Kudzu has had enormous success with its Kickstarter campaign to bring the game to life in a Game Boy release, which will happen after meeting its goal. Kudzu has also achieved its stretch goal of getting a physical copy on the Nintendo Switch. In total, the campaign had 866 backers who raised over $46,000.
In a recent interview with The Best War Games, Kudzu lead developer Chris Totten emphasized that the Game Boy title's goal is not to recreate old-school gamers' childhoods. Instead, the goal is to modernize what this genre would look, feel, and play like in the modern-day era.
Game Boy-Inspired Characters In 2023
The 1990s arguably has one of the best video game heroes line-ups. Characters like Mario, Link, Spyro, and more would quickly define the era as part of their respective franchises and brands. Totten said Max, the main character for Kudzu, is that traditional action-adventure hero. Like Link, Max is mostly a silent protagonist, and while that approach is still around today, it's not as relevant as it was back then. Aside from inspirations from other Game Boy characters, Max was lightly based on Totten's brother-in-law, whose personal experiences with nature bore ideas for Kudzu. Players can see more of Max's personality through his actions, like how he likes putting pinwheels in his garden--a trait that was borrowed from Totten's brother-in-law.
Zoen, the master gardener who's gone missing amid the invasive kudzu plants, could be compared to a wise mentor like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' Master Splinter, who also gets kidnapped in 1993's TMNT 3: Radical Rescue. Then enters Grace in Kudzu, who considers Max to be her rival and seeks to become Zoen's best student, which can be compared to the "rival" element of Pokemon Red, Blue, and Yellow where the player is trying to outdo Blue. During Zoen's disappearance in Kudzu, Grace takes it as an opportunity to prove herself to be better.
We're not trying to reinvent people's childhood because I think that's a dangerous game to play where you don't want to try to make something so like another game that you end up feeling like a knock on, but there's little hooks like the art style and the perspective which is very much like Link's Awakening.
There are little callbacks. There’s a gate at one point in the game that you have to get through and it’s one of the main quests. That gate is very heavily modeled on a piece of art from Super Mario Land 2. And that's again, partially me enjoying making a Game Boy game and making my inner nine-year-old happy, but then also trying to give some Easter eggs for the people who are going look for those things. But at the same time, I hope the world gives them something new to see
For gamers who are missing the look, feel, and sound of retro games, Kudzu could be it. After stating inspirations from classic titles like Zelda, it might have set the bar high, but if done well, Kudzu could be setting itself up for success. It'll be interesting to see what players' feedback is once it officially releases.
Kudzu is expected to be released December 2023.