2018’s The Messenger was a stellar throwback to the action-genre from the era dominated by the Sega Genesis and Super Nintendo. Developed by Sabotage Studios, it took great inspiration from games like Castlevania and Ninja Gaiden, while at the same time possessing an incredibly self-aware and humorous story with the protagonist traveling between the 8- and 16-bit realms. Following the success of The Messenger, the developers have their eyes set on bringing their talent for stylized sprite work and action gameplay to the realm of the JRPG.
With their follow-up, Sea of Stars, the developers have launched a Kickstarter–with a goal set at $90,760 USD–to gain more funding for their next game inspired by 16-bit era JRPGs like Super Mario RPG and Chrono Trigger. In this new RPG coming to PC and consoles, you play as Valerie and Zale, two heroes fated to become Solstice Warriors–individuals who can use powers that channel energy from the sun and moon. By working together, they’ll be able to combine their strengths and utilize a new type of power known as Eclipse Magic, allowing them to face dangerous foes and powerful threats. Just like their previous game, this homage also plays with tropes and other elements familiar from retro games. But in a surprising twist, Sea of Stars is actually set in the same universe as The Messenger, serving as a prequel to Sabotage’s previous game. The two protagonists in the RPG even made an appearance in The Messenger during the Sunken Shrine dungeon, which the developers described as a nod to what lied ahead for Sabotage Studios.
Just before its debut on Kickstarter, we had the chance to see a quick demo and speak with Sabotage Studios co-founder and creative director Thierry Boulanger about the making of Sea of Stars. In development since the launch of The Messenger in 2018, Sea of Stars was the game the developers have been wanting to make for some time.
Source: GameSpot
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