Is ‘Red Ash’ The New ‘Mega Man Legends’? Keiji Inafune Unveils Kickstarter Doubleheader
Mega Man co-creator Keiji Inafune unveiled not one, but two new Kickstarter campaigns today for a new IP called Red Ash. The projects includes a Red Ash animation and the Red Ash – The Indelible Legend video game, with the latter looking suspiciously like it might be a successor (in spirit) to Mega Man Legends.
The announcement came as part of a special panel presentation during Anime Expo 2015. Inafune joined Studio 4°C President, Eiko Tanaka, to unveil Red Ash and each unique Kickstarter campaign. According to the official twitter account for the game, the two entertainment properties are separate entities, each to be enjoyed through their respective mediums.
Besides the shared character concepts and the theme of "treasure hunting" they will be completely unique takes on the concept! #RedAsh
— RED ASH (@RedAshGame) July 4, 2015
Based on the details shown on the Kickstarter page and from the announcement trailer, Red Ash, the game, is planning to take the hot concept of open world gameplay and applying it to an anime art style world, much like Mega Man Legends. Red Ash will also be inheriting the names of heroes from Comcept’s first Kickstarter title, Mighty No. 9. Beck and Call will be our heroes, along with a cute robot named Gopher. How much of the open world gets built will depend highly on the level of monetary support gamers put into the project.
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??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? pic.twitter.com/8LDq4Zpey2— comcept (@comcept_jp) July 4, 2015
From his work thus far, it’s clear Inafune has been busy making Comcept a force for new IPs in the gaming industry. At the Xbox Press Conference held on the eve of E3 2015, Inafune unveiled another new title called ReCore. In the introductory trailer for the Xbox One exclusive, players get a glimpse of a distinctive new action-oriented adventure with a robot companion at the heart of its story and gameplay. In an interview with Engadget, Inafune details why he believes new IPs are essential to the creative core of game development.
“The way I see it, there are two walls blocking the creative of the game industry. One, this is not necessarily a bad thing, but the mobile games are getting huge. People, when they make games, they have to think about business. Making mobile games is easier on the business side, so people tend to go toward that side.
“Another one is, it’s getting really hard to start a new IP nowadays. Myself, I’m getting ReCore out, which is a new IP. That’s nice. But, with all of the announcements happening at this year’s E3, we don’t see too many new IPs happening. It’s almost all sequels or some kind of spin-off or existing IP. I’m not saying that’s something bad, to make sequels, but it also kind of stops people from thinking new things about games. They want new creative and new creative tends to happen more when you make a new IP. So, hopefully this can change from here on, so the game creators will have more opportunities to make new IP and make new creative. That’s what I’m hoping for.”
The potential for new IPs to create new gaming experiences aside, the timing of the Red Ash announcement might give some fans pause. Those who backed Might No. 9 are still waiting to see the return on their investment when it launches on September 15, 2015, in the United States, after being delayed to accommodate additional language options and a retail release. Even if still not having Mighty No. 9 in hand is a non-issue for fans, the wallets of Kickstarter backers might be feeling a bit of a squeeze with Red Ash‘s animation and game development teams asking for funding simultaneously right out of the gate.
Are you glad to see more new IPs in the gaming industry? Will you be backing Red Ash the animation or Red Ash – The Indelible Legend? Or both? Sound off in the comments below.
[Image via Kickstarter]
