The Messenger is Getting an RPG Prequel in Sea of Stars

Sabotage Studios is known for its first title, the smash-hit Ninja Gaiden homage The Messenger. Now, that game is getting a prequel styled as a retro RPG called Sea of Stars — and it’s the game Sabotage wanted to make from the very beginning.

Sabotage launched a Kickstarter today to help gauge interest in the title, and Thierry Boulanger, Sabotage’s creative director, spoke with Destructoid about Sea of Stars‘ origins.

Even though Sabotage wanted to make an RPG first, Boulanger says they knew no one would invest in a story-heavy game from an unproven studio. So The Messenger was born, but it still has ties to Sea of Stars.

Sea of Stars tells the story of how the world of The Messenger came to be. It focuses on two children, Zale (SunBoy) and Valere (MoonGirl), both of whom are Children of the Solstice who wield the powers of sun and moon, respectively. Eclipse Magic is what happens when their powers combine, and they must work together to stop the The Fleshmancer, an evil alchemist bent on world destruction.

If Sea of Stars reminds you of retro RPGs like Crono Trigger, Boulanger says it’s supposed to. But it’s more than just nostalgia pandering. He tells Destructoid:

We’re not just banking on them because retro can sell. We’re putting in the work to rethink the systems, to modernize, while also letting shine what aged well.

There won’t be [level] grinding. “These are all things that we don’t have time for. We just want the good parts of those [influential] games.

The Sea of Stars Kickstarter page says it’s not expected to launch until 2022, and there’s no word yet what systems it will release on. Stay tuned to GameSkinny for more Sea of Stars news as it rises above the horizon.