Freedom Planet: coming to a Wii U near you! Indie Assault starring Spade is also a thing!

[JaidynReiman]

I was questioning the game before, but the latest trailer is quite impressive. Its also something I can look into as I'm going to try and do some game dev as well; it can help me to figure out how to go about making my own games later. Kickstarter definitely seems to be the way to go, but before I can do that I'll need to start developing with what I've already got and create a basic demo.

 

I'll probably take another look at Freedom Planet later when it releases.

[SkyLlama]

 

 

Freedom Planet is a stylish platform adventure that pits a ridiculously fast dragon girl and her friends against an alien invasion force. There's trouble around every turn, from insects to giant robots to sheer explosive destruction, but you'll have a variety of special fighting abilities to blast your way through each stage.
    
...

 

Freedom Planet boasts an epic soundtrack composed by Strife and BlueWarrior from VGMusic and digitally mastered by Woofle, who is known for her work on other indie titles such as Hitogata Happa and Bunny Must Die. Check out some of the sample clips at the left!

 

This was a game I was shown tonight well talking to a guy on vk. Before this I didn't know it existed, but I'm glad I found out. This game was Kickstarted to the tune of ~22K earlier this year and is set to release soon on Steam for what I assume will only be Windows (although there is a Mac demo?) in  Spring 2014.

 

I think the game looks great and after playing the demo it's only cemented what I think. The game barrows a lot of elements from other games, but at the same time has some unique ones of it's own. The level (in the demo) is huge and the design is really good from a game play and art standpoint.

 

I'm excited to see the game progress and I will for sure be buying this one. It looks like it's going to be an excellent 2D platformer to me.

 

You can download the demo or read more about the game on their website here. http://freedomplanet.galaxytrail.com/

 

Curious if you guys know about the game or what you think

[Your Vest Friend]

Oh,

 

Garnered quite the controversy to boot.

[SkyLlama]

Oh,

 

Garnered quite the controversy to boot.

 

Why does the search feature never seem to bring up anything relevant for me? If I'd known I'd not have made the topic.

 

That should be a fun read tomorrow

Edited November 18, 2013 by SkyLlama

[gala]

Wow! It looks awesome!

[Jin.]

Not exactly "new" but what the hell. I'll pick it up. Loved the demo anyway.

Edited November 18, 2013 by 王 Lelouch Lamperouge (Jin)

[JezMM]

I'm interested in this enough that I've stopped watching trailers so I can be surprised by game content.  Greenlit it earlier this year and will certainly pick it up when it's out.

[Cyalume]

I remember this. I was really excited about it last year when I initially found it and played the demo, but they've made changes to it since then that sort of killed it for me (No more rolling/sonic-like spin, which I admit was a blatant rip from the Sonic games, but it was fun nonetheless). The fact that the main things I enjoyed about it were direct (or only very slightly altered) concepts from other prominent series is a bit worrying, and I basically agree with what Hogfather said in the original topic: 

 

This game to me, as nice as the character designs are (if you ignore how they look so much like everyone elses bunny/cat/leaf lady creature), has always looked like it's trying to be something it's not. That being an original title. It just takes so much from other franchises and series that I can't believe they're now trying to make money from it.

 

Not sure what to think, but I do know that I'm digging the soundtrack so far. So it does have that, if nothing else. And that video makes the game look very appealing/fun.

Edited November 18, 2013 by Cyalume

[SIXTH-RATE SOMA]

 

This game to me, as nice as the character designs are (if you ignore how they look so much like everyone elses bunny/cat/leaf lady creature), has always looked like it's trying to be something it's not. That being an original title. It just takes so much from other franchises and series that I can't believe they're now trying to make money from it.

 

 

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/06/sonic_teams_iizuka_recognises_sonic_lost_world_mario_galaxy_comparisons

 

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/03/06/okami-creator-disappointed-by-twilight-princess/

 

"I'm a Zelda freak -- it's no overstatement to say that I created Okami because of Zelda." - Hideki Kamiya.

 

"I am afraid to say that the history of entertainment is also the history of imitation." - Satou Iwata

Edited November 18, 2013 by Sixth-Rate Soma

[SegaFanatic]

 

 

http://www.nintendolife.com/news/2013/06/sonic_teams_iizuka_recognises_sonic_lost_world_mario_galaxy_comparisons

 

http://www.joystiq.com/2007/03/06/okami-creator-disappointed-by-twilight-princess/

Freedom Planet didn't just borrow certain aesthetics or a couple of mechanics from other titles, it basically is a Sonic game trying to pretend it isn't one. Sonic Lost World is the most original idea ever conceived compared to Freedom Planet...

[SIXTH-RATE SOMA]

Sonic Lost World is the most original idea ever conceived compared to Freedom Planet...

 

And I would very much beg to differ, much as I appreciate Lost World.

[Tara]

I merged the two topics together, so feel free to continue the discussion in this topic!

 

Watching that trailer, it's like a mix between Sonic, Mega Man Zero, and a few others.  It's not original, but it looks like a lot of fun.  I'm actually really interested in it, as I expressed at the beginning of this topic.

[JezMM]

What the fuck?  This game has plenty to separate it from Sonic even if it shares many direct gimmicks like physics based platforming (not like Sonic even does that anymore himself).

 

If someone has talent for designing an original game directly based off another they don't deserve to earn money from it?  I personally don't care as long as it's fun.  Like... I dunno if you have passion for that sort of gameplay why should one be limited by the fact that it's been done before?  Especially when the franchise that made it famous has long abandoned that form of gameplay?

 

I dunno it just doesn't bother me in the slightest.  They've put years into this game.  If video game webcomic artists can earn income from merchandise based off franchises that aren't theirs, I don't see why these people can't earn money off something like this.

[Diogenes]

Freedom Planet didn't just borrow certain aesthetics or a couple of mechanics from other titles, it basically is a Sonic game trying to pretend it isn't one.

Not really. There's obvious similarities in the character designs, the basic movement, and level design (which is natural given the movement), but it shares no characters, settings, or objects, and has very different mechanics and gimmicks otherwise. It's obviously influenced by Sonic games, and I don't think anyone has ever suggested otherwise, but it's doing plenty to set itself apart and make it its own thing.

[MegasonicZX]

Yeah, honestly even if it is borrowing things, if those things come together to mesh well into the actual gameplay than it really shouldn't be that big of a deal if the game itself thrives from these things (sides ive always wanted a mix of megaman, sonic, and other things in the game I envision to create one day).

[Gabz Girl]

Is Dust: An Elysian Tail a copy of Castlevania Symphony of the Night? Is Shadow Complex a copy of Metroid? Is Sonic the hedgehog himself a copy of Super Mario Bros? Hell no!

So why is this game then? Oh sure it started out as a Sonic fangame but that was years ago and they have tried to differentiate it enough from Sonic so as not to make it a rip off.

 

Anyway, I think Freedom Planet looks nice and I find the character designs very appealing. I'll keep my eye out for this when it's available on Steam next year. ^^

[Blacklightning]

SegaFanatic, honestly, have you even played the demo? I have, and compared to any Sonic game it's a completely different experience altogether. You'd probably know this if you tried it too. Even on the most basic of mechanics I don't know any mainline Sonic games that use healthbars and melee attacks, either.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

I'd go further and say Sonic should take some cues from this game, although I'm not sure how much that means since this game is taking cues from Sonic...and Megaman X and Zero.

 

Meanwhile, I hear Lost World is basically Sonic in Mario Galaxy. Not sure how that's an original idea, especially when there's nothing new under the sun anyway (<---including that very statement).

Edited November 19, 2013 by ChaosSupremeSonic

[Candescence]

This game did start out as a Sonic game, yes, but it's become a rather unique beast. Having access to the alpha, I can tell you that there's a lot of cool stuff you're not gonna see in a Sonic game, and the bosses pretty much give every Sonic boss fight in recent memory a run for their money (except maybe the first one, but Strife has contemplated redoing it).

 

And honestly, I like the lack of a standard roll, it discourages the designer throwing contact-damage enemies in your path in places where you're not likely to see it coming before you have a chance to avoid them, and pretty much stops players from rolling near-constantly in paranoia (such as me). This game also mostly avoids using enemies that hurt you just by touch, which is good.

 

Really, if you love platformers, you'll love this game. It's got Sonic-like physics platforming, but with a greater focus on platforming and combat, with lovely art, awesome music, great level design, multiple characters that feel varied enough without completely changing the core gameplay, and amazing bosses. Also, Carol has a motherfucking motorcycle, and it's way more awesome than when Shadow did it.

Edited November 19, 2013 by Shirou Emiya

[Autosaver]

mainline Sonic games that use healthbars and melee attacks

Werehog?

 

I'll show myself out.

[Octarine]

I played the demo earlier. I'm no expert on classic Sonic-style game design, but I thought it was pretty fun. It wasn't always totally clear where to go and some of the block-pushing was kind of silly, and the level was awfully long, but basically it was pretty solid.

 

I particularly liked the voice clips. They hit exactly the right level of awkward cheese for the era the game's trying to imitate.

[CrownSlayers Shadow]

Also, Carol has a motherfucking motorcycle, and it's way more awesome than when Shadow did it.

Well, any motorcycle can be better than one with shit level design and a gimmick done to attract a new crowd for the wrong reasons, while being incapable of riding up walls or allow you take it with you on monkey bars. Or allow you to kick things hundreds of times while in motion. With a lack of an extra dimension.

[Candescence]

Also, having played the latest alpha build (not gonna give out any specifics), but I just remembered that the later bosses can be challenging. And I do mean genuinely challenging, they're a genuine test of skill alongside merely memorizing patterns - I actually feel the kind of adrenaline that I normally feel from games like Devil May Cry 4 and Bayonetta has with their boss fights, which is a good thing. I'm gonna go out on a limb here and say that the boss fights here are even better than anything Sonic has ever produced. Yeah, I said it. Also, in at least two of them, the other playable characters actually help out. It's shown in the latest trailer with the big mech, but in the newest stage, I was on the ropes for a bit right before Milla suddenly burst into the scene like a boss, threw me some health petals, and started reflecting enemy shots with her shield, and we kicked ass. It was so much fun.

 

Also, this is probably due to the fact that the game got rid of the whole 'act' structure, but the stages are pretty damn long, at least ten minutes if you're not speedrunning.

[Cyalume]

Don't get me wrong, I loved the initial demo of the game that I played, but it be lying if I said I didn't walk away having felt like I'd just played a Sonic game. Inspiration exists, sure, and its not a crime to derive your ideas partially from other successful franchises. But when you have furry anthropomorphic characters spinning through corkscrews and loop-de-loops with act based level organization and gameplay that matches a Sonic game almost key for key physics wise, it begins to reach an uncomfortable level of familiarity. I would have to at least have said that the title was relying too a little heavily on outside sources of inspiration. I mean, even the game's primary antagonist struck me as being directly inspired by Eggman somewhat: and don't forget the keystones.

All of this being said, I'll admit that with each passing demo, the game further and further distances itself from being a "sonic clone", and given the circumstances of its inception, I'm not surprised to see striking similarities between it and the games featuring the blue hedgehog (it was presented initially at a Sonic fangames showcase, after all). I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out, provided the price is right.

[Jolt_TH]

Well I'd love to imagine a special unlockable where you can play as sonic

Of course I doing SEGA would allow that but I can dream xD