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Wild Arms, Shadow Hearts Creators Launch Kickstarter for Armed Fantasia, Penny Blood Games

Kickstarter is hosting a page for WILD BUNCH Productions and Yukikaze's upcoming crowdfunding campaign for the Wild Arms spiritual successor game titled Armed Fantasia: To the End of the Wilderness, and the Shadow Hearts spiritual successor game titled Penny Blood. The double Kickstarter campaign for the games will launch on Tuesday (Japan time, or on Monday U.S. time) and will have a shared goal of US$750,000 for a release of both games on PC. Stretch goals will offer the games on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo if met.

WILD BUNCH Productions and Yukikaze describe the story of Armed Fantasia: To the End of the Wilderness:

In a far flung corner of this world lies the land of Londenium, where a young man named Ingram loses his grandfather; the final tether binding him to his hometown. With no other reason to stay, and in hopes of reconnecting with his childhood friend, Ingram sets out on a new adventure as a Pathfinder, a branch of adventurers that utilize the powerful ARM (Aether Reaction Maximizer) weaponry to dispose of Anomalies that ravage the land.

Ingram's journey will lead him to cross destinies with many a new friend and foe, and become embroiled in a monumental battle that'll strike through Londenium's past and its future.

The game will be a turn-based JRPG adventure that will have puzzle elements and large-scale exploration.

Akifumi Kaneko is the lead game designer.

WILD BUNCH Productions and Yukikaze describe the story of Penny Blood:

Penny Blood's story begins with Matthew Farrell, a lone wolf private detective in New York working for the Bureau of Investigation. Despite hating the accursed powers he inherited from his father, he utilizes his fusion transformation abilities to hunt down monsters at the behest of the Bureau.

One day, Matthew is tasked with investigating a strange incident that occurred at a mental asylum in New York. After rushing to the asylum, he finds it teeming with grotesque, rampaging creatures. Utilizing his hidden power, Matthew manages to achieve a narrow victory.

In order to unearth the truth behind the bizarre incident, Matthew's investigation will take him from America to the distant continent of Asia, including Japan and China, as well as to the far corners of Europe. Along the way, he will encounter those who fight for vengeance, those who seek to utilize the aberrant horrors for their own gain, and those who simply wish to destroy. Penny Blood tells the tale of a man who must become that which he seeks to vanquish.

The game will be a turn-based JRPG that will feature a "twitch-trigger reaction time" and a "Sanity Points" system.

Matsuzo Machida is directing the game, and Akifumi Kaneko is the lead game designer. Miyako Kato is designing the characters. Yoshitaka Hirota and Akari Kaida are composing the music.

The original Wild Arms game shipped for PlayStation in 1996. The franchise's Wild Arms XF game shipped for PlayStation Portable in 2007 and ForwardWorks' Wild Arms Million Memories smartphone role-playing game launched in September 2018. The franchise received a television anime adaptation, titled Wild Arms - Twilight Venom, in 1999. Wakako Oba launched the Wild Arms Hananusubito (Wild Arms - Flower Thieves) manga adaptation of the games in 2001. The games combine fantasy with a Wild West setting.

The original Shadow Hearts game launched for PlayStation 2 in 2001. The game was a sequel to the 1999 PlayStation game Koudelka. Shadow Hearts: Covenant, a sequel to Shadow Hearts, launched in 2004. The spinoff game to the series Shadow Hearts: From the New World launched in 2005.

Sources: Armed Fantasia and Penny Blood's Kickstarter page, Gematsu (Sal Romano)