Indie developer Natsu Kaze has launched a Kickstarter campaign for Maple Forest, their monochrome and Game Boy-inspired adventure / action RPG.

The new Kickstarter campaign was launched to fund the rest of the game, with a funding goal of $36,000. The campaign raked in nearly all of its funding nearly instantly, and the game will be released across Windows PC, Xbox Series X|S, PS5, and both the Nintendo Switch and its successor.

Here’s a rundown on the game, plus its Kickstarter trailer:

Maple Forest is an action RPG inspired by a bunch of 90s classics. In it, you’ll adventure across an island that’s begun to sink for mysterious reasons. The residents of the island’s main village tell you that their legends say the power of the god of the island is what keeps the island afloat. The god of the island lives in a shrine at the top of the mountain, but that shrine has been sealed off by a huge stone door for longer than anyone in the village can remember. If there was a way to open that door and speak with the island’s guardian, the island might be saved, but noone on the island has been strong or courageous enough to brave the island’s wilderness in search of a way to unseal the door…until now!

Gameplay

In Maple Forest, you’ll adventure across a sprawling island full of mysterious secrets, colorful friends, and dangerous enemies. You’ll cross barren deserts, dive under deep lakes and rushing rivers, summit lofty wind-buffeted cliffs and delve into dark subterranean dungeons and forgotten ancient temples in search of the Soul Gems needed to unlock the door to the island god’s resting place. With plenty of dungeons (including a few completely optional ones!) and multiple villages and settlements scattered across the island for you to find, your adventure will be long and memorable!  

You’ll find new items to better equip yourself not just in dungeons, but also in caves, towns, and sprinkled around the overworld itself. It’ll take a careful thinking to solve puzzles, keen eyes to spot secrets, and quick reflexes to defeat the myriad monsters you’ll encounter during this journey!

The Characters

Like any great action RPG, Maple Forest is full of fun and interesting characters to aid or hinder you on your quest. A few of them are listed here:

• The Fox – The hero of the story! While adventuring, he happened upon Maple Island and made landfall. After exploring the island for a few weeks, he falls in love with it. Unfortunately, when he talks to the village elder, he learns that Maple Island is sinking for reasons unknown. The heroic fox won’t let that happen! Making up for a lack of raw strength with bravery and intelligence, the fox makes an excellent adventurer. Take care of him!
• The Goat – Maple Village’s official resident goat. He’s very sweet and laid back, but do not take his kindness for weakness! He boasts about an incredibly powerful secret technique, but nobody has ever seen him angry enough to use it. The goat seems to rarely get angry at all… exceptionally kind and understanding, the goat quickly becomes a loyal friend to the fox.
• The Mermaid – A beautiful mermaid who likes to sit on the rocks in the bay to the South of Maple Island. According to Maple Village’s eldest fisherman, she’s a bit of a tomboy despite her girlish looks – along with enjoying sunbathing and music, she’s apparently an avid archer and lancer! The mermaid is a bit shy and cool toward new friends, but it seems she might like the fox a bit more than she lets on. The island is full of rivers and waterways, but even so, she meets up and helps the fox often enough that it feels a bit unlikely to be simple coincidence! A kind and caring girl.
• The Sunflower Witch – A cute young witch who’s always surrounded by plants and flowers. She started studying gardening and horticulture to improve her potion making, but ended up loving them so much that she’s been side tracked for a very long time now. Barely does any magic anymore, but she’s still ostensibly a witch, and so still stubbornly wears her midnight-black witch’s uniform even during the island’s sweltering Summer days. She now spends almost all of her time looking after her beloved sunflowers and almost no time studying magic, but will still perform small magical feats when people doubt or make fun of her. Swears she’ll get back to studying the dark arts and becoming an incredible witch…. someday!