Have you grown tired of big budget RPGs that constantly try to reinvent the wheel, instead of just focusing on a great story, great characters, and a great overall experience? If the answer to that is yes, then you should definitely check out Shiness, a gorgeous, mesmerizing, and mind boggling RPG that is in development by French based indie studio Enigami.

You’ll probably be shocked to know that the game itself is actually up on Kickstarter, a plea to fans of the kinds of RPGs that made so many of us happy throughout the years. Instead of seeking a big publisher that could possibly make some unfair editorial decisions, they’re hoping the fans of true RPGs will come out and back the game.

Here are some of the game’s official features:

• Exploration – Shiness will task players with exploring “many areas” through “quests, resolving puzzles, fighting against enemies, bosses, notorious monsters and hunting animals to get items.”
• Battle System – Shiness uses an action-based battle system that happens directly on the main map “with barely no transition between the fight and the exploration modes.” Magic and close combat have been mixed to allow for “many strategies” in defeating enemies.
• Quests – “Considerable time” is being spent to present a “great storyline” with each quest, including investigation and interrogation quests, as well as those where players are tasked with defeating difficult enemies and facing tough challenges.
• Gear and Martial Arts – In Shiness, martial arts are more effective than weapons. You can learn three types of arts: physical, magical, and supply arts. Each character also carries his own gear, such as bracelets and necklaces, which change the look of the heroes as well as their stats.
• Magic – In Shiness, the Shi is used to power magic. You can cast several during a fight such as damage and defense spells, or even status effect spells.

The game itself is inspired by manga like Dragon Ball and Naruto, and takes place within the Sky Islands, where every country and region is fighting for power. Chado and Poky, two members of the Waki race, mistakenly land on a dangerous island while journeying via airship. They become separated, and you take control of Chado, as he searches for Poky. Eventually, you get swept up into a story  “that will reveal a far more important destiny.”

In case the language the various characters were speaking doesn’t make much sense, it’s because the language is completely made up by the team. Two of the team members are post graduates of linguistics, and they developed the language at the University of Bordeaux. They even have a dictionary for the language, and frequently make jokes to one another in it.

Shiness is hoping to reach $100,000 dollars in their Kickstarter campaign, which will eventually put the game across PC, Mac, Playstation 4, and Xbox One. The console versions, however, are “subject to approval by the platform holder.”

If you want to back Shiness, head on over to their Kickstarter page.