Just a few months ahead of its physical release in Japan, Cuphead developer Studio MDHR announced a collaboration with a famed Japanese artist known for their work on the Final Fantasy series and other JRPGs over the years. When the collaboration was announced on social media by Studio MDHR, excitement was had from both Cuphead and Final Fantasy fans alike at the news.Released in 2017 for PC and Xbox One, Cuphead is a challenging 2D action game similar to the Contra series in gameplay but with an art style directly inspired by Disney's early animated cartoons. The game was later ported to PS4 and Nintendo Switch in the following years and released The Delicious Last Course expansion in 2022. Thanks to a collaboration with iam8bit, Cuphead received a physical release for $39.99 in December 2022, with a Collector's Edition due in the first quarter of 2023. The Collector's Edition retails for $199.99 and will feature the Delicious Last Course and a batch of physical goods. Japanese fans will be getting something special with physical copies of Cuphead, thanks to the newly announced collaboration.Final Fantasy series artist Yoshitaka Amano, known for his contributions to the series from the beginning, was announced as the guest collaborator for Cuphead's Japanese release. With character designs for games such as Final Fantasy 6, and his work on the series' logos, including the upcoming Final Fantasy 16, Amano's distinct art style has stood out for decades. In Studio MDHR's Twitter post, the art from Amano depicts Cuphead, Mugman, and Ms. Chalice in a style similar to Final Fantasy protagonists, such as Cecil from Final Fantasy 4 and Terra from Final Fantasy 6. With the trio wielding dishware-shaped weapons, they stand ready to face a horde of enemies led by The Devil himself, who is posed like the iconic Behemoth enemy. The Devil's arms also depict subtle references to Chaos, the final boss of the original Final Fantasy game, which Amano drew in the 1980s.
The Japanese release of Cuphead is slated for April 20, 2023, priced at around 4,000 yen. It will feature the base game and The Delicious Last Course DLC, and Amano's art will be included in the game's soundtrack, which will come with first edition runs of the physical release. Preorders are available now on Amazon Japan.
With a slew of challenging levels, unforgettable character designs, and a catchy soundtrack, fans that will soon experience Cuphead for the first time will get a chance to see why many think it is one of the best 2D games available today.
Cuphead is available now for PC, Nintendo Switch, PS4, and Xbox One.