Moon Chronicles Screen 1

Renegade Kid co-founder Jools Watsham has been busy throughout January, teasing an announcement for FPS lovers and 3DS owners, and adding to the perspective with some tweets following the studio regaining the rights to the Moon IP. As promised on social networks this week, the mystery project has now been revealed on IGN.

It seems that the rumours, and indeed the trademark, did point to the correct answer. It's Moon Chronicles, an episodic offering that will come to the 3DS eShop this year, with the developer keen to continue with a second season in 2015. As for season one this year, that'll be a remake of DS title Moon and will arrive in March / April, with the following structure.

  • Episode 1: $8.99 (contains chapters 1 - 4 + 6 VR Missions: ~4 hours of gameplay).
  • Episode 2 (as DLC): $1.99 (contains chapters 5 - 8: ~2 hours of gameplay).
  • Episode 3 (as DLC): $1.99 (contains chapters 9 - 12: ~2 hours of gameplay).
  • Episode 4 (as DLC): $1.99 (contains chapters 13 - 16: ~2 hours of gameplay).

The choice of an episodic structure is to encourage cliffhangers and suspense, as Watsham explains.

We’re big fans of TV shows like Lost. We love shows that really cement the feeling where you watch an episode, you have a cliffhanger, and you absolutely need to watch the next one.

That’s our plan for season two and beyond, [for us] to approach it in a similar way. ‘What’s the whole point of the season? Where do we start and where do we end up?

It's been promised that the title will be rebuilt from the ground up with improved visuals, 60fps (with 3D on or off) and Circle Pad Pro (and XL) support; Watsham has also stated in various tweets over the months that the studio's eventual FPS would support analogue controls as well as stylus aiming. The image below, meanwhile, shows the graphical improvement from the DS original.

Moon Chronicles Screen Comparison

IGN has also published a QR code that'll allow you to view screens directly on your 3DS.

  • From the Nintendo 3DS home menu, press the L and R shoulder buttons to access the camera.
  • Touch the QR Code icon on the Touch Screen.
  • Aim your camera at the QR Code, and presto - you'll be taken to a special webpage where you view 3D screens! Don’t forget to activate the 3D slider.
QR Moon Chronicles

So there you have it, a major project from Renegade Kid that'll seek to keep gamers interested with regularly released episodes and seasons? Are you looking forward to this?

[source uk.ign.com]