Pier Solar, developed by Watermelon Games, was released for the Sega Genesis in 2010 – yes two-thousand and ten, a full 12 years after the last commercial release on the system. The game itself is a completely original fan made RPG not using sprite rips or a fan translation but a unique story and original artwork, initially running on a 64MEG cart, making it one of the largest games on the platform. It even has a CD soundtrack that could be used on the Sega CD attachment for an enhanced audio experience.
Pier Solar has had 3 releases on the Genesis, making it a major collectors item – especially since it was coded in a way to make ripping the ROM for emulation purposes difficult – but what kind of person would want to spoil a fan work of such caliber?
All of this and more is coming to a Kickstarter near you. The Project itself is looking for a total of $139,000 to get funded and includes support for the Xbox 360, Windows, Mac, Linux, and even the Dreamcast in stunning HD (the Dreamcast version will be SD). As with all Kickstarter projects, there are multiple tiers of project-backing donations, giving a multitude of options to reproduce the game ranging from a digital copy for your platform of choice (if it supports it; sorry Dreamcast, at least you get a special console tier) to visiting the developers in Paris, France, for the release party. There is even a tier that makes it so you can be an added boss fight in the game!
So, if you are like the majority of us who grew up on RPG’s of the 16 bit era, and have a craving to return to those halcyon days of old – but still with a modern HD flare – check out the Kickstarter, as several of the donation tiers are limited. Act fast or miss out on Watermelon making history for the second time.
