CriticalGames

@tabris95 Thank you very much tabris95! That's very much how I and other developers in the scene felt. And I'm so glad you like the art! The character sprites were done by Jason Perry, and I'm really thrilled with how they turned out

@DreadfulDragon Spot on! In my case, I was looking for words or names that carried the meaning of "husk" in various languages. So that's what it's in reference to here =)

@jgrangervikings1 Haha, touche! Although the alliance has technically begun; it's just currently restricted to a few people behind the scenes

Thank you very much! I agree, it'd be awesome to see it on Vita, but sadly that ship has sailed haha.

@Saucymonk Wow! I think this might be my favourite endorsement yet XD The world needs more common usage of the word pantaloons!

@Jey887 Thank you very much Jey! Yes, in mid-2023 I was getting into old Marvel comics, and I got this crazy idea from reading the 1984 Secret Wars haha. So I came up with a detailed concept, and approached each developer individually with a pitch. Luckily, they all thought it was a good idea and said yes! =)

@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare Hahaha, Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi oi oi! But thank you very much for the explanation - that makes a lot more sense to me now!

So to answer your question, the characters bring their full history/personality/powers with them. Infinite Alliance is a story-driven game, so it's all about the characters =) Only 8-Bit Adventures 2 is my game - all the rest come from completely separate developers, which is why it's pretty special to bring so many together! Smash Bros. and Project X Zone (and Kingdom Hearts, but that's a little different) are the only other major examples I can think of myself.

So yeah, characters bring everything from their own experiences/original games into Infinite Alliance - so the hope is it'll be fun to see all of that mesh together!

Thank you for all the kind words everyone!

@Oz_Who_Dat_Dare - I agree; I don't like gacha or overbearing mtx personally either. So I appreciate you saying that!

When you say "I wonder if that's just artwork/character design, or is there more to the twist?", I don't quite understand what you mean sorry. Happy to answer if you can give a bit more clarification though =)

@12AngryCats Dev here - thank you very much 12AngryCats! I love Jack Move too The hope is that most people interested will know at least one game, and then they can discover all the other characters and games through the story of Infinite Alliance =)

@geordie197 - Thank you very much geordie197, I sincerely appreciate it!

@colonelkilgore - As a collector, I competely understand what you mean. 1 has to be in front of 2 XD

@LuXifer - Aw, thank you very much! I try my best to respond to everyone I can. As an indie, word of mouth is really the only tool you have for sharing your game. And I always want to thank anyone who's interested in my work =)

Robert, thank you SO much for the incredible review! Pacing is one of the things that's most important to me (and which Chrono Trigger taught me a lot about), so I'm really happy that that stood out to you

@colonelkilgore - The first game was released on Steam in 2015, but I'd say @Rgeneb1 is spot on with their comment. No need to play the first one before the second in this case =)

That said, I would love to remake the first game and release it on console in the future! It's just down to time/money/player interest.

@danzoEX - Thank you very much danzoEX! The Indie JRPG community is doing some really great work at the moment, so please keep an eye out

@LuXifer - Thank you very much for your interest! There's actually a demo available on PS4 and PS5 if you've liked to try it out for yourself!

@Deadhunter - I wholeheartedly agree on that one. While we've been getting some great bigger budget RPGs like Metaphor and Trails through Daybreak, I'm a big advocate for what the indie scene is doing with the genre right now =)

@Ichiban Thank you very much Ichiban! Absolutely love the name

@QiaraIris It's scary, I know. I talked to publishers, developers, PR, etc. about dates, and ultimately the consensus was that October 16th was the last chance I had to get the game out this year (especially before Dragon Quest 3 HD). And with Switch 2 potentially becoming a focus in early 2025, I was concerned about what the new year's landscape is going to look like.

Hopefully it's a bold move that works out XD

@3Above Thanks so much 3Above! That really means a lot to me; I know it's not easy to get to every game nowadays 😃

@Kraven Wow! That's incredibly high praise Kraven, thank you. All credit to our amazing artist Jerram Fahey/World_of_NoeL for that! He did everything except the promotional art.

@yazzika Thanks yazzika! Unfortunately the first game is currently trapped on PC due to the engine that was used. I'd love to remake it (get it up to the sequel's standard of quality) and bring it to consoles as well. But being a small dev, just have to take things one step at a time =)

@Angelus3K Hahaha, you're not the first one to say that Angelus3K! I agree it's not great, but I was stuck with it from the first game (it was a name I came up with in 2012). I see a lot of people use the abbreviation 8BA2. Thanks for the very kind words!

@johnedwin Sorry for the long wait (Robert nailed the reasoning in his article), but thanks for your patience! =)

Developer here! Thanks for kind words everyone (and to the Push Square team for sharing this) - I really appreciate it =)

@3Above Honestly, trying to find a release date was really hard, because of all those games you mentioned and more (and with the Switch 2 potentially launching early next year). I'm hoping some players might see it as a game to tide them over during the wait for DQ3HD. But we'll see how it goes - thank you!

@Alps_Stranger Thanks for wishlisting the game Alps_Stranger! I'm sorry for the long wait, but I'm very grateful for your support.

@Type_Trubbish The game looks really nice on the Switch's handheld screen, so I think this is the coziest way to play it myself =)

@LuXifer Wow, thank you very much - that's fantastic to hear! To expand on the art style, though, the game uses what our artist Jerram Fahey calls "NES+".

We do exclusively use the NES' limited colour palette and draw everything at the correct size for 8-bit art. The difference is that we allow as many colours as we want on a single screen. This creates the game's vibrant, detailed look, while still paying homage to some of the limitations. So it's sort of a middle-ground

@Lando_ - My pleasure Lando! I really appreciate your interest =D

@clvr - Thank you so much! It's very kind of you to say so. I love engaging with the community - and it's especially easy when everyone's so kind and friendly =) I sincerely appreciate the kind words, and all the best to you too!

@Milktastrophe Ah, I see! Ratalaika are porting our game and doing the technological heavy lifting, but they're not involved in things like trophies. Maybe it's just some of the games they've ported that have been like that? Anyway, no worries here! =D

@Lando_ I completely understand the Vita love, but as of right now, I don't think I'll be able to make that happen sorry. I'll keep that in mind, though!

@lolwhatno Aww, thank you! I really appreciate the support and kind words =D

@MindfulGamer That's completely fair! In terms of game design, it really has more in common with SNES/PS1 (and even some PS2) JRPGs, but if the aesthetic isn't doing it for you, that's fine =) Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

@Acquiescence Thank you very much! A lot of work's gone into it over the past 5+ years, so it's great to hear that =)

@hi_drnick Thank you! That's definitely the goal - to create a new, fresh game that feels like the old school.

@ShogunRok Thanks so much for the kind words! All thanks to our wonderful artist Jerram Fahey =)

@hypnotoad If you want a Secret of Mana style game, definitely check out Shrine's Legacy! They're great devs and have a Kickstarter running right now. It's even got the classic SoM co-op =D

@Milktastrophe Nope! Most trophies will be for story progression, but there'll also be some challenging ones related to the game's super bosses and endgame content. It should put any RPG vet through its paces to get the Platinum, without being cheap or having anything be missable =)

@emj2010 Thank you very much! I'm exactly the same way - started with FF, and came into DQ as I got older. My goal is to hit the same level of quality as classic FF and DQ, but tell a unique story with its own sense of charm. I hope it clicks with you if you check it out! =)

@Angelus3K There is! Available on Steam and GOG (search for 8-Bit Adventures 1). It's rough around the edges, and we've come a long way since then, but fan response to it is the reason I decided to make a sequel =)

Hi everyone, developer of 8-Bit Adventures 2 here.

Just wanted to say thank you so much for the wonderful write-up Robert! I'm very grateful that you took the time to do this, and I'm sure it'll be a big help to spread the word =D