wrong!
...Anyway, considering the fanbase here, I figured there'd be a lot of you who'd find this news very interesting, and I'd be curious to hear what you all think of the... unfortunate naming choice. Maybe I'm the only one bothered by it?
And regardless of the name, the game itself still looks great, so I'll play it even if they call it "Crap Pile." I'll just wince a little every time I see the title screen, that's all.
-Tom