Surprise Sequel 'Gimmick! 2' Bounces Towards Release Next Month

Games like this are why I still love Embracer. Even if they have three branches that deserve to be burned and forgotten, none of the other AAA companies (and most of the AA's like Devolver) would put money towards a retro revival made for me, Antdude, 6 guys in Finland, and no one else.

@Zeebor15 Don't forget John Linneman of Digital Foundry! And me! So, ten people in total. Up to double digits!

I just bought the first one a few days ago!

Entirely because of John Linneman. That Sunsoft video was incredible work.

I was thinking that I don't like the music and then saw that David Wise is doing the OST. I'll try to keep an open mind then. 😆

Is it made by the same people who made the EXAct Mix version for the EXA Arcadia?

@Dr_Fresh Now that's one of the few times I have to give the point to Limited Run, because, quite frankly, the book is better.

And you can still get it on Amazon even

Looks fun, but that music…

wow, a generic Kirby, but on this time as Green

After what they did to the OG creator, and because it looks generic and look worse than the first game, no thanks.

@Roger_Brazil I can see you never played the original Gimmick. While the main character looks similar, the game plays nothing like a Kirby, and it's waaaaaay harder.

While I can understand not involving the original creator, to not even notify them suggests this project happened quickly and/or was not made with a certain level of care.

We've had enough of these retro revivals now to know that standard practice is to get some kind of buy-in from at least one person from the original development team, whether they are directly involved or not. It just shows the fans that you've done your due diligence and gives them faith your new project will do justice to the property.

@Roger_Brazil

Gimmick predates Kirby.

Gimmick! for Famicom was released January 1992
Kirby's Dream Land for Game Boy was released April 1992.

So no, Gimmick definitely is not a Kirby knock-off.

Also the gameplay is nothing alike.

That's a 2D platformer alright.

@Zeebor15 wow. Much controversial.
What a ridiculous thing to say.

@LikelySatan The book has more historical behind the scenes pictures and goes more in depth on the design process, rather than being a series of Batman reviews.

@NeonPizza I'm all for the smaller games. Especially lately. Just burnt out on big open worlds.
This just looks like it isn't doing anything interesting.
Link's Awakening is one of my faves, but I prefer DX big time.

@Zeebor15 no idea what you are talking about about. I was saying Embracer is trash.

@LikelySatan oh. Well okay then don't play this game then. I'm gonna put you on ignore now.

@Zeebor15 sad violin music

@NeonPizza it's totally just comes down to nostalgia. It's not even a tiny bit objective, lol. Just reminds me of being a kid and adventuring under my covers w a worm light and screen magnifier.

@MirrorFate2 @World I don’t feel it’s incumbent on the developer to include more parties than is legally necessary to continue a commercial property where that property was made available for licence. If you built a home and then sold it to a realtor, would it be reasonable to expect the buyer to track down your identity and consult you before making any changes to that home?

@Roger_Brazil The Gimmick franchise predates Kirby.

@NeonPizza It would probably be on my Switch, in my bed, next to my wife, honestly. I am not sure which I would prefer. I adore the Gameboy. Especially the sound. So who knows. I've always preferred portables. Also, after I got an OLED and a Nitro Deck, I just haven't had my Switch docked besides to charge.
I do play LA on my SP every now and then. It's a warm blanket/rainy day game for me.

@NinChocolate While I agree with you in terms of the actual development of the game, I do think there is an expectation in these retro revivals that you give a nod to the original developer.

It's not really the same as selling real estate, because in this case the people buying your game are often emotionally attached to the property. This is more like reviving a superhero comic that's been dormant for a while, where the creator doesn't own the rights. Do they legally have to do anything? No. Will it appeal to fans if you give acknowledgement to the original creator? I'd say generally yes, unless the creator is someone widely disliked.

Again, I agree that it's best for developers to do their own thing in terms of the actual game, but when the developer is easy enough to track down (as was the case here), it takes nothing to just give the nod to their work and it comes across as a bit slapdash when they don't.

Even saying "Hey gamers, we told the original creator and frankly he hated it lol" plays better than just nothing, I'd argue.

@World i don’t disagree that it’s a great thing to make such gestures to the original developer. But if they undertook the project purely on business terms, and it’s a commercial sale, I would not agree with any fault finding in that case. Being wishful that creators get something back, even when it’s company property that they’ve had a hand in, that’s not a bad thing at all, no.

But I think there’s a double standard sometimes where without permission fan games of properties are made and celebrated by the fans, but then absolutely no permissions were given, and in most cases no legal process was attempted, yet those developers aren’t faulted for their lack of contact with any rightful author

@NinChocolate Right. And I guess that's why it comes across as kind of sloppy because when you don't get that blessing from the original creator it does become "just" a commercial sale in business terms. So it's a bit more "leverage the IP" and a bit less "a loving tribute to the original." And I suppose with games there is that aura of the past you want to market as well as the game itself.

Now, thinking about that, it's interesting that retro re-releases (as opposed to remakes) generally carry none of these expectations!

You've definitely got a point on fan games, though (and for what it's worth I've never played one so I can't say much about what the normal expectations are like for that).