Gather Round and Hear About Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King

Fresh from developing the fantastic platforming shooter Rex Rocket, developer Castle Pixel is already hard at work on a new game. Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King looks more than a little bit like an NES version of The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, but that familiar surface hides some exciting modern design decisions and new gameplay tricks. And maybe just one little nod to Captain Planet.

The top-down action will have players feeling right at home, but the addition of a lock-on system promises to provide some interesting challenges and benefits when players use ranged weapons, solve puzzles, and fight against bosses. Interesting stuff, but the game’s storyline is actually where the most impressive things are happening. The entire game is a story being told to a little girl, Lily, by her grandfather. That might not sound like some sort of game development bombshell, but Lily is an excitable little girl. If she feels that the graveyard sequence is too boring, then maybe she’ll interrupt her grandfather, piping in about a zombie horde coming to attack the hero. This will then happen in-game. Her story additions add an element of unpredictability to the game, ensuring that players never feel entirely safe from her interference. She’s well-meaning, but a dangerous villain in her own right.

Are these features, combined with a lighthearted adventure romp lit up with the impressive lighting Castle Pixel already perfected in Rex Rocket, worth some Kickstarter cash to you? Donations have already started rolling in, with some decent perks, like early play and the soundtrack, coming in for relatively low donations. You can always give them a Greenlight vote for free, though, and help Lily tell her own story in Blossom Tales: The Sleeping King. Assuming she doesn’t get you killed with her little additions, that is.