Back to Back: Indie RPGS to fund

It’s that special time again–that time when we whip out our Internet Binoculars and peer off into the horizon at the games that might yet come to be, if only they can get the monetary support they need.

Of those we examined last time, The Bard’s Tale IV, Regalia, and We Happy Few suceeded; less happily, the Auro Quest Expansion failed, as did Crisential and Reikon Dungeon.

So–what’s new?

Cross Reverie: The Trial of Nightmare – a dark, polished-looking 3D jRPG with turn-based combat, visible turn order, and multiple endings. It’s raised about $15,000 out of $47,724 with 21 days to go.

Fantasy Dimension – we looked at this fantasy strategy game with a 6-character party and row-and-column combat last time. It has evidently raised no more money since that time, but with a tiny $500 funding goal and 29 days left, it should still be quite doable for the developer to get it funded.

The Island of Eternal Struggle – with weird, madcap characters and a bizarre setting, this has the whiff of a new game in the surreal jRPG tradition. I want this to succeed, but I’m pretty concerned that it hasn’t yet broken past $1,000 in funding on the way to $28,000, with only 10 days left on the clock. Free demo here.

Legends of Fire & Steel – this 2D fantasy strategy game appears to be in some dire straits, with only $3,300 raised out of $50,000, and 3 days left to make up the difference.

Luckless Seven – the card-battling 3D isometric RPG has kept on trucking, and is on track to hit its funding goal. Luckless Seven has raised $14,435 out of $15,000; there are 3 more days for it to raise that last little bit. Free demo here.

R.O.T. Age of Arias – this 2D jRPG with quality anime art is close to being funded; 4 days remain for it to raise that last $2,040 out of its $10,000 goal.

Treasures of Arcania – a 2D sidescrolling action RPG / platformer with 4 character classes, a quest system, and crafting. The game has some nice pixel art and animation, too, though combat looks rather sluggish. This one has 14 days to raise about $4,500 more.

Undead Darlings: No Cure for Love – this oddball zombie dating sim / jRPG dungeon crawler has now raised about $15,500 out of its $50,000 goal with 14 days left to go. It isn’t doomed, but it’s starting to look like it’ll need a strong final push to make it.

Vandal Swords – the strategy RPG I expressed skepticism about last time. There is still no video of the game, but there is now one screenshot of a scene inside the Unity editor in the campaign’s single(!) update. The scene uses premade placeholder assets; the creator remarks that the $3,854 she’s asking for will pay for original assets to replace those. However, a sum that small will pay for very little. This one still smells fishy to me.

Wind and Tide – a 2D pirate-themed roguelike-like where you command a ship as captain; with island exploration, an upgradeable crew, and RTS-style combat.

Wolfsong – a jRPG with quality original artwork, loads of playable characters, and zero random encounters. The developer writes that he’s been fleshing out this game’s world for 13 years(!), which has resulted in detailed world lore and geography, as well as dozens of races. Exploration is modeled on Final Fantasy 6, with combat in the Dragon Quest vein. Wolfsong is looking to raise $20,000 in the next 29 days.

World Cubed – an action roguelike-like set on (and within) a 6-sided cube planet with smaller, concentric cube worlds inside it. The developer plans on eventually including cities, dungeons, biomes, hundreds of enemy types, and 10 unlockable classes to play as.  The developer seeks a mere $500, of which he has already raised $100; 28 days remain to raise the rest.