Hiroki Ishii, Akifumi Kaneko, and Matsuzo Machida have given some more information on Penny Blood and Armed Fantasia via a Reddit AMA. Hiroki Ishii and Akifumi Kaneko are both creators of the Wild Arms series who are now working on Armed Fantasia. Meanwhile, Matsuzo Machida created the Shadow Hearts series and is now working on Penny Blood.
According to the AMA, Armed Fantasia’s play time will be around 30 to 40 hours. Incidentally, this was the play time for the first Wild Arms game. There are no plans for an Armed Fantasia sequel. As well, the setting will feel like a combination of Wild Arms 2 and 3. There will be vehicles, which includes a convertible. Lastly, a major theme for Armed Fantasia is “meeting new allies and the bonds you create between those people.” The most recent update for the game revealed six party members, who will come and go as the story progresses.
Machida also offered some information on Penny Blood during the Reddit AMA. Like Armed Fantasia, it will have a playtime of around 30-40 hours. Depending on the reception, Machida would like to make a sequel to the game. There will also be a queer party member, as well as a 3D camera. All of the characters in the party will have their own elemental affinity, and the elements in the game will be the same as the ones in Shadow Hearts. Because publishers did not let the original Shadow Hearts team put in too much grotesque imagery or lean into horror, Penny Blood (as an indie title) will emphasize them and the story will be aimed towards adults. However, there will be comedic elements as well. Finally, while the bestiary will have flavor text, there will be no side stories.
Though this was not during the Reddit AMA, Machida also revealed the design of Baby Cthulhu. The Call of Baby Cthulhu mechanic was one of the stretch goals for Penny Blood. Baby Cthulhu is the game’s mascot character. You will be able to feed it the blood and flesh of monsters, and its maturity will affect if you get the ‘good’ ending or not.
Armed Fantasia and Penny Blood’s Kickstarter will close this week on September 30, 2022, and both of them reached their initial goal within the first few days. As of the time of writing, backers have pledged a total of $2,310,529 CAD into both games.
Penny Blood and Armed Fantasia are both in development for the PS5, Xbox Series X, and Windows PC. Penny Blood will come out in Spring 2025.
