Today may be all about liberty and fireworks, but it’s also an explosion of awesome gaming news. A couple days ago, the Mighty No. 9 Kickstarter teased a new game, without any real info other than some cool pics. Today that leaked information has taken form as a new Comcept Kickstarter by Keiji Inafune himself, called RED ASH: The Indelible Legend. This title looks to be a spiritual successor to the Mega Man Legends series, set in a vibrant anime world. Especially cool is that this project will be a collaboration between Comcept and Studio 4C, known for anime series hits such as Spriggan, Steamboy, the relaunched Thundercats and much more. Their pedigree for quality art is well known, as they have been working on anime since 1986.
Especially interesting to me is that the world of RED ASH seems to share some common facets to that of Mighty No. 9, most notably the fact that both games have characters named Beck and Call. However, this might be a parallel universe, since both appear to be human in the early concept art and videos. Furthermore, Call looks far more mischievous and mature than in Mighty No. 9. Another character who appears to be unique to this game is a older, more prickly joker character named Tyger. According to the Kickstarter page, “The primary goal with RED ASH is to tell a story on a grand scale; all of the primary concepts are clearly visualized in the minds of the creative team, from the overall plot to historical background.” They even have a jumping on point in a mini story called the KalKanon Incident, which I assume is what we got a taste of in the video found on the Kickstarter page.
The world of RED ASH is one where humans live in fear of feral robotic weapons. Only with the aid of Lost Technology and derring do has humanity managed to survive in the ruins. Delvers brave wastelands and ruins for the means to keep humanity alive. Much of the drama in the game looks to revolve around the mobile city KalKanon’s imminent crash course with the city of Great Slope, where many humans reside. Enter Beck and Tyger, determined to unearth the Legendary Legacy within the beating heart of KalKanon, before it is able to complete its apocalyptic destiny.
You’re probably wondering what type of game RED ASH is. Unlike Mighty No. 9, RED ASH is a adventure game with third person shooter elements. Comcept is looking to modernize the genre, with the aid of elements such as “bargaining between partners, interaction with NPCs, an almost mischievous sense of freedom, and dungeons built with elements of horror.” Better yet, by raiding dungeons, you can acquire the parts to upgrade Beck’s abilities.
For those looking to back this project, there are numerous rewards. Those strapped for cash can get their name in the credits for a mere $5, but for those who want more, there are lots of ways to pledge. For $25 you can get a digital copy of the game; $69 gets you Beta access as well as previous rewards; for those who long for physical rewards, at $89 you can get a physical copy of the game; $119 gets the physical game plus a sweet T-shirt; $159 gets both of the previous rewards plus a cool artbook; but for the truly ambitious, there are some insane tiers. For $1,999 lucky backers get a signed original Inafune sketch; $3,999 gets unique player thread designs; $4,999 lets you help create an enemy and finally, for $9,999 you get to have dinner with the godfather of Mega Man himself, Keiji Inafune. Keep in mind these are only early artistic mockups of rewards, and might be altered and clarified later in the campaign.
As for stretch goals, only two have been announced so far, but they look pretty cool. First up, if the game reaches their funding goal of $800,000, then the KalKanon Incident side story will unlocked. If the game reaches $1,300,000, then more chapters to the KalKanon Incident will be unlocked. Basically, the more stretch goals the game hits, the more story scenes and playable locations will be unlocked with them. Interestingly enough, they say that these episodes will not be DLC content. Whether that means they will be part of the main game or not is somewhat unclear, but it would be cool to get all the bonuses with the main game when it releases.
Though I was not a huge fan of the Legends series, I think RED ASH looks very compelling so far. There seems to be a lot of heart and humor in the early concepts, and I hope that translates to the final product. Though many details are still up in the air, such as which consoles the game will be coming to for physical copies, as well as the full extent of the rewards, I am confident revelations are pending very soon. If you are a fan of the Mega Man Legends series, love Mighty No. 9, or just like cool Kickstarters, you owe it to yourself to check this out. It needs to hit at least $800,000 in the next 29 days, a goal I’m sure it will exceed shortly, as it’s already past $50,000. To find out more details, check out their Kickstarter page and check out this lovely early trailer!
