A new studio created by former Suikoden creator has announced an upcoming Kickstarter in hopes of funding a spiritual successor to the cult classic series. The first game in the Suikoden series launched in the ’90s, with last game coming out in 2006. Since then, Konami has not shown any interest in returning to the series proper. Kickstarter has become a popular tool for developers of beloved series to fund new projects based on these abandoned series, with some of the most successful raising millions of dollars.
Rabbit and Bear Studios is headed by the original Suikoden creator Yoshitaka Murayama, along with other JRPG veterans. Murayama, writer of the first two games, will be writing this new game titled Eiyuden Chronicle. Junko Kawano, veteran of Suikoden I and IV, will be handling character designs, and music being done by the composers of game such as Wild Arms and the Tales series.
Murayama’s inspiration for putting this team together to make Eiyuden Chronicle was quite simple. He states, “Over the past years the core creators have met up at different events, etc., and of course you talk about the glory days as well as regrets,” Murayama says. “One common thing that always came up was, ‘Isn’t it about time we make a game for ourselves? Something we really want to make? Something we can make for the fans?’ And that dream provided the spark for this current project.”
The team wants to bring back the type of game fans of the old Suikoden loved, including things like a cast of hundreds of characters, turn based battles, fortress building, and a story focusing on relationships and war. “In this title one of the more interesting systems is the guild system,” Murayama explains. “Rather than just putting together a battle party of strong and weak, you’ll have another team at your fortress town. Depending on their ability to lift heavy objects or move quickly, your production ability (and the benefits from those expansions) will change. As your guild expands it will open up unique missions and items that will make each play through unique.”
The Kickstarter is set to launch on July 27th, and will end on August 28th. While the goal hasn’t been revealed yet, we do know that whatever initial target amount they set will be for a PC release. Console versions would only come later if certain stretch goals are met. They hope to have the game complete, assuming they are funded, by 2022.
Kickstarter projects can be hit or miss, especially for games made to capitalize on nostalgia for long abandoned series. Results like Mighty No. 9 have taught us to be cautious, despite the talent behind the project, but for now everything shown about Eiyuden Chronicle looks to be what fans of Suikoden have been wanting. We’ll just have to wait to see their official Kickstarter pitch, goals, and rewards to make a final decision.
Source: Game Informer
