I’d been thinking about waiting a little while longer on this, but the game is already show-off-able, and announcing at AnimeExpo was simply too tempting.

So. Just as announced at AnimeExpo – Fortune Summoners: Secret of the Elemental Stone is Carpe Fulgur’s Project Three. You may recall that we were previously uncertain if this project was actually possible. I am happy to report that all issues have been worked out with Lizsoft and that work is now proceeding apace, to the point where we already have a build in-house with interface elements 90%+ in English and only in need of debug and a further editing pass; all of the “events” in the prologue/demo are also now fully rendered into English, and need only minor editing before they are ready for primetime. Progress has been rapid since the deal was reached. Expect more screenshots Damn Soon™.

The game itself, for the unaware, is a side-scrolling platformer action-RPG, cut from the same sort of cloth as Zelda II, Wonder Boy or the original Ys III (Wanderers From Ys, not Oath in Felghana). It includes both combat and puzzle elements, with later puzzles requiring clever usage of all three party members to succeed. Each party member has different abilities – Arche is a swordfighter and is surprisingly strong for her age, Sana is a water spellcaster and has a number of support abilities (and can breathe underwater) and Stella… burns things. Lots.

Here’s an abbreviated version of most of the special things our version will (and won’t) have, a bit short largely because god damn this con is exhausting:

100% DRM-free . We never wavered in our commitment to providing games with no built-in DRM, and the English release of FS will not have the Japanese version’s built-in DRM.

. We never wavered in our commitment to providing games with no built-in DRM, and the English release of FS will not have the Japanese version’s built-in DRM. Full Xinput support. This means it’ll work with Xbox 360 controllers and all derivatives, including the Logitech F series, the Saitek Cyborg Evo (Xinput version), and PS3 controllers with MotionInJoy drivers. Triggers, the right stick, everything will be mappable.

This means it’ll work with Xbox 360 controllers and all derivatives, including the Logitech F series, the Saitek Cyborg Evo (Xinput version), and PS3 controllers with MotionInJoy drivers. Triggers, the right stick, everything will be mappable. It will have the graphical enhancements from the Deluxe version. This mostly involves a richer color palette (it really makes original-flavor FS look washed out in comparison) but also includes a few miscellaneous adjustments. This makes the game look even more incredible than normal.

This mostly involves a richer color palette (it really makes original-flavor FS look washed out in comparison) but also includes a few miscellaneous adjustments. This makes the game look even more incredible than normal. It will not have the Deluxe voices; it will utilize the original indie voice actresses. A bit of clarification is in order: FS was originally released in 2008 as a pure independent release; Lizsoft later teamed up with Jungle Japan in 2009 to produce a “Deluxe” version of the game with “professional” voicework, a little bit of extra content and a full-color artbook. The extra content was also released as a “Fortune Summoners Plus” DLC add-on pack. What we’ve licensed is the “core” Fortune Summoners game; it does not include the Plus/Deluxe content. The “professional” voicework, in particular, is held under separate license; much like other niche publishers as of late, the going rate for getting the rights for the “pro” voice-work would’ve immediately turned everyone at CF into hobos. There was no way to afford it and stay in business.

I know the last bit will disappoint some, but I’m personally not very upset about it at all, in large part because it allows us to showcase the work the original, indepedant voice actresses did, and as anyone who follows CF knows, we’re all about being Indie As Fuck around here. So I cannot complain too much about being “forced” to use what I consider the superior (if much smaller) voice-set.

We’ll have more screenshots and talk more about the game as we get closer to release – moreso than we have with Chantelise, I promise (and yes, there’s a lot coming up on that front, as well). While we can’t commit to an exact release date just yet, we’re targeting a November-to-early-December release window and are pretty confident about making that. The demo will be out in a September-to-October timeframe, circumstances depending. I really cannot wait to get this game to people, personally, as Fortune Summoners is one of my favorite games of the past few years – “indie” or otherwise.

For now, screenshots to prove this is really A Thing:

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