Update #3: Infinity's continued success in its Kickstarter campaign has now led to a rather interesting new stretch goal, for an 'enhanced' Switch version (which would also come to Steam). If it reaches $350,000 Canadian Dollars (it's just over $300,000 at the time of writing) it'll make its way to Nintendo's current system.
In being enhanced, it won’t be a simple one-to-one port from the Game Boy Color to the Switch. We hope to be able to utilize the improved hardware of the Switch in order to offer a few small but important quality improvements, such as modern aspect ratios and improved audio.
Update #2: Infinity has hit all of its crowdfunding targets and will now be getting a special 'GBA enhanced' mode.
Here's what the developers had to say:
Thanks to the support of 2500 backers, Infinity is now 1,800% funded with $290,000CAD for an initial goal of $16,000CAD!
With all stretch goals achieved, several in-game still artworks will be added and the game will be GBA Enhanced.
This Enhanced mode is a feature where inserted in a Game Boy Advance, the game allows you to access more content.
The "GBA Enhanced" mode has only been used by 4 games on GBC so it will make Infinity part of those rare games with a GBA Enhanced mode!
Update #1 [Sat 28th Aug, 2021 09:10 BST]: The crowdfunding campaign stands at almost £140,000 at the time of writing, which means that legendary composer Yuzo Koshiro (Streets of Rage, Etrian Odyssey) will now be contributing music to the game - his first ever work on the Game Boy!
Original Story [Wed 11th Aug, 2021 04:55 BST]: Earlier this year, it was revealed development on the cancelled Game Boy Color title Infinity had been restarted.
The GBC project was originally developed by Affinix Software between 1999 and 2001 but unfortunately got axed due to publishing struggles and the launch of the Game Boy Advance.
An unfinished ROM appeared five years ago, alongside a soundtrack release, and now the game is getting a second shot on Kickstarter. In the latest update, indie publishers Incube8 Games and Retro Modding have confirmed the Kickstarter for the tactical RPG will launch next week on 18th August. The game will be available in physical and digital form.
Here's a bit about it, along with a look:
In Infinity, an ancient, nameless evil stirs beneath the earth, twisting the land and its people alike with its corrupting force. Two rival nations careen toward war, as shadowy figure arms them both with unholy weapons of immense power.
This epic tale frames a roleplaying game with a unique tactical battle system, a detailed world with over 50 explorable areas and more than 100 items, and beautiful 8-bit graphics — all to immerse you into the world of Infinity!
Infinity has been left incomplete for 20 years and this Kickstarter campaign will help complete and produce a physical cartridge release for the Game Boy Color.
And here are some of the features:
- An Inventive tactical battle system
- A detailed world with over 50 explorable areas
- The option to alternate at any time between “Wait” and “Action” battle modes, with 4 different speeds
- A rich and complex plot that goes above and beyond what you would expect from an 8-bit portable RPG
- Around 20 hours of gameplay
- 6 playable characters, each with their own specialties
- An elaborate script with more than 3,000 lines of dialogue and 20,000 words (Longer than Final Fantasy II, and comparable to Dragon Warrior III)
- Advanced graphical techniques that make the most of the humble Gameboy Color hardware
- Ultra-customizable text window color gradient
Would you be interested in funding a Kickstarter like this? Tell us down below.
[source kickstarter.com]
Comments 42
...so is there gonna be a ROM version or
Why not just release it for modern consoles too? Finishing this only for the Game Boy Color is like turning in your 6th grade homework back to your 6th grade teacher after 20 years. You're not gonna get a good grade by being late.
@N00BiSH If there isn’t just buy it and wait for it to be dumped.
Well hopefully there will be a rom for it. The cartridge thing seems like a bit of waste. If you are collector and nostalgic I can see it as a display piece.
I expect a lot of preorders to come from both:
A.) people who didn’t get a chance to buy Dragonborn (I’m in this group), and;
B.) people who did get a chance to buy Dragonborn and are wanting another RPG for their lovely handheld.
All else are gonna hope it comes to a modern console.
@N00BiSH According to the original story there will be a ROM. I've added this information to the above post.
@Liam_Doolan Alright, I'm back onboard again! Everyone wins!
@Liam_Doolan thanks mr duelin'
They should just do what they did with Shantae, release it on the Switch eShop.
I can imagine this would eventually get picked up and released in a physical cart for the Evercade handheld system like several modern GB indie releases have been recently, such as Quest Arrest, Deadeus and Chain Break
Always nice to see a project come full circle
@CactusMan
Realistically, the sort of people that are willing to buy a working Game Boy Color cartridge are the sorts who will also have flash carts or any number of emulator device solutions, the people running this Kickstarter campaign will understand this too.
The case with Shantae on the Switch is that it's justifiable as part of an established franchise. Otherwise, a brand new Game Boy Color game can be a hard sell given that it's genuinely retro, rather than "retro inspired".
@CactusMan
There are a ton of available Game Boy Color emulators out there, for all different systems.
I'm interested in backing this Kickstarter myself and assume I would receive a ROM to play together with a physical cartridge. I would likely play the ROM using an RG351V myself, but it could easily be played on a PC with any typical emulator.
@Goat_FromBOTW Or buy it and dump yourself (likely what I will do).
@twadebarcelona
My brother recently got the LRG version of Shantae for GBC, and he had an unusual time dumping it. Whatever his usual method was would produce bad dumps with corrupted graphics.
He ultimately found a very unusual method that involves loading a modified save game onto a Pokémon Yellow cartridge, using an Arbitrary Code Execution vulnerability to run homebrew code on the Game Boy Color, swap out the cartridges, and then run a program that exports the ROM data over the 3.5mm audio jack as an audio file!
A PC tool is then used to decode that audio data into a conventional .GBC ROM file. Amazingly, it worked, the process took a lot of attempts though due to the risk of analogue interference.
@RupeeClock I've not heard of that happening. I'll have to try and get hold of a copy and see if it works using the device I use.
A retro game for a gameboy? Count me in!
@N00BiSH Yes There will be a ROM version
@RupeeClock You get the point! The first step is to finish the game, after completion we will see if we can make ports
@twadebarcelona
I'm not sure what his usual method is anyway, it might've been Retron 5 or something.
What I suspect might've happened, is the ROM dumper might be dumping things based on a list of known ROMs or headers or something, and might be trying to dump the LRG version of Shantae like it were the original Capcom version.
The LRG version has a minor alternation that replaces the Capcom splash screen, as opposed to the 3DS VC version that I recall removes the publisher splash screen instead.
@twadebarcelona All physical copies will also have the ROM, no dump needed
@Incube8Games 👀 😮 👍
Man, it’s a shame so many folks are grumbling that it’s not coming out on Switch right away and can’t just appreciate this for what it is. I think it’s WAY cool that this, at least for now, is a Gameboy Color exclusive. In 2021. I mean come on now. That’s fun.
I am excited to get it and play it on Gameboy Color!
This actually looks good. And a new GBC game has been a long time coming.
@RupeeClock I would not be surprised if the LRG print added some kind of physical copy-protection to the PCB itself that wasn't present on the original release.
(as when the GBC and its cartridge format was designed in 1998, getting copying devices wasn't nearly as easy as it is today. Especially when you consider that was when people were just BARELY beginning to accept doing commerce online.)
I’m into it. I bought a Retron Sq earlier this year that will play the cartridge, so that should be pretty cool.
@RupeeClock I use an actual cart dumper/flasher, so if that's what caused the issue, it likely will work my method. Thanks for the info though.
@Incube8Games Ooh, that's pretty cool. I'll likely still dump a copy just because I enjoy doing it.
@Specter_of-the_OLED because they're a small company and maybe cannot afford the licensing to put a game on digital; stores or to pay someone to convert it.
@YANDMAN Yeah but you're putting a game that nobody knew about on a dead platform. If they are that small and couldn't get their product for the mainstream platforms then I don't see them getting any bigger.
@Specter_of-the_OLED If it were a dead platform explain to me why every physical GB release of the past twelve months is sold out?
I don't think I've ever seen the length of the dialogue/script touted as a feature of a game before. Usually long winded cutscenes and dialogue is a criticism of RPGs, like Golden Sun. Personally I like it.
@RupeeClock I’m sure I’m in the minority here, but I still play GB and GBC games on my original lime Gameboy Color. Sometimes I’ll play them on my GameCube as well, using the Gameboy Player. I really LOVE playing Gameboy games. I’m very excited to play this release of Infinity.
Don't forget the game is also most likely coming to STEAM. By the time it's out you can play it on your STEAM Deck, AKA the Big Gameboy
@Dijita
I use an RG351P or RG351V for playing old Game Boy games these days, and a lot of people will play using modded Game Boy systems for things like vibrant IPS displays with rechargeable batteries.
But yeah, there are people that will absolutely play these games on their original cartridges, and I totally get the appeal.
I still have some interest in the Analogue Pocket, if that ever does come out.
@RupeeClock oh yes. I really hope I can eventually get the Analogue Pocket. That is my biggest wish list item.
He's probably my favorite composer for videogames. His five best soundtracks are:
Legacy of the Wizard (NES)
Act Raiser (SNES)
Revenge of Shinobi (SMD)
Streets of Rage (SMD)
Streets of Rage II (SMD)
Look at his wikipedia page for a list of the other awesome soundtracks he's done!
If this is ever ported to switch I'll likely pick it up. I misplaced my GBC long ago.
I'll definitely get the ROM once it starts creeping across the net.
I'll shell out if the Switch version becomes a thing, though.
@Browny
The ROM version is still a commercial product you know.
@RupeeClock
Sure is. I’m just not interested in that version as a commercial product.
I found the rom for this and am about to start playing it on a R4 card. I can't find the rom for Dragonborne anywhere. I know that I should buy it, but I honestly don't have the money to do that at the moment. I want to play Dragonborne more than Infinity because it looks like more of a classic RPG. Although both look great. It's cool that the GBC is getting these really ambitious projects 20 years after the console launched. Speaking of ambitious titles, I'm playing Crystalis for the first time on GBC and am impressed with it's simple, yet epic story.
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