Side-Scrolling Fighter Dusty Raging Fist Is Punching Its Way To The Wii U eShop This Year
Posted by Damien McFerran
Inspired by Double Dragon, Streets of Rage and Devil May Cry
There was once a time when titles like Final Fight, Streets of Rage, Golden Axe and Double Dragon were the biggest draws in gaming, but the side-scrolling fighting genre has been unfairly sidelined of late. Thankfully, Singapore-based PD Design Studio is doing its best to turn things around, and we're proud to exclusively reveal that the company has been officially approved as a Wii U eShop developer — and that its side-scrolling fighter Dusty Raging Fist is coming to the Wii U eShop later this year.
Based in the same universe as Mac-based fighter Dusty Revenge — which is currently on Steam Greenlight and can be seen in the trailer below — Dusty Raging Fist is shaping up to be quite an experience, with three player action and a trio of unique characters to command. We sat down with PD Design Studio's Keng Jin to talk about the game.
Nintendo Life: Can you give us a little background information about your company? What other projects have you worked on?
Keng Jin: PD Design Studio started in 2006 providing multimedia services. We found ourselves working on plenty of Flash Games for clients. Over the years, we developed a couple of prototypes, and in 2010 we decided to take the plunge and focus on making games. We have a couple of small iOS titles as experiments, but Dusty Revenge is our main title. It will be released on the Mac platform in Q2 2013, with a PC release to follow. Dusty Raging Fist will be our second main title.
NL: How are Dusty Revenge and Dusty Raging Fist connected in terms of story?
KJ: Dusty Raging Fist actually takes place prior to Dusty Revenge’s timeline. As such, you will not be seeing the characters Rondel and McCoy, but some other playable characters.
NL: What titles have provided inspiration for Dusty Revenge and Dusty Raging Fist?
KJ: We are fans of modern hack’n slash games. Onimusha, God of War, DmC, you name it. But we also grew up with games like Bare Knuckle/Streets of Rage and Double Dragon. And all these games are the basis of our inspiration. Good old action, but re-done in a modern art style with a dash of innovation — this is what we are trying to achieve.
NL: What unique features can we expect from Dusty Raging Fist?
KJ: We’ll be bringing back the unique supporting character mechanics in Dusty Revenge, but in a more casual manner.
NL: What are your thoughts on the Wii U hardware?
KJ: The hardware is actually very new to us, so we are still exploring it. I think the Wii U GamePad is really cool and innovative.
NL: What kind of multiplayer features are you looking to include?
KJ:3 Players can team up together to play Dusty Raging Fist. We’ll be incorporating co-op elements rather than just to have the players fight alongside one another. Simple resurrection can be performed by the other players. Players can also team up to execute more powerful moves.
NL: How does developing for the Wii U eShop differ from developing for other platforms, like Steam?
KJ: In terms of development, we don’t see a huge difference. But due to the nature of GamePad, in terms of game design and user interaction, it does require some new thoughts. And that provides new and exciting ground for us to work on.
NL: How will the game make use of the Wii U GamePad controller?
KJ: Like I said, the Wii U GamePad is really cool and innovative, but it’s very new to us. We’ll have to spend more time with it before we can determine how it will integrates in a natural manner.
NL: When can we expect to see the game hit the Wii U eShop?
KJ: We hope to launch it in late Q3 or early Q4.
NL: Do you intend to bring any other titles to the Wii U eShop?
KJ: Now that we are registered developers for the console, we definitely want to capitalize on it. Having said that, we’ll only do so if the game is suitable for it. And right now, we want to focus on our current projects.
Thanks to Keng for taking the time to answer our questions, and to the ever-resourceful Emily Rogers for arranging this interview.
#1
FineLerv said:
Ahhhhh bliss. This is very exciting news. Bring on more downloadable games like this please, Nintendo.
#2
gojiguy said:
Does this have anything to do with Dust: An Elysian Tail?
It seems like too much of a coincidence for two games to be about anthropomorphic animals with hand drawn visuals on download platforms and the name Dust.
#3
Wildfire said:
Looks like another great one for the eshop!
#4
hiptanaka said:
Looks really cool. I hope it's not too much like God of War, though, i.e. button mashing without thought. Is it an eShop exclusive? Can't find any more info on it.
#5
Gameday said:
Wow this looks pretty sick. This one is noted down.
#6
seronja said:
this is a must! i like the fact that it is inspired by my 2 favourite beat'em up games of all time, double dragon and streets of rage
#7
CoffeeWithGames said:
Looks like it could end up good (animations & effects in the trailer look good, and the design sort of reminded me of Muramasa...just based on the trailer), not sure the genre has really been hit on a lot here recently, so seems like this could have a good audience.
As for this Q&A:
NL: What are your thoughts on the Wii U hardware?
KJ: The hardware is actually very new to us, so we are still exploring it. I think the Wii U GamePad is really cool and innovative."
I would suggest they take a look at Trine 2, as one quick eShop title with lots of control options, including GamePad.
One big thing, I would say is to include Off-TV play...it's absolutely awesome for a parent with little ones.
#8
TheAdza said:
I hope it gets a worldwide release. I am all about side scrolling beat em ups.
#9
luminalace said:
My type of game but lets hope the game can match greats such as Final Fight and Streets of Rage.
#10
Sylverstone said:
The eShop's appeal just continues to grow more and more each day.
#11
Rafie said:
This game looks OFFICIAL!!! I'm certainly getting this day one when it drops.
#12
Will-75 said:
There really is a shortage of these type of games, can't wait looks math !
#13
shinesprite said:
Those are some seriously strange ears on that bunny.
#14
MrWalkieTalkie said:
So many indie titles on a Nintendo system! It's a dream come true!
#15
NImH said:
I really hope they are inspired by the gamepad to come up with something fresh and new to the genre. I do enjoy beat-em-ups... Turtles in Time was a favorite back in the day... but I wonder what the gamepad could bring to the table
#16
XCWarrior said:
Now that is the kind of game I want on the eshop. STinks not til Q3, but it looks like its worth the wait. Nice interview NL!
#17
edcomics said:
Looks cool. Very much like Code of Princess. I'll probably download this when the time comes.
#18
Randomname19 said:
Do want.It plays kinda like Muramasa-the demon blade(Wii),
#19
turtlelink said:
Looks neat!
#20
cornishlee said:
Well that's exciting news. Even if this is just an average game I'll likely be downloading it.
#21
Ryno said:
Love dem old-skool beat 'em ups!
#22
Exile20 said:
That looks great. Keep the games coming.
#23
hydeks said:
old school beat-em-ups are awesome!
If/when I get a Wii U, I really need this game.
#24
SneakyStyle said:
Nice, side-scrolling fighting genre can be great fun when done right. Can't wait to check it out and hear more.
#25
retro_player_22 said:
Nostalgic gameplay, oh how I missed the beat em up genre. I will definitely get this once it release on the eShop.
#26
ngamer155 said:
I stopped reading after Streets of rage part on the article because 1. Another game for the eShop
2. I just had to say this: STREETS OF RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAGE!
#27
Fillytase said:
Love the art style. It's very striking. Unfortunately, side-scrolling beat 'em ups kinda bore me ><
#28
ogo79 said:
hmmm... definitely good to see some games like this coming back
#29
Retro_on_theGo said:
The world definitely needs more side scrolling beat'em ups! I'm looking forward to this one!
#30
arrmixer said:
Nice loving the eshop games coming to wii u
#31
Swiket said:
Reminds me of that 3D bunny fighting game on the PC. Can't remember the name.
#32
The-Chosen-one said:
Nice! this one enters my collection
#33
Henmii said:
Looks like another very cool download! Very nice!
#34
The-Chosen-one said:
keep on making fun games! lol
#35
odd69 said:
Thank you PD Design Studio. I will be purchasing this.
#36
Urbanhispanic said:
I just saw the trailer and it definitely reminds me of the Final Fight./Double Dragon arcade games.It looks great so I'll keep my eye on it.
#37
ThreadShadow said:
I'm not too interested in this game, but I love the "helpers" idea. Great way to freshen up fighters and add new gameplay elements-Yoshi targeting bomb toss/ sniper rifle. That's just good innovation.
#38
AcesHigh said:
At first glance this looks really good. Great hand-drawn sprites. Excellent animation. The helpers are a really cool idea too!
However, I'm noticing that this, along with many other games labeled as "Final Fight" type games do not capture all of the mechanics that made games like Final Fight, Streets of Rage or Double Dragon great.
Unless I see more mechanics like this, not interested...