Update [Thu 4th Apr, 2024 10:30 BST]: Neofid Studios has just released a Game Boy Advance demo for Demons of Asteborg, so if you want to try it out before backing the physical version, now's your chance.
You can grab the demo now from itch.io, if you fancy giving it a go!
Original Story [Tue 19th Mar, 2024 10:00 GMT]: French developer Neofid Studios has announced that it is remaking its 2021 Mega Drive title Demons of Asteborg for the GBA and Neo Geo.
Demons of Asteborg DX will include "more power, more colours, more content, better difficulty balancing, and many bonuses compared to the original version," according to the game's IndieGoGo page.
"If you know Neofid Studios, you also know that we have distinguished ourselves so far with our developments for the Sega Megadrive/Genesis, which we have pushed to the limit of its capabilities," continues the description. "In order to overcome the technical limitations of the latter and to present an even more ambitious version of the game, we have decided this time to develop for two more powerful consoles: the Game Boy Advance and the Neo-Geo."
The plan is to complete the GBA version by June 2025, with the Neo Geo edition following in Christmas of the same year. "Since the GBA and Neo-Geo have very different hardware, the two versions cannot be entirely similar. Therefore, each of these experiences will be different from the other," explains the developer. However, the wait will be worth it for SNK fans. "In addition to benefiting from the reworked graphics common to both new versions, the Neo-Geo version will display more details thanks to its higher resolution. Furthermore, it will feature a new two-player mode."
Neofid has also stated that it does not intend to make the ROM files of Demons of Asteborg DX available "for several reasons."
"As Retrogaming enthusiasts, the Neofid Studios team considers that packaging is almost as important as the game itself. Favoring a physical release only is also giving value to this collectible item," the studio says. "We found a page where DOA was illegally downloaded over 20,000 times, while on our side, we struggle to achieve financial balance. We now wish to ensure the sustainability of our company to continue offering you quality games, while valuing the product. We believe that players who know and appreciate the value of our work will agree with this. As such, the physical versions of the game will feature specific hardware that will work on all consoles offering true hardware compatibility."
Finally, the size of the game is another reason that a ROM cannot be released. "The Game Boy Advance supports default cartridges of up to 32MB maximum. Like for the Megadrive version, it is possible that we exceed this size, in which case we will implement our bank-switching model, which, to our knowledge, is not emulatable to this day."
Two variants are available to order. "For this new edition, we offer two distinct packs: the Regular edition, which includes only the game and a small number of goodies, as well as the Collector's edition, which includes the game, goodies, a CD containing the OST of the game, an artbook, and a unique collector's box," reads the crowdfunding page.
The campaign has a funding goal of €80,000, but two stretch goals have been announced as well. "The initial goal of €80,000 will allow us to first redo all the scenery (Tilesets and Backgrounds) and music of DOA to take advantage of the capabilities of the GBA and the Neo-Geo," says Neofid. Should the campaign hit €90,000, additional difficulty settings will be added. €100,000 will unlock additional facial animation during dialogue sequences.