NES-inspired games are a dime a dozen on crowdfunding platforms, but every now and again one really catches your eye. A new contender stepping up to the plate this week is Bat Boy, a Sentai and sports infused side-scroller that’s looking to launch on PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series, Nintendo Switch and PC. To make it happen, the team at developer X PLUS Games—an independent division of Osaka-based apparel and toy company X PLUS—hopes to reel in ¥3,500,000 (US$25,523) on Kickstarter over the course of the next month.

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Bat Boy was first announced with a planned 2022 launch last August, but that timing has now been pushed to January 2023. We can throw around terms like 8-bit and retro all day, but the best way to see what they’re going for is to check out some footage. A demo is available on Steam now, and you can see the trailer below.

If you’re curious about the story, here’s a breakdown:

Interdimensional mage Lord Vicious has brainwashed Bat Boy’s fellow teammates in order to participate in the Trials of Darkness, a heinously brutal series of athletic events! It’s up to Bat Boy to team up with one-time villain and mouthy crow Garou, traversing all manner of hostile regions, to free the minds of his sports-hero teammates before they fall victim to the Trials.

Along the way, Bat Boy will encounter a plethora of characters, some allies, most not, as he fights his way to the final confrontation with the heinous Lord Vicious!

So far, stretch goals include a music player, alternate skin for Bat Boy and Boss Rush Mode, with more to come.

Source: Kickstarter

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Joseph Luster is the Games and Web editor at Otaku USA Magazine and the Editor-in-Chief of Sci Fi Magazine. You can read his comics at subhumanzoids. Follow him on Twitter @Moldilox.