Saturday Morning RPG

Last updated

Saturday Morning RPG
SaturdayMorningRPGBoxArt.jpg
Cover art of Saturday Morning RPG
Developer(s) Mighty Rabbit Studios
Publisher(s)
  • Mighty Rabbit Studios
  • Joystick Labs (iOS)
Designer(s) Josh Fairhurst
Composer(s) Vince DiCola
Engine
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows, iOS, OS X, Ouya, Linux, Android, PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch
ReleaseiOS
  • WW: April 5, 2012
Android
  • WW: March 27, 2013
Windows, OS X, Linux
  • WW: September 10, 2013
PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita
  • NA: January 29, 2016
Nintendo Switch
  • NA: April 26, 2018
Genre(s) Role-playing
Mode(s) Single-player

Saturday Morning RPG is a role-playing video game, created by developer Mighty Rabbit Studios. The game was first released for iOS in April 2012. [1] It has been released on PC, Mac, and Linux through Steam. It is also available on Ouya, and was a launch title for the system. [2] In the game, players control Marty, an average high school student who gains an extraordinary power through a magical notebook that resembles a Trapper Keeper. This power allows him to use everyday objects in battle against the evil forces of the HOOD. [3] As players advance through the game, they will discover new battle objects and new foes to fight. Mighty Rabbit Studios has supported Saturday Morning RPG with updates since its release in 2012 - adding two new episodes: To Bot or Not to Bot (Episode 3) [4] and Ho Ho HOOD (Episode 4). [5] The game is steeped in 1980s nostalgia (mainly of the Saturday-morning cartoon variety) - many of the enemies and battle objects draw directly from the pop culture of the time. [3]

Contents

Vince DiCola and his composing partner Kenny Meriedeth provided the game's soundtrack, with a guest appearance by Stemage. [3]

On January 15, 2018, it was announced that the game would be coming to Nintendo Switch in Spring 2018. [6]

Gameplay

Saturday Morning RPG fits into the Japanese role-playing game subgenre of role-playing video games. In the game, players control the main character, Marty, and navigate an open world occasionally triggering battles with enemies. Battles in the game deviate from the standard Japanese role-playing game systems by giving the player some degree of active control during battles. Some attacks require additional inputs to power up and all enemy attacks can be blocked with a well-timed button press. [3] While not in battle, players can discover new items to use in fights, partake in a number of side quests, and earn experience by exploring the environments. Players can also discover power enhancing Scratch and sniff stickers in the world that can be attached to their notebook. These stickers must be scratched at the beginning of battle to unleash their effects. [1]

Saturday Morning RPG's story is structured in an episodic fashion, much like the Saturday-morning cartoons it draws inspiration from. Episodes can be played and replayed in any order, and any player stats or items earned can be transferred between episodes. There are currently five episodes of Saturday Morning RPG. [3]

Development

Saturday Morning RPG began development in 2010 during the inaugural session of Joystick Labs, a video game developer incubator. [7] Development continued for nearly two years until its release in 2012 on iOS. Two years later on January 29, 2014 - the game was released on Steam. A fifth episode of the game is currently in development, [8] and the developers have announced plans to release the game on the Wii U. [9] A physical disc release of the game for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita was announced to be released on January 29, 2016 available through Mighty Rabbit Studios' online store Limited Run Games, which specializes in physical releases of indie games for Sony platforms. [10] The physical version is limited to 1980 copies on PlayStation 4 and 2500 copies on PlayStation Vita.

Release

Saturday Morning RPG was initially released for iOS on April 5, 2012. [1]

On January 29, 2016, the game was released on physical copy for PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Vita in limited supply. 1,980 copies of the PlayStation 4 version and 2,500 copies of the PlayStation Vita version were printed. They were sold and distributed through the website of Limited Run Games.

The game came to Nintendo Switch digitally and physically through Limited Run Games in Spring 2018.

Reception

The iOS version of Saturday Morning RPG has generally received mixed to positive reviews from review sites and game publications. Damien McFerran of Pocket Gamer gave the game a 9 out of 10 stating that the game was an "homage to '80s pop culture and a legitimately entertaining role-playing title to boot, Saturday Morning RPG is as unique as it is enjoyable.". [12] Lower review scores criticized the game's difficulty - David Oxford of Slidetoplay stated that "even if you like Saturday Morning RPG's style, the battles can be really tough and drawn out". [13] Slidetoplay issued an update to their review stating that Mighty Rabbit Studios had addressed many of their concerns with the first update of Saturday Morning RPG. [13]

Reviews for the game's PC version have generally been more positive than reviews for the iOS version, with ZTDG giving the game a 9 out of 10 and an editor's choice award. [14]

Related Research Articles

<i>Duke Nukem 3D</i> 1996 first-person shooter video game

Duke Nukem 3D is a first-person shooter video game developed by 3D Realms. It is a sequel to the platform games Duke Nukem and Duke Nukem II, published by 3D Realms.

<i>Star Ocean: The Second Story</i> 1998 action role-playing game

Star Ocean: The Second Story, known in Japan as Star Ocean: Second Story, is an action role-playing video game developed by tri-Ace and published by Enix for the PlayStation. It is the second game in the Star Ocean series and the first game in the series to be released outside Japan, arriving in North America in June 1999 and Europe in April 2000, by Sony Computer Entertainment. Taking place in a science fantasy universe, the story centers around a young man named Claude C. Kenny, a cadet from a space-faring Earth organization who is stranded on an undeveloped, medieval-level planet. There, he meets several companions and must stop a plot from an evil organization that spans multiple worlds before finding his way home. The game was the basis of manga and anime adaptations.

<i>Oddworld: Strangers Wrath</i> 2005 video game

Oddworld: Stranger's Wrath is an action-adventure video game developed by Oddworld Inhabitants and published by Electronic Arts for the Xbox. It is the fourth overall entry of the Oddworld series. It was released on January 25, 2005.

<i>Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland</i> 2010 Japanese video game

Atelier Rorona: The Alchemist of Arland is a Japanese role-playing video game developed by Gust Co. Ltd. It first released for the PlayStation 3 on June 25, 2009, in Japan and was later re-released under the PlayStation 3 the Best label on September 23, 2010. The North American release followed on September 28, 2010, along with a European release on October 22, 2010 and an Australia release on October 28, 2010.

<i>Disgaea 4</i> 2011 video game

Disgaea 4: A Promise Unforgotten is a 2011 tactical role-playing video game for the PlayStation 3 and the fourth in the Disgaea series by Nippon Ichi Software. The game tells the story of Valvatorez, a former tyrant leading a party to rebel against the president of the Netherworld. Originally released in February 2011 in Japan, the game was released in September that year in the U.S., with a European and Australian release in November. A western release of the Vita rendition of Disgaea 4, subtitled A Promise Revisited, was released in North America and Europe in August 2014. This version was released for iOS and Android in November 2022. A second rerelease titled Disgaea 4 Complete+ was released on PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Switch on October 29, 2019, and was released on PC through Steam and Microsoft Store on September 10, 2020. The game features voice-overs in Japanese and English, with texts also translated into French.

Hyperdimension Neptunia is a series of role-playing video games created and developed by Compile Heart and Idea Factory. The series debuted in Japan on August 19, 2010, with the video game of the same name for the PlayStation 3, which received two sequels, Hyperdimension Neptunia mk2 and Hyperdimension Neptunia Victory. All three games were remade for PlayStation Vita and Windows. Another sequel, titled Megadimension Neptunia VII, as well as multiple spin-off and crossover games were released for various platforms since then. It has also branched off into a manga, light novel and anime media franchise series.

<i>Michael Jackson: The Experience</i> 2010 video game

Michael Jackson: The Experience is a music video game based on Michael Jackson's songs. It was developed and published by Ubisoft, and was released on 23 November 2010 in North America, 25 November 2010 in Australia and 26 November 2010 in Europe for the Nintendo DS, PlayStation Portable, and Wii. It was also released on 12 April 2011 in North America, 14 April 2011 in Australia and 15 April 2011 in Europe for PlayStation 3's PlayStation Move and Xbox 360's Kinect. The Japanese release on 8 December 2011 only revised the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii consoles. The game features many of Michael Jackson's hits, such as "Bad", "Thriller", "Beat It", "Billie Jean", "Smooth Criminal", "Black or White", "The Way You Make Me Feel", etc. However, some songs like "Man in the Mirror" and "P.Y.T. " are excluded. Initial launches of the game included a limited edition replica of Jackson's sequined glove. It was later released for the Nintendo 3DS on 7 November 2011 in North America and 11 November 2011 in Europe, for iPhone and iPad on 7 December 2011 in North America and for PlayStation Vita on 15 February 2012 in North America, 22 February 2012 in Europe and 23 February 2012 in Australia. It was announced that the game would be released on Mac OS X, and iPad 2. The game sold 2 million units in two months, not including Japanese sales, making it one of the best-selling Wii title games.

<i>Angry Birds</i> (video game) 2009 puzzle video game

Angry Birds is a 2009 physics-based casual puzzle video game developed by Finnish video game developer Rovio Entertainment. Inspired primarily by a sketch of stylized wingless birds, the game was first released for iOS and Maemo devices starting in December 2009. By October 2010, 12 million copies of the game had been purchased from the iOS App Store and Ovi, which prompted the developer to design versions for other touchscreen-based smartphones, most notably Android, Symbian, Windows Phone, and BlackBerry 10 devices. The series has since expanded to include titles for dedicated video game consoles and PCs. A sequel, Angry Birds 2, was released in July 2015 for iOS and Android. Around April 2019, the original game was removed from the App Store. A paid recreation of the game's content from 2012 was released as Rovio Classics: Angry Birds on March 31, 2022. Rovio Classics: Angry Birds was removed from the Google Play Store on February 23, 2023, and retitled as Red's First Flight on the iOS App Store on the same date.

<i>PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale</i> 2012 fighting crossover video game

PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale is a 2012 crossover fighting game developed by SuperBot Entertainment, in conjunction with Bluepoint Games, and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. It features various characters drawn from different PlayStation video game franchises competing against each other in multiplayer battles. The game was released in November 2012 for the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Vita video game consoles.

<i>Super Crate Box</i> 2010 video game

Super Crate Box is a shoot 'em up and indie game by Vlambeer. It was first released for Microsoft Windows on 22 October 2010, and was followed with ports to Mac OS X on 26 November 2010, to iOS on 4 January 2012, and to PlayStation Vita on 3 October 2012. A Commodore 64 demake of the game was developed by Paul Koller, with music by Mikkel Hastrup, and published by RGCD as Super Bread Box on 22 October 2013.

<i>TowerFall</i> 2013 action video game

TowerFall is an action indie video game created by Maddy Thorson through her company Maddy Makes Games. In the game, players control up to four archers in a multiplayer platform fighter. It was released on the Ouya microconsole in June 2013 and was later ported to PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Linux, OS X, and Windows as TowerFall Ascension and to the Nintendo Switch under its original title of TowerFall.

<i>Ar Nosurge</i> 2014 video game

Ar nosurge: Ode to an Unborn Star is a Japanese role-playing video game developed by Gust and published by Koei Tecmo. Directed by Akira Tsuchiya, the game takes the anime art style of Gust's flagship Atelier video game series, and puts it into a science fiction space opera-type setting. While playing as an RPG, the game is very story heavy, with virtually all gameplay mechanics feeding into the overall plot, including many segments playing as an interactive visual novel. Designed with player immersion as a core concept, the player actually plays as themselves, using their video game console as a means to communicate with characters as themselves, while otherwise controlling characters as one typically does in a video game. The game alternates between following two sets of characters - Delta and Casty, and Earthes and Ion, as they work through issues related to the hostile race known as Sharl that are antagonizing the space station that humanity currently lives on, while working through many of their own personal issues of their past.

<i>2064: Read Only Memories</i> 2015 video game

2064: Read Only Memories is a cyberpunk adventure game developed by MidBoss. It was directed by John "JJSignal" James, written by Valerie Amelia Thompson and Philip Jones, and features an original soundtrack by 2 Mello.

<i>Whispering Willows</i> 2014 video game

Whispering Willows is an indie adventure horror video game developed by independent developer Night Light Interactive for Ouya in May 2014.

<i>Futuridium EP Deluxe</i> 2014 video game

Futuridium EP Deluxe is an indie shoot'em up video game developed by Italian developer MixedBag for the PlayStation 4, PlayStation Vita, Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux. It was released in North America on September 30, 2014 and on October 1, 2014 in Europe.

<i>Chroma Squad</i> 2015 video game

Chroma Squad is a tactical role-playing video game developed by the Brazilian development team at Behold Studios. The game is influenced by tokusatsu TV shows, particularly the Super Sentai and Power Rangers franchises. The game's development was funded via Kickstarter.

<i>Breach & Clear</i> 2013 video game

Breach & Clear is a turn-based strategy action role-playing video game developed by Mighty Rabbit Studios and published by Gun Media. The player is in control of four special forces units who must enter an area and kill all enemies in it. The player plans the actions of all characters in advance and the turns are resolved simultaneously. It was released for iOS on July 17, 2013 and for Android on September 5, 2013. The game was ported to Microsoft Windows, OS X and Linux, and was released through Steam on March 21, 2014. A PlayStation Vita version was released the following year. On November 15, the iOS version of the game joined the gaming subscription service GameClub. The physical version for Vita is notable as being the rarest released Vita game in North America, with a print run of 1,500 as a mail-in order title.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Limited Run Games</span> American video game distributor

Limited Run Games, Inc. is an American video game distributor based in Apex, North Carolina. The company produces and sells limited quantities of physical video game copies via its website and select retail stores. Josh Fairhurst and Douglas Bogart founded Limited Run Games in October 2015 after Fairhurst wanted to preserve the digitally released games developed by his studio, Mighty Rabbit Studios, on physical media. The company's first release, Breach & Clear for the PlayStation Vita, was quickly sold out and followed up with Saturday Morning RPG. Oddworld Inhabitants approached the company to release a physical version of Oddworld: New 'n' Tasty!, which led Limited Run Games to release games by other developers. Following major expansion between 2018 and 2022, including branching out into publishing and retrogaming, the company was acquired by Embracer Group through its Embracer Freemode operative group in September 2022.

<i>Super Lemonade Factory</i> 2012 video game

Super Lemonade Factory is a puzzle-platform video game developed by Initials Command.

<i>Final Fantasy III</i> (2006 video game) 2006 role-playing game remake

Final Fantasy III is a Nintendo DS role-playing video game and a remake of the 1990 Family Computer game, Final Fantasy III.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Saturday Morning RPG – Personality Packed Pixels". applenapps.com. April 5, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  2. "OUYA to have 104 titles on offer at launch". vg247.com. April 2, 2013. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Saturday Morning RPG Steam Page". steampowered.com. September 8, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  4. "Saturday Morning RPG Episode 3 Released". facebook.com. November 12, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  5. "Saturday Morning RPG Episode 4 Released". facebook.com. December 18, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  6. "Saturday Morning RPG coming to Switch Spring 2018". twitter.com. January 15, 2018. Retrieved January 15, 2018.
  7. "Joystick Labs ends funding for new video game startups". newsobserver.com. October 22, 2012. Archived from the original on December 15, 2012. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  8. "Saturday Morning RPG Episode 5". mightyrabbitstudios.com. August 12, 2014. Retrieved September 8, 2014.
  9. "Saturday Morning RPG coming to the Wii U eShop". nintendoeverything.com. June 2, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  10. "Limited Run #2: Saturday Morning RPG (PS4)".
  11. "Saturday Morning RPG iOS". metacritic.com. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  12. 1 2 "Saturday Morning RPG". pocketgamer.com. April 5, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  13. 1 2 "Saturday Morning RPG Review". slidetoplay.com. April 5, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
  14. "Saturday Morning RPG (PC) Review". ztgd.com. October 3, 2013. Retrieved September 8, 2014.