Elden Pixels, developer of both Alwa's Awakening and this year's Alwa's Legacy, has announced that it's working on a brand new port of its original game.
So which shiny new console is Alwa's Awakening coming to next? The PS5? The rumoured Switch Pro? Nope, it's getting a 2021 release on the NES, Nintendo's 35-year-old 8-bit wonder.
As Alwa's Awakening players will know already, this actually makes a lot of sense – the game boasts a retro-styled aesthetic throughout that was inspired by the classic titles available on Nintendo's early home system. The whole thing is now being reworked to play nicely with NES hardware, with a physical cart set to launch next year, produced by Retro-Bit.
You can learn all about the work being undertaken in the video above; there, NES developer Brad Smith – who is serving as the lead producer on the port – discusses the development process. If you're super keen on checking this out, make sure to sign up for the game's public beta here.
Comments 30
Wait, an official NES release? Not just a 3rd party clone cartridge?
Yeah, when you say 'official'...
@Heavyarms55 I believe that only means official as in "authorized by the game developer, and not a bootleg fan port". No way Nintendo is going to authorize a physical NES cartridge release.
@KingMike That makes much more sense.
@KingMike @Heavyarms55 yes they would, that would allow them some revenue from the sales. If that's the case is another thing though. Considering that official is never mentioned at all anywhere except for the articles headline I would say no it is not a Nintendo official release.
Me: Oh! This looks really interesting, I'd like to try-
sees that its for the NES 😔
People just do things like this for free advertising.
Like at first know body talked about your game, so why not port it to an old Nintendo system to put it on every Nintendo news site, Nintendo News Round up, and retro YouTube Channel/Site.
@Tempestryke
It's an NES port of an already released Switch/Steam game though, a pretty good one at that.
@Tempestryke It's also available on the Nintendo Switch...
That title is misleading. In order for it to be an "Official" game Nintendo has to ok its release which highly doubt they did.
Nice bit of clickbait there.
I wish it wasn't a limited expensive release, unlike what will eventually be.
@Tasuki It's official in that it's got the blessing of the IP owner, rather than a fan-made port.
@Damo But still wouldn't it need Nintendo's approval as well to be an official game? I mean take Action 52 or Bible Adventures for example they aren't considered official games yet I am sure they weren't fan made.
@Tasuki no, it’s nothing to do with Nintendo. You’re talking about officially licensed which is something else entirely.
@Tasuki
There have been other NES games developed more recently that got both an NES physical cartridge produced, and a Switch digital or physical release.
Jay and Silent Bob: Mall Brawl for example.
https://www.nintendo.com/games/detail/jay-and-silent-bob-mall-brawl-switch/
This wasn't an NES adaptation, it was an NES game from the outset.
Whilst Nintendo no longer produce any official cartridges for older systems such as NES or SNES, they don't prohibit others from printing cartridges if they made working ROMs for such systems.
Capcom have even gotten 30th Anniversary versions of some of their most popular retro games produced in collaboration with iam8bit.
https://www.iam8bit.com/collections/nintendo/products/mega-man-x-30th-anniversary-classic-cartridge
https://www.iam8bit.com/collections/nintendo/products/mega-man-2-30th-anniversary-classic-cartridge
https://www.iam8bit.com/collections/nintendo/products/street-fighter-ii-30th-anniversary-edition
Ok now I am just confused.
That's pretty cool but also super niche. I keep seeing these games and thinking I should try them and then forgetting. I'm going to wish list it right now.
I hope it can play on Nintendo's official NES consoles. I hear some of these new games only work on clones.
Definitely picking this up just to have it in the collection.
I am kinda intrigued. Have my old Nes still hooked up and I loved Alwa's Awakening. Great game
I finished this game a couple months ago. I liked it a lot. Had a few flaws but overall was enjoyable.
@ThanosReXXX @RupeeClock
Oh cool! Thanks you two.
@Tempestryke You're welcome. And it's actually an easy recommendation as well. I also have it. Hope you'll also enjoy it.
Hello! Lead Designer of Alwa's Awakening here
It's an "Official" port in that sense that the original game was made by us and now we're porting it to NES "officially." We're developing the game but Retro-Bit is publishing the game. They've previously done Holy Diver, Metal Storm, and the Toaplan Shooter collection so I feel safe they know all about NES distribution
Super excited about this project! We're just getting started so right now we basically only have what's in the video in the original post (we can render backgrounds) but I've already remade all 423 rooms so they can fit the NES resolution. Very soon we'll be able to move around in them
Let's remember that porting a game is not a simple task. There are a lot of things involved, and in this case, there must be a lot of love involved too. Nice to see this kind of project.
I'm not interested in NES cartridges anymore, but Alwa's Awakening is the kind of game that deserves a double and maybe a triple dip.
I didn't get Legacy yet, but I'm gonna buy it soon
@MikaelForslind Is Alwa's Legacy next for the SNES?
Hipsters gonna hip...
Really cool to see contemporary principles and understanding applied when building games for old hardware.
@Yorumi Wow, thank you! That's really nice to hear
This one completely slipped by me. Might have to grab it. (On the Switch... though the NES version might be cool too...)
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