Sungrand's Jerrel Dulay has admitted that his ambitious multi-platform JRPG Breath of Thunder is unlikely to hit its crowdfunding goal of $30,510 AUD, let alone the other lofty stretch goals intended to secure a release on multiple retro systems.
The Australian indie developer – who has previously released several titles in the Silver Falls series – launched the Kickstarter campaign last week. Stretch goals include the PSP ($48,000 AUD), Game Boy Color ($91,000 AUD), Dreamcast ($152,000 AUD), PS1 ($229,000 AUD), Atari Jaguar ($305,000 AUD), Saturn ($543,000 AUD) and Virtual Boy ($760,000 AUD).
However, the campaign has gotten off to a sluggish start, raising just under $8,000 AUS so far, with 24 days remaining. Should it reach its initial goal of $30,510 AUD, that will secure development for the Nintendo Switch, Steam/PC, Atari VCS, Playdate and PlayStation Vita.
Dulay has taken to YouTube to lament the campaign of negativity towards the project and has come up with a novel way of answering his critics – he's resurrecting another infamous Kickstarter to illustrate his talent when it comes to creating games for 'dead' systems:
Unfortunately, the general consensus from the internet regarding the Kickstarter campaign is negative. The campaign is being compared to Mighty No. 9 and its failures. It is unlikely Breath of Thunder will be funded, so I made Mighty No. 9 for PSVita and 3DS instead.
Mighty No. 9 broke Kickstarter records back in 2013, but the final product was a critical flop; the promised PS Vita and 3DS versions were eventually cancelled.
Dulay is quick to point out that his Mighty No. 9 project is "a fan homage" and "has no relation to the official IP." You can download the PS Vita and 3DS versions if you fancy giving it a spin. Who knows? Perhaps these will convince you that Dulay is capable of making Breath of the Thunder a success.
If you fancy seeing how the game could shape up, then you can download the 'Vibe Check Teaser' from the tweet below.